The Dodge City Public Schools district in Kansas has announced plans to use FileMaker software and 1,200 -- soon to be 6,500 -- iPads.  Teachers, students and administrative staff now have all the data they need for real-time student assessment delivered to their iPads in a simple format using FileMaker Go for iPad, according to Ray Wipf, executive director of information management, Dodge City Public Schools.

One of the largest school districts in Kansas, Dodge City Public Schools has 6,500 students, 440 teachers and 40 administrators and staff.  iPads will replace every student desktop computer by January 2014.

As students take exams on iPads teachers on their iPads can track student accuracy in real time. Once exams are complete, teachers use an interface to filter test results across multiple variables such as areas of knowledge, weaknesses and strengths. Results are displayed in charts, graphs and lists so teachers can identify trends or students who need more assistance in specific topics.

Test scoring is analyzed down to individual test questions by the use of automated FileMaker (www.filemaker.com) calculations and scripts. Student achievement is tracked over five-year periods and that historical data travels wherever the student goes throughout the district.

FileMaker Server software consolidates information from the district’s teaching, learning, assessment and administration systems and makes it available from a single source, says Wipf. This integration has eliminated the need for separate, proprietary software packages for everything from student assessments to reporting, he adds.