P-20 Assessment Services

Experienced ARC staff members manage large-scale assessment projects including test development, test administration, scoring services, and data reporting and analysis. ARC staff provide assessment services to many stakeholders including governmental agencies, classroom teachers, higher education institutions, and parents. Through contractual arrangements with national test publishers ARC also sells materials and provides scoring and reporting services for major P-20 assessments, such as Acuity, GRADE, GMADE, SAT 10/OLSAT 8, Iowa Tests Series, and others. ARC provides consultation and reliable support to Missouri schools to develop and implement their assessment plans.

Research and Evaluation Services

ARC offers a complete range of research and evaluation services to institutions, agencies, and individual researchers. Throughout each project, ARC staff works closely with the client to provide support and expertise through all phases of planning, development, and completion. ARC has experienced staff and multiple resources available on-site to meet the needs of even the most discerning of clients.

Performance Assessment Scoring Services

ARC offers on a contractual basis performance assessment scoring services to national test publishers, state agencies, and others. ARC’s capabilities include the scoring of writing and open-ended assessments in reading, math, science, and social studies for P-20 clients. Scoring services are provided for both paper-based and on-line assessments. The scoring process is customized to accommodate client-specific or project-specific scoring parameters, rubrics, procedures, and other special requirements. The on-site ARC facility maintains 200 computer stations to receive, evaluate, and collect individual responses for qualitative research projects. In addition, the computer stations may be used for data-entry projects. The facility is designed with eight private rooms for use in projects requiring focus groups, training, conferences, and team activities.

Graphic Design Services

In-house design staff produce project documents, including precision-printed scannable and non-scannable answer booklets, surveys, test booklets, PowerPoint presentations, and final reports ready for distribution to stakeholders and for presentation to funding agencies.

Information Technology Staff

Information technology staff supports ARC projects by creating custom web-based surveys, scoring programs for multiple-choice and open-response paper assessments and surveys, and reports for both small- and large-scale projects. For web-based projects, ARC maintains an Internet feed via the University of Missouri that connects to multiple top-level providers with high bandwidth connection, making ARC an ideal source for large-scale web survey projects. ARC data servers are located within the University of Missouri's data center that provides a level of security and enterprise-grade reliability not usually available with web-based survey options.

Web and Data Security

Responses and incoming data transfers are handled via TSL, a protocol that allows client/server applications to communicate across a secure network designed to prevent eavesdropping and tampering. Large-scale, paper-based responses are processed using optical mark and image scanning to save time and money and to maintain accuracy on large paper-survey projects. The ARC high-speed scanners have the capacity to handle up to 38,000 sheets per hour. Data is stored on a server located in our physically secure datacenter. The server has limited connectivity to allow access on an “as needed” basis to the designated research team. ARC servers are protected by extensive firewalls and filters provided by the University of Missouri and designed to preserve the integrity of highly-sensitive research, medical, and academic records. SSL encryption is available for the collection of secure information, and data backup is maintained on a regular basis.

Conference Facilities

The facility containing the ARC Performance Assessment Scoring Services also is available to outside organizations and groups for conferences and training sessions. Rental of all or part of the 11,000 square feet provides up to 200 networked computer stations with internet access, security for high-stakes projects, configurable room layouts, lunchroom/break space, and free parking. This flexible space has 11 rooms that may be configured by each client: 2 rooms that can accommodate up to 35 computer stations and 8 rooms that can accommodate up to 18 computer stations each. Additionally, the facility contains a conference room suitable for board and committee meetings.

High-volume Mail Distribution and Processing

ARC distributes and receives over 1,000,000 answer booklets, surveys and other documents annually. ARC handles large volume mailings through the University of Missouri mail facility; secure, high-stakes documents are shipped and returned via a traceable courier such as UPS to ensure the confidentiality of material.

Archival and Storage Space

The ARC facilities also contain a 400,000 cubic-foot secure warehouse space for the preparation, packaging, and storage of survey and assessment material and for the archival of paper-based records.