TIDE User Guide - DeSSA Portal · 2014 - 2015 May 2015 Page | 1 1.0 Overview of the Test Information Distribution Engine The Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) provides administrators

Document Control No. 2011/08/04 ALT (Supersedes 2011/03/02 ALT)

Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE)

User Guide

2014–2015 Delaware Department of Education American Institutes for Research Office of Assessment 1000 Thomas Jefferson St., NW 401 Federal Street, Suite 2 Washington, DC 20007 Dover, DE 19901

User Support For additional assistance, please contact the appropriate Help Desk at AIR. When you contact the Help Desk, you will be asked to provide as much detail as possible about the issue(s) you encountered. These details may include the following:

Any error message(s) that appeared

The computer’s operating system and browser information (e.g., Windows XP and Firefox 18.0)

Information about your network configuration (e.g., whether you are using wireless Internet)

The Help Desks are open Monday through Friday, except holidays.

American Institutes for Research DeSSA Help Desk

Phone: 877-560-8331

E-mail: [email protected]

Monday–Friday (except holidays) Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

American Institutes for Research DCAS – Alt1 Help Desk

Phone: 877-206-7039

E-mail: [email protected]

Monday–Friday (except holidays) Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Some information contained in this document is proprietary information and may be the property of American Institutes for Research (AIR). It is used with permission.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

TIDE User Guide 2014 - 2015

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Table of Contents

1.0 Overview of the Test Information Distribution Engine .................................................................. 1

1.1 User Roles in TIDE __________________________________________________________ 1 1.2 About Microsoft Excel Files ____________________________________________________ 2

2.0 Introduction to This User Guide ...................................................................................................... 3

2.1 Understanding the User Guide _________________________________________________ 3 2.2 Additional Resources _________________________________________________________ 3

3.0 Accessing TIDE ................................................................................................................................. 4

3.1 Switching Between DeSSA Applications (Single Sign-On System) _____________________ 6

4.0 Understanding the TIDE Interface ................................................................................................... 7

4.1 TIDE Home Page ____________________________________________________________ 7 4.2 My Account ________________________________________________________________ 8

5.0 Overview of TIDE Tasks .................................................................................................................... 9

5.1 Task: View Students _________________________________________________________ 9 5.2 Task: View Users ___________________________________________________________ 16 5.3 Task: General Resources ____________________________________________________ 20

6.0 Working with Rosters of Students ................................................................................................ 21

6.1 Viewing Rosters ____________________________________________________________ 21 6.2 Adding a New Roster ________________________________________________________ 22 6.3 Modifying an Existing Roster __________________________________________________ 23 6.4 Deleting a Roster ___________________________________________________________ 24 6.5 Printing a Roster ___________________________________________________________ 24

7.0 Working with Classroom Activities ............................................................................................... 26

7.1 Reviewing Classroom Activities ________________________________________________ 26

8.0 Downloading Hand-Scoring Resources ........................................................................................ 28

9.0 Working with Orders for Testing Materials ................................................................................... 29

9.1 Initial Testing Materials Order _________________________________________________ 29 9.2 Ordering Additional Testing Materials ___________________________________________ 29 9.3 Creating Pre-ID labels _______________________________________________________ 29 9.4 Printing Testing Pre-ID Labels _________________________________________________ 29 9.5 Affixing the Pre-ID labels _____________________________________________________ 30

Appendix A: Exporting Retrieved Records ...................................................................................... A-1

Appendix B: Opening CSV Files in Excel 2007 or Later .................................................................. B-2


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1.0 Overview of the Test Information Distribution Engine

The Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) provides administrators with the tools to add and manage users and students participating in the Delaware System of Student Assessments (DeSSA). TIDE uses a role-specific design to restrict access to certain tasks based on the user’s designated role. In addition to creating new administrative users and modifying roles, TIDE allows authorized users to manage student information, including default test settings and accommodations. TIDE is accessible via the DeSSA portal, available at http://de.portal.airast.org.

1.1 User Roles in TIDE

DeSSA users are associated with a district and/or school. The user role and association dictate the level of access within the DeSSA system. The user roles are defined below. All District Test Coordinators (DTCs), District Administrators (DAs), School Administrators (SAs), and Test Administrators (TAs) can proctor online tests for students in their associated district or school. The user role determines the actions that may be taken in TIDE. TIDE allows authorized users to

view users who have a lower level of access;

view student information, including test settings and accommodations;

restrict students from taking tests (blocking students from testing in a subject); and

download NeoSpeech™ voice packs. Table 1-1 shows the action(s) available to each user role. The roles are listed in hierarchical order.

