Open topic with navigation

Setting up Test Management

Use PowerSchool SMS to record the results of any district or regional test, state-wide and national tests, and college entry exams.

Note: The legacy "Test Scores" component continues to be available in PowerSchool SMS. To disable , select Disable Legacy Test Component in General Preferences.

Capturing test results in PowerSchool SMS using the Test Management feature area is a three-part process:

Permissions to set up tests and test sessions

To set up tests and test sessions, you must have the following permissions:

Populating Setup Lists for tests

There are several Setup Lists used in the pages on which you define your district-level tests. These Setup Lists – tests, subtests, skills, score types, test categories, etc. – are pre-populated with a large number of standard items. This will both assist you in getting started with test setup right away, and standardize the use of the Test Management feature area across implementations.

However, there are some Setup Lists that are not pre-populated, as their use is defined differently for each state and district. Also, some populated Setup Lists may not contain items you want to use. Before starting test setup, you should therefore check the test-related Setup Lists to ensure that all required items have been added. If any are missing, you can easily add the new items.

Test Management Setup Lists

[Table 58] outlines the Setup Lists that are used by Test Management and provides examples of the kind of entries they contain:

Table 58: Test management Setup Lists

For information about working with Setup Lists, see Working with Setup Lists [>>].

Defining tests

After you ensure the test-related Setup Lists are complete, you are ready to define the tests that will be used to capture student test results, which involves:

Setting up tests

The process of setting up a test involves defining the overall properties for the test, and specifying which score types (e.g., raw score, percentile, etc.) will be captured for that test when the results come in.

To setup a test:You can do this if your role is District Administrator.[DA]You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

In the Admin menu, click District Setup. The District Setup page appears.

2

Under District, click Tests. The Tests page appears.

3

To add a test, click Add. The Add/Edit Test page appears.

=

To edit a test click the test name. The Add/Edit Test page appears.

=

To delete a test, select the test and from the Actions menu, click Delete.

4

Under Test Overview, define the test information, which includes:

=

Test: Select the test name.

=

Test Version: A number that corresponds to the version of the test. This is used to identify multiple versions of tests for grandfathering purposes.

=

Description: A description for the test to differentiate between versions.

=

Test Category: Select a test category. The category is used for searching and reporting.

=

Grade Levels: In the Available list, select the grade levels that are eligible for the test and use the arrows to move them to the Selected list. Select at least one grade level.

=

Display in transcript?: To have the test results display on a student's transcript, select this checkbox.

5

To add score types to a test, see Setting up score types [>>].

6

To add subtests, see Setting up subtests [>>]

7

To add test sessions, see Setting up test sessions [>>]

8

Click OK or click Apply to save your changes and continue editing the test record.

Setting up score types

Tests, subtests, and skills define the type of score used, either numeric or alpha.

To add a test score types for the test:You can do this if your role is District Administrator.[DA]You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

On the Add/Edit Score page, under Score Types, click Add under the appropriate score type: Numeric or Alpha.

2

Complete the fields for the score type:

=

On the Numeric <Test Type> Score Type page: Note: the name of the page changes depending on if you are editing a test, subtest, or skill.

=

Score Type: Select the score type from the dropdown.

=

Maximum Score: The highest number score a student can achieve for the test.

=

Passing Score: The number score a student must achieve to pass the test.

=

On the Alpha <Test Type> Score Type page: Note: the name of the page changes depending on if you are editing a test, subtest, or skill.

=

Score Type: Select the score type from the dropdown.

3

Click OK . The Add/Edit Test page appears.

4

Click OK or click Apply to save your changes and continue editing the test record.

Setting up subtests

If necessary, you can also add subtests to a test (e.g., Verbal and Math for the SAT), with their own score types.

To add subtests to a test:You can do this if your role is District Administrator.[DA]You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

On the Add/Edit Test page, under Subtests, select Independent subtests?, to include subtests.

2

To add a subtest, click Add. The Subtest page appears.

=

To edit a subtest, click the subtest name. The Subtest page appears.

=

To delete a subtest, select it and click Delete.

3

Under Subtest Overview, define the subtest, which includes:

=

Subtest: Select the subtest.

=

Grade Levels: In the Available list, select the grade levels that are eligible for the subtest and use the arrows to move them to the Selected list. Select at least one grade level. Ensure that you select only grade levels that have also been selected for the test as a whole.

4

Click OK or click Apply to save your changes and continue editing the test record.

5

To add score types to a subtest, see Setting up score types [>>].

6

To add a skill to a subtest, see Setting up skills [>>].

7

Click OK . The Add/Edit Test page appears.

8

Click OK or click Apply to save your changes and continue editing the test record.

Setting up skills

If you want to capture test results at an even more granular level, you can add skills to the subtests (e.g., algebraic reasoning for the Math subtest), and define skill-specific score types.

To add a skill to a subtest:You can do this if your role is District Administrator.[DA]You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

On the Add/Edit Test page, click a subtest. The Subtest page appears.

2

Under Skills, to add a skill, click Add. The Skill page appears.

=

To edit a skill, click the skill name. The Skill page appears.

=

To delete a skill, click Delete.

3

Under Skill Overview, from the Skilldropdown, select the skill.

4

To add score types to a skill, see Setting up score types [>>].

5

Click OK . The Add/Edit Test page appears.

6

Click OK or click Apply to save your changes and continue editing the test record.

Setting up test sessions

After tests have been defined, the district can set up test sessions to manage how students take tests. Before you can add, edit, or view test results for students, you must create test sessions.

To add a test session:You can do this if your role is District Administrator.[DA]You can do this if your role is School Administrator.[SA]

1

On the Add/Edit Test page, in the control bar, click Test Sessions. The Test Session page appears.

2

To add a test session, from the Actions menu, click Add Test Session. The Add/Edit Test Session page appears.

=

To edit a test session, click the test session name. The Add/Edit Test Session page appears.

=

To delete a test session, select the test session and from the Actions menu, click Delete Test Session.

3

Define the test session, which includes:

=

Grade Level: Select the grade level for the test session.

=

Subtest: If you selected the Independent Subtests? checkbox in the test definition, in the Available list, select the subtests to be included in the test session and use the arrows to move them to the Selected list.

=

Session Name: The name for the test session.

=

Start Date: The date on which the test session starts.

=

End Date: The date on which the test session ends.

=

Session Comment: An optional comment. If two or more sessions of the same test are given for the same range of dates, this can be used to differentiate the sessions.

=

Test Form: The form number assigned to the test. A test can have two or more variations to prevent cheating. For example, the questions on Form A and Form B are different, but both test the same level of knowledge. In the test room, Row 1 receives Form A, Row 2 gets Form B, Row 3 receives Form A, and so on.

=

Test Use: The purpose of the test session.

=

Test Subject Content: The main subject of the test session.

=

Norm Year: The year used for norming purposes.

=

Norm Type: Select one of the following norm types: 01 = National Probability Sample 02 = Annual User Norms 03 = State Norms

=

Norming Period: The time of year of the norming (e.g., Fall, Midyear, Spring).

=

Additional Year ID: An additional year ID, if required.

=

Language: The language in which the test is written.

=

Other Language: If a language is not listed in the Language dropdown, select Other from the Language dropdown and enter a language in this text field.

4

Click Save.

www.powerschool.com
Tel: 866-434-6276
Email: smssupport@powerschool.com

Copyright 2015-2016 PowerSchool Group LLC and/or its affiliate(s). All rights reserved. All trademarks are either owned or licensed by PowerSchool Group LLC and/or its affiliates.