Luxembourg, January 5, 2026 – Open Assessment Technologies today announced the availability of TAO Community Edition (TAO CE), a free, open-source digital assessment platform designed to be governed and evolved in collaboration with the global assessment community.
The release establishes the TAO Community Forum as the primary space for collaboration, contribution and technical direction.
TAO Community Edition is intended for institutions and developers that require long-term control over their assessment program and infrastructure. The platform is distributed under an open-source license and designed to evolve through shared contribution rather than closed, vendor-managed roadmaps.
TAO CE supports as well public institutions that must operate digital assessment systems as long-term public infrastructure. Institutions can host the platform within their own environments, apply national data governance rules, adapt functionality to policy or curriculum changes, and maintain continuity beyond procurement cycles. Open-source and open standards ensure transparency, auditability and independence.
Thanks to its multilingual interface, supporting over 18 languages, TAO empowers all types of organizations to deliver assessments globally, promoting equity, accessibility and inclusion in education systems worldwide.
Community Governance as Infrastructure
The TAO Community Forum provides a structured environment for community participation, including:
- open discussion of technical priorities
- contribution and review of extensions and enhancements
- shared documentation and implementation practices
The Forum serves as the coordination layer for TAO Community Edition, aligning development with real-world institutional and technical requirements.
“Open digital assessment depends on shared ownership and transparent decision-making,” said Patrick Pilchart, Open Source Ambassador at Open Assessment Technologies. “The TAO Community Forum creates a space where contributors can participate directly in how the platform evolves, rather than adapting to decisions made elsewhere.”
Modular Architecture, Standards-Based Design
TAO Community Edition is delivered as a modular assessment stack comprising:
- TAO Advance for assessment delivery
- TAO Grader for scoring workflows
- TAO Insights for data analytics and reporting
- TAO Portal for system administration
The platform is built on open standards including QTI®, LTI®, and WCAG, supporting interoperability, accessibility and integration with existing educational systems. Multilingual support enables deployment across regions and delivery contexts.
TAO Community Edition is released under the Affero General Public License v3 (AGPLv3), providing transparency, auditability and data sovereignty for institutions operating under regulatory or governance constraints.
TAO Community Edition is available now as a free global download. Participation in the TAO Community Forum is open to institutions, developers and assessment professionals.
About TAO
TAO, from Open Assessment Technologies, is the leading digital assessment solution for education and career advancement. Modular, customizable, and interoperable by design, TAO empowers users to break free from proprietary constraints, eliminate costly licensing fees, and take full control of their testing resources. With its student interface available in more than 82 languages, TAO delivers over 30 million tests worldwide every year.
Learn More: www.taotesting.com
Media Contact:
Miguel Prieto
Vice President Corporate Strategy
marketing@taotesting.com
*QTI®: Question and Test Interoperability
*LTI®: Learning Tools Interoperability
*WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
*QTI® and LTI® are trademarks of the 1EdTech® Consortium, Inc. (1edtech.org)