Test Information and Distribution Engine
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Connecticut Smarter Balanced Assessments
Test Information and
Distribution Engine
User Guide
2014-2015
Published January 19, 2015
Prepared by the American Institutes for Research®
Descriptions of the operation of the Test Information Distribution Engine, Test Delivery System,
and related systems are property of the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and are used
with the permission of AIR.
Table of Contents
Introduction to This User Guide ................................................................................................................ 1
Organization of This User Guide .............................................................................................................. 1
Document Conventions ............................................................................................................................ 2
Intended Audience .................................................................................................................................... 2
Section I. Overview of the Test Information Distribution Engine........................................................... 3
Description of TIDE................................................................................................................................... 3
System Requirements .............................................................................................................................. 4
Understanding User Roles and Permissions ............................................................................................ 4
Section II. Accessing TIDE ......................................................................................................................... 7
Activating Your TIDE Account .................................................................................................................. 7
Logging in to TIDE .................................................................................................................................... 8
Changing Your Account Information and Password ................................................................................. 9
Resetting Your Password ....................................................................................................................... 10
Logging out of TIDE ................................................................................................................................ 11
Section III. Understanding the TIDE Interface ........................................................................................ 12
TIDE’s Home Page ................................................................................................................................. 12
Sorting Retrieved Records...................................................................................................................... 13
Switching Between CT Smarter Balanced Systems............................................................................... 13
Changing Test Administration or Institution ............................................................................................ 14
Selecting Records for an Action ............................................................................................................. 15
Navigating Back to Retrieved Records ................................................................................................... 15
Section IV. Managing TIDE Users ............................................................................................................ 16
Retrieving User Accounts ....................................................................................................................... 16
Viewing and Editing User Details ........................................................................................................... 17
Adding User Accounts ............................................................................................................................ 19
Deleting User Accounts .......................................................................................................................... 20
Adding, Editing, or Deleting Users through File Uploads ....................................................................... 20
Understanding the User Upload File Format ...................................................................................... 20
Submitting a User Upload File ............................................................................................................ 22
Section V. Working with Student Information ........................................................................................ 24
Retrieving Student Records .................................................................................................................... 24
Viewing and Editing Students ................................................................................................................. 26
Printing Testing Tickets and PreID Labels ............................................................................................. 31
Uploading Test Settings.......................................................................................................................... 32
Understanding the Test Settings Upload File Format ........................................................................ 32
ii
TIDE User Guide Table of Contents
Submitting a Test Settings Upload File .............................................................................................. 39
Section VI. Working with Appeals ........................................................................................................... 41
Understanding Appeals .......................................................................................................................... 41
Types of Appeals ................................................................................................................................ 41
Status of Appeals ............................................................................................................................... 42
Retrieving Appeals .................................................................................................................................. 42
Creating Appeals .................................................................................................................................... 45
Creating Appeals Through File Uploads................................................................................................. 46
Understanding the Appeal Upload File Format .................................................................................. 46
Submitting an Appeal Upload File ...................................................................................................... 47
Section VII. Working with Rosters of Students ...................................................................................... 48
Viewing Rosters ...................................................................................................................................... 48
Adding a New Roster .............................................................................................................................. 49
Modifying an Existing Roster .................................................................................................................. 50
Deleting a Roster .................................................................................................................................... 50
Printing a Roster ..................................................................................................................................... 51
Creating Rosters Through File Uploads ................................................................................................. 52
Understanding the Roster Upload File Format ................................................................................... 52
Submitting a Roster Upload File ......................................................................................................... 53
Section VIII. Downloading and Installing Voice Packs .......................................................................... 55
Appendix A. Exporting Retrieved Records ............................................................................................ 56
Appendix B. Processing File Uploads .................................................................................................... 57
How TIDE Processes Large Files ........................................................................................................... 57
How TIDE Validates File Uploads .......................................................................................................... 57
Resolving File Upload Errors .................................................................................................................. 58
Reviewing Upload History....................................................................................................................... 59
Appendix C. Opening CSV Files in Excel 2007 or Later ........................................................................ 61
Appendix D. User Support ....................................................................................................................... 63
iii
Table of Figures
Figure 1. TIDE’s position in the assessment process ................................................................................... 4
