For Immediate Release
February, 1999
Contact:
Barbara Spies Blair
(781) 239-3621
[email protected]
On-line Tool Helps Students Assess and Improve Academic Skills
Wellesley, Mass--Babson College announces the rollout of the QuestGen Assessment System. The online software system, pioneered by Babson, allows college students to assess and improve their academic skills.
User-friendly and flexible, students simply log-onto QuestGen; choose an academic area such as accounting; and scroll through a variety of questions from multiple choice, true-or-false, and fill-in-the blank to more open-ended formats like critical thinking and essay.
QuestGen provides instant feedback, often with in-depth explanations, to help users remedy individual weaknesses. Answers are scored and progress recorded for faculty and student review. "QuestGen gives professors a better understanding of where they need to focus their teaching," says Professor John Newman, who developed the software with the support of colleague and Undergraduate Dean, Stephen J. Schiffman. "It helps us meet the real needs of our students."
Some 750 Babson students, representing nearly half of the undergraduate population, have logged on 11,000 times in the past year. Newman says QuestGen is helping Babson students achieve the three A's of education"¢assessment, accountability, and achievement. "Students using QuestGen have seen a seven to ten point increase in their grades."
According to Newman about 20 institutions are involved in computer-based testing programs and there are a few commercial products on the market. "QuestGen is unique in the variety of questions it handles and in the powerful and flexible administrative tools it provides," says Newman. Babson began testing a prototype of the program in 1993 and today uses QuestGen to assess the abilities of incoming students around the world.
For additional information on QuestGen, visit online at www.questgen.com and click on the link in the middle of the page. For licensing rights and further information contact: Assessment Systems, 18 Greenwood St., Lexington, MA 02421 or Professor Newman through email at: [email protected].
Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education, was founded in 1919 by entrepreneur and financier Roger W. Babson. It grants BS and MBA degrees through its undergraduate and graduate programs and offers executive development program to experienced managers worldwide through the Babson School of Executive Education. Babson'' degree programs are accredited by the AACSB --The International Association for Management Education, and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
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