What is TAO
TAO is an Open Source e-Testing platform that empowers you to build, deliver, and share innovative and engaging assessments online – in any language or subject matter.
TAO (“Computer-Based Testing” or “Test Assisté par Ordinateur”) began as an idea for Computer Based Assessment at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) in 2002 and since 2014 has evolved into a Cloud based solution that has successfully delivered over 100 million tests online with a concurrency of up to over 200 thousand parallel test takers.
In 2013 LIST partnered with Cito International to form Open Assessment Technologies (OAT), the ship steward of TAO. Powered by the Open Source philosophy and driven with commitment to the common good in education, OAT is now a leading provider of open-source online assessments for K12, Higher Education, professional associations, and public sector employers in 194 countries.
Each TAO product is QTI and LTI standards-based, and operates under audit-proof transparency. TAO is fully compatible with most commonly-used commercial add-ons.
The TAO platform provides the following modules to cover each stage of the assessment cycle: Rostering > Authoring > Delivery > Results.
For more information on TAO’s various product offerings, see TAO versions.
TAO Authoring
TAO Authoring is an assessment authoring tool that supports item and test creation, from simple to advanced item types. It enables users to define scoring criteria, configure test sections and time limits, and set up flexible test navigation and utilities.
This User Guide assists you through the processes involved in authoring assessments with TAO Authoring and includes the following topics:
Item and test creation: Creating items ranging from simple to advanced, including questions targeting 21st-century skills.
Scoring configuration: Defining scoring criteria and verifying scoring processing through preview.
Test structure and settings: Defining test sections, time limits, navigation, and utilities.
Importing content: Importing QTI items or tests.
Item banking and classification: Managing item banks, reusing items or resources across multiple tests, and classifying items by defining properties.
TAO Portal
TAO Portal is a platform for managing users, roles, and assessment delivery activities. It allows administrators to organize users into groups and hierarchies, manage session configurations, and control assessment sessions, including onsite proctoring with live monitoring. TAO Portal is fully WCAG accessibility compliant.
This User Guide assists you through the processes involved in managing and delivering assessments with TAO Portal and includes the following topics:
User and role management: Managing users and roles, and organizing users into groups and hierarchies.
Session management: Configuring sessions and delivering online assessments with live monitoring and onsite proctoring.
Review and grading: Accessing grading features and reviewing completed tests.
Reporting: Accessing assessment reports.
TAO Advance
TAO Advance is a cloud-hosted assessment delivery platform designed for users aged 6 and above. It features a responsive user interface for use across various devices. The WCAG-compliant interface supports the QTI standard and is extendable for custom interactions and adaptable test delivery.
This User Guide assists you through the processes involved in delivering assessments with TAO Advance and includes the following topics:
Taking tests: Everything the test-taker needs to know, including available tools.
TAO Advance Proctoring
TAO Advance Proctoring provides the ability to monitor sessions live, and manage test takers in real time from the TAO Portal interface. For more information, see Monitoring.
TAO Grader
TAO Grader is an online scoring solution that supports human marking of open responses for both large-scale assessment programs and small-scale classroom use.
TAO Grader enables the management and governance of scoring projects, including the definition of multi-trait scoring for questions, the setup of grading rubrics to support faster scoring, and asynchronous team scoring.
This User Guide walks you through the processes involved in manual scoring using TAO Grader and includes the following topics:
Managing Scoring: How to set-up human-scored items, and configure rubrics for scorers.
Scoring Responses: How to carry out the manual scoring process, including navigating the platform and scoring responses.
For more information, see Scoring.
TAO Insights
TAO Insights is an analytics and reporting solution that provides dashboards and reports and data from across the TAO system. It offers advanced analytics and data visualization capabilities through various interfaces that support intuitive navigation and in-depth data exploration.
TAO Insights supports easy report customization, data export options for deeper analysis, and APIs for integration with third-party systems. Advanced security and data privacy features ensure secure access to assessment data.
This User Guide assists you through the processes involved in analyzing and reporting on assessment data with TAO Insights and includes the following topics:
Processing completed tests: Information about the scoring process and how to manage results.
Dashboards and Reports: Accessing near real-time dashboards and reports with advanced visualization capabilities.
Customization and Data Access: Customizing reports and exporting data for deeper analysis.
Integration: Using APIs to integrate TAO Insights with third-party systems.
For more information, see Reporting.