Figure 2. Hierarchy of User Roles ................................................................................................................. 6
Figure 3. Fields in the Please Log In page ................................................................................................... 7
Figure 4. TIDE Card ...................................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 5. Please Log In Page ....................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 6. Fields in the My Account Page ...................................................................................................... 9
Figure 7. Fields in the Reset Your Password Page .................................................................................... 10
Figure 8. TIDE Home Page for the District Administrator Role................................................................... 12
Figure 9. Sort Columns ............................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 10. Switching Between CT Smarter Balanced systems .................................................................. 13
Figure 11. Change Institution/Test Administration Page ............................................................................ 14
Figure 12. Options for Selecting Retrieved Records .................................................................................. 15
Figure 13. Button to use to return to a listing of retrieved records .............................................................. 15
Figure 14. Selection Fields in the View/Edit Users Page............................................................................ 16
Figure 15. Retrieved Users ......................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 16. Edit User Page ........................................................................................................................... 17
Figure 17. Form Fields in the Add Users Page ........................................................................................... 19
Figure 18. Sample User Upload File ........................................................................................................... 22
Figure 19. User Upload File Preview .......................................................................................................... 23
Figure 20. Selection Fields in the View/Edit Students Page ....................................................................... 24
Figure 21. Additional Student Search Criteria (Form Fields) ...................................................................... 24
Figure 22. Additional Student Search Criteria (Displayed) ......................................................................... 25
Figure 23. Retrieved Students (partial view) ............................................................................................... 25
Figure 24. View Student Details Page (Top Portion) .................................................................................. 26
Figure 25. Sample Testing Ticket ............................................................................................................... 31
Figure 26. Sample PreID Label ................................................................................................................... 31
Figure 27. Sample Test Settings Upload File ............................................................................................. 39
Figure 28. Test Settings Upload File Preview (partial view) ....................................................................... 39
Figure 29. Selection Fields in the View Appeals Page ............................................................................... 42
Figure 30. Retrieved Appeals...................................................................................................................... 43
Figure 31. Selection Fields in the Create Appeals Page ............................................................................ 45
Figure 32. Retrieved Appeals...................................................................................................................... 45
Figure 33. Sample Appeals Upload File ..................................................................................................... 46
Figure 34. Appeals Upload File Preview ..................................................................................................... 47
Figure 35. Manage Rosters Page—selection fields .................................................................................... 48
iv
TIDE User Guide Table of Figures
Figure 36. Manage Roster Page—Viewing a Roster’s Students ................................................................ 49
Figure 37. Printer-Friendly Version of a Roster .......................................................................................... 51
Figure 38. Sample Roster Upload File ........................................................................................................ 53
Figure 39. Roster Upload File Preview ....................................................................................................... 54
Figure 40. Export Options ........................................................................................................................... 56
Figure 41. Sample Error Messages ............................................................................................................ 58
vTable of Tables
Table 1. Document Conventions ................................................................................................................... 2
Table 2. User Roles and Associated Permissions ........................................................................................ 4
Table 3. Fields in the View User Details Page ............................................................................................ 18
Table 4: Columns in the User Upload File .................................................................................................. 20
Table 5. Fields in the View Student Details Page ....................................................................................... 27
Table 6: Columns in the Test Settings Upload file. ..................................................................................... 32
Table 7. Types of Appeals .......................................................................................................................... 41
Table 8. Statuses of Appeals ...................................................................................................................... 42
Table 9. Fields in the View Appeals Page .................................................................................................. 43
Table 10: Columns in the Appeals Upload File ........................................................................................... 46
Table 11: Columns in the Rosters Upload File ........................................................................................... 52
Table 12. Export Options ............................................................................................................................ 56
Table 13. Record Thresholds for Offline Processing .................................................................................. 57
Table 14. File Upload Error Icons and Resolutions .................................................................................... 58
Table 15. Columns in the Error Messages report ....................................................................................... 58
Table 16. Columns in Upload History ......................................................................................................... 59
viIntroduction to This User Guide
This section describes the contents of this user guide.
Organization of This User Guide
This guide contains the following sections:
• Section I, Overview of the Test Information Distribution Engine, lists TIDE’s features, system
requirements, and provides an overview of user roles and permissions.
• Section II, Accessing TIDE, describes how to activate your TIDE account, how to log in and
log out, and how to change your password.
• Section III, Understanding the TIDE Interface, describes what appears in the TIDE interface,
how to sort columns, how to switch between other assessment applications, and how to
change your user role and test administration.
• Section IV, Managing TIDE Users, describes how to view, add, and modify TIDE user
accounts.
• Section V, Working with Student Information, describes how to view, add, and modify
information pertaining to students, their test eligibilities, and their test accommodations.
• Section VI, Working with Appeals, describes how to view and create testing appeals.
• Section VII, Working with Rosters of Students, describes how to create, modify, and delete
rosters of students associated with teachers and schools.
• Section VIII, Downloading and Installing Voice Packs, describes how to download the
available voice packs.
• Appendix A, Exporting Retrieved Records, describes how to export retrievals into a variety
of file formats.
• Appendix B, Processing File Uploads, describes how TIDE processes file uploads and how to
resolve associated error messages.
• Appendix C, Opening CSV Files in Excel 2007 or Later, describes how to open CSV files in
recent versions of Microsoft Excel.
• Appendix D, User Support, explains how to contact the help desk.
1TIDE User Guide Introduction to This User Guide
Document Conventions
Table 1 describes the conventions appearing in this user guide.
Table 1. Document Conventions
Icon Description
Warning: This symbol accompanies information regarding actions that may cause loss of
data.
