Once an assessment has been uploaded and mapped into ion, it can be managed in Data > Assessments > Assessment Dictionary
Managing Assessments can include the following:
- Adding assessments to the dictionary
- Adding fields to select in the Data Wall Builder
- Hiding Assessments from the Data Wall Builder
- Allowing User Entry to manually enter scores for assessments
- Setting up Testing Windows
- Editing Assessment Strands to include fields to select in the Data Wall Builder
- Creating Master Color Bands
- Adding a Calculation to the assessment
- Creating Benchmark / CBM Tests
Assessments can also be created in the Assessment Dictionary. ion recommends contacting Support and Training for optimal results.
Although anyone can create an assessment, only those with ion system administrative access can edit them.
When assessments are uploaded and mapped in ion, assessments are automatically created in the Assessment Dictionary. At this point, assessments require some management to be ready for accessibility in the data wall builder; in particular, Fields and Testing Windows should be reviewed and edited as needed.
Sometimes, assessments are not mapped but still need to be created such as a data wall created for staff to enter scores manually. ion recommends contacting Customer Support to create a new assessment.
To create an assessment, access the assessment dictionary and click "+". The Setup window will populate to enter the assessment information. See Managing an existing assessment to complete the information on this page.
Assessments are organized by "vendor." Vendors can be anything, but in most cases, a vendor is the publisher of the assessment such as STAR, iReady, WI Forward, ACT.
Different assessments are considered different vendors. For example, ACT and ACT Aspire are both published by ACT, but they are considered two different "vendors" - as they are two different assessments.
To access the assessment, type the vendor name (or a few letters) in the search box and click the hyperlinked name.
Assessments mapped and added to the Assessment Dictionary will populate with information in the editor. The items that require editing include Fields, Testing Windows, and Strands. Once these items have been properly edited, then they will populate accordingly in the Data Wall Builder.
Items that may require editing depending on the type of assessment include Access Level, Options and User Entry.
Other items listed here will need adjustments depending on the functionality desired on the assessment, such as creating Master Color Bands, creating Calculations or creating Tests.
These items are brought into the Assessment Dictionary during the mapping process.
The hyperlinked Name of the assessment is also the search option. This is not always the same as the vendor name.
- Name of the assessment
- Discipline, or content area, of the assessment
- Assessment "Vendor"
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Access Level
- District, School, Me. This follows the same pattern as scope in Data Walls or Dashboards. District assessments are viewable by anyone. School are limited to a school, and Me are only available to the user who creates them.
- Assessment ID - This is assigned to each assessment that is mapped and created in the Assessment Dictionary. When submitting support tickets about assessments, it is useful to include the assessment ID if possible.
Choose the fields that will be available in the Data Wall Builder. To choose more than one, use Ctrl + Click.
1. To select the fields for the assessment, click in the box labeled "Fields."
To select the fields for the strands of that assessment...
2. Click the Strands tab
3. Click the edit button next to the strand
4. Select the fields.
5. Click Save
6. The fields for the assessment or strands will now populate in the Data Wall Builder when selecting that assessment or strand in the "Available Columns."
These items are typically used by our Support Team or in conjunction with a Support Team specialist.
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Update Type - When an assessment is uploaded via the SIS Import feature, this setting will tell the system how to handle updates to data.
- Ignore - If an assessment score exists in ion - ignore it in the import file.
- Best Score - If an assessment score exists in ion - overwrite it only if the import file's score is higher.
- Most Recent - If an assessment score exists in ion - overwrite it only if the import file's score date is newer.
- Overwrite - If an assessment score exists in ion - overwrite it no matter what.
- Load Mode and Log Level - These items can be adjusted for assessment uploads. They will be managed by our customer support team.
- Merge - Checking this box will allow you to merge assessment records from several sources to create a "hybrid assessment"
Please contact Customer Support for assistance with these features.
- Hide - Check Hide if you would like to make the assessment invisible to the system. This is useful when retiring old assessments. The data stays in the system, but people are unable to add hidden assessments to data walls. If a hidden assessment is already in a data wall - it will remain visible.
