Report Card administration in DnA has been made easier and faster with duplication features that allow administrators to roll over specific pieces of the report card setup, as opposed to all report cards. This option is not the most common option used. You'll find the use of these tools are very unique to your report card needs. Please discuss with your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or Report Card Specialists before proceeding.
Once any of these tools are used, you are no longer able to use Option A: Report Card Year Duplicator, and must use the following tools to roll over report cards.
Before You Start
Before you begin, make sure to be in the Report Card creator's account, and signed into the next academic year.
Check with your District System Administrator and Data Team to confirm if the Rollover to the Next Academic Year for DNA has been completed first.
Where to Start
The following steps are in order for a successfull rollover. Please do the following in order, as presented. You can always edit, refine, and even delete or remove pieces later if necessary.
Why Duplicate Print Groups?
Print Groups are like unique folders where all of the report cards for each grade level are stored throughout the academic year. They help to manage and make the layout sticky so that a report card can be printed at any time of the year and print any or all historical data. Because they were previously created and successful, this tool will automatically duplicate them and tie them to the next academic year with a single click.
Get Started with the Print Group Duplicator
- Select the Grades tab.
- Select Print Group Duplicator.
- You will be presented with all your previous year's Print Groups. Using the check boxes to the far right, check off the Print Groups you wish to duplicate over. You can duplicate all previous year's Print Groups at once (Highly Recommended).
- Select the Duplicate button.
- Once completed, messages of successful duplication will appear.
If Print Group names need adjustment, DO NOT adjust any Print Group names yet, as doing so WILL jeopardize the remaining processes. Editing and updating titles should be done after the process, if necessary.
Why Duplicate Field Groups?
Field Groups take the most time for set up, and it would be a shame to recreate them if you don't need to. Field Groups are how the teacher's entry screen understands what data needs to be entered (manually), what data is pulled from areas in DnA (such as Gradebook, Custom Reports, and/or Assessments, automatically), and if selected from a list. Most likely, you will reuse almost all of your Field Groups created last year.
When would I not duplicate all of them? A change in grading practices (from Points Based to Standards Based) will change how your field groups for Reading, Mathematics, and maybe even Writing or Language, are set up to pull data. You can quickly duplicate all other field groups, but rebuild those that change drastically.
Get Started with the Field Group Duplicator
- Select the Grades tab.
- Select Field Group Duplicator.
- You will be presented with all your previous year's Field Groups. Using the checkboxes to the far right, select the Field Groups you wish to duplicate over. You can duplicate all previous year's Field Groups at once (Highly Recommended).
- Select the Duplicate button.
- Once completed, you will get the above message of successful duplication.
If Field Group names or options need adjustment, DO NOT adjust any titles or options yet, as doing so WILL jeopardize the remaining processes. Editing and updating titles should be done after the process, if necessary.
Why Duplicate Report Cards?
Report Cards will need to be duplicated to bring everything together. The print groups and field groups will now have a report card to attach to.
Get Started with Report Card Duplication
- Select the Grades tab.
- Select Report Cards.
- You will be presented with all your previous year's Report Cards. Each Report Card (i.e., Grade 1 Trimester 1, Grade 1 Trimester 2, Grade 1 Trimester 3, etc.) needs to be duplicated one at a time using the Duplicate icon.
- Once selected, the prompt, "Are you sure you want to duplicate this Report Card?" will appear. Select OK.
For each report card duplicated, make sure to confirm and select the following:
- Ensure the Academic Year you are duplicating into is correct.
- Ensure the Session Type you are duplicating into is correct.
- The Grading Period Number should default to what your previous year's configuration was. If incorrect, please adjust. Remember, the grading period ID is just a unique identifier assigned to each Grading Period created.
- If you did not modify Print Group names in step 1, this should automatically map to the same Print Group (as linked in previous year). If not, please adjust.
- If you did not modify Field Group names in step 2, this should automatically map to the same Field Groups (as linked in previous year). If not, please add/remove check marks for the Field Groups that apply.
- The Student Groups should automatically link to the same one as in the previous year's configuration. No need to have duplicated anything.
- You are asked if you want the Report Card share permissions from the previous year to duplicate into your new year. By default, "Yes" is chosen. This means all the Sharing will be duplicated from the prior year.
- Once all above options are reviewed, select Submit.
- If successfully executed, you will get the above green message. Below the message, your new report card is listed, along with the previous years' report cards.
- Repeat this step for each report card you want to duplicate. You can always duplicate all grade level's report cards for the first grading period only, especially if you are planning on making a lot of revisions or edits. Then, when you are ready, you can duplicate the report cards later to set up the rest of the year. Keep in mind that the next tool can only be used for report cards you have duplicated.
If Report Card names need adjustment, please DO NOT adjust any names yet, as doing so WILL jeopardize the remaining processes. Editing and updating titles should be done after the process if necessary.
Why Duplicate the Overlay (Layout/Mapping)?
