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1 Script: Enrolling for a Test Term: Creating Your Class Roster File and Special Programs File. This document is the script containing the narration text for the online training Enrolling for a Test Term: Creating Your Class Roster File and Special Programs File. The online training can be found here: Welcome to Enrolling for a Test Term: Creating Your Class Roster File and Special Programs File. Your NWEA MAP testing season begins by enrolling the students in your district with the Class Roster File. This presentation will introduce you to the enrollment process and guide you through the creation of your roster file. After completing this training, participants will be able to: 1. Describe the purpose and function of an NWEA Class Roster File, as well as the role the roster plays in designing MAP reports and affecting how student results are reported. 2. Access the NWEA Class Roster File template, and understand the roster process and timeline. 3. List the nine key guidelines for getting the most out of the roster file, including avoidance of common data issues, the importance of teacher-student associations, and using the optional Special Programs File. Submit Your CRF and SPF at least 14 Days Prior to When You Plan to Start Testing. Each testing season, you ll begin by submitting a new NWEA Class Roster File, or CRF. The CRF is a specifically formatted spreadsheet that includes a list of all of the students you intend to test, some basic data about every student, and which teachers and classes each is associated with. It also establishes the days on which you intend to test for reporting purposes, also referred to as your testing window. A new roster is required each testing term as they are not automatically rolled over from term to term. Class Roster Files are processed within 14 calendar days, so it s important to submit your file at least 14 days prior to when you intend to finalize your technical setup and subsequently begin testing. Due to 1

2 the volume of rosters we receive, we are unable to process any single district s roster on an expedited basis. During the 14 days after your file is received, NWEA may contact you to resolve any issues we encounter with the data inside the file. To avoid processing delays, it s important to submit a complete file without discrepancies. Review the Field Descriptions in the CRF Template to Fully Understand the Impact of Roster Data on MAP Reports. The Class Roster File format is outlined in detail in the template provided on NWEA.org. Click the link on your screen to download the file, or search NWEA.org on the term class roster file to download a copy of the template at any time. In a moment, we will take a brief look at the template and navigate the fields within. Some examples of field descriptions and formatting requirements: The Class Name field is how a teacher s students are grouped into classes on teacher reports. As we will see later in this training, it is important to keep classes limited to 50 or fewer students. In addition, the Class Subject Name field is only for use by school districts administering NWEA s Paper- Pencil Achievement Level Tests. The CRF is the cornerstone of your MAP testing season: it creates the structure for testing and reporting. Keep in mind that the quality of reports is directly related to how the data is structured in your roster, so understanding the field descriptions will help you create the most effective class roster file possible. Accessing the Class Roster File Template The class roster file template is accessed by browsing to NWEA.org and entering the term CRF into the search engine. From the search results, we can access the link to the template itself. With a copy of the template saved, let s look at the file contents. There are four worksheets in the file. The first contains tips for entering your data. The second worksheet is quite important, containing an explanation of each field in the template, the format of data that should be in each column, and examples of how each piece of data will affect your MAP reports. The third worksheet is the template itself. To begin creating your own file, start with this worksheet, and write your own data over the example content provided. If you choose to not use an optional field, it may be left blank. All of the required fields are highlighted in yellow. The fourth tab is for use if you are administering NWEA s tests for visually impaired students, also known as Achievement Level Testing, or ALT. Now that we ve seen what the file will look like, let s review some additional best practices. 2

3 It is Better to Over-Roster than to Under-Roster. Many school districts submit their initial Class Roster File with only a portion of their teachers and students, and then later find that they want to expand their MAP testing program to additional students and teachers. It s important to note that while you may add students to your MAP enrollment after the roster file has been processed, it is not possible to add teachers or classes on the fly. For these reasons, we recommend that the roster that you submit at the beginning of the term be as inclusive as possible, even if it includes students who you don t initially plan on testing. It is better to over roster than to under roster, and there is no penalty for enrolling a student who never tests. In addition, note that the teachers you include in your Class Roster File don t need to be just instructors in your schools. In many cases, employees such as guidance counselors, Reading Resource teachers, or other staff may benefit from getting reports with only a specific set of students on them. In these cases, we recommend that you include such staff on the roster as teachers so they are provided with their own access to the MAP results of the specific students they work with. Each Row in the Roster Represents a Single Student-Teacher Association. Each row in the class roster file will include a student, and a teacher. This row enrolls the student and also creates a student-teacher association, meaning the student will be enrolled in the MAP system, and included on reports for that teacher. When a student s MAP results appear on a teacher report, all of their MAP scores appear and not just those related to the subject the teacher teaches. If a student has multiple teachers, they will have multiple rows in the class roster file. For example, if a student has five different teachers, that student will appear in five different rows in the class roster file; one for each teacher. Each of those teachers will receive teacher reports with all of the MAP tests taken by the students associated with them. Also, note that the Class Roster File is the only place that teacher accounts and classes get created. While you can add students after the file is enrolled, and move students between classes, it is not possible to add teachers or classes after your file has been processed. When creating your class roster file, be certain that all of your teachers and their classes are represented in the data. Reviewing Teacher-Class Associations in the Template As we can see in this sample data in the template, teacher Adam Michalski will have four students in his class, which in this case will just be labeled as Class. By including Mr. Michalski as a teacher on the class roster file, he will have an account with access to the students listed here. Notice that student Shanee Nelson is listed multiple times in the file, indicating that she should show up on more than one teacher report. 3

