With DnA Report Cards, all data held in-house can be used to populate and assist in Report Card Entry. Prior to setup, evaluate your report cards to understanding the various setup requirements, where data will be coming from, and what additional data is needed. Below is a helpful guide on the various components to assist you with the setup process. It is advised to mark and create your own guide according to the terms to expedite your setup process.
Getting to Know Your Report Card
This document is a sample Report Card used to display the various setup components.
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Glossary of Terms
Common Fields are fields of data that is common and does not need to be created by the user such as Principal, Site Name, Birthdate, Student Name, Teacher Name, etc.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Create Report Card Field Groups and Fields.
If site information such as Principal Name, Site Name, Address or Phone Number is to be displayed on the report card and is incorrect, visit Site Management to edit and update the information.
Custom Reports provide users with the ability to gather a combination of various data sources and student information housed in DnA, on one report. Student Information such as Instructional Programs and Language Proficiency is data that may be stored in DnA that users do not need to enter, but can populate onto the Report Card automatically.
By creating a Custom Report to gather such data, fields can be linked to the Custom Report to display such data, if it applies to the student. With Custom Reporting, values and data can be translated or calculated in a variety of ways that may be desired for report cards.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit the Custom Report help manual and Create Report Card Field Groups and Fields.
Create a Custom Report titled Report Card Custom Report, or a report for each grading period and/or grade level to keep organized of various data for the specific grading period and grade level.
In each field group, Fields need to be created for each area for data to populate. Fields are created to determine how data is entered such as by manual entry, Predefined Value Set, or linking to Custom Reports, Assessments, or a Gradebook, if applicable.
As shown in the image above, the field group Reading is comprised of fields such as Growth, Effort, Word Analysis and Systematic Vocabulary Development, Grade Level Text Fluency, Reading Comprehension, and Literacy Response and Analysis - a total of 6 fields in this one field Group. Each of those fields are associated with a specific form of data entry.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Create Report Card Field Groups and Fields.
Fields that are unique to a grading period require their own Field Group.
Report Cards are comprised of Field Groups and Fields. A Field Group is a section of the Report Card that contains fields that are similar or should be grouped together. One example of a field group is Reading and its fields is a composite score and the associated clusters/standards (as shown in the image above). Another example of a field group and its fields is a personal/social growth group with effort categories.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Create Report Card Field Groups and Fields.
Fields that are unique to a grading period require their own Field Group.
A Grading Period defines the start and end dates associated with time of which grades are collected such as quarters, trimesters or semesters. Setting up grading periods is critical for the use of Report Cards. Setup grading periods and apply to single or multiple sites that may apply.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Set Grading Periods.
Mapping is how the fields know where to populate data. In order to map, upload the final Adobe PDF document to the appropriate report card template. Then Layout or map fields onto the report card, telling the data where to print and display.
Note: When creating fields, appropriate and specific titles are a huge help and assist in efficient mapping of the report card.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Map Report Card.
Predefined Value Sets are marks that a teacher enters on the report card. For each area with this option, they will choose from the list and select which part of the value set is appropriate. For each set of marks a teachers uses, a different value set is created.
Examples of value sets are academic marks and effort marks (see image above). Most report cards have a key with this information. If applicable for multiple grade levels, indicate in the title of which grades it can apply to. For example "Gr. 1-3 Growth/Effort" to indicate it can be used for Grades 1-3.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Create Report Card Predefined Value Sets.
Create a Predefined Value Set titled Checkmarks for those fields where users just need to check or mark if the field applies to a student. Use characters such as X. x, or other special characters for users to select.
Print Groups link all related report cards onto a complete whole. Because each report card is grading period specific (i.e. Grade 1 Trimester 1, Grade 1 Trimester 2, Grade 1 Trimester 3), each report card is treated as its own separate report card.
For example, Grade 1 Trimester 1, Grade 1 Trimester 2, and Grade 1 Trimester 3, are the three report cards that make up the whole Grade 1 Report Card. Therefore, all three related report cards must link to the same print group, First Grade.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Report Card Print Groups.
Sharing provides users to have access to report cards and field groups with specific permissions for data entry, access, and printing. This process can be shared while report cards and field groups are being created, or shared after all setup tools has been complete. When sharing to users, typically they are shared by grade level and/or role. Permissions may include who has access to enter/edit data during or outside of the grading period, and who can view and/or print report cards.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Share with Others.
Consider looking into creating Permission Groups for each grade level, for users who enter and need to view data (such as Teacher, Specialist, or Counselor users) and those who will assist in managing, printing, or overwriting data (such as Principal, District Admin, or System Admin roles and users).
A Student Group is a collection students based on certain criteria or data sources. Student Groups need to be created for each group of students receiving a report card. Student groups will assign a report card to a student.
For example, if all 5th graders use the 5th grade report card, create a student group with all 5th graders. If 5th Grade EL students use a different report card, create a student group specific to only 5th Grade EL students.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Create a Student Group.
This is not notated on the document above, but an essential step in Report Card Creation.
Some data needed to populate and display in a report card may not be housed in DnA. By using the Summary Assessment tool, users can import data such as Attendance. Once imported and tied to student ID, a Custom Report can be created called Attendance. In the Attendance Field Group, each field can be linked to the Attendance Custom Reports. This procedure provides the data to automatically populate and display in the field according to the Custom Report and data in the Summary Assessment.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Import Data into a Summary Assessment or Demographic.
A template is creating a Report Card for specific student groups with applicable field groups. If applicable for multiple grade levels, indicate in the title of which grades it can apply to.
For example "Gr. 3-4 Trimester 1" to indicate it can be used for Grades 3-4. Selecting appropriate Field Groups is what will display in the user-entry screen and appropriate Student Groups must be applied. This is typically done after Value Sets, Value Scales, Field Groups, and Fields have been created.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Create Report Card Templates.
Value Scales translate percentages into report card marks. For example, if an ELA percentage is 79% in the Gradebook, the system will translate that mark to a '3' on the report card based on the above Value Scale. If applicable for multiple grade levels, indicate in the title of which grades it can apply to. For example "Gr. 4-6 Indicators of Progress" to indicate it can be used for Grades 4-6.
For more information on this part of the setup process, visit Create Report Card Value Scales.
This step is needed only if teachers are using DnA's Gradebook as a way to populate report card marks.
Need help getting started? DnA provides report card building services. View our flyer here to learn more.
Next Steps
To get started in creating your Elementary Report Cards, visit Setting Up Elementary Report Cards for Admin.