Instructure to Acquire Certica Solutions to Add Further K-12 Learning Analytics Capacity to Canvas

On December 10, Instructure announced it had finalized terms to acquire Certica Solutions, which develops K-12 assessment and learning analytics software. Both parties expect the deal to close by the end of the year. Further details of the deal were not disclosed.

Certica has been a longtime Instructure partner. The company has also partnered in the past with MasteryConnect, another learning analytics company Instructure acquired in 2019. It serves roughly 12 million students across 1,500 districts.

Instructure Says Certica Will Add Value Primarily Via Assessment Content and Standardized Data

According to Instructure VP of K-12 Strategy Trenton Goble, Certica’s assessment content will specifically provide instructors with added abilities to measure their students’ progress.

We're so excited to announce our intent to acquire Certica Solutions — an #edtech leader in assessment and analytics — and a longtime Canvas and @MasteryConnect partner.

More info here: https://t.co/55ab0hyAQf. @Certica_K12 #CanvasFam pic.twitter.com/3JT7ct83OM

— Canvas LMS (@CanvasLMS) December 10, 2020

“Think of MasteryConnect as the assessment management system that delivers standards-based, formative and benchmark assessments to students,” Goble said. “And think of Certica as providing educators with the assessment itself (actual assessment content & questions or “items”). With Certica, educators can create their own assessments, but they can also use pre-built assessments, including predictive CASE Benchmarks, NextGen Science formative assessments, and Progress Checks for math and ELA.”

Personalizing with Purpose

According to Goble, this will not only afford teachers the ability to use vetted measurements in class, it will also standardize student data.

“The key is to make sure that we are not just gathering disparate data for the sake of collecting that data,” Goble said. “Our focus is on providing teachers and administrators with meaningful data they can use to drive appropriate support for students.  We also want to help teachers use that data to evaluate their own instructional efficacy. With this acquisition, Instructure will add Certica’s Videri, a powerful K12 analytics solution that brings district data from multiple sources into one place, making data more actionable in a way that actually benefits students.”

In addition to its own content, Certica also compiles student data from other sources, such as standardized tests like the SAT, ACT, NWEA, as well as some state assessments.

“This allows educators to focus personalized instruction on particular students,” said Certica CEO Mark Rankovic. “And with the hybrid and remote learning settings brought on by COVID, we’ve rapidly supplemented that student outcome data with application engagement data and SEL data to look at the ‘whole child.’”

Instructure says it’s too early to say whether there will be redundancies as the Certica team joins its own.

Media courtesy of Instructure.