SchoolCity Suite provides districts with electronic repositories of data, or banks, in which users can choose questions items and passages to create an Item Bank Assessment. Users may also create items and passages in the Work Space for use in an assessment. An Item Bank Assessment may be aligned to standards, include a variety of question/item types, and administered and scored online, or administered on paper by using a scan-able answer sheet and scored using a scanner or GradeCam techology. 1. From the Top Menu Bar, select Assessments (1a). Click on Create Assessment, then select Item Bank (1b). Or, from the Launchpad, click on the CREATE ASSESSMENTS Flip Card (1c). On the reverse side, select Item Bank (1d). 2. New Item Bank Assessment: Notice the arrows indicating the setup process at the top of the page. The current step will be highlighted in green. a. School Year: The new assessment will default to the current school year. To select another year, click on the current year and select the correct year from the drop down. b. Assessment level: Depending on your role, you may be able to create assessments for your class only, and/or at the School and/or District level. Select the level appropriate for this assessment, if a selection is available. c. Assessment Name: Enter the assessment name. The assessment name should be unique and clear to you and anyone you may decide to share with. d. Subject: Select the subject from the drop down menu. You can add other subjects in the next step, if desired. Note: The Item Banks offer items only for English Language Arts (ELA), Math, History-Social Science (HSS), and Science. e. Existing Collections: (optional) Assessments may be organized into folders called Collections. You can add an assessment to an existing collection, or create a new collection. f. Student Selection: There are four options for scheduling students: Schedule all students: If you are a teacher level user, then all students are all the students on your roster(s). If you are a school level user, then all students are all students in the school. If you are a district level user, then all students are all students in the district. Page 1 of 16
Schedule students by grade level: Use this option if you want only students in a specific grade(s) to take the assessment. Check the box(es) of the grade(s) you wish to schedule. Schedule students by Course Group or Course: Use this option if you have created Course Groups in the Group Manager, or would like only students in a specific Course to take the assessment. Schedule students by Student Group: Choose this option if you have created student groups in the Group Manager, and want only those students to take the assessment. g. Save/Next: Click on Save if you are done with your selections and wish to exit the system to return at a later time. Click on Next, to go to the next step. Your work will be automatically saved. 3. Filters: The next step in the creation process is to determine the filters for the items you want on the assessment. a. Select Items by Standards or Select Items by Criteria: This document will focus on Select Items by Standards. b. Select Standards: For ELA, the standards your state uses will populate by strand. When the strand is selected, the grade levels will populate. For other subjects, grade levels will populate first, then domains or topics. c. Select grade: Select the desired grade/domain/topic and the standards will appear on the right hand side. d. Standards: Select the appropriate standard(s) from the list by checking the open box next to the standard number. The box will change to green with a white checkmark. e. Item Bank Items: The number of items in the available Item Banks for each standard will be shown in green in brackets. f. Selected Standards: The selected standards will be displayed in the Selected Standards section. g. Add Subjects: If you want the assessment to include standards from other subjects, select Add Subjects button to see a menu of other Standard Sets that are available. Select the Standard set you want and then select the standards. h. Previous/Save/Next buttons: Click on Next after you have made all the standards selections and you wish to continue with your assessment creation. Your work will be automatically saved. If you are done with your selections and wish to exit the system until a later time, click on Save. If you need to go back to the previous step, click on Previous. Page 2 of 16
4. Items: The next step in the assessment creation process is to select the items for the assessment. a. Matching Items: The items shown match your selected criteria - subject, grade, and standards. Scroll down to see all items. b. Modify: If you need to revise the chosen criteria, click on Modify to return to the previous step. c. Show/Hide Filters: Click on the Show/Hide Filters button to display more information about the matching items. (See Step 5) 5. Show Filters: By showing the filters, you can see specific details about the total number of items and passages. a. Item Banks: In this example there are four different Item Banks, each showing a total number of items and passages matching the chosen criteria. b. Subjects: In ELA, there may also be matching items in ELD/English Language Development. c. Grades: The chosen grade or a range of grades may be shown as some items/passages are appropriate for a range of grades. d. Standards: All standards to which the items/passages are aligned will be shown. Click on the Next arrow on the far right to scroll through all standards. Page 3 of 16
