TIES and Naiku Join Forces

Joining personalized learning and formative assessment systems for schools

St. Paul, MN, April 14, 2011 — TIES, an education software developer owned by 41 Minnesota school districts, today announced that it will partner with Naiku, an innovative, next-generation assessment platform for schools to provide Naiku’s products at a significant savings to TIES customers.

TIES and Naiku share a vision for supporting districts’ ability to provide a truly dynamic and personalized environment for every student, using data and cutting-edge technology to inform instruction.

“TIES has a long history of leadership when education meets technology. We are excited about this partnership and look forward to serving the needs of the member districts,” said Corey Thompson, CEO of Naiku.

In addition to saving teachers time, the advantages of Naiku include the ability to:

• professionally share items and tests online
• deliver assessments on mobile devices and browsers securely
• provide immediate feedback to students on their test results
• engage students through test reflection and journaling
• generate individual and group reports
• maintain a district-wide item bank

Naiku offers schools an exciting opportunity to engage in formative assessments effectively and efficiently by leveraging technology in a collaborative online environment.

Several Minnesota districts are excited about the prospect of using Naiku, including Mounds View: “There are a number of established educational software companies that currently profess to sell a formative assessment system. None excited us until we saw what Naiku had to offer,” said Dan Hoverman, Superintendent of Mounds View Public Schools in Shoreview, Minnesota. “Sharing and collaboration is one of the goals of our professional learning communities (PLCs). To see how the Naiku Platform can readily fit into the work of our PLCs is very exciting. Therefore, we are committing to using the Naiku software.”

“We are pleased to work with such an impressive company as Naiku,” said Betty Schweizer, TIES Executive Director. “Their innovative approach to classroom testing melds naturally with our Personalized Learning System. This partnership means schools will have even better tools to improve student achievement.”

About Naiku: Naiku delivers innovative assessment solutions to schools. The Naiku team includes educational assessment and technology veterans that provide expert psychometric theory and computing technology. Naiku’s mission is to improve student achievement and teacher effectiveness.

About TIES: An education technology collaborative owned by 41 Minnesota school districts, TIES has been providing cutting-edge school administration software, hardware, Internet services and professional development training designed by educators for education for over 43 years.

Contact:
Kathy Guthrie
TIES Communications Director
1667 Snelling Ave. N.
St. Paul, MN 55108
651-999-6051
Kathy.guthrie@ties.k12.mn.us
www.ties.k12.mn.us

Corey Thompson
Chief Executive Officer
9297 Tyne Lane
St. Paul, MN 55077
612-356-2458
Coreyt@naiku.net
www.naiku.net