New features include non-binary gender descriptions, colorful graphs for easy data visualization, and a more intuitive process to input social-emotional learning (SEL) data
Charlotte N.C. (October 6, 2020) — Aperture Education, a leading provider of social-emotional assessments and intervention strategies for schools, has updated its DESSA Comprehensive SEL System to make it more intuitive for educators and administrators to use and to include more inclusive gender language. The updates include adding gender-neutral student descriptions, easy-to-read charts to showcase students’ SEL data and progress at a glance, and features to make its data-importing process more intuitive to help administrators save time.
“Once we checked the boxes of having evidence-based, nationally normed, industry leading assessments, the next step was to make the data generated by those assessments simple to access and easy for educators, administrators and out-of-school time providers to understand,” said Bret McDermitt, Senior Product Owner at Aperture Education. “That’s where our new updates truly shine.”
The evidence-based DESSA Comprehensive SEL System includes a suite of strength-based social-emotional learning assessments and strategies to build students’ social and emotional competence. It provides everything educators, administrators and out-of-school-time providers need to obtain actionable, reliable data for their SEL programs.
The new updates include:
Data visualization. Users will be able to view data by groups and segments in new ways. Visually-pleasing charts make it easier to see at-a-glance how students performed on the SEL assessment, including in specific areas such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and personal responsibility. Users can also see changes and trends over time.
Non-binary language. Users now have the option to use either binary language (he/she) or gender-neutral language (they), to describe students, making districts more inclusive.
Intuitive data importing. The updates create a more intuitive and efficient experience for administrators as they import data into the DESSA System. It provides a summary of how the data will look once it is imported so administrators can confirm if any changes are needed before they complete the import.
“Social-emotional learning is going to be critically important this year to help students succeed and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to support the teachers and administrators who are doing this important work,” said Jessica Adamson, CEO of Aperture Education. “The new updates to our DESSA Comprehensive SEL System create a more robust experience for teachers and administrators and also provide an additional level of inclusivity that is needed in today’s world.”
About Aperture Education
Aperture Education empowers over 3,000 schools and out-of-school-time programs across North America to measure, strengthen, and support social and emotional competence in K-12 youth and educators. This system enables education leaders can make strategic, data-based decisions about SEL within their organizations. The Aperture system includes the DESSA suite of strength-based assessments, CASEL-informed intervention strategies, and robust reporting, all in one easy-to-use digital platform. Aperture has supported over one million students in their social and emotional growth and continues to develop innovative solutions to bring the whole child into focus.