Table 1-1: Overview of User Roles and Access within TIDE

User Role View Users

Delete Users

View Student

Information

Restrict Student

Test Access

Print Test

Pre-ID Labels

Download NeoSpeech™ Voice Packs

District Information Security Officer (ISO)

District Test Coordinator (DTC) District Administrator (DA)

School Administrator (SA)

Test Administrator (TA)

Teacher (TE)

Test Administrator – Alt (TA-ALT)

http://de.portal.airast.org/


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1.2 About Microsoft Excel Files

TIDE allows authorized users to export/download files in one of two formats: .csv and .xlsx. The file format selection will depend on the version of Excel being used.

Comma-separated values (.csv): If you have Excel 2003 or earlier, AIR recommends that you download exported records in .csv format. These files do not automatically preserve leading zeros (numbers that begin with at least one zero—e.g., “0001234”). Therefore, to ensure that student data, especially Secure Student Identification Numbers (SSIDs), appear in Excel correctly when using the .csv file, follow the instructions in this document’s appendix, Opening a CSV File in Excel.

Excel: Microsoft Excel 2007 or newer opens .xlsx files while automatically preserving leading zeros. You must use these versions of Excel to open these files correctly. These files cannot be opened using an earlier version of Excel.


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2.0 Introduction to This User Guide

This user guide supports users who manage testing for students participating in DeSSA. This introduction describes the contents of this document and includes a key for identifying icons and elements found in this guide.

2.1 Understanding the User Guide

This user guide provides information on using the TIDE to view and manage DeSSA user and student information, as well as instructions for downloading and installing NeoSpeech™ voice packs. Students who require a text-to-speech (TTS) accommodation can use these voice packs.

Section 3.0 Accessing TIDE, describes how to access and log in to TIDE.

Section 4.0 Understanding the TIDE Interface, describes the overall layout of TIDE.

Section 5.0 Overview of TIDE Tasks, describes the tasks available in TIDE, including how to view user and student information and download NeoSpeech™ voice packs onto Windows computers.

Section 6.0 Working with Rosters of Students, describes the activities associated with creating and managing rosters in TIDE.

This user guide uses the following key icons and elements:

Icon Description

Note: This symbol accompanies helpful information or reminders.

Text that appears in shaded boxes provides instructions relevant to the task described: Numbered (ordered) lists provide step-by-step instructions. Bulleted lists provide instructions that do not need to be performed in a specific order.

[Text] Text in brackets is used to indicate a link or button that is clickable.

2.2 Additional Resources

Administration manuals and other system user guides for DeSSA are available on the DeSSA portal (http://de.portal.airast.org). Refer to the User Roles document for an overview of DeSSA applications, user roles, and user role access to each application.

2.2.1 Computer and System Requirements

This user guide does not provide information on computer or system requirements for online testing. Only supported operating systems and web browsers can be used to access TIDE. This information is outlined in the System Requirements document, which is also available on the DeSSA portal at http://de.portal.airast.org.

1. Text 2. Text




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3.0 Accessing TIDE

This section contains information on how to activate a new TIDE account, how to log in after accessing TIDE for the first time, and how to reset a forgotten password.

Do NOT share your login information with anyone not authorized to access TIDE. TIDE provides access to student information, which must be protected by authorized users in accordance with federal privacy laws.

TIDE is accessed through the Delaware Department of Education’s (DDOE’s) Identity Management System (IMS) application.

1. Access the DDOE IMS login page at https://login.doe.k12.de.us. Use your regular IMS ID and password to log in.

Figure 3–1: DDOE IMS Login Page

2. After you have successfully logged into IMS, you will see a list of authorized

applications, including DeSSA.

Click the DeSSA button from your menu. You will be directed to the DeSSA portal.

Figure 3–2. DDOE IMS Page Displaying DeSSA Icon

https://login.doe.k12.de.us/


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3. Click either the [Smarter ELA & Mathematics] or the [DCAS Science, Social Studies & EOC] button to access DeSSA applications.

Figure 3–3. DeSSA Portal: Test Cards

4. Click the [TIDE] button. If you are authorized to access this application, you will be

automatically directed to the TIDE home page. You will not have to log in again.

