DnA Assessment Views allow users to create a collection of associated assessments, which can then be linked to eduCLIMBER to create a data automation. As assessments within the Assessment View are administered in DnA, student data and scores are automatically updated and pushed to eC, allowing users to view that data alongside the existing assessment, attendance, incident, and intervention data within eC. This lesson walks through how to link a DnA Assessment View to eC, possible warning messages and their resolutions, and configuration of the assessments on the eC side.
Before You Begin
Required DnA Permissions: It is recommended that the following permissions to link DnA Assessment Views to eC be given to a Test Admin or a few select District Access users.
- Create Assessment Views
- Link Assessment Views to eduCLIMBER
- Replicate Permissions to Linked Assessments (Recommended)
- eduCLIMBER Integrations
- Share Student Groups to eduCLIMBER as Public Student Tags (Recommended)
Required eC Permissions:
- Configure Assessment Manager
- Manage Target Sets
- Upload Data into eduCLIMBER
This lesson begins assuming that an Assessment View has already been created in DnA to be linked to eC. To learn more about creating an Assessment View, take a look at Create and Manage an Assessment View.
Summary Assessments and Skills Assessments cannot be added to Assessment Views at this time. However, it is possible to move these scores into a Flexible Assessment, or import them directly into eduCLIMBER via a Generic Importer.
DnA Assessment View Considerations
When creating and preparing an Assessment View in DnA to be linked to eC, consideration should be given to the type of assessments included, assessment view title, performance bands, and subject tags in order to facilitate a smooth transition of data.
DnA assessments added to Assessment Views to be linked to eC should be grouped by the assessment type, such as District Benchmarks, Interims, etc. Due to the way data is visualized in eC, organizing assessments according to assessment type is more important than organizing assessments by grade, school, testing window, or subject.
It is recommended that all individual assessments included within a DnA Assessment View include subject tags, which are included in the transfer of data from DnA to eC, and can then be further configured according to preference.
The Performance Bands linked to DnA assessments can be optionally included in the data transfer to eC, but consideration should be taken to determine if the original DnA Performance Bands, or a Band created afterward in eC, would fit the situation better. Generally, if all assessments included within a DnA Assessment View utilize the same Performance Band, that Performance Band can be included in the data transfer, and efficiently transfer to eC. However, if multiple different Performance Bands are utilized within the same Assessment View, these Bands cannot be merged during the data transfer process, and it is better to create a unifying Performance Band in eC after the Assessment View has been transferred.
The DnA and eC platforms use data in different ways, utilizing different visualization and analysis tools and filters. These differences in functionality lead to differences in assessment naming conventions, and necessitate consideration for how an Assessment View to be linked to eC should be titled so that users on either platform can find and understand the contents and intention of the included data.
When an Assessment View from DnA is linked to eC, it will show up within the Assessment Suite dropdown. Consider, what should users see in eC? How will they know what to look for?
In DnA, assessments are titled according to the expectation that individual assessments will need to be located and added to Custom Reports, and may be added to user Tile Layouts. Assessments are not automatically organized by the DnA system, and therefore often include the roster year, subject, assessment type, grade level, and administration window:
- 2024-2025 ELA Benchmark Grade 3 Trimester 1
- 2024-2025 Math Unit Test Grade 3 Trimester 1
In eC, assessments are automatically organized by the eC system based on tags, and data is visualized by filters for grades, school year, and subject. As such, assessment naming conventions in eC are simplified:
- Benchmarks
- Interims
To facilitate users' ability to find DnA Assessment Views in eC, while the included individual assessments may follow DnA naming conventions, the Assessment View title should be based on the assessment type, and does not need to include content area, grade level, roster year, teacher name, or window name.
For example, Assessment View names might include the following assessment types:
- District Benchmark
- Interim
- Common Formative Assessment
- [District Name] Local Assessment
Where to Start
- Log into DnA.
- Go to Assessments.
- Select View Assessments.
- Select the desired Assessment View from the list.
Link Assessment View to eduCLIMBER
- Select Advanced.
- From the dropdown menu, select Link to eduCLIMBER.
- The list of Included Assessments within the View appear on the right. Select a Window for each assessment.
- Available Windows are labeled as Test #, and act as placeholders for the testing Windows that will be configured in eC.
- Windows reference the point in time the assessment is given. For example, Fall/Winter/Spring, Quarters, Semesters, Trimesters, Yearlong, BOY, MOY, EOY, etc.
- It is recommended to align Test # Windows to assessments in chronological order, so that configuration in eC is easier. For example, in the image above, the Beginning of Year assessment correlates to Test 1, Middle of Year to Test 2, and End of Year to Test 3.
- The same Test # Window can be used multiple times. For example, a Math Benchmark Grade 5 BOY assessment and Math Benchmark Grade 6 BOY assessment might both be aligned to Test 1, because they occurred within the same testing administration Window.
- When Assessment View data is visualized within eC, Windows appear as separate bars within a chart, and separate columns within a data wall.
- Select the X next to a Window to remove the Window from the assessment. If an assessment is not assigned a Window, the data from that assessment will not be imported into eC, and the Window dropdown displays the text, "Do not sync scores."
- Choosing not to sync scores for some assessments within an Assessment View can allow for assessments to be included for use within DnA, without being required to be included in the eC import.
- Select Submit to confirm the windows.