e. Select filters: To begin narrowing down the number of items/passages choices, select the specific item bank(s), subject(s), grade(s), and standard(s) by clicking on the title, which changes to green when selected. Scroll down to see all items. 6. More Filters: a. Gear Icon: Click on the gear icon in the top right hand corner, and a drop down list of additional filters will appear. You can select one or more filters to search for the exact items you would like to add to the assessment. b. Add/Remove Filters: You can further filter the original set of items and passages by selecting one or more filters: Item Types, Tags (if any), Administration Methods (Online/Paper and Online Only), Difficulty Levels, Depth of Knowledge (DOK), Bloom s Taxonomy, Word Count, and Lexile. Select the desired filter(s) from the list by clicking on the box. The filter is selected when a white check appears in a green box. Remove a filter by clicking on the green box. c. Update: Click on the Update button to apply filters. An additional row for each filter will appear under the Standards row. d. Using More Filters: Click on any filter, or combination of filters to view items to build your assessment. Unclick the selected filter to remove it and then reselect. At any time, you can open the gear icon to remove filters you do not want or need. Page 4 of 16
e. Item Types: Depending on the Item Bank, the following item types may be available: Constructed Response (CR): Requires a written response from the student which is normally graded using a rubric. Evidence-Based Selected Response (EBSR): Determine correct answers in a two-part question where Part B is the text evidence for Part A. Explicit Constructed Response (XCR): Determine the exact answer for a question Gap Match (GM) and Graphic Gap Match (GGM): Drag and drop the correct answer in the specified place. Graphing Lines (GL): Draw lines on a graph according to the information in the problem. Graphing Points (GP): Plot points on a graph according to the information in the problem. Hot Spot (HS): Choose the answer by clicking on the correct spot. Hot Text (HT): Choose underlined parts of a text as the correct answer(s). Inline Choice (IC): Choose from a drop down list of possible answers to complete a sentence. Matching Table (MT): Decide if each answer choice in a table answers the question. Multiple Binary (MB): Decide whether each answer choice is true/false, yes/no, or correct/incorrect. Multiple Choice (MC): Choose one correct answer from a number of answer choices. Multiple Response (MR): Choose two or more correct answers from a number of answer choices. Numerical Response (NR): Use a number pad to enter the correct answer. Order Items (OI): Place answer choices in the correct order. 7. Preview Item Summary and Properties: Click the view icon (eye) to see more details about a specific item. This information may help you make decisions about the best items for your assessment. Page 5 of 16
8. Passage Items and Properties: You can view more details about a passage in order to make the best decision for the assessment. a. Passages: Click on the Passages tab to view each passage and associated items. Scroll down to view all items. b. Properties: Click on Properties to view details about the passage. 9. Selecting items for the assessment: a. Select an Item: When you are ready to choose an item, check the open box next to the item number. The item is selected when a white check appears in a green box. Note: Some items can only be administered online. If you select an online-only item, a message will appear with that information. b. Items per Standard: As you build the assessment, the number of items selected for each standard will show on the left hand side of the screen. c. Preview Selected Items: In this example, 9 items were selected and are ready to preview. Scroll down the page to see all items. Page 6 of 16
10. Update Items Order & Preview Booklet: a. Preview Booklet: To preview the selected items in booklet format for paper administration and change the order of items as desired, click on Update Items Order & Preview Booklet. b. 2-column format: You can view the booklet in a 2-column format if the item types allow. Slide No to Yes, and click on Update Item Order. c. Reorder items: Auto: Reorder items automatically by clicking and dragging on the item number within the green circle on the left. Reorder passages by clicking and dragging on the title. Note the original position of the item in a gray circle to the right of the item number. This number will remain with the item when you move it to another position until you click on Update Item Order. d. Reorder items: Manual: Reorder items manually by entering the number of the item in the box to the left of the item number. e. Save and Update Test Booklet / Print PDF: Click on Save and Update Test Booklet to finalize the position of the items and passages. You may reorder again and update as needed. Print a PDF of the test booklet. Then close the Test Booklet window to continue building the assessment. 11. Summary: The Summary is the next step in the assessment creation process. It provides an overview of the assessment. a. Setup Multiple Forms/Versions: If you are administering the assessment on paper only, and would like multiple forms/versions, slide No to Yes. Select the number of forms you would like as prompted. The assessment item order will be automatically rearranged on each form. Note: You may select setup multiple forms only if the chosen items can be administered on paper, all items are Multiple Choice, and all items have the same number of answer choices. b. Update Items Order & Preview Booklet: (See Step 10) c. Show Item Totals: Click here to see a summary of the items types, DOK levels, and Difficulty Levels. (See Step 12) d. Online Preview: Click here to preview how the assessment will appear in the Student Portal. (See Step 13) e. Test Booklet: Click here to preview a draft of the student test booklet for administering on paper. (See Step 14) f. Summary: Click here to view a draft of the summary of the assessment. (See Step 15) Page 7 of 16