Figure 3–4. TIDE Button on DeSSA Portal


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3.1 Switching Between DeSSA Applications (Single Sign-On System)

The Single Sign-On (SSO) system is designed to ease the login process and simplify navigation between DeSSA applications provided by AIR. SSO integrates the following applications:

Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE)

Test Administrator (TA) Interface

TA Practice and Training Site

Online Reporting System (ORS) Reminder: Access to all systems and their tasks and features is dependent on your user role. The top left corner of your browser contains a drop-down menu listing the above applications. From this menu, select the application that you want to use. You will be directed to the home or main page for that application and will not have to log in again.

Figure 3–5. Single Sign-On System in TIDE Banner

Although navigating to another system is easy, it is important to understand how the system operates in order to avoid unintended consequences of switching systems. If you are using the TA Interface or TA Practice and Training Site and you navigate away from it, your session will stop and all students in the session will be logged out. You cannot resume your session. You will have to create a new session, and your students will have to log in to the new session to resume testing.


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4.0 Understanding the TIDE Interface

4.1 TIDE Home Page

The first screen you will see after logging in to TIDE is the TIDE home page. Your user role is displayed on the screen in the top right corner, next to your name. Your screen for TIDE may vary based on the role you are assigned.

Figure 4–1. Sample TIDE Home Page (for District Administrators)


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4.1.1 Banner Links

The TIDE banner, which contains the “file” tabs, is visible at all times at the top of the page and also contains specific links and features:

Your name (User) and assigned role (Role)

[My Account]—Click to view your personal information

[Contact Us]—Click to view DeSSA Help Desk contact information

[Logout]—Click to log out of the site

[Help]—Click to view and download the TIDE User Guide

To access each task:

Click the active icon from the home page

OR

Click the tab at the top of the screen.

Your district/school name is also visible in the upper right corner of the screen. If you are a user who is associated with more than one school, you will see a [Change Institution/Test Administration] button. This feature allows you to view information for another school without logging out and then logging back in again.

4.2 My Account

The My Account section contains information about your account. All fields are read-only; you may not edit your information. If your information needs to be updated, please contact your district’s ISO.

Figure 4–2: Sample My Account Window


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5.0 Overview of TIDE Tasks

TIDE includes several tasks that are available to authorized district and school personnel. Authorized users can view information for users with a lower level of access than their role level, as well as student information and accommodations/test settings. (e.g., School Administrators can view Test Administrators, and Teachers, but not other School Administrators). In addition, DTC/DA users can download NeoSpeech™ voice packs on computers that will be used by students who have a TTS accommodation.

5.1 Task: View Students

The View Students page allows you to search for students and view their information, including test accommodations and restrictions. You may only view information for students in your district or school.

Note: Results for any given search are limited to 1000 or fewer records. If you anticipate that your search should contain more than 1000 records, split up your search by adding additional search criteria.

Figure 5–1: Sample View Students Page


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5.1.1 Searching for Student Records

1. Verify or select a school and grade from the drop-down lists. (If you are affiliated with more than one district, you will first need to select a district.)

2. Enter or select any search criteria you want to include.

To view all students in a district, select “All Schools” from the School drop-down list.

To view all students in your school, select “All Grades” from the Enrolled Grade drop-down list.

3. Click [Search]. The page will display the records associated with the school and grade you selected.

5.1.1.1 Advanced Search Options

If your initial search results in a large number of student records, you may narrow your search to locate specific students or groups of students more easily.

Figure 5–2: Advanced Search Options Section

1. Click [Add Additional Search Criteria]. The section will expand to display the Search Fields drop-down list.

2. Select a search variable you want to use (SPED, LEP, or CD504).

3. Enter a Value in the Value text box.

To search for students who have a SPED attribute, enter a valid SPED code.

To search for students who have an LEP or CD504 attribute, enter “Y.”

To search for students who do NOT have an LEP, or CD504 attribute, enter “N.”

Note: To add another search variable (e.g., search for students who are SPED or LEP), click the [Add Criteria] button and repeat steps 2 and 3.

4. Click [Search]. The page will display the records associated with the criteria you selected.


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5.1.2 Understanding the Search Results Table

Each row contains the following information for each student: District and School IRN; SSID;

legal last name, legal first name, and legal middle name; gender; date of birth; enrolled grade; and status, if applicable, for ethnicity, SPED, LEP, CD504, and any enabled accommodation codes.

