District Setup

Defining Attendance Tracking Methods

Attendance Tracking and Notification > Tracking Methods > New/Edit Attendance Tracking Method

Name

Choose the appropriate value from the pop-up menu.

The Percent tracking method must be set up for every district. Review the Attendance Tracking and Notification User Guide for additional information.

[Gen]Name=UEAT_Percent

[Gen]Cat=Unexcused

N/A

Refresh Attendance Tracking Data

Student Attendance Summary (SAS)

Threshold

Enter a value for the threshold.

Enter 50 as the threshold for the Percent tracking method. This indicates the percentage of the day the student can miss due to unexcused absence attendance. Percent is calculated as greater than the threshold. Entering 50 for the threshold indicates that the student must be absent more than 50% of the school day to be reported. For a four period day, the student would need to miss more than two periods due to unexcused absence.

[Gen]ValueLi=50

[Gen]Cat=Unexcused

N/A

Refresh Attendance Tracking Data

Student Attendance Summary (SAS)

Attendance Tracking and Notification > Unexcused Tracking Levels

Unexcused Tracking Levels settings are not required for Massachusetts.

N/A

N/A

N/A

Not Required

Attendance Tracking and Notification > Illness Tracking Levels

Illness Tracking Levels settings are not required for Massachusetts.

N/A

N/A

N/A

Not Required

Defining District Courses

Courses > Edit Course District Information

Note: For a list of courses and course numbers, go to http://www.doe.mass.edu/infoservices/data/sims/

Course Number

Enter the code identifying this course.

[Courses]Course_Number

N/A

SIMS Data Collection

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New)

WAR Record Builder

Course Name

Enter the course name.

[Courses]Course_Name

Max 40

WAR Record Builder

Alternate Course Number

Enter the DOE AP Course number in this field for any Advanced Placement Courses.

See the SIMS Data Standards Handbook for a list of approved codes.

[Courses]Alt_Course_Number

3

SIMS Data Collection

Credit Hours

Enter the number of credit hours a student will earn if the student enrolls in and passes this course.

[Courses]Credit_Hours

N/A

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

CIP Code

Enter the code for the vocational subprogram assigned to this course.

[Courses]Code

20

CRDC

Vocational Class

Select the checkbox to indicate that this is a vocational course.

[Courses]Vocational

1

Department

Enter the course department.

[Courses]Sched_department

Max 12

CRDC

Subject Area

Enter the subject area for this course.

[Courses]Sched_CourseSubjectAreaCode

N/A

CRDC

Exclude from GPA?

Select Include or Exclude.

[Courses]ExcludeFromGPA

1

Entering State Course Information

Courses > Edit Course District Information > Massachusetts State Information

WA09 Grade Level

Choose the highest grade level allowed for the course from the pop-up menu.

[S_MA_CRS_X]GradeLevel

2

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

Course Level

Select the appropriate course level for this course from the drop down.

[S_MA_CRS_X]CourseLevel

2

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

NCES / CIPS Code

Enter the NCES or CIPS code that corresponds to this course.

For a comprehensive list of all valid values, visit the Department of Education website to download the most up-to-date list of NCES codes: https://nces.ed.gov/forum/Master_List.asp

Note: If the user enters a code that is disabled, an error is displayed to indicate that the course code is not available.

[S_MA_CRS_X]NCESCode

1

CRDC

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

WAR Record Builder

Select the applicable option from the list. The default value is Non-Pathways Course.

Valid values:

Non Pathways Course (00)
Pathways Course (01)

AP (Advanced Placement)

Check the box to designate that this as an advanced placement course.

[S_MA_CRS_X]AdvancedPlacement

1

No longer used in any report.

Exclude from State Reporting?

Check the box to exclude this course from state reporting.

[S_MA_CRS_X]State_ExcludeFromReporting

1

EPIMS MEPID

EPIMS Staff Roster

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

WAR Record Builder

SCS

Mark is not required (55)

Select the checkbox to mark the course as a course that does not receive a mark. This will override any final grade given with the value of 55 on the SCS extract.

[S_MA_CRS_X]MarkNotRequired

1

SIMS Student Course Schedule

This is an Ungraded Course

Select the checkbox to mark the course as a course that is ungraded. This will override any final grade given with the value of 55 on the SCS extract.

[S_MA_CRS_X]Ungraded

1

SIMS Student Course Schedule

Students receive a mark for this course, but do not receive a percentage. (i.e. Pass/Fail)

Select the checkbox to mark the course as a Pass/Fail only course.

[S_MA_CRS_X]NoPercent

1

SIMS Student Course Schedule

School Identification Number

If this course was an on-line course, enter one of the following:

• CLBRVK12 for online grades K-12 course
• CLBRVCLG for an online college-level course

If this course is a college-level course, enter the following: CLBR####, where #### is the college institution code

Previously selected college-level course codes display in the School Identification Number field. You must add the “CLBR” preface to each college-level course.

[S_MA_CRS_X]OverrideSchoolCode

8

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Core Academic Indicator

Check this box if this is a core academic course.