g. Standard selection: At least one standard must be selected for each item. All aligned standards will be listed including those chosen in the Filters step. Choose the standard(s) you want for reporting purposes by clicking in the box next to the standard number. Note: The notice highlighted in pink appears even if one or more standards have been selected. h. Points: The number in the box represents the default setting from the Item Bank. If the box is white, you may change the point value by clicking inside the box and entering the desired value. Because of the scoring rubric for CR items, the point value is set and cannot be changed, as indicated by a gray box. i. Previous/Save/Next: On the bottom right, click on Next after you have made all your selections and you wish to continue with your assessment creation. Click on Save if you are done with your selections and wish to exit the system. Click on Previous if you need to go back to the previous step. 12. Show Item Totals: The item totals show how many of each item type you have selected, the number of items in each DOK Level, and the number of items in each Difficulty Level. 13. Online Preview: This is a full screen preview of how the assessment will appear in the Student Portal for online administration. You can scroll through all items by clicking on the page numbers on the top left, or on Next to go to the next page. Page 8 of 16
14. Test Booklet: This is a preview of the student booklet for paper/pencil administration, or for printing a hard copy of the assessment. The booklet will be stamped Draft until the assessment has been published in the last step of the creation process. Once published, a PDF of the test booklet will be automatically uploaded in the Assessment Manager where it can be accessed for printing. 15. Summary: The summary includes an Assessment Summary section, a Standards Summary section, and an Items and Rubric/Rationale section. The Summary is stamped with Draft until the assessment is published in the last step of the creation process. Once the assessment has been published, a PDF of the summary will be automatically uploaded in the Assessment Manager where it can be accessed for printing. Page 9 of 16
16. Performance levels (optional): If available, you can use an existing template, or customize performance levels as desired. Performance levels help users to interpret their assessment data in reports. a. Load from Available Templates: Click here to use a template previously uploaded into SchoolCity by the District Template Manager, as determined by permission from the district administrator. (See Step 17 ) b. Add Performance Level Sets: Click here to include up to 2 additional performance level sets. (See Step 18 ) c. Skip Performance Level: Click here if you do not want to add performance levels. A message will appear confirming this action. Click OK to go to the next step. d. Customize Performance Levels: Click here to create customized performance levels. (See Step 19 ) 17. Load from Available Templates: a. Click on Load from Available Templates. b. Scroll through the existing templates and select the one you wish to use by clicking on Apply this Template: c. The template will appear in the Performance Level step. Page 10 of 16
d. You may edit the template by deleting levels, renaming the levels, changing colors, changing the Percentage From values, setup levels by Cut Points instead of by Percentage. 18. Add Performance Level Sets: (Optional) Click here if more than one set of Performance Levels is desired. For example, one set may be by performance descriptors and one set may be by alphabetical grades. A maximum of three Performance Level sets may be created. A minimum of two sets are needed to enable this feature. a. Click on Add Performance Level Sets. b. The first set will appear under an orange tab. Two new tabs will show Set 2 and Set 3. c. Click on the Performance Level Set 2 tab. Repeat the same process for the second set by either loading from available templates, or creating custom performance levels. Repeat for Performance Level Set 3. d. To delete Set 3, click on the x in the upper right corner of the tab. An alert message will appear. Click Delete to continue. Page 11 of 16
e. To delete Set 2, click on the x in the upper right corner of the Set 2 tab. A different alert message will appear. Deleting all performance levels will NOT delete Set 1. 19. Customize Performance Levels: You may choose to create your own performance levels by percentage or by cut points instead of using an existing template, or to modify an existing template. a. Click on Add Performance Level for each new performance level you wish to include. Beginning with the lowest level, enter the level number, description, and color code. b. Setup Performance Levels by Percentage: Select which level corresponds with proficient and enter the desired percentage correct for proficient and above. The cut points will be automatically calculated as determined by the total points possible. c. Setup Performance Levels by Cut Points: If you prefer to set up the performance levels by cut points instead of percentage, then select Cut Points, and enter the desired cut points for each level. The percentages will be automatically calculated. d. Previous, Save, and Next: Click on Next after you have made all your selections and you wish to continue with your assessment creation. If you are done with your selections and wish to exit the system click on the Save button before exiting. If you want to go back to a previous step, click on Previous. 20. Setup: The final step in creating the assessment is to determine the administration details. Page 12 of 16