Each row also contains a [View] button and a checkbox.

The [View] button allows you to view the complete information for the selected student.

The checkbox allows you to select individual students to export.

5.1.2.1 Sorting Search Results

By default, the search results table automatically organizes results by legal last name in ascending order. However, all columns in the table are sortable in both ascending (A–Z, 0–99) and descending (Z–A; 99–0) order.

To sort the table in ascending or descending order by a specific attribute, click a column header (e.g., SSID). The table will automatically sort by the selected attribute.

An arrow will appear next to the selected attribute:

When the arrow is pointing up, the column is sorted in ascending order.

When the arrow is pointing down, the column is sorted in descending order.

To sort a selected column in the other direction (descending versus ascending), click the column header again.

5.1.2.2 Exporting Student Records

You can export student search results as a .csv file, which can be opened using Microsoft Excel or a notepad application, or as an Excel .xlsx file, which must be opened using Excel 2007 or newer. You can export all student records or export selected records.

Reminder: Federal law (FERPA) prohibits the release of any student’s personally identifiable information. Any saved files or printouts containing student information must be securely stored and then destroyed when no longer needed.

Figure 5–3. Export Options


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5.1.2.2.1 Export All Student Records

You can export a data file that contains all students from the search results table.

1. Hover over the [Export] tab and click either the [Export all to Excel] or [Export all to CSV] option. A file dialog box will appear.

2. Save the file to the desired location on your computer.

3. Open the file using Microsoft Excel or a compatible program (for .csv files).

5.1.2.2.2 Export Selected Student Records

You can export a data file that contains only selected (checked) students from the search results table.

1. Click the checkbox for each student in the search results table that you want to include in the file.

2. Hover over the [Export] tab and click either the [Export selected to Excel] or [Export selected to CSV] option. A file dialog box will appear.



5.1.3 Viewing Student Details

This page shows all demographic information for the student you selected. For most users, all the information on this page will be read-only.

5.1.3.1 Demographic Information

Student information indicated with an asterisk (*) must be updated in DELSIS. Any student information in these fields that is incorrect must be updated before the student can test. All DELSIS updates will be applied to the TIDE system within 48 hours.

Figure 5–4: Sample View Student Details Page


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5.1.3.2 Interim Testing Grade

Reflects the grade at which the student is tested during the upcoming interim test. For example, if the Grade 11 checkbox under the Mathematics subject is selected, it indicates that the student will receive the eleventh-grade mathematics interim test irrespective of the grade in which he/she is enrolled. If a student is to be tested off-grade the grade must be updated here for the student to have access to an off-grade test.

Figure 5–5: Sample Interim Testing Grade Setting

5.1.3.3 Test Settings and Accommodations

Test settings and accommodations cannot be updated in TIDE. If a student’s default test settings or accommodations need to be updated, contact your DTC/DA. The student should NOT test if a required accommodation or test setting is not enabled. (As a reminder, colors, text-to-Speech and Print Size must be pre-established in TIDE, as well as all other accommodations.)

Figure 5–6: Sample View Student Test Settings

Figure 5–7: Sample View Student Test Settings - Continued


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5.1.3.4 Test Restrictions/Blocked Subjects

Only DA, SA, and TA-Alt users can edit students’ testing restrictions.

Students blocked from testing in a subject will not be able to start or resume any tests in that subject.

1. To restrict a student from testing in a subject, click the checkbox next to that subject. The box should display a check mark.

2. When you have selected the subject(s), click [Save].

Click [Go Back To Search Results] to return to the student listing.

Figure 5–8: Sample Test Restrictions

Test restrictions can be used to exclude students who are exempt from taking a test in a subject. Eligibility for exclusion is based on the criteria found in the Guidelines for Inclusion document.

Enabling a test restriction supersedes any other test-related settings and applies to both DeSSA and DCAS – Alt1 tests.

Students who have accommodation code 901 are not allowed to take Reading tests. (This information is not shown in the “Blocked Subjects” section, but as long as accommodation code 901 is checked, the student will be unable to take Smarter ELA assessments.)

5.1.3.5 About the DCAS – Alt1 Section

DDOE provides TIDE with student information, including accommodations. Students who have accommodation 5.00 (Alternate assessment in ELA/Math) or 500 (Take DCAS-Alt1 instead of DCAS Science and/or Social) will be identified as eligible for DCAS – Alt1 testing.