Caution: This symbol accompanies information regarding actions that may result in incorrect
data.
Note: This symbol accompanies helpful information or reminders.
bold Boldface italic indicates a page name.
italic
bold Boldface indicates an item you click or a drop-down list selection.
mono Monospace indicates a file name or text you enter from the keyboard.
Intended Audience
This user guide is intended for state-, district-, and school-level test administrators and
coordinators who manage the assessment effort. You should be familiar with the concepts of
test eligibility, test settings, accommodations, and general management of user accounts for an
enterprise-wide system.
To use TIDE, you need to be familiar with using a web browser to retrieve data and with filling
out web forms. If you want to use the file upload and download features, you also need to be
familiar with using a spreadsheet application and working with comma-separated value (CSV)
files.
2Section I. Overview of the Test Information
Distribution Engine
Description of TIDE
Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE) performs the following functions:
• Registering students for assessments
• Establishing test settings and accommodations
• Viewing students’ associations with districts, schools, and rosters
• Delivering voice packs for testing computers
• Managing appeals
• Managing rosters
• Managing users accounts
Depending on your state and user role, you may not have access to all these functions.
Figure 1 illustrates TIDE’s functions and their place in the assessment process. At its core, TIDE
contains a list of students enrolled in your schools. TIDE receives the vast majority of this
student information from uploads from external systems, although TIDE has features for
manually modifying students’ test settings. TIDE then distributes this information to the
appropriate target system. Test Delivery System (TDS) receives students’ eligibilities, settings,
and accommodations; this enables TDS to deliver the appropriate test to any given student in
the required format. Online Reporting System (ORS) receives students’ institutional
associations; this enables ORS to aggregate scores at the classroom, school, district, and state
levels.
3TIDE User Guide Overview of the Test Information Distribution Engine
Figure 1. TIDE’s position in the assessment process
Manual
Test Delivery System
Registrations Students’ test eligibility, settings,
accommodations
TIDE
Students’ demographics, roster,
school, and district associations
Overnight Online Reporting
Loads System
System Requirements
To use TIDE, you need a recent version of a web browser, such as Firefox, Chrome, or Internet
Explorer. For a detailed list of system requirements, which includes the supported operating
systems and web browsers, see the Online System Requirements. This publication is available in
the Resources section of the Connecticut Smarter Balanced Assessments Portal,
https://CT.portal.airast.org.
Understanding User Roles and Permissions
Each user in TIDE has a role, such as a district-level user or a school-level user. Each role has an
associated list of permissions to access certain features within TIDE. For example, a district-level
user can perform activities related to districts. This can include adding or deleting TIDE users. A
teacher can perform different activities. This can include downloading screen readers but not
re-opening a test.
Table 2 describes TIDE’s user roles. The top row contains the various roles, and the subsequent
rows indicate the tasks permitted to those roles.
Table 2. User Roles and Associated Permissions
*
Task DA DC SC TE TA
Working with Student Information
Retrieving Student Records
Uploading Test Settings
Viewing and Editing Students
Printing Testing Tickets and PreID Labels
4TIDE User Guide Overview of the Test Information Distribution Engine
*
Task DA DC SC TE TA
Managing Users
Retrieving User Accounts
Adding User Accounts
Adding, Editing, or Deleting Users through File
Uploads
Viewing and Editing User Details
Deleting User Accounts
Working with Appeals
Creating Appeals
Retrieving Appeals
Creating Appeals Through File Uploads
Working with Rosters of Students
Viewing Rosters
Adding a New Roster
Modifying an Existing Roster
Deleting a Roster
Printing a Roster
Creating Rosters Through File Uploads
Voice Packs
Downloading and Installing Voice Packs
*
DA—District Administrator; DC—District Test Coordinator; SC—School Test Coordinator; TE—Teacher,
TA—Test Administrator
5TIDE User Guide Overview of the Test Information Distribution Engine
There is a hierarchy to the user roles Figure 2. Hierarchy of User Roles
listed in Table 2. As indicated
in Figure 2, the district administrator is District Administrator
at the top of the hierarchy, followed by
district test coordinator, then school
test coordinator, then teacher and test District Test
administrator. Generally, user roles that Coordinator
are higher in the hierarchy have access
to more sensitive or critical data and School Test
tasks within TIDE. Coordinator
Teacher Test Administrator
6Section II. Accessing TIDE
This section explains how to activate your TIDE account, log in to TIDE, reset a forgotten
password, change account information, and how to log out.
Activating Your TIDE Account
Your TIDE administrator creates your account, and then TIDE sends you an introductory email.
This email contains the following information:
• A link for logging in to TIDE. This link expires 30 days after the email was sent.
• Your temporary password.
If you do not receive an account activation email, check your spam folder. Emails are sent from
NEAC-DoNotReply@airast.org, so you may need to add this address to your contact list.
