NWEA Secure Testing vs ManageBac
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NWEA Secure Testing
This application allows K-12 students to take standardized assessments on an iPad. It supports various NWEA tests, including MAP Growth and state summative assessments, ensuring a secure testing environment.
- K-12 assessment delivery
- iPad compatibility
- MAP Growth support
- MAP Growth K-2 support
- State summative assessments
Read full descriptionHide full description
The NWEA™ Secure Testing app provides students the ability to complete our K–12 assessments on an iPad®. The app supports MAP® Growth™, MAP Growth K-2 and NWEA state summative assessments.
ManageBac
This app helps students, parents, and educators manage academic tasks, track progress, and collaborate across various curricula. It supports planning, goal-setting, coursework submission, and communication for a streamlined educational experience.
- Academic deadline tracking
- Goal setting and portfolio building
- CAS/service-learning management
- Curriculum planning and collaboration
- Assessment and grade management
- Attendance and behavior tracking
- Parental progress monitoring
Read full descriptionHide full description
ManageBac is built for students, parents, teachers, admins and coordinators on-the-go! With multi-curricula support for the full IB Continuum (PYP, MYP, CP, DP), IGCSEs and universally with a Build-your-Own (BYO) model. Students: • Stay organised with key academic deadlines and assessment tasks. • Set goals and build a portfolio with coursework, photos and more. • Manage CAS or service-learning activities with reflections. • Plan projects and communicate with your teachers & advisors. • Browse and reference QuickStart guides for the IB to stay one step ahead. Teachers: • Collaboratively plan your curriculum. • Manage teaching and learning with Stream & Resources. • Share experiences and goal-setting within the Portfolio. • Mark tasks, annotate coursework and submit term grades. • Record attendance and Behaviour & Discipline. Coordinators: • Plan and organise key year group deadlines. • Manage service learning & project-based learning. • Manage exams from start to finish. • Analyse your curriculum and manage term reporting. Parents: • Browse the curriculum alongside teaching & learning within the Portfolio. • Monitor academic progress with grades, teacher comments, and report cards. • Submit attendance excusals and communicate with homeroom advisors. • Collaborate with fellow parents via the Parent-Teacher Association.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ManageBac at 4.1 against NWEA Secure Testing's 1.5. ManageBac also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 8 months). NWEA Secure Testing's advantage is ratings volume (1.4K vs 158) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ManageBac holds the better App Store score, 4.1 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NWEA Secure Testing has 1.4K ratings behind it against 158, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 18% of NWEA Secure Testing's written reviews are positive against 19% of ManageBac's.
NWEA Secure Testing ships an update every 8 months, ManageBac every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 15, 2026.
| Parameter | NWEA Secure Testing | ManageBac |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.5 (1.4K ratings) | 4.1 (158 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 17.9% of reviews | 19.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.4K — better | 158 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 0 MB | 266 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NWEA | Faria Education Limited |
Customer experience
NWEA Secure Testing
ManageBac
User reviews
NWEA Secure Testing
From 1.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📊 Accurate assessment of student progress
- ⏱️ Efficient testing experience
- 💻 Works well on computers
Room to improve
- 🤯 Overly difficult and stressful questions
- 🔒 Restrictive app lock feature
- 🕰️ Inconsistent test duration
- 🤢 Caused health issues for some users
ManageBac
From 158 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Convenient for school/IB
- 🚀 Helpful for distance learning
- 👍 Useful for tracking assignments
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
- 👎 Confusing and unintuitive UI
- 👎 Difficult to navigate
- 👎 Slow and laggy
- 👎 Frustrating to use
Bugs and requests
NWEA Secure Testing
Reported bugs
3 issues- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Compatibility issues with certain devices
- Inconsistent test results
Requested features
3 requests- Allow going back to previous questions
- Provide more detailed feedback on performance
- Adjust question difficulty to grade level
ManageBac
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent log-outs
- Issues with file uploads
- Inconsistent notification system
- Grades and assignments not displaying properly
Requested features
4 requests- Easier access to grades and assignments
- Better organization and filtering of tasks
- Improved mobile experience
- Ability to view all past work
In-app purchases
NWEA Secure Testing
No in-app purchases
ManageBac
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is NWEA Secure Testing free?
Is ManageBac free?
Which has better reviews, NWEA Secure Testing or ManageBac?
Do NWEA Secure Testing or ManageBac have ads?
Which is updated more often, NWEA Secure Testing or ManageBac?
Other comparisons