Figure 5–9: DCAS – Alt1 Section on View Student Details Page

DCAS – Alt1 subjects that display a check mark indicate that the student has the DCAS-DAPA accommodation for that subject and will take the DCAS – Alt1 test for that subject.

1. To restrict a student from testing in a subject, click the checkbox next to that subject. The box should display a check mark.

2. When you have selected the subject(s), click [Save].

Click [Go Back To Search Results] to return to the student listing.


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Students with DCAS – Alt1 accommodations for a given subject (e.g., Mathematics) will not be able to take the regular DeSSA test in that subject. This provides necessary information about and identification of DCAS – Alt1 students.

Reminder: If a student is blocked from testing in a subject, that restriction also applies to all assessments, including DCAS, Smarter and DCAS Alt1.


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5.2 Task: View Users

The View Users page allows District ISO, DTC/DA, and SA users to search for other users with lower levels of access. For example, if you are a District Test Coordinator, you can search for School Administrators, Test Administrators, and Teachers, but not other DTCs (displayed in TIDE as DAs). Available roles include the following:


District Administrator (DA)



Teacher (TE)

Test Administrator – Alt (TA-ALT) After you select and/or enter your search parameters, a table will be displayed with the users who matched those parameters. All rows in the table contain information for each user—such as Role, District, First Name, Last Name, and E-mail Address. The actual information that appears depends on the role you select. The Trained User column indicates that the user received training on testing. Only those users who are flagged as having received training, including District, School and Test Administrators, can start test sessions or enter scores in the Data Entry Interface (DEI) or Score Entry Interface (SEI).

Figure 5–10: Sample View Users Page


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5.2.1 Searching for User Records

1. Select a role level.

2. Select a district and/or school (you also have the option to select “all districts” or “all schools”).

3. Enter a user’s first name, last name, phone number, and/or e-mail address. (Optional: Enter multiple variables to find a specific user or help narrow your search results.)

4. Click [Search]. The page will display the results that match your search criteria.

5.2.2 Understanding the Search Results Table

Each row contains information for each user, including Role, First Name, Last Name, Phone number, and E-mail address.

Each row also contains a [View] button and a checkbox.

The [View] button allows you to view the complete information for the selected user and update associated information.

The checkbox allows you to select individual users to delete or export.

5.2.2.1 Sorting Search Results

By default, the search results table automatically “sorts” by last name in ascending order. However, all columns in the table are sortable in both ascending (A–Z, 0-99) and descending (Z–A; 99-0) order.

To sort the table in ascending or descending order by a specific attribute, click a column header (e.g., Last Name). The table will be sorted automatically by the selected attribute.

An arrow will appear next to the selected attribute:

When the arrow is pointing up, the column is sorted in ascending order.

When the arrow is pointing down, the column is sorted in descending order.

To sort a selected column in the other direction (descending versus ascending), click the column header again.


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5.2.2.2 Exporting User Records

You can export user search results as a .csv file, which can be opened using Microsoft Excel or a notepad application, or as an Excel .xlsx file, which must be opened using Excel 2007 or newer. You can export all user records or export selected records.

Figure 5–11: Export Options

5.2.2.2.1 Export All User Records

You can export a data file that contains all users from the search results table.

1. Hover over the [Export] tab and click either the [Export all to Excel] or [Export all to CSV] option. A file dialog box will appear.



5.2.2.2.2 Export Selected User Records

You can export a data file that contains only selected (checked) users from the search results table.

1. Click the checkbox for each user in the search results table that you want to include in the file.

2. Hover over the [Export] tab and click either the [Export selected to Excel] or [Export selected to CSV] option. A file dialog box will appear.




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5.2.3 Viewing User Details

You can also view a single user’s information on one page.

To do so, click [View] next to a user who appears in the table. The Edit User page will load.

You will not be able to edit any information on this page. If user information needs to be updated, contact your school’s Information Security Officer (ISO).

Figure 5–12: Sample Edit User Page

5.2.4 Deleting Users

You can delete users from TIDE from the View User Page. This task is available to the ISO and DA user roles.

Figure 5–13: View User Page

1. Retrieve the user as described in the section Searching for User Records.

2. Mark the checkbox corresponding to the user’s name.

3. Click [Delete].

4. In the conformation dialog box, click [OK].


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5.3 Task: General Resources

This page hosts the NeoSpeech™ voice packs that users can download onto supported Windows computers (XP, Vista, 7, and 8). Students who have a TTS accommodation for the online tests can use these voice packs.