To activate your account:
1. Click the link in the introductory email. The Please Log In page appears.
Figure 3. Fields in the Please Log In page
2. In the Old Password field, enter the password in the activation email.
3. In the other password fields, enter a new password. The password must be eight characters
long and have three of the following: one lowercase alphabetic character, one uppercase
alphabetic character, one number, and one special character %, #, or !.
4. Click Submit. The Select a Security Question page appears.
7TIDE User Guide Accessing TIDE
5. Mark the checkbox next to a question, and enter an answer.
6. Click Save. The CT Smarter Balanced portal page appears.
Account activation is complete. You can proceed to TIDE by clicking the TIDE card (see Figure 4)
in the portal page.
Logging in to TIDE
To log in to TIDE:
1. Open your web browser and navigate to Figure 4. TIDE Card
the CT Smarter Balanced portal at
https://CT.portal.airast.org.
2. Click the Test Administrators or Test
Coordinators card.
3. Click the TIDE card. The Please Log In page
appears.
4. Enter your email address and password, Figure 5. Please Log In Page
and then click Log In. The Home page
appears.
Depending on your user role, TIDE may prompt
you to select a role, district, or school to
complete the login.
8TIDE User Guide Accessing TIDE
Changing Your Account Information and Password
You can modify your name, phone number, password, and other account information.
To modify account information:
1. In the banner (see Figure 8), click My Account. The My Account page appears (see Figure 6).
Figure 6. Fields in the My Account Page
2. To modify your user information, in the User Information section, enter updates as
necessary. (To change your email address, contact your TIDE administrator).
3. To modify your password, do the following:
a. In the Old Password field, enter your current password.
b. In the New Password and New Password (again) fields, enter the new password. The
password must be eight characters long and have three of the following: one lowercase
alphabetic character, one uppercase alphabetic character, one number, and one special
character %, #, or !. Your password cannot be the same as your current or previous
password.
4. Click Update. TIDE saves your changes, and a confirmation message appears.
9TIDE User Guide Accessing TIDE
Resetting Your Password
You need to reset your password if you forgot it or if the TIDE administrator locked your
account.
To reset your password:
1. Display the Home page by following steps 1–3 in the section Logging in to TIDE.
2. In the Please Log In page (see Figure 5), click Forgot Your Password?. The Reset Your
Password page appears (see Figure 7).
Figure 7. Fields in the Reset Your Password Page
3. Enter your TIDE email address, and click Next. Your security question appears.
4. Enter the response to the security question, and click OK. TIDE sends you an activation
email with a new temporary password.
5. Return to the login page, enter your username and the temporary password from step 4,
and click Log In. The Please Log In page appears (see Figure 3).
6. In the Old Password field, enter the temporary password from step 4, and enter a new
password. The password must be eight characters long and have three of the following: one
lowercase alphabetic character, one uppercase alphabetic character, one number, and one
special character %, #, or !. Your password cannot be the same as your current or previous
password.
7. Click Submit. TIDE resets your password. The Select a Security Question page appears.
8. Review and modify your answers to the security question as necessary, and click Save.
The TIDE home page appears.
10TIDE User Guide Accessing TIDE
Logging out of TIDE
To log out of TIDE:
• In the TIDE banner (see Figure 8), click Logout.
11Section III. Understanding the TIDE Interface
This section describes TIDE’s Home page and some common tasks such as sorting retrieved
records.
TIDE’s Home Page
The first page you see after logging in to TIDE is the Home page (see Figure 8). This page’s
appearance differs depending on your role. Some roles, such as those for schools, have just a
few tabs and tasks; other roles, such as those at the district level, have several tabs and tasks.
Figure 8. TIDE Home Page for the District Administrator Role
User
name Role Logout
District and Test
Administration
Tabs
Tasks
CAUTION: Loss of Data Working with TIDE in more than one tab or browser window may
result in changes in one tab overwriting changes made in another tab. Do not have more than
one TIDE browser tab or window open at one time.
12TIDE User Guide Understanding the TIDE Interface
Sorting Retrieved Records
Many tasks in TIDE involve retrieving data from a database. You can sort the retrieved records
by clicking any of the column headings in the retrieval table. For example, Figure 9 is a portion
of the /Edit Users page. You can sort the records by clicking Role, District, or School. (In the
complete /Edit Users page, there are many more columns by which you can sort.)
Figure 9. Sort Columns
Sort columns
Switching Between CT Smarter Balanced Systems
Depending on your role, when you log in to TIDE you can also switch to other CT Smarter
Balanced systems.
To switch to another CT Smarter Balanced system:
• In the banner, click Test Information Distribution Engine, and then select the other system
you want to use (see Figure 10).
Figure 10. Switching Between CT Smarter Balanced systems
Available CT
Smarter Balanced
Systems
13TIDE User Guide Understanding the TIDE Interface
Changing Test Administration or Institution
Depending on your permissions, you may have access to more than one test administration or
more than one school. You can also change to another user role if one is available to you. (For
an explanation of user roles, see Understanding User Roles and Permissions.)
