Where are you located?
Northern California, just east of Sacramento.
Who are your customers?
We do projects for psychometricians & research consultants, test publishers, educational software companies, state Departments of Education, school districts, and nonprofit organizations. Typically, our customers are education measurement professionals with deep experience in student assessment, K-12 testing, psychometric research, and program management.
What do you do?
We provide highly customized technical services. Here is a list of services we provide by category. Also, check out our project list to see the kind of work we’ve been doing recently.
What should we expect?
Here’s how it works: we listen to you describe what you need, in plain language. Then, we find ways to deliver it. Sometimes it’s a web application; sometimes it’s a piece of software that’s already commercially available. Sometimes we’ll get something new built just for you. Or, we will tailor an existing application to fit your needs.
We offer customized, rapid, reliable solutions for measurement pros at a fair and reasonable cost. Customers come back to us over and over because we don’t just “sell stuff”; we find creative, high-quality methods for accomplishing important tasks. In doing so, we’ve built a business.
What are your areas of expertise?
Technically speaking, we wear many hats: we develop workshop materials; we build websites, online databases, and prototypes; we produce videos; we design and support web applications; we automate specific tasks. And so on.
But ultimately, here’s what we really do: we solve unique real-world problems for real people. And usually, there’s a technical angle.
To that end, our areas of expertise include:
- Listening
- Understanding
- Finding creative solutions
- Advocating for quality
- Implementing
- Delivering
- Double-checking
- Following up
- Being helpful
- Giving more than expected
Are you a freelancer or a small company?
Company. Freelancer. Consultant. All of these terms apply, but in the end there’s just one equation that matters:
Center Point = Frank Brockmann
Period.
Technically, Center Point is a Delaware corporation. Center Point operates as a full-fledged professional services firm with all applicable licensing, insurance, Dun & Bradstreet, et cetera.
How much do you charge?
Unfortunately, pricing assessment-related services is not like pricing office supplies. We will always need information about your specific project to give you a formal estimate.
Having said that, we can offer some guidelines. Please see our pricing guidelines page, offered in response to the standard “call us to discuss your project” language which seems ubiquitous on the web.
Do you develop test items, reading passages, and other test content?
Sadly, we’ve eliminated this service.
Furthermore, we caution buyers and sellers against the use of “takeout menu” pricing (“We charge $12/question, flat rate!”) for test development work. It’s a common approach, but ultimately we don’t think it serves the industry well.
There is definite trend of buyers who regard test items as bulk commodities in the student assessment marketplace, with work often going to the lowest bidder. But in reality, item development is still “artisan work.” This is especially true for items with high cognitive demand requirements; developing good test questions is difficult work that usually cannot be effectively automated or outsourced to less experienced developers.
For more detailed information about our perspective on the matter, stay tuned for our upcoming blog section.
What other kinds of content can you develop?
We’ll supply any content that fits our background, experience, or interests.
In the past, we have produced handbook materials, brochures, workshop plans/agendas/designs, detailed reports and analyses, news articles, website copy, technical documentation, instructional materials, online product demos, web video editing/production, and other content.
It is not unusual for Center Point to work with our customers’ own committees, co-authors, editors, reviewers, or independent consultants on any given project. We’ve synthesized the research and discussion of others into writing, conducted interviews and questionnaires, edited or reviewed existing works, harvested publicly available material for potential re-publication, and performed similar tasks—all under the banner of “content services.”
Are you a psychometrician?
No, and we don’t directly provide psychometric services. However, many of our customers do, and our services support their work. In cases where psychometric services are required, we may bring in outside expertise to help with your project. Or, we might introduce you to one of our colleagues and then gently step away, leaving you to make your own decisions about hiring them directly.
Are you a programmer?
No. I’m an Excel ninja, web designer, and automation enthusiast who appreciates high-quality software, good interface design, and getting things done.
Does Center Point publish or sell its own software?
Not currently, but we reserve the right to do so. We’ve developed a suite of our own in-house software by hiring programmers to build tools for us; we use these tools to help deliver your projects.
Are you a software reseller?
In some cases, yes, but we don’t typically function in that official capacity. If a 3rd-party software provider has the best tool for the job, we’ll purchase licenses, subscriptions, or otherwise obtain the right to use the software; then, we’ll bundle/customize it for your project. For example, we have ongoing relationships with many Software-as-a-Service providers who allow us to tailor their software to your specific needs. Customers can either choose to have us do the customizations and then contract with software providers directly for future billing, or we’ll provide the whole package as a Center Point solution and take care of all the hassles of dealing with multiple vendors. The choice is yours.
Do you do pro bono work?
Yes. We usually do one or two projects per year. The best pro bono candidates are projects that align with our roadmap.
What methods of payment do you accept?
Standard checks, PayPal, and all major credit cards.
We welcome all questions. Contact us if you don’t find what you’re looking for on our website.