Figure 5–14: General Resources Page

About the NeoSpeech™ Voice Packs Pursuant to an agreement between NeoSpeech™ and the American Institutes for Research (AIR), authorized users may download and install the Julie and Violeta voice packs. These voice packs are to be used only in conjunction with, and not separate from, the online tests delivered by AIR’s Test Delivery System. These voice packs can be used instead of the default Windows voice packs for English and the commercial Spanish voice packs from Cepstral. (The default Windows voice packs as well as the Cepstral voice packs for Windows may still be used for TTS, if desired.)

The Julie voice pack is for English TTS users.

The Violeta voice pack is for Spanish TTS users. Instructions for downloading the NeoSpeech™ Julie and Violeta voice packs are available on the General Resources task page, as well as in the Technical Specifications Manual for Online Testing.


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6.0 Working with Rosters of Students

Rosters are groups of students associated with a teacher in a particular school. Rosters typically represent entire classrooms in lower grades, or individual classroom periods in upper grades. Rosters can also represent special courses offered to groups of students. The rosters you create in TIDE are available in the Online Reporting System. ORS can aggregate test scores at these roster levels.

6.1 Viewing Rosters

You can view rosters associated with your district or school. To view a roster:

1. Click the Rosters tab, then Manage Rosters. The Manage Rosters page appears (see

Figure 6–1).

Figure 6–1: Manage Rosters Page—Selection Fields

2. From the District and School drop-down lists (as available), make selections for the district

and school associated with the roster you want to view.

If system-defined rosters are available for the school, TIDE displays the Show System Defined Rosters checkbox.

3. Mark the Show System Defined Rosters checkbox if you want to select from system-

defined rosters, (see Figure 6–2).

Figure 6–2: Manage Rosters Page—Show System Defined Rosters


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Reminder: If you modify a System Defined Roster (one updated from DOE eSchool rosters) it will not match what is currently in eSchool.

4. From the Roster drop-down list, select the roster you want to view.

5. Click Next. The Manage Rosters—Viewing a Roster’s Students page appears, showing a

list of students in the selected roster and the associated teacher (see Figure 6–3).

Figure 6–3: Manage Roster Page—Viewing a Roster’s Students

6.2 Adding a New Roster

You can create rosters from students associated with your school or district. To add a roster:

1. Click the Rosters tab, then Manage Rosters. The Manage Rosters page appears.

2. From the District and School drop-down lists, make selections for the district and school

containing the roster you want to add (see Figure 6–4).

Figure 6–4: Manage Roster Page—Add a New Roster


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3. From the Roster drop-down list, select – ADD NEW ROSTER.

4. Click Next. The Manage Rosters—Viewing a Roster’s Students page appears (see

example Figure 6–3).

5. In the Roster Name field, enter a name for the roster.

6. From the Teacher Name drop-down list, select the roster’s teacher.

7. Mark the checkboxes for all the grades from which you wish to build the roster. The names of all the available students in the selected grades appear in the Available Students list.

8. Select each student you want to add to the roster, then click Move In >>. The students you selected move from the Available Students list to the Students in This Roster list.

Reminder: If you add multiple grades to one roster for DCAS or Smarter summative assessments, you will only see the students for the grade content selected in the ORS reporting system. If a student takes an Interim Comprehensive (ICA) or Interim Assessment Block (IAB) assessment off grade the student will show with the grade level assessment completed.

9. Click Save.

6.3 Modifying an Existing Roster

You can modify rosters by adding students or removing students. (This feature is not available for system-generated rosters.) 1. Click the Rosters tab, then Manage Rosters. The Manage Rosters page appears.

2. From the District, School, and Roster drop-down lists, make selections for the roster you

want to modify. (see Figure 6–5).

Figure 6–5: Manage Roster Page—Modify an Existing Roster

3. Click Next. The Manage Rosters—Viewing a Roster’s Students page appears (see

example Figure 6–3).

4. Change the roster’s name and associated teacher as required.

5. To add students to the roster, do the following:


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a. Mark the checkbox for the appropriate grade. The students associated with the grade appear in the Available Students list.

b. From the Available Students list, select the students you want to add to the roster, then click Move In >>.

6. To remove students from the roster, do the following:

a. From the Students in this Roster list, select the students you want to remove.

b. Click << Move Out.