To change test administration or institution:
1. In the TIDE banner (see Figure 8), click Change Institution/Test Administration. The Change
Institution/Test Administration page appears (see Figure 11).
Figure 11. Change Institution/Test Administration Page
2. Update the information as necessary. All fields are editable.
3. Click Submit. A new home page appears that is associated with your selections.
14TIDE User Guide Understanding the TIDE Interface
Selecting Records for an Action
In some retrieval pages, you can perform an action on the retrieved records. For example, in
the View Users page, you can export and download the retrieved records as an Excel file.
You can select all the retrieved records for a given action, or you can select some of them.
Referring to Figure 12, if you mark the checkbox in the header row, TIDE selects all the records.
If you mark a checkbox in an individual row, TIDE selects that record—and any other individual
records you mark.
Figure 12. Options for Selecting Retrieved Records
Selects all retrieved records
Selects individual record
Navigating Back to Retrieved Records
When you retrieve records, such as a listing of students or users, you can click on a View button
that provides a page to view or modify an individual record. (See, for example, Figure 15.) If you
want to return to the retrieved records, you must click Go Back To Search Results, not your
browser’s Back button. See Figure 13.
Figure 13. Button to use to return to a listing of retrieved records
Use this button instead of
your browser’s Back button
to return to a listing
15Section IV. Managing TIDE Users
This section describes user roles and associated permissions. This section also describes how to
manage user accounts.
Retrieving User Accounts
You can retrieve user accounts that satisfy given criteria. For a list of user roles that can
perform this task, see Table 2.
To retrieve user accounts:
1. Click the Manage Users tab, then click /Edit Users. The /Edit Users page appears
(see Figure 14).
Figure 14. Selection Fields in the View/Edit Users Page
2. From the drop-down lists, select search criteria.
3. Optional: Refine your search by specifying an email address, first name, or last name.
4. Click Search. TIDE displays the found users at the bottom of the /Edit Users page
(see Figure 15).
Figure 15. Retrieved Users
16TIDE User Guide Managing TIDE Users
From the listing of retrieved users, you can do the following:
• View detailed information about a user; see Viewing and Editing User Details.
• Delete user accounts; see Deleting User Accounts.
• Sort the listing; see Sorting Retrieved Records.
• Export the listing; see Appendix A, Exporting Retrieved Records.
Viewing and Editing User Details
You can view and modify detailed information about a user’s TIDE account. For a list of user
roles that can perform this task, see Table 2.
To view and edit user details:
1. Retrieve the user account you want to view or edit by following the procedure in the
section Retrieving User Accounts.
2. In the listing of retrieved users, click View corresponding to the user whose account you
want to view (see Figure 15). The Edit User page appears (see Figure 16).
Figure 16. Edit User Page
3. If your user role allows it, modify the user’s details as required. Use Table 3 as a reference.
17TIDE User Guide Managing TIDE Users
4. Click Save.
5. To return to the listing of user accounts, click Go Back to Search Results. (Do not use your
browser’s Back button to return to the listing.)
Table 3 describes the fields in the View User Details page.
Table 3. Fields in the View User Details Page
Field Description
District District associated with the user. To modify the district, you must delete
and then add the user. For details, see Deleting User Accounts
and Adding User Accounts. (This field does not appear for school-level
users.)
School School associated with the user. To modify the school, you must delete
and then add the user. For details, see Deleting User Accounts
and Adding User Accounts. (This field does not appear for district-level
users.)
Username Email address for logging in to TIDE.
First Name User’s first name.
Last Name User’s last name.
Phone User’s phone number.
18TIDE User Guide Managing TIDE Users
Adding User Accounts
When you add a user account, its role must be lower in the hierarchy than your role. (For an
explanation of the user role hierarchy, see Understanding User Roles and Permissions.)
Referring to Figure 2, school test coordinators can add teachers and test administrators, and
district administrators can add all user roles. Furthermore, you can add only those users that
fall within your institution. For example, district-level users can create school-level accounts
only for schools within their district.
For a list of user roles that can perform this task, see Table 2.
To add a user account:
1. Click the Manage Users tab, then click Add Users. The Add Users page appears.
Figure 17. Form Fields in the Add Users Page
2. Select the required role, district, and school (for school-level users) associated with the new
user.
3. Using Table 3 as a reference, enter the user’s email address, first name, last name, and
other details in the optional fields.
4. Click Add User.
TIDE adds the account and sends the new user an activation email from NEAC-
DoNotReply@airast.org.
19TIDE User Guide Managing TIDE Users
Deleting User Accounts
For a list of user roles that can perform this task, see Table 2.
To delete user accounts:
1. Retrieve the user accounts you want to delete by following the procedure in the
section Retrieving User Accounts.