a. Administration Window: Depending on the district default, normally the assessment window is set from the current date for 30 days. You can manually change the dates by clicking on the calendar icon, then choosing the date range of your assessment. Click on Apply to save your date settings. b. Method of Delivery: Scanning and GradeCam are paper/pencil methods using a scan-able answer sheet. Online assessments are administered through the Student Portal. More than one method may be selected. c. Online Settings: If you are administering the assessment with an online answer sheet, slide Show to Hide to view the online settings (See below for details). d. Answer Sheet Template: If administering the assessment on paper using traditional scan sheets, determine which answer sheet you will use individual or class roster. Click on the view icon (eye) to view each layout. Note: GradeCam answer sheets are individual layout only. e. Bubble Size: Determine which size bubble you prefer for your answer sheet. Click on the view icon (eye) to view a sample of each size. Note: GradeCam sheets have only one bubble size. f. Answer Sheet Printing Start Date: Determine the date when answer sheets can be printed before the window start date. Online Settings: Slide Show to Hide to show all settings: Click on the icon to view a brief description of each property or tool. g. Duration: (optional) Slide No to Yes to include a duration for the assessment. Determine how many hours/minutes you want to allow students to complete the assessment. Time may be added or deleted during the test. Use the padlock to lock this property. h. Default Time Increment: The duration can be increased or decreased by a set number of minutes as needed during the testing session. To change the default setting, click inside the number box and use the up/down arrows to select a new time. i. Time Window: Set the beginning and ending time students will be able to access the assessment in the Student Portal. To change the default Start Time and/or End Time, click on the clock icons. j. Days Window: Select the days of the week the assessment will be available to students. Click on the box next to the day to unselect (if green), or select (if open). k. Properties: Display Item Details in Student Portal: Pre-selects display of item details in Student Portal when reviewing scores. This can be turned on and off at any time in the testing process. Display Item Hint to students in Student Portal: Upon completion of a test, all (multiple choice) items for which the student has answered incorrectly will be tagged for a second attempt. During the second attempt, a hint for each incorrect item will display and the initial incorrect response will not be available. The hint feature is only available for items created in the Work Space. Display Timer: Pre-selects the display of the timer (countdown clock) in the Student Portal. Randomize Items: Pre-selects the randomization of items on the assessment. Randomize Answer Choices: Pre-selects the randomization of answer choices within each item. 4 Digit PIN Verification: Pre-selects the requirement of a 4 digit PIN number for students to take an online assessment in the Student Portal Thermometer: Pre-selects the display of a thermometer that visually shows score when students submit their assessment in the Student Portal. Page 13 of 16
l. Online Tools: When selected, these tools will appear in the Student Portal for students to use while taking the online assessment. Calculator: Basic Calculator: A calculator for basic arithmetic. Scientific Calculator: A calculator with scientific notation, exponents, and trig functions. Advanced Calculator: A calculator with advanced features like graphing functions. Equation Editor: Elementary Editor: Includes basic elementary functions for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Algebra Editor: Includes basic algebraic functions. Algebra with Trigonometry: Includes algebraic functions/symbols and is appropriate for trigonometry, geometry, and algebra. Advanced Math Editor: Includes all functions and symbols, and is to be used for calculus or other advanced math courses. Line Reader: This is a moveable, resizable frame to help students track text. Ruler: A moveable ruler for measuring length in inches or centimeters. Protractor: A moveable protractor for measuring angles. Answer Eliminator: This tool allows students to cross out incorrect answers. Highlighter: This tool allows students to highlight text in various colors. Text to Speech: Students can select text to be read aloud by the computer. m. Allow Multiple Sessions: Multiple sessions can be set up in Advanced Settings once the assessment has been published. n. Previous, Save, Save & Close and Publish: If you are done with your selections, but are not exiting the system click on Save. If you are not ready to deliver the assessment and plan to make edits, select Save & Close. You may publish later from the Assessment Manager screen. If you need to go back to a previous step click on Previous. Select Publish when the assessment is ready to administer to students. Page 14 of 16
21. Publish or Go to Advanced Settings: When you publish your assessment, a message will appear asking if you are done or if you want to go to advanced settings. Advanced settings will offer you the opportunity to refine and revise your online administration settings, set flags, and adjust the scheduling of students. If you want to skip this for now, click on No thank you, I m Done. If you want to go to Advanced Settings, click on Yes, take me to Advanced Settings. 22. Assessment Manager: a. The new assessment will be listed in the Assessment Manager under the tab in which it was created: My Assessments, School, or District. Assessments you have recently created or have been working with will be listed under the Recent tab. b. To revise the assessment, click on the gear icon to return to Setup. c. If published, the assessment must be unpublished before any changes can be made. d. The PDFs of the final Student Booklet and Summary document are housed in the open folder, under Functions. Click on the folder to view the documents. Page 15 of 16
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