- When ready to submit the assessments to eduCLIMBER, select Link this Assessment View to eduCLIMBER.
- A green banner will appear if the linking was successful.
Review Assessment Warnings
Based on the assessments included in the Assessment View and how they've been set up before linking, the DnA system provides a list of warnings at the top of the Link to eduCLIMBER page. These warnings will not hinder the assessments from linking into the eC account, but can provide unexpected results.
If any assessments included in the Assessment View are not assigned a testing Window, the above warning message appears. If the listed assessments were not intentionally excluded from being given a Window, they should be assigned Windows, or the included assessment data will not import into eC.
If any assessments included in the Assessment View do not share the same performance band set, the above warning message appears. Individual assessments within one Assessment View that rely on different cut scores for performance bands create multiple bands for one eC Assessment Group, and may produce confusing visualizations in eC. There are often important reasons to maintain the different Performance Bands within DnA, but this warning indicates that the included Performance Bands will need to be reconfigured in eC to ensure that the transferred assessment data displays correctly within eC visualizations.
If any assessments included in the Assessment View are not given subject area tags, or are given custom subject area tags, the above warning message appears. When imported to eC, the listed assessments will be assigned to the Specials category. Subject area tags can be added in DnA, or they can be configured in eC for more efficient visualization of the included data.
Assessment Configuration in eduCLIMBER
Once a DnA Assessment View is linked to eduCLIMBER, the Assessment Group, Assessments, and Windows are automatically created in eC, and are immediately available. However, the data within the assessments does not immediately import, and will be made available following the nightly Uploads.
- Log into eduCLIMBER.
- Go to System Configuration.
- Select Assessments.
- Select the Assessment Group from the list. The Assessment Group name matches the name of the Assessment View within DnA.
- The Assessments within the group are automatically created. The names of each assessment match the assessment titles within DnA.
- Windows are automatically linked based on the selections made in DnA.
- Performance Bands are imported from DnA.
Window Aliases
- Select Windows.
- Double select within each cell to enter an Alias for each Window. The Alias renames the Window with a more descriptive name for data visualization, e.g., Fall, Winter, BOY, EOY, Q1, Q2, Yearlong, etc.
- It is not recommended to remove or rename the Test numbers from DnA under the Window Name column, as they can act as a reminder of what Test numbers were assigned to which assessments within DnA.
- Select the Assessment Group name within the navigation breadcrumbs to return to the overview page.
Align Performance Bands
- Select Performance Bands.
- All Performance Bands linked to assessments within the DnA Assessment View will import into eC. If multiple Performance Bands were imported and some bands need to be deleted, select Edit.
- If no Performance Bands were linked in DnA, or a new band should be created from scratch, select Add Band.
- To learn more about creating Performance Bands in eC, take a look at Creating a Performance Band Set.
- Select a Performance Band name to edit the band configuration.
- Select the Assessment Group name within the navigation breadcrumbs to return to the overview page.
Merging Assessments
Assessments imported from DnA to eC can optionally be merged to aid in viewing assessment data in eC. Merged assessments allow data to be displayed within the same chart, and create a longitudinal view. Assessments only need to be separated by content area.
If a student has a score in two or more assessments to be merged, the eC system will not allow the merge. To make adjustments to scores to allow merging, do so in DnA.
- From the Assessment Group overview page, select Assessments.
- Select one assessment to merge the other assessments into, and rename the assessment.
- Choose a name for the assessment that is descriptive of all the assessments to be merged.
- Select the checkboxes next to the assessments to merge.
- Select Merge.
- Select the newly renamed assessment from the Merge to Assessment dropdown.
- Select Apply.
Manage Data Sync, Update Data, Disable Data, and Delete Data
Once an Assessment View has been linked to eC, the data sync can be suspended or resumed at any time. When suspended, the assessment data already imported into eC will remain available in the eC system, but new data and any changes made to the Assessment View in DnA will not be forwarded to eC. Data might need to be suspended when an Assessment View is old or out of date, or contains assessments and data not desired to view in eC. When the data sync is resumed, all new data and changes made to the Assessment View will be synced with the Assessment Group in eC.
Access the Assessment View Link to eduCLIMBER page, and select Suspend eC Sync or Resume eC Sync as desired.
Assessment Views can be updated in DnA to forward to the Assessment Group in eC. As long as the data is synced between DnA and eC, as student scores and data is added to assessments within the Assessment View, that updated data is imported into eC as well. Additional assessments with the same purpose can also be added to an Assessment View to include it in the eC Assessment Group.
An assessment within an Assessment View can be removed from the view, or an entire Assessment View can be deleted, if that data is no longer needed, or if all data has already been sent to eC (i.e., previous years' data).
Data importing from DnA can also be managed from the eC side, without affecting the Assessment View in DnA. If data from an Assessment View should not be visualized within eC, access the associated Assessment Group, and toggle Assessment Enabled off. This option retains the Assessment View data and configurations within eC, but prevents the included data from being visualized. This can also be toggled on again later to allow the data to be visualized.
If the Assessment View data is out of date, or otherwise no longer needed within eC, the Assessment Group can be purged to fully remove the data from the platform. Take a look at Data Purge Tool to learn more.
Next Steps
Now that DnA Assessment Views have been linked to eduCLIMBER, log into eduCLIMBER to visualize assessment data.