7. Click Save.

6.4 Deleting a Roster

You can delete rosters created in TIDE or the Online Reporting System (This feature is not available for system-generated rosters.) 1. Click the Rosters tab, then Manage Rosters tab. The Manage Rosters page appears.

2. From the District, School, and Roster drop-down lists, make selections for the roster you want to modify.

3. Click Next. The Manage Rosters page appears (see Figure 6–6).

Figure 6–6: Manage Roster Page—Deleting a Roster

4. Click Delete.

6.5 Printing a Roster

You can print a roster. 1. Click the Rosters tab, then Manage Rosters. The Manage Rosters page appears.


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2. From the District, School, and Roster drop-down lists, make selections for the roster you want to modify.

3. Click Next. The Manage Rosters—Viewing a Roster’s Students page appears.

4. Click Print. A printer-friendly version of the roster appears in your browser.

Figure 6–7: Printer-Friendly Version of a Roster


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7.0 Working with Classroom Activities

A classroom activity is a performance-task assignment that introduces students to a particular setting or situation. Students typically participate in these activities shortly before the corresponding assessment test.

7.1 Reviewing Classroom Activities

You can review classroom activities for all grades within a particular school. For a list of user roles that can perform this task, see the document User Roles and Access for DeSSA Applications, available in the Resources section of the DeSSA portal, http://de.portal.airast.org.

Figure 7-1. Performance Task Classroom Activities Tab

To review classroom activities for paper and paper braille Smarter summative tests:

1. On the View Classroom Activities page (See Figure 7-1), go to the section for Smarter summative paper and paper Braille tests only, and click on the link to open the list of Classroom Activities for Smarter summative paper and paper braille tests.

2. The Smarter Summative Paper Classroom Activities page appears (see Figure 7-2) with a list of the Classroom Activities for students taking Smarter summative paper and paper braille tests. To view an individual classroom activity, click the name. For example, to view the ELA classroom activity for third-graders taking the paper form, go to the ELA section and click on the activity listed for G3E, which is G3E-Summative-Perf-Animals-with-Shells.

See website for link



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Figure 7-2. Smarter Summative Paper Classroom Activities page

To review online classroom activities:

1. On the View Classroom Activities page, go to the section for Smarter Summative Online Tests to find the Show Classroom Activities drop down list (see Figure 7-3).

Figure 7-3. Fields in the Show Classroom Activities list

2. From the drop-down lists, select search criteria.

3. Click Show Classroom Activities. TIDE displays the found classroom activities at the bottom of the View Classroom Activities page (see Figure 7-4).

Figure 7-4. Retrieved Classroom Activities

4. To view an individual classroom activity, click the corresponding link. For example,

referring to Figure 7-4 to view the ELA classroom activity for third-graders, click next to G3E-Summative-Perf-Perf-Trees.


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8.0 Downloading Hand-Scoring Resources

TIDE provides resources for interim tests that require hand scoring by schools. For each subject there is a training guide and a practice set. The training guide explains how to score a test, and the practice set provides example responses and the corresponding score. To download hand-scoring resources:

5. Click the Hand-Scoring Resources tab. The Hand-Scoring Resources page appears

(see Figure 8-1).

Figure 8-1. Hand-Scoring Resources page (top section)

6. Click the link for the resource you want to download.


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9.0 Working with Orders for Testing Materials

Your district or school may be pre-approved to receive paper materials for testing, such as question books and answer sheets. TIDE computes the quantities of these materials based on the number of students registered for those tests. This section describes the ordering life cycle, how to order additional quantities as necessary, and print testing Pre-ID labels.

9.1 Initial Testing Materials Order

Some students take tests using traditional “paper-and-pencil” forms. To administer these tests, students and test administrators need to receive test materials, such as forms, answer sheets, workbooks, or instruction guides. The number of students who received a test booklet is determined by the paper/pencil accommodation or by setting the paper/pencil flag for homebound students. These are used to calculate the total amount copies a district/charter will need. A small amount of overage is provided for each district.

9.2 Ordering Additional Testing Materials

After the initial orders, if additional orders are needed, they will be accepted by the DCAS Help Desk. Additional orders must be placed by the DTC.

9.3 Creating Pre-ID labels

If a Pre-ID label is not available, TIDE should be used to create a student’s Pre-ID label using the Pre-ID print-on-demand feature. This Pre-ID should then be affixed on the student’s appropriate grade level answer document in the box labeled “Place Student Barcode Label Here.”