2. In the /Edit Users page, do one of the following (see Figure 12):
o Mark the checkbox for the accounts you want to delete.
o Mark the checkbox at the top of the table to delete all retrieved user accounts.
3. Click Delete.
4. In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
TIDE deletes the user accounts.
Adding, Editing, or Deleting Users through File Uploads
If you have many users to add, edit, or delete, it may be easier to perform those transactions
through file uploads. This task requires familiarity with composing comma-separated value
(CSV) files or working with Microsoft Excel. The following sections describe how to compose the
files and then upload them to TIDE.
Understanding the User Upload File Format
The upload file is an Excel or CSV file with a heading row and data rows. Table 4 describes the
columns in the upload file and associated valid values.
Table 4: Columns in the User Upload File
Column Description Valid Values
District ID* District associated with the user. District ID that exists in TIDE. Up
to 30 characters.
School ID School associated with the user. School ID that exists in TIDE. Up
to 30 characters. Must be
associated with the district ID.
Can be blank when adding
district-level users.
FirstName* User’s first name. Up to 35 characters.
LastName* User’s last name. Up to 35 characters.
20TIDE User Guide Managing TIDE Users
Column Description Valid Values
Email* User’s email address. Any standard email address. Up
to 128 characters that are valid
for an email address. This is the
user’s username for logging in to
TIDE.
Phone User’s phone number. Phone number in xxx-xxx-xxxx
format.
Role* User’s role. For an explanation of user One of the following:
roles, see Understanding User Roles DA—District administrator.
and Permissions.
DC—District test coordinator.
SC—School test coordinator.
TE—Teacher.
TA—Test administrator.
Action* Indicates if this is an add, modify, or One of the following:
delete transaction. Add—Add new user or edit
existing user record.
Delete—Remove existing user
record.
*Required field.
21TIDE User Guide Managing TIDE Users
Figure 18 is an example of a simple upload file with the following transactions:
• The first row adds Thomas Walker as a TIDE user, specifying all fields except phone number.
• The second row modifies Thomas Walker’s account, changing his role and adding the phone
number. In this case you must list values in all other columns, even if you do not change
them.
• The third row deletes Thomas Walker’s account.
• The fourth row adds Patricia Martin as a test administrator for school 9000.
• The fifth row adds Patricia Martin as a school test coordinator for a different school—9001.
Figure 18. Sample User Upload File
Submitting a User Upload File
This section describes how to upload a file for adding, modifying, or deleting users. For a list of
user roles that can perform this task, see Table 2.
To submit a user upload file:
1. Click the Manage Users tab, then click Upload Users. The Upload Users page appears.
2. Download one of the file templates by clicking Download Excel Template or Download CSV
Template.
3. Open the file in a spreadsheet application or text editor, and add a row for each user you
want to add, modify, or delete. Be sure to follow the guidelines in Table 4. Save the file on
your computer.
4. In the Upload Users page, click Browse, and navigate to the file you created in step 3.
22TIDE User Guide Managing TIDE Users
5. Click Upload File. TIDE displays a preview of the uploaded file (see Figure 19). Use this
preview to verify you uploaded the correct file.
Figure 19. User Upload File Preview
6. Click Next. TIDE validates the file and displays error messages, if any. For information about
resolving error messages, see Resolving File Upload Errors.
NOTE: Validation and commitment of large files If your file contains a large number of
records, TIDE processes it offline and sends you a confirmation email when complete. While
TIDE is validating the file, do not press Cancel as TIDE may have already started processing
some of the records. For more information, see How TIDE Processes Large Files.
7. Click Commit. TIDE commits those records that do not have errors.
You can view a history of file uploads; see the section Reviewing Upload History for details.
23Section V. Working with Student Information
This section describes how to add, modify, and delete students’ records, and how those records
affect testing and reporting.
Retrieving Student Records
You can retrieve students’ records that satisfy given criteria. For a list of user roles that can
perform this task, see Table 2.
To retrieve student records:
1. Click the Student Information tab, then click View/Edit Students. The View/Edit Students
page appears (see Figure 20).
Figure 20. Selection Fields in the View/Edit Students Page
2. From the drop-down lists and in the text boxes, enter search criteria.
3. Optional. To refine your search, do the following:
a. Click Add Additional Search Criteria. Additional search fields appear (see Figure 21).
Figure 21. Additional Student Search Criteria (Form Fields)
24TIDE User Guide Working with Student Information
b. Make selections for the additional search criterion, and then click Add Criteria. TIDE
displays the criterion in the View/Edit Students page (see Figure 22).
Figure 22. Additional Student Search Criteria (Displayed)
Standard
search
criteria
Additional
search
criteria
c. Repeat steps a–b to add additional search criteria.
d. To delete an additional search criterion, click X next to it.
4. Click Search. TIDE displays the retrieved students at the bottom of the View/Edit Students
page (see Figure 23).
