For optimal performance, there are several tasks to perform before adding information for a new school year - see chart below.
| School Year (click to watch video) | Security | Bulk Operations (click to watch video) | Assessment Management |
|---|---|---|---|
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Required: All Districts must activate/show new school year. *
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All Districts must review user security for the new year.
Optional: If districts want to upload users with ion permissions, use the User's Example template located HERE |
This procedure should be completed for users who are using any of the following:
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These procedures should be completed by all districts. Set an appointment with ion for an assessment review process:
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| *ion will perform these starred tasks for ion Plus customers. However, we will need information to complete these tasks. Contact Customer Success to set up your meeting or Contact Customer Support with questions. | |||
If the school year is not activated, data for the new year will not show as current year data, and data visualizations will be affected.
Before information syncs or uploads to ion for the new school year, be sure to activate the new school year.
1. Access the School Year Setup by clicking on Admin>Dictionaries>School Year>Years
2. Click on the green check mark for the new school year to activate it.
3. Review the Year, Start Date and End Date. If any of these need to be adjusted, click the Edit button. Use the setup box to adjust the start/end Dates for the school year and make adjustments to the first and last day of school as needed. Click Save.
ion will create new school years as needed. If you do not see a school year in your system, contact Customer Support.
If plans are not closed before data comes in for the new school year:
(1) Skills will remain open from the prior year
(2) Skill graphs will span both current and prior year
(3) Groups will remain active (open)
To close plans, access Bulk Operations (Admin>Data>Bulk Operations).
- Enter the date that plans should be marked as "closed."
- Select components that will close.
- Close school by school or by the entire district.
This operation is performed only for those districts who have the following considerations:
- Districts that are using the MTSS module and/or syncing skills without creating intervention groups - this is required before data imports begin for the new year.
- Districts that are using Case Management and have open cases for the previous school year. This is optional as districts do not have to close cases before the new year AND districts can close cases one-by-one without the bulk feature.
- Benchmark scores for MTSS that they need to sync immediately - this is optional as benchmarks will sync automatically within 24 hours.
- Students who are active but no longer enrolled - this does not affect most districts - see more information below.
- The operation can run in the background. The user does not need to remain on the screen.
- Verify school by school close by checking the school drop down menu!
- Using the District Wide close will close plans district wide regardless of which school you are in
- Districts that keep groups open have the option to select a start date for the new school year (instead of editing them).
- To keep groups open, do not check the box to close them. The dialogue boxes will open to allow you to either leave the start date alone OR enter a new start date.
- If plans need to remain open during summer, they can be reopened on the Student Plan page after the bulk close. Do not forget to close out any open plans from summer BEFORE the new school year begins.
Verify closeout by reviewing Active vs Archived plans.
Click MTSS>Plans>Active plans and toggle between active and archived plan tabs in All Schools:
- Active plans should be empty.
- Archived should hold the recently closed plans.
If Districts are using our Case Management module and want to bulk close cases, they can go to Admin>Data>Bulk Operations and close cases by "Focus Areas".
These function can be performed IF "Focus Areas" are set up in the Case Management Dictionary (Admin>Dictionaries>Case Management). For more information, see Case Management Dictionary Setup for Screensteps and a video.
If a district would like to sync benchmarks immediately, they can click on "Sync Benchmarks." Otherwise, benchmarks will sync within 24 hours.
Deactivate Students - Most districts do not need to deactivate students during Bulk Closeout Procedure. Throughout the year, ion syncs (nightly) with the district SIS to verify students' enrollment activity. When students do not appear for 4 consecutive days, they will automatically be marked in the system as inactive.
If there is a change of more than 15% in the list of active students, ion will not deactivate anyone. Please contact customer support to process this change.
Before the beginning of the new school year, districts can review the new school year's assessment calendar and adjust the following as needed:
- Update assessment windows
- Retire assessments that will no longer be used
- Contact ion regarding any new assessments that will be used
- Review data visualizations and modify/add as needed
The items described here are guided steps for preparing assessments for the new year. Be sure to review Assessment Management for more information on the Assessment Dictionary.
1. Access the Assessment Dictionary by clicking Data>Assessments>Assessment Dictionary
2. Hide any retired assessments.
Assessments will be hidden in the data wall editor so they will no longer be viewable to select for creating / editing new data walls. However, these assessments will still populate in the data walls they are already on AND they will populate on the student profile history.
- Search for the assessment in the left hand box.
- Click the hyperlinked assessment to view the Setup Functions in the right hand box.
- Click the box next to "Hide" under options to hide assessments.
3. Verify Testing Windows for Assessments and adjust as needed.
Testing windows in the Assessment Dictionary align with the testing windows on data walls. ion suggests creating testing windows that provide a buffer AND that butt up against a preceding window in order to... (1) reduce time editing each year (2) make allowances for late testers without having to adjust the testing window.
- Click the Testing Windows Tab
- Review Testing Windows and add/edit as needed.
4. Verify Master Color Bands and adjust as needed.
Master Color Bands are created on data walls. They are edited on the Assessment Dictionary. Any adjustments made here will adjust the color band for all data walls using the master color band.
- Click the Color Bands Tab.
- Click to view and edit as needed.
School districts can verify data imports for current and new assessments.
Integrations & Imports
For more information, see our online guide regarding Data Imports. If there any questions, contact Customer Support for assistance.
1. Access integrations by clicking on Admin>Data>Integrations.
2. Review integrations to ensure all selections are made for the desired data to sync properly. Click on the hyperlinked instructions for more information.
3. Be sure to view our online support when uploading data as it has links to instructions for several vendors.
ion recommends that users review their current data walls and make make adjustments as needed and/or desired by staff to prepare for Fall Data Review.
Some school districts use percentiles for their progress monitoring. They will need to update their terms for the new school year in order for the correct percentiles to populate on the student skill page. For more information on Terms, see CBM Dictionary
1. Navigate to Admin>Dictionaries>School Year>Terms
2. Create Terms for the new school year by clicking on the "+" icon
There are now two ways to ensure users are up to date on permissions: User permissions OR Data import.
- Any staff changes may require changes in users, roles, permissions, and teams. Use the links provided here to make changes as needed so that staff will have the appropriate access to schools, students and information.
- Use this template to create a list of users and ion permissions to directly upload to ion.