- Running Record - Check if the assessment is a Running Record. This will allow letters to be entered as scores and feed the Running Records Report in Data>Reports>Running Records
- Collaborative- if more than one score is collected, ion will take the mean of those scores
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Attendance - Checking this box will ask ion to pull weekly attendance scores as a percentage
- This feature typically requires an assessment to be created, such as "Weekly Attendance". Contact Customer Support for assistance in creating assessments.
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Calculate Weekly Norms - ion will calculate local norms for this assessment
- Add "local assessment" fields in the Setup column when using this feature
Report Template - if the Assessment Vendor includes a template for the assessment, districts can work with Customer Support to see this template when accessing assessment detail on data walls and the student profile.
If you do not see the assessment template, contact Customer Support.
1. User Entry - Determines whether or not users can modify assessment scores. By default - this is "Do not allow user entry." Selecting "Allow User Entry" will allow users to overwrite data that is in the system.
2. Edit Mode - ion allows two different types of user entry - Advanced and Simple
3. Advanced User Entry - Click the icon on the data wall and enter the assessment information on the pop up window.
4. Simple User Entry- Click the icon on the data wall and enter the assessment information (no pop up)
5. Regex - This code limits score ranges
Contact Customer Support to assist with Regex
6. Regex Prompt - This prompt will pop up as an error message if a user attempts to enter a score outside the limited range of the Regex
Testing Windows directly impact what staff see on the data wall builder AND when using the data wall score entry method (User Entry).
To reduce the frequency of Testing Window edits, use window dates that are wide enough to capture year to year variations of assessment windows.
Rules to follow when adding and editing windows:
- Must be in chronological order
- Must not have any overlap in dates
- Terms before January first must have a separate year ending than those after January first.
1. To add a testing window, click "Add"
2. A dialogue box opens to either create the window OR to copy windows from another assessment. Make the desired choices and click "Save."
3. Click the edit icon to edit a window. Make the desired edits and click "Save."
4. Testing Windows are now available in the Data Wall Editor.
5. Toggle the "eye" icon to make testing window unavailable for the Data Wall Builder.
6. When the "Lock" icon is red, the testing window is closed and staff is not able to either edit or enter a score. When the "Lock" icon is green, the testing window is open and staff can both edit and enter scores.
The Color Bands tab in the Assessment Dictionary stores the Master Color Bands for that assessment. Color Bands that are edited here will apply to all color bands.
To edit a color band...
1. Click the edit icon
2. Make the desired edits
3. Click the Save icon at the top of the Setup screen to save the changes
When Formulas are entered in the assessment dictionary, they are applied to the assessment and the result of that formula will appear on the data wall.
To enter a formula for an assessment...
1. Click the Calculations tab
2. Click the "+" icon to create a new formula
3. Follow the prompts in the box that populates
4. Click the Save icon at the top of the Setup box.
Benchmark and CBM tests can be administered through ion. To set that up, use the Tests tab.
1. Click "New Test"
2. Follow the prompts in the dialogue box - see additional information within the image.
3. The Benchmark / CBM will populate in Data>Assessments>Benchmark and CBM.
This is the "safest" way to write the formula since it forces the fields into integers.
iif((toInteger(f1) - toInteger(f2)) - (0.5* toInteger(f2)) < 0, 0, Round((toInteger(f1) - toInteger(f2)) - (0.5* toInteger(f2)) + 0.1 , 0) )However, it is possible to use a simpler version as well.
iif((f1-f2)-(.5*f2)<0,0,round((f1-f2)-(.5*f2)+.1,0))The formula reads as:
“If the number correct minus half the errors is less than zero, the score is zero. Otherwise, calculate the same and round it up to a whole number whole number).”
".1" is added because the round function uses something called "bankers rounding" which didn’t guarantee that .5 would round up.
In order to administer the CBM, see the directions in Benchmark and CBM