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Be Free.
Be Creative.
TAO is a commercial-grade, Open Source
assessment solution for Education and Public Sector Employment.
Proprietary, multi-vendor configurations are difficult to manage and expensive to operate.
With TAO, you only pay for what you need: Open
Assessment Technologies eliminates software license fees
and makes the source code freely available. That means you
can use TAO out-of-the-box or customize it to your needs.
The TAO Item Creator is a powerful, standards-based content
authoring application built on top of a highly scalable item
bank. It enables you to create QTI 2.1 compliant tests,
ensuring content interoperability and investment protection.
Technology Enhanced Items (TEIs) can be implemented using
the QTI-PCI specification, or the Open Web Item application
programming interface (API).
Tools for Test Creation, Test-Taker Registration, Online
Delivery and Results Reporting are all included with the
TAO platform. They work together in harmony and yet are
completely open, giving you full control over the entire
assessment cycle.

TAO is available as a free download at taotesting.com,

or as a custom solution from our Authorized Partners.

Open Assessment Technologies S.A.

9, avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux
L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

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2014 Open Assessment Technologies S.A. All Rights Reserved.

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TAO offers the flexibility to administer tests from a laptop,

TAO complies with industry standards such as QTI, LTI, MathML,

a server, the cloud, or even through Learning Management

OAuth, and REST, which, combined with TAOs extensive library

Systems using the LTI protocol. Thanks to TAOs built-in

of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), enable seamless

NoSQL database, test deliveries scale to 100,000 or more

integration with third party applications such as Computer

concurrent users. Test and scoring data are securely stored

Adaptive Test (CAT) engines.

on the server-side, reducing the risk of compromising or losing

critical information. And now, with full support for tablets and

TAO is available as a free download at taotesting.com, or as

smartphones, test administrators can save time and money by

a custom solution from Open Assessment Technologies S.A.

implementing BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) test solutions.

and its network of Authorized Partners.

TAO supports over 17 different interaction

types, from simple to complex.

Open Assessment Technologies S.A.

9, avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux
L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

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2014 Open Assessment Technologies S.A. All Rights Reserved.

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Product Features
TAO Item Creator and Item Bank
Import existing QTI items or tests

Test-Taker Registry
Enter test-taker data directly into TAO

directly into TAO

Create simple or complex QTI items by

Assign tests to target groups of test-takers

Allow test-takers to upload documents as part

of the response process

Verify identity of test-takers based on user names

and passwords via TAO or LTI OAuth protocol

Design Technology Enhanced Items using

QTI-PCI or Open Web Item formats
Preview items on a wide range of test-taker devices
Build item banks quickly by grouping test content based
on item properties and meta data

Online Delivery

Test Creator
Select and arrange items to create tests
Create, import and export full QTI 2.1

Schedule test delivery for groups

of test-takers
NoSQL-based test engine for maximum performance

compliant tests

Set timing constraints for test availability and maximum

Integrate 3rd party CAT engines via the TAO API

number of attempts
Access tests through any standard web browser

to shared contexts

Access Control

Take tests on iPad and Android mobile devices

Results Reporting
Filter and export results data collected

and responsibilities
Assign and restrict access to any TAO function or

during test execution

Report to various stakeholder with custom
designed data sets
Create reports on individual test-takers as well as groups
Export raw test results to third party statistical analysis
and reporting tools

Open Assessment Technologies S.A.

9, avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux
L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

Stay Connected

2014 Open Assessment Technologies S.A. All Rights Reserved.

DATA SHEET

Benefits of TAO
Commercial Grade,
without License Fees

Standards-Based
for Easy Integration

With TAO, you wont just get a free product.

Open Source also means flexibility. Our APIs

You will also receive regular feature updates, and get access

allow you to easily integrate existing assets so you dont

to commercial-grade professional services, ensuring your

have to reinvent the wheel. Protect your investment with

assessments will always be secure and robust.

a standardsbased solution that puts you in control.

Reduced Content Costs,

Thanks to Interoperability

Modular Functions
for True Flexibility

TAO supports 17 QTI item types, as well as

TAO is modular, covering the full range of

Open Web Items, from multiplechoice to sophisticated

testing, from item creation to test delivery to results analysis.

interactions. With TAO, you can create content that

This gives you the true flexibility to choose which functions you

is portable and interoperable, thus reducing costs

want to use, and pay to integrate only

and breaking proprietary barriers.

the ones you need.

Deep Customization
Free of Proprietary Constraints
When it comes to TAOs degree of customization

Plan Large-Scale Deployments

with Confidence
Minimize risk with a testing platform already used

possible, the sky is the limit. And you are free to do it all

by more than a million students in over 70 countries. Scale from

yourself, no fees required (of course, we are here if you need

classroom to nationwide with confidence. If you need help, just

us). Why not have some fun and get creative?

contact our Professional Services team or authorized partners.

System Requirements
We recommend that you always use the latest version of TAO,
available as a free download at www.taotesting.com.

Operating Systems: All Linux/Unix distributions, Microsoft

Windows, Mac OS X or OS X Server.

Browsers: Google Chrome 11 or higher, Mozilla Firefox 10 or

higher, Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 or higher, Apple Safari
5 or higher, locked down browsers. Most widely used mobile
devices such as recent iPads and Android Jelly Bean.

Web Servers: PHP 5.3 or higher, MySQL 5.0 or higher, Apache

2.2.9 (recommended). Possibility to use TAO with PostGRE (9+),
MSSQL (2008+), and Oracle (11g) with some restrictions.

Open Assessment Technologies S.A.

9, avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux
L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

Mobile Devices: Apple iOS 7 or higher; Android 4.2 or higher.

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2014 Open Assessment Technologies S.A. All Rights Reserved.