What is TAO Platform?

TAO® stands out as the sole open-source, QTI-native system for item authoring, banking, and test assembly in the EdTech sector, gaining worldwide recognition as the premier assessment platform for educational and professional development.

Having facilitated over 100 million test deliveries across more than 30 languages globally, TAO is structured to enhance the complete assessment cycle with its comprehensive modules that cover test creation, rostering, delivery, and detailed reporting. This versatile solution can be utilized in its original form, customized with additional features, or seamlessly integrated with other tools and administrative systems. By adopting a modular approach, TAO enables users to tailor the functionalities they need while also allowing them to expand upon a rich repository of existing features and capabilities.

In a distinctive move within the assessment industry, OAT publishes the TAO software under an open license, ensuring that users can access the source code for free and avoid the burdens of costly software licenses and vendor lock-in. This provision allows testing organizations to implement their own systems built on open TAO components, empowering them to customize and innovate according to their specific needs, all while adhering to their preferred timelines. Additionally, this open-source framework fosters a collaborative environment where users can contribute to the software's ongoing development and improvement.

Pricing

Price Overview:
TAO offers solutions tailored to match the scale of your deployment, ranging from our free, open source edition, TAO Core, to our out-of-the-box cloud-native offerings, TAO Ignite and TAO Pro, to a completely customized solution with TAO Enterprise.
Free Version:
Free Version available.

Screenshots and Video

Company Facts

Company Name:
Open Assessment Technologies
Date Founded:
2013
Company Location:
Luxembourg
Company Website:
www.taotesting.com
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Product Details

Deployment
SaaS
Windows
Mac
On-Prem
Training Options
Documentation Hub
Online Training
On-Site Training
Video Library
Support
Standard Support
24 Hour Support
Web-Based Support

Product Details

Target Company Sizes
Individual
1-10
11-50
51-200
201-500
501-1000
1001-5000
5001-10000
10001+
Target Organization Types
Mid Size Business
Small Business
Enterprise
Freelance
Nonprofit
Government
Startup
Supported Languages
English

TAO Platform Categories and Features

Online Proctoring Software

Automated Proctoring
Biometrics
Browser Patrolling
Candidate Authentication
Facial Recognition
Live Proctoring
Real-Time Communication / Chat
Real-Time Proctoring
Recording / Storage
Remote Proctoring
Reporting / Analytics

Exam Software

Assessments
Automatic Grading
Certification
Online Tests
Paper Tests
Question Bank
Question Branching
Question Randomizing
Quizzes
Results Reporting
Scheduling
Surveys
Time Limits
User Management
Weighted Questions

Assessment Software

Certification Management
Individualized Assessments
Multi-User Collaboration
Proctoring
Scoring
Skill Testing
Surveys
Test / Quiz Creation

TAO Platform Customer Reviews

Write a Review
  • Reviewer Name: Amber S.
    Position: Programmer/Analyst
    Has used product for: Less than 6 months
    Uses the product: Monthly
    Org Size (# of Employees): 500 - 999
    Feature Set
    Layout
    Ease Of Use
    Customer Service
    Would you Recommend to Others?
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

    Tao Open Source - is not a commercial grade product

    Date: Apr 12 2023
    Summary

    Another vendor with an 'open source' hook to draw you in and then their website mainly describes their commercial product but does not say feature X is only available in their paid cloud product. How come their Open Source version is not here on sourceforge so we can see it's popularity and users comments in regards to it.
    'With over 100 million test deliveries in more than 30 languages worldwide' you would think there would be a few reviews praising it. Don't see that anyone has added new functionality to the open source version in the last decade. Don't tarnish the Open Source ethos by offering incomplete solutions and never adding to them. Apache is Open Source not TAO.

    Positive

    Nice that they have an open source product. Adequate for quizzing small groups of users when the results are not important.

    Negative

    Their open source offering has a limit on the number of users and is not suitable for actual testing, only for simple quizzing (where is the ability to Resume a test if the users computer goes down? What do we tell the student?). PHP 7.x is end of life and should not be used. The QTI question format they use locks you into a limited, specific group of vendors (mostly commercial). QTI, the open standard they refer to is only endorsed by a very small group of commercial vendors worldwide (<800).
    Enterprise level support is only available if you pay. Where is the support for the Open Source version?

    Read More...
    Official TAO Platform Response
    Date: Apr 17 2023
    Hi Amber, We release new features to the TAO Core, our open source platform edition annually. Our latest open source release, TAO 3.6 was released in January 2023 and can be accessed here: https://www.accelerate.taotesting.com/core-docker-install There is a long list of new features, including the upgrade to PHP 8. You'll need to reinstall this environment to take advantage of the new features: https://www.taotesting.com/user-guide/tao-core-2023-release/ Our open source platform is ideal if you have the IT infrastructure to host the system in place, as we do not provide hosting or live support for this edition. We do offer paid support packages, however. Our cloud based platform editions are also completely hosted by OAT with account management for large-scale deployments where you're looking for additional support. Regarding open standards, the benefit of QTI - the Question and Test Interoperability standard - ensures that your content is 100% interoperable and can move with you, unlike proprietary vendors that actually lock you in to their specific format. This makes it difficult to maintain the value of your content should you need to move it into another platform. Especially as the industry pushes more toward incorporating these open standards in an effort to eliminate data silos and reduce You can also compare all of the features across our editions here: https://www.taotesting.com/products/#see-features I hope this helps. Please feel free to contact us to learn more about any of our support services or paid platform editions.
  • Reviewer Name: Bob H.
    Position: Educator
    Has used product for: Free Trial
    Uses the product: Yearly
    Org Size (# of Employees): 1,000 - 4,999
    Feature Set
    Layout
    Ease Of Use
    Cost
    Customer Service
    Would you Recommend to Others?
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

    The 'leading open source digital assessment solution' is a little misleading.

    Date: Apr 10 2023
    Summary

    One of the better open source 'exam solutions'. Little development of new features in their open source version has occurred in many years as is typical of a commercial vendor.

    Positive

    That they do offer an open source product and do support a standard for question interoperability. Their offering is better than many others in this area.

    Negative

    Their open source product is not an 'assessment solution' as there is not any analysis of the results provided. Considering the goal of assessment is the 'results', this is the most important information that needs to be conveyed by the software. Support of a single question standard limits your ability to move to other open source systems that may offer additional features.

    Read More...
  • Reviewer Name: A Verified Reviewer
    Position: Educator
    Has used product for: 6-12 Months
    Uses the product: Weekly
    Org Size (# of Employees): 26 - 99
    Feature Set
    Layout
    Ease Of Use
    Cost
    Customer Service
    Would you Recommend to Others?
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

    NOT the leading open source assessment solution

    Date: Jul 16 2023
    Summary

    This is called 'open washing', where you put forth a semi-functional open source version of your product which gives you the appearance of supporting open source software and being a 'good community player', so people gravitate to your software. There is minimal community behind your open source product and it is only feasible for use for small groups being quizzed. No info. is provided for use past 100 simultaneous users which makes it impractical for most uses. There is no activity on your community blog which speaks volumes about your open source offering.

    Positive

    Their commercial software is somewhat comparable to other commercial softwares listed here. And appears to offer much the same features.

    Negative

    That this statement about open source software somehow implies this is a better choice then the others listed here.

    Read More...
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