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Back to Blog 09.30.24

Costa Rica Leverages EdTest.ai for Nationwide Educational Testing

by Eric Stoller

The Ministerio de Educacion Publica (MEP) of Costa Rica, responsible for overseeing the country’s public education system, has a critical mission: to ensure every student has access to quality, free education. This role includes bridging gaps between local education institutions and international frameworks while monitoring public and private educational bodies. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, MEP faced a significant challenge: understanding the extent of educational disruption caused by school closures and remote learning. For years, no comprehensive assessments had been conducted to evaluate students’ progress on a national scale.

Challenges Pre-EdTest.ai

The pandemic left a considerable gap in evaluating student progress. Without data, it became difficult for educators and administrators to understand student performance nationwide. The absence of a cohesive assessment system meant Costa Rica’s education sector lacked clear, actionable insights to implement targeted interventions and improve student outcomes. The pressing need for a solution that could provide real-time insights at scale led to the adoption of Territorium’s EdTest.ai platform.

Introducing EdTest.ai to Costa Rica’s Educational Landscape

Territorium, a global leader in education technology, delivers AI-powered solutions that link learning to career outcomes. Through comprehensive learner records (CLR), career pathways, and data-driven insights, Territorium supports over 13 million users worldwide, spanning K12 schools, higher education, and workforce development sectors. The introduction of EdTest.ai revolutionized Costa Rica’s approach to national assessments, addressing the critical gap left by the pandemic.

EdTest.ai, powered by Azure Cognitive Services, AI, and machine learning, transformed Costa Rica’s testing framework. For the first time, MEP gained access to advanced data analytics and dynamic reporting through Power BI, which helped visualize the results of over 350,000 standardized tests. This system provided educators and policymakers with a granular understanding of the educational lag caused by the pandemic, offering data-driven insights to shape interventions.

Scalability and Flexibility Through Azure Infrastructure

One of the critical components of the EdTest.ai deployment was the use of Azure’s scalable infrastructure. With technologies such as Kubernetes, Azure VMs, Data Factory, and SQL Servers, the platform provided robust, flexible support to accommodate a high volume of concurrent users. As a result, Costa Rica successfully executed a nationwide educational evaluation, ensuring that every student’s progress could be measured and addressed.

Business and Educational Impact

Although MEP does not operate on a traditional business model focused on revenue generation, the implementation of EdTest.ai is expected to yield considerable returns on investment in terms of cost savings and improved educational outcomes. AI-driven automation, such as AI proctoring, reduces administrative overhead, allowing educators to focus on improving student learning experiences. By providing objective, data-backed measurements of student progress, MEP can implement targeted interventions, leading to better overall performance and enhanced educational quality.

Technical Benefits and Future-Proofing Costa Rica’s Educational Infrastructure

The deployment of EdTest.ai brought several technical benefits to Costa Rica’s educational infrastructure:

  • Performance Improvement: AI proctoring enhances the integrity of assessments by minimizing cheating and ensuring fair, consistent evaluation across the board.
  • Security Enhancements: Advanced security protocols protect sensitive student data, ensuring compliance with international data protection regulations.
  • Flexibility and Future-Proofing: By adopting cutting-edge technologies, MEP ensures its platforms can adapt to future innovations, remaining relevant as educational trends evolve.

Mission-Critical Outcomes

The success of EdTest.ai is evident in key performance indicators crucial to MEP’s mission:

  • Student Reach: The platform impacted approximately 350,000 students, offering improved assessment tools and resources to enhance learning outcomes.
  • Teacher Training: Educators were equipped with skills to leverage the comprehensive learner record (CLR), leading to more effective teaching methods and higher student engagement.
  • Competency Development: By identifying gaps in student competencies, the Ministry could address them directly, resulting in a more competitive and capable student body.
  • Operational Efficiency: Automating administrative processes and better data management contributed to greater efficiency within the Ministry, allowing for quicker, more informed decision-making.

Improving Educational Outcomes for a Stronger Future

EdTest.ai has enabled Costa Rica’s education system to recover from the disruptions of the pandemic and emerge stronger. With the ability to monitor and close gaps in student competencies and improve key educational performance indicators such as graduation and exam pass rates, the partnership between MEP and Territorium marks a turning point in the country’s educational journey.

By implementing EdTest.ai, Costa Rica not only addressed the immediate challenges posed by the pandemic but also laid the groundwork for a future-ready, adaptable education system—one that leverages technology to enhance learning, improve outcomes, and build a more robust workforce for the nation’s future.