Abel Garcia, Vice President of Marketing for Apperson Education Products, talks about Apperson’s new BenchMark™ 3000 test scanner.
ESD: Tell us about your new auto-feed BenchMark 3000 test scanner.
AG: We recently introduced the BenchMark 3000 as the newest member of the Apperson line of test scoring products. The BenchMark 3000 was developed in response to many Apperson customers asking for a test scoring scanner with an auto-feeder. The BenchMark 3000 scans an impressive 3,500+ sheets per hour. It also has an integrated barcode reader, which is ideal for reading pre-slugged answer sheets.
ESD: Aren’t there plenty of other auto-feed test scanners on the market?
AG: Yes, but nothing comes close to the BenchMark 3000. Our scanners offer comparable value, flexibility and superior customer service that Apperson customers have come to know and expect. Competitors’ scanners with comparable scanning speeds and features are likely to cost more than fives times as much, with forms costing almost double. At $1,495, we know we’ve got the perfect scanner for district-wide periodic assessments and it even gives you reports and/or data easily and quickly.
ESD: Tell us more about this barcode reader for pre-slugging.
AG: Pre-slugging, a very popular process today, is a way of pre-printing variable student and test identification information on answer sheets in order to minimize data errors caused by incorrect bubbled forms. Using a barcode is the easiest way to pre-slug information to be read by our BenchMark 3000. The way we designed our BenchMark 3000 scanners and forms is to make it easy for a district to pre-slug their own answer sheets. Apperson also offers pre-slugging services for districts that are more inclined to outsource this process.
ESD: Earlier you stated that you feel the BenchMark 3000 is perfect for district-wide assessments. Can you explain why this is?
AG: Two simple reasons: price and features. The BenchMark 3000 boasts features that are often needed for district-wide assessments [speed, connectivity, bar code reader, etc.] without the extra bells and whistles that are often not needed yet contribute to driving the overall costs up. Because we’ve priced our scanner at $1,495 [including the DataLink™ software, ink, cables, warranty and shipping], many customers have found they can place a scanner at the school, allowing teachers and students to get their test data immediately, instead of having to send the tests to the district for scanning.
We suggest that schools with less scanning volume look at using our GradeMaster™ 600 or Advantage™ 1200 test scoring machines which start at only $525. All Apperson scanners offer a risk-free, 30-day trial.
All NECC attendees are invited to stop by booth 1190 to view a demo of their GradeMaster 600 and DataLink reporting software. Take the “Guess Quiz” for a chance to win a free gift and enter to win one of two free scanners Apperson is giving away following the conference. For more information, call 800-827-9219 or visit www.benchmark3000.com/go/necc.
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