Well, if you love mapping and laying out your fields onto each report card, then please skip this step. Just kidding. The Overlay Duplicator is designed to copy one complete report card (one Print Group and associated Report Cards and Fields) per trial. For each report card you duplicated in the previous step, you can run the overlay duplicator tool. This will (given that the field groups have also been duplicated) automatically remap the field groups for you.
Get Started with Overlay Duplicator
- Select the Grades tab.
- Select Overlay Duplicator.
The function behind the Overlay Duplicator is to align and copy the overlay/blocking configurations from the previous year into the current Report Card. For example, if you have a Print Group (i.e., Grade 1) that has three Report Cards linked (Grade 1 Trimester 1, Grade 1 Trimester 2, Grade 1 Trimester 3) from the previous year, you will be duplicating that complete overlay into the new year's Print Group.
- Select a Field Alignment Strategy from the two available options:
- Report Card Name, Field Name and Field Type
OR - Report Card Name, Field Group Name and Field Name (Recommended)
- Report Card Name, Field Name and Field Type
We strongly recommend using the Report Card Name, Field Group Name and Field Name option. The idea behind the Field Alignment Strategy is simple: how should our system map fields from the previous year to the current year's fields? If the Report Card Name, Field Group Name and Field Name option is chosen, DnA will attempt to match fields where the Report Card name from last year matches the current year Report Card Name AND the Field Group Name from last year matches the current year Field Group Name AND the Field Name from last year's Report Card matches the current year Field Name. If those three conditions are met for each field, our system will automatically align the correct field for you. If one condition is off, you will have to align the field yourself.
This is the reason why above, in Steps 1, 2, and 3, we ask that you DO NOT rename any of those duplications just yet. Here's an example of a non-matching alignment:
Year > Report Card Name > Field Group Name > Field Name
2013 > 12-13 Grade 1 Trimester 1 > 1ELA > Letter Recognition
2014 > 13-14 Grade 1 Trimester 1 > 1ELA > Letter Recognition
- Select the Print Group you wish to duplicate into.
- If you did have other Language versions, specify using the drop-down menu what Language you'd like to copy over.
- If multiple language versions are used, simply leaving the default "All Correspondence Languages" will copy all of those language overlays too.
- Select the Report Card Field Groups to Align to by selecting the link Select Field Groups.
- The Select Field Groups menu will pop up. Listed is your previous years' Print Group, Report Card, and Field Group alignments. Select the checkboxes for ALL Field Groups that were aligned with the Print Group that matches your destination Print Group.
- For example, if you chose "Grade 1" as the destination Print Group, here you will select all the Field Groups that are aligned with that Print Group. Using the example listed, you should be selecting ALL, including the Field Groups tied to Trimester 2 and Trimester 3. Don't forget the *Common Fields* option, as those would be fields such as Student Name, Teacher Name, School Name, etc. Please DO NOT check off Field Groups related to a different Print Group.
- Finish by selecting Select Field Groups.
- The screen will refresh and bring you back to the same previous page with your selected Field Groups listed. If everything looks good, proceed by selecting the Submit button.
- The next screen will automatically populate the field alignment matches using your Field Alignment Strategy chosen previously. There is a message at the top of the page with a Warning, as well as a count of how many fields that matched. If any field matches up, you will see the field automatically populated with the previous year's alignment via the dropdown menu on the far right. Please scroll down the page to review all other Trimesters' field alignments to ensure they are mapped properly. If something should not match, simply use the dropdown menu for that row and align the field appropriately.
- Once all is confirmed and adjusted, select the Duplicate Field Positioning button.
- You will get a popup Warning stating that "This action is irreversible and can damage existing report cards." What this means is that if you've previously duplicated or created an overlay already for that Print Group, this will overwrite whatever adjustments and changes you made in that overlay.
- Select OK to proceed.
- Once completed, you will get the message, "Successfully duplicated Report Card Overlay." From here, you can proceed to duplicate another Overlay, and repeat steps 3-12.
Why Confirm and Adjust?
It is always recommended to review your Report Cards prior to entry. Make sure all of the elements are working as expected. Adjustments will need to be made to areas that are linked to Custom Reports, or even specific standards, when linking to Gradebooks or Assessments. So it is our best recommendation to review your setup as soon as you have rolled over.
Get Started with Confirmations and Adjustments
- Ensure your overlays have duplicated over by proceeding to Grades > Report Cards. Select a Report Card (e.g., Grade 1 Trimester 1) and look over the overlay page to ensure that the blocks have carried over.
- If you do have language versions, ensure those overlays also duplicated over.
- We did not yet build in the functionality to duplicate Field Group share permissions. Please don't forget to share Field Groups.
- If all looks good, you may proceed now to rename any of the following as necessary: Report Card Names, Print Group Names, Field Group Names, Field Names.
- Check fields tied to custom reports and gradebooks, to ensure linking success.
Next Steps
Now that your report cards have been rolled over, you may need to revisit some creation and setup tips if adjustments are needed. Visit Elementary Admin: Setup to assist you.