Figure 23. Retrieved Students (partial view)
25TIDE User Guide Working with Student Information
From the listing of retrieved students, you can do the following:
• View and edit detailed information about a student; see Viewing and Editing Students.
• Print testing tickets and PreID labels; see Printing Testing Tickets and PreID Labels.
• Sort the listing; see Sorting Retrieved Records.
• Export the listing; see Appendix A, Exporting Retrieved Records.
Viewing and Editing Students
You can view and edit detailed information about a student’s record. For a list of user roles that
can perform this task, see Table 2.
To view and edit student details:
1. Retrieve the student record you want to view or edit by following the procedure in the
section Retrieving Student Records.
2. In the listing of retrieved records, click View corresponding to the student whose record you
want to view (see Figure 23). The View Student Details page appears (see Figure 24).
Figure 24. View Student Details Page (Top Portion)
26TIDE User Guide Working with Student Information
3. If your user role allows it, modify the student’s record as required. Use Table 5 as a
reference.
4. Click Save.
5. To return to the listing of student accounts, click Go Back to Search Results. (Do not use
your browser’s Back button to return to the listing.)
Table 5 describes the fields in the View Student Details page.
Table 5. Fields in the View Student Details Page
Field Description
School IRN Internal Retrieval Number (IRN) of school where student is enrolled.
Student Demographics
Reporting District ID of district in which student is enrolled.
Reporting District ID of school in which student is enrolled.
Last Name Student’s last name.
First Name Student’s first name.
Birth Date (MMDDYYYY) Student’s date of birth.
Middle Name Student’s middle name.
SSID Student’s State Student Identifier (SSID) within the enrolled district.
Confirmation Code Code used to authenticate the student at testing time.
User Defined Name 2 Free-text field for supplementary information about the student.
User Defined Name 1 Free-text field for supplementary information about the student.
Resident Town Code Connecticut’s code for the town where the student resides.
Grade Level When Grade in which student is enrolled during the test administration.
Assessed
Gender Student’s gender.
Paper Tester Indicates if the student’s school is testing with paper-pencil in one or
more subjects where an online test is available.
IDEA Indicator Student’s Special Education program status.
LEP Status Student’s LEP status.
Section 504 Student’s 504 status.
Economic Disadvantage Student’s economic status.
Status
Language Code The primary language spoken by the student.
27TIDE User Guide Working with Student Information
Field Description
English Language Student’s English-language proficiency status.
Proficiency Level
Migrant Status Student’s migrant status.
First Entry Date into a US Student’s first day of school (ELL students only).
School
LEP Entry Date Student’s English Proficiency entry date, if applicable.
LEP Exit Date Student’s English Proficiency exit date, if applicable.
Title III Language Student’s Title III language status.
Instruction Program Type
Primary Disability Type Student’s primary disability.
Race and Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino A student of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American,
or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
American Indian or Alaska A student having origins in any of the original peoples of North America
Native and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal
affiliation or community attachment.
Asian A student having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East,
Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent. This area includes, for
example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the
Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American A student having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
White A student having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the
Middle East, or North Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other A student having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam,
Pacific Islander Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
Interim Testing Grade
Grade at which the student is tested during the upcoming interim test.
For example, marking the Grade 4 checkbox under the Mathematics
subject indicates the student receives the fourth-grade mathematics
interim test.
Test Settings
Non-Embedded Designated Supports
ELA Designates the non-embedded designated supports available to students
for English-language arts tests.
ELPT Designates the non-embedded designated supports available to students
for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates the non-embedded designated supports available to students
for mathematics tests.
28TIDE User Guide Working with Student Information
Field Description
Color Contrast
ELA Student’s color contrast designation for English-language arts tests.
ELPT Student’s color contrast designation for performance tasks.
Mathematics Student’s color contrast designation for mathematics tests.
Masking
ELA Designates if masking is available for English-language arts tests.
ELPT Designates if masking is available for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates if masking is available for mathematics tests.
Permissive Mode
ELA Designates if permissive mode is allowed for English-language arts tests.
ELPT Designates if permissive mode is allowed for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates if permissive mode is allowed for mathematics tests.
Print Size
ELA Designates if zoom is permissible for English-language arts tests.
ELPT Designates if zoom is permissible for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates if zoom is permissible for mathematics tests.
Translations (Glossary)
ELA Designates the glossaries available for English-language arts tests.
ELPT Designates the glossaries available for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates the glossaries available for mathematics tests.
Language (Designated Supports and Accommodations)
ELA Designates the languages available for English-language arts tests.
ELPT Designates the languages available for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates the languages available for mathematics tests.
Text-to-Speech (Designated Supports and Accommodations)
ELA Designates the text-to-speech options available for English-language arts
tests.
ELPT Designates the text-to-speech options available for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates the text-to-speech options available for mathematics tests.
29TIDE User Guide Working with Student Information
Field Description
American Sign Language
ELA Designates if American Sign Language is available for English-language
arts tests.