4 The Class Name and Class Period name fields are not required, but in this case are being used so that the teacher reports are subdivided appropriately, which will allow teachers to see how each of their classes and classes periods are performing. Each student is placed in a teacher s class on the roster. Classes can be divided into Class Periods. Along with each row in the class roster file representing a student-teacher association, each row also puts the student in a teacher s class. Furthermore, classes can be divided into smaller groupings known as class periods. By default, each teacher must have at least one class listed in the file, but typically, it s important to break down students in the file into multiple classes. Each class will appear separately on teacher reports, and accurate class divisions will allow the teacher to differentiate instruction accordingly, and view how each class is performing separately. One of the most popular MAP reports, the Class By RIT report, provides teachers with information about what subject matter students are ready to learn based on their MAP test scores however, this report requires that the Class Roster File contain classes of fifty or fewer students. Optionally, you can break down classes into smaller groupings by specifying class periods. The Class Period is an optional field in the Class Roster File, and will break out the groups included on Teacher Reports even further. Recall also that Classes and Class Periods are created only by inclusion on the roster file and additional classes cannot be added once the file has been processed, so it s important the CRF you submit be as complete as possible. The optional Special Programs File (SPF) can be used for percentagebased reporting on special programs. In addition to the Class Roster File, your district also has the option of submitting a Special Programs File, or SPF. The Special Programs File is a file that specifies which kids on the main class roster file participate in specific special programs. The purpose of the special programs file is to allow certain NWEA reports to show percentage-based data on how each special program performed. It s important to note that due to federal student privacy laws, the SPF does not produce or correspond to any reports about individual students. However, by submitting a special programs file, on some specific ordered reports, you will have the option of viewing summary data that shows how your special programs performed as a whole. 4

5 The special programs file must be comprised of students on your Class Roster File, and must list your district s special programs. When you submit your SPF with your CRF, NWEA will link the programs you name and map them to our standard list of programs for reporting purposes. We cannot accept teacher names, class names, or ethnic codes as special program names. Common special program names include Title I, Free and Reduced Lunch, or ESL. Let s take a look at the Special Programs File and where it can be found. Accessing the Special Programs File Template Similar to the CRF, the special programs file can be found by browsing to NWEA.org and entering the term SPF into the search engine. From the search results, we can access the link to the special programs file template itself. Download the template, then save a copy of the file. Just like the CRF, the worksheets here provide tips, detailed information about required data formats, and a template in which you can write in your data. Remember that the special programs file must be included in the same upload as the class roster file, and any student on the special programs file must already exist on the class roster file. Consistency of information specifically Teacher IDs, Student IDs, and School Numbers is critical. When your roster file is processed, an instance is created in the NWEA database for each student and teacher you include. In the case of teacher instances, a login for the reports site is created. In the case of student instances, a testing history is created to track student growth. Ideally, each teacher has one instance, so they can continue to use one login to view reports over multiple testing terms, and each student only has one testing history, so MAP reports can report their testing history accurately. For these reasons, it s important to take efforts to ensure that teacher and student information is submitted as consistently as possible, both within a class roster file as well as between subsequent class roster files for future testing terms. To make sure this happens, be certain that each teacher and each student in the file has their first and last names presented exactly the same, and that they use the same ID. If a teacher or student is listed with multiple IDs, this may cause problems in the long run, including multiple teacher accounts and logins for an individual teacher, or duplicate students each with an incomplete testing history. Furthermore, inconsistent data may result in processing delays. When preparing your class roster file, take efforts to ensure that your student and teacher names and IDs are presented consistently. As you ve heard, consistency is key and plays a huge part in this process. 5

6 If you receive a CRF Report Card during the roster process, make note of all errors and warnings before resubmitting your files. Once your Class Roster File is submitted, NWEA processors will review the file and make note of any concerns or discrepancies that may require your attention. If problems are found, you will be provided with a Report Card, which is a file that details all of the issues. As you can see from the report card pictured here, the errors reported are color coded. Issues that must be resolved, such as missing data, will be highlighted in red. Warnings are displayed in yellow and should be evaluated to confirm your intentions for the data. If the warning is not addressed, this may cause data inconsistencies in your Reports. The blue section of the report card contains summary data about your schools, teachers and students. Information in the blue section should be reviewed. It is important to review the report card. If you receive a report card, you will need to submit a revised file that addresses all of the issues noted. If no issues are found with the file you submit, you will not receive a report card, and your file will be processed in the order it was received. If you have questions at any point, contact NWEA Technical Support for assistance. NWEA Technical Support is always eager to help you understand the ins and outs of the Class Roster File and Special Programs File, and help you ensure that your MAP reports are as informative as possible through thoughtful creation of the files. If at any point you have questions about what content to include in your CRF, how to format your data, or how to verify a new term s CRF is as consistent as possible with a previous term s file, contact Technical Support at the phone number or address you see on your screen. Conclusions Let s briefly review the key factors for creating an NWEA Class Roster File that will provide the most useful reports. Recall that with the Class Roster File, you are essentially designing how your MAP reports will look, by specifying which students appear on which reports. The key to being specific is by including teacherstudent associations; because each row is a single teacher-student association, a student with five teachers will have five rows. 6

7 Once NWEA receives your roster, it may take up to 14 days to process. Because this timeline cannot be changed, it s important to plan accordingly and submit your file at least two weeks prior to when you intend to configure your technical environment, and subsequently begin testing. The Class Roster File is the only way to create teachers and classes in the MAP reporting system. You can add students manually after the file has been processed, but this is not true of teachers or classes. Therefore, it s important that the roster file provide an accurate and comprehensive picture of your students, teachers, and classes. Once you have prepared your Class Roster File, you submit it by logging in to the NWEA Reports Site and clicking the Upload Roster link. If you are including a Special Programs File, it must be submitted at the same time as the Class Roster File. Finally, remember that the Class Roster File template provides a great amount of detail about how to best structure your data, and if you have questions at any time, you are encouraged to contact NWEA technical support for advice. 7