9.4 Printing Testing Pre-ID Labels

A Pre-ID label is a label that you affix to a student’s testing materials, such as an answer booklet. Referring to the example in Figure 9-1 the student’s name, SSID, and identifying bar code appear on the label. The test administrator affixes this label to the student’s answer booklet. Figure 9-1. Sample Pre-ID Label

TIDE generates the tickets or labels as PDF files that you download with your browser. See Section 1-1 for a list of users who can perform this task.


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To print testing tickets or Pre-ID labels:

1. Retrieve the students for which you want to print tickets or labels by following the procedure in the section 5.1.3 View Students.

2. Click the column headings to sort the retrieved students in the order by which you want them printed. (For information about sorting, see section 5.2.2.1 Sorting Search Results)

3. Do one of the following:

o Mark the checkboxes for the students you want to print.

o Mark the checkbox at the top of the table to print tickets or labels for all retrieved students.

4. To print Pre-ID labels, click Print PreID Labels.

Figure 9-2. Print PreID Labels page

Your browser downloads the generated PDF file.

9.5 Affixing the Pre-ID labels

For the Smarter Assessments, a pre-ID label is required on all student materials: 1. TAs should ensure that students’ Pre-IDs are affixed to subject and grade level appropriate

answer documents for each student.

2. TAs should affix a Pre-ID label on the front cover of each student’s appropriate grade level answer document in the box labeled “Place Student Barcode Label Here.”

3. If a Pre-ID label is not available, TIDE should be used to create a student’s Pre-ID label using the Pre-ID print-on-demand feature. This Pre-ID should then be affixed on the student’s appropriate grade level answer document in the box labeled “Place Student Barcode Label Here.”

4. Pre-ID labels must be used for each student’s answer document.

5. Do not let a student use any answer document that has another student’s Pre-ID label on it.


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Appendix A: Exporting Retrieved Records

When you retrieve a group of records, such as students or users, only a few records are visible on the page at a time. You can export all the records as a file, which may be more convenient for viewing and analysis. For a list of user roles that can perform this task, see Table A-1.

Table A-1: Overview of User Roles and Access within TIDE

User Role View Users

Delete Users

View Student

Information

Restrict Student

Test Access

Print Test

Pre-ID Labels

Download NeoSpeech™ Voice Packs


District Test Coordinator (DTC) District Administrator (DA)



Teacher (TE)

Test Administrator – Alt (TA-ALT)

To export retrieved records:

1. Optional: In the list of retrieved records, mark the checkboxes next to the records you want to export. You can select all the records by clicking the checkbox in the header next to View.

2. Above the list of retrieved records, hover the mouse over Export. A list of export options appears (see Table A-2).

3. Click the desired export option.

4. Depending on your browser’s configuration, you can save the file to disk or open it directly in a spreadsheet application.

Table A-2: Export Options

Option Description

Export all to Excel Exports all retrieved records in xlsx format. Use this format if you have Excel 2007 or later.

Export selected to Excel

Exports selected records in xlsx format. Use this format if you have Excel 2007 or later.

Export all to CSV Exports all retrieved records in CSV format. Use this format if you have Excel 2003 or earlier.

Export selected to Exports selected records in CSV format. Use this format if you have


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CSV Excel 2003 or earlier.

Appendix B: Opening CSV Files in Excel 2007 or Later

This appendix explains how to open comma-separated value (CSV) files in Microsoft Excel 2007 or later. 1. Open Microsoft Excel.

2. On the Data tab, in the Get External Data group, click From Text. The Import Text File dialog box appears.

3. Navigate to the CSV file, and click Import.

The Text Import Wizard appears.

4. In Step 1 of the wizard, mark Delimited, and click Next.

5. In Step 2 of the wizard, mark Comma, and then click Next.


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6. In Step 3 of the wizard, do the following:

a. In the Data Preview section, click a column. Excel shades the column with a black background.

b. In the Column Data Format section, mark the Text radio button. This setting preserves leading zeros that can appear in fields such as SSID or District ID.

c. Repeat steps a and b for all columns in the CSV file.

d. Click Finish.

Excel imports and displays the CSV file.

Documents

TIDE User Guide - DeSSA Portal · 2014 - 2015 May 2015 Page | 1 1.0 Overview of the Test Information Distribution Engine The Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) provides administrators