ELPT Designates if American Sign Language is available for performance
tasks.
Mathematics Designates if American Sign Language is available for mathematics
tests.
Print on Demand
ELA Designates if print-on-demand is available for English-language arts
tests.
ELPT Designates if print-on-demand is available for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates if print-on-demand is available for mathematics tests.
Close Captioning
ELA Designates if closed captioning is available for English-language arts
tests.
Non-Embedded Accommodations
ELA Designates the non-embedded accommodations available to students
outside of Test Delivery System for English-language arts tests.
ELPT Designates the non-embedded accommodations available to students
outside of the Test Delivery System for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates the non-embedded accommodations available to students
outside of the Test Delivery System for mathematics tests.
Streamlined
ELA Designates if streamlined-mode is available for English-language arts
tests.
ELPT Designates if streamlined-mode is available for performance tasks.
Mathematics Designates if streamlined-mode is available for mathematics tests.
30TIDE User Guide Working with Student Information
Printing Testing Tickets and PreID Labels
A testing ticket is a hardcopy form that includes a student’s username and confirmation code
for logging in to a test. Referring to the example Figure 25, the student’s username for testing
is 8894651001, and the confirmation code is 09-UI&^.
Figure 25. Sample Testing Ticket
A PreID label is a label that you affix to a student’s testing materials, such as an answer booklet.
Referring to the example in Figure 26, the student’s name, SID, and identifying bar code appear
on the label. The test administrator affixes this label to the student’s answer booklet.
Figure 26. Sample PreID Label
31TIDE User Guide Working with Student Information
TIDE generates the tickets or labels as PDF files that you download with your browser.
See Table 2 for a list of users who can perform this task.
To print testing tickets or PreID labels:
1. Retrieve the students for which you want to print tickets or labels by following the
procedure in the section Retrieving Student Records.
2. Click the column headings to sort the retrieved students in the order by which you want
them printed. (For information about sorting, see Sorting Retrieved Records.)
3. Do one of the following (see Figure 12):
o Mark the checkboxes for the students you want to print.
o Mark the checkbox at the top of the table to print tickets or labels for all retrieved
students.
4. Do one of the following:
o To print testing tickets, click Print Testing Tickets.
o To print PreID labels, click Print PreID Labels.
Your browser downloads the generated PDF file.
Uploading Test Settings
If you have many students for whom you need to apply test settings, it may be easier to
perform those transactions through file uploads. This task requires familiarity with composing
comma-separated value (CSV) files or working with Microsoft Excel. The following sections
describe how to compose the files and then upload them to TIDE.
Understanding the Test Settings Upload File Format
The upload file is an Excel or CSV file with a heading row and data rows. Table 6 describes the
columns in the upload file and associated valid values.
Table 6: Columns in the Test Settings Upload file.
Column Name Description Valid Values
SSID* State-assigned student Up to 30 alphanumeric characters.
identifier which is unique Must exist in TIDE.
within that district.
32TIDE User Guide Working with Student Information
Column Name Description Valid Values
PrintSize: Student’s print-size One of the following:
accommodation for tests in TDS_PS_L0—No magnification, 14 pt.
the indicated subject. For
example, the column TDS_PS_L1—1.5 magnification, 21 pt.
PrintSize:ELA indicates the TDS_PS_L2—1.75 magnification,
print size for tests in English- 24.5 pt.
language arts.
TDS_PS_L3—2.5 magnification, 35 pt.
TDS_PS_L4—3.0 magnification, 42 pt.
If blank, text appears as 14 point.
ColorContrast: Color of text and background One of the following:
for tests in the indicated TDS_CC0—Black on white.
subject. For example, the
column ColorContrast:ELA TDS_CCInvert—White on black.
indicates the color for tests in TDS_CCMagenta—Black on rose.
English-language arts.
TDS_CCMedGrayLtGray—Medium gray
on light gray.
TDS_CCYellowB—Yellow on Blue.
If blank, test appears as black text on
white background.
Masking: Masking setting for tests in One of the following:
the indicated subject. For TDS_Masking0—Masking is not
example, the column available.
Masking:ELA indicates the
masking setting for tests in TDS_Masking1—Masking is available.
English-language arts.
PermissiveMode: Permissive mode setting for One of the following:
tests in the indicated subject. TDS_PM1—Students can use
For example, the column accessibility software during tests,
Permissive Mode:ELA such as screen readers or magnifiers.
indicates the permissive
mode setting for tests in TDS_PM0—Students can use only the
English-language arts. secure browser during tests.
If blank, permissive mode is off.
StreamlinedMode: Streamlined interface setting One of the following:
for tests in the indicated TDS_SLM1—Streamlined interface is
subject. For example, the available.
column Streamlined
Interface:ELA indicates the TDS_SLM0—Streamlined interface is
streamlined interface setting not available.
for tests in English-language If blank, streamlined interface is not
arts. available.
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