Must be checked for core courses for EPIMS (WAR)

[S_MA_CRS_X]CoreCourseIndicator

1

SIF

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New)

Full Catalog Description

Enter the full catalog description for this course

[Courses] Sched_FullCatalogDescription

N/A

SIF

Loading Incident Management Codes and Subcodes

Discipline and Log Entries

Creating Log Entries

Log Types > New/Edit Log Type

Note: You must grant security access to one or more security groups to enable the Log Types below to be visible to authorized users for creating Log entries of these types. To grant Log Type access to a security group, navigate to Start > System Administrator > Security > Groups and select the group you want to grant access to. Under Accessible Log Types check the box next to any Log Type you want this security access to apply to.

Log Type

• You MUST create a log type of “Discipline”. This is the only type of incident that is extracted in the SSDR Extract.
• [Gen]Name = Discipline where [Gen]Cat=logtype

20

SSDR Extract

Log Type

• You MUST create a log type of “Restraint”. This is the only type of incident that is extracted in the Restraint Report.
• [Gen]Name = Restraint where [Gen]Cat=logtype

20

Restraint Report

Defining District Info

District Information

District Number

Enter the 4-digit state assigned district number followed by 4 zeros.

For a list of DOE assigned district numbers, see the SIMS Student Data Standards Handbook.

[Prefs]Value where [Prefs]Name = districtnumber

8

SIMS Data Collection

SIMS Update

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

SASID MSR

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

WAR Record Builder

EPIMS District Code

Enter the 4-digit EPIMS district code.

[Prefs]Value where [Prefs]Name = MA_district_num

4

EPIMS

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

WAR Record Builder

Creating Entry and Exit Codes

District Setup > Code Sets > EntryCode

Code

Enter the entry code.

[CODESET]Code

Description

Enter the entry code description.

[CODESET]Description

District Setup > Code Sets > ExitCode

Code

Enter the exit code.

[CODESET]Code

Description

Enter the exit code meaning.

[CODESET]Description

Defining Federal Ethnicity and Race Settings

Federal Ethnicity and Race Settings

Ethnicity Decline to Specify

This setting is not allowed for Massachusetts. Do not select the checkbox.

N/A

1

N/A

Race Decline to Specify

This setting is not allowed for Massachusetts. Do not select the checkbox.

N/A

1

N/A

Federal Ethnicity and Race Settings > New/Edit Federal Race Category

Review the MA template for setting up Federal Race Categories and District Race Categories. Review additional guidance about using Quick Import to load the template.

Code

Enter the federal race category code.

[Gen]Name

[Gen]Cat=federalrace                            

N/A

SIMS Data Collection

SIMS Update

Staff Roster

EPIMS Staff Roster

Description

Enter the federal race category description.

[Gen]Value

[Gen]Cat=federalrace

N/A

SIMS Data Collection

SIMS Update

Staff Roster

EPIMS Staff Roster

Sort Order

When you click Submit, the Federal Ethnicity and Race Settings page appears. Enter a sort order for the federal race category to define the sequence in which the codes appear on the student Demographics page.

[Gen]SortOrder

[Gen]Cat=federalrace

N/A

SIMS Data Collection

SIMS Update

Staff Roster

EPIMS Staff Roster

Federal Ethnicity and Race Settings > Edit/New District Race Code

Code

Enter the district race code. Refer to Federal Ethnicity and Race Codes.

[Gen]Name

[Gen]Cat=race

N/A

N/A

Description

Enter the district race description.

[Gen]ValueT

[Gen]Cat=race

N/A

N/A

Federal Category

Select the associated federal race category from the drop-down list.

[Gen]Value

[Gen]Cat=race

N/A

N/A

Alt Race Code

Enter an alternate, equivalent race code.

Note: This field can be used for SIF.

[Gen]Value2

[Gen]Cat=race

N/A

N/A

Sort Order

When you click Submit, the Federal Ethnicity and Race Settings page appears. Enter a sort order for the district race code to define the sequence in which the codes appear on the student Demographics page.

[Gen]SortOrder

[Gen]Cat=race

1

N/A

Defining District Schools

Schools/School Info > Edit School

School Name

Enter the school name.

[Schools]Name

N/A

Required Setup

School Abbreviation

Enter the school abbreviation.

[Schools]Abbreviation

3

School Number

Enter the 4-digit state assigned school number.

For a list of school IDs, see the SIMS Data Handbook Version 6.0 - August 15, 2015.

[Schools]School_Number

4

SIMS Data Collection

SASID MSR

SSDR Extract

Alternate School Number

Enter the alternate school number.

[Schools]Alternate_School_Number

8

SIMS Data Collection

SIMS Update

SSDR Extract

StatePrid

Enter the 8-digit school number that will be reported via SIF if your district is SIF enabled.

[Schools]StatePrId

8

SIF

Exclude From State Reporting?

Select the checkbox to exclude the school from state reports.

[Schools] State_ExcludeFromReporting

N/A

Student Attendance Summary (SAS)

Grades

Enter the school grade levels (lowest - highest).

For valid values, see Grade Levels.

[Schools]Low_Grade

[Schools]High_Grade

2

2

SIMS Data Collection

Entering State School Information

Schools/School Info > Edit School > Massachusetts State Information

EPIMS Regional District Code

Enter the code identifying the regional school district where the school is located.

Note: This code is required only if your school district is a regional school district with one or more sub districts.

A listing of DOE district/school codes can be found in the EPIMS Data Handbook – Version 6.0, August 15, 2015.

[S_MA_SCH_X]RegionalDistrictCode

4

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

EPIMS School Code

Enter the state assigned school where the school is located.

A listing of DOE district/school codes can be found in the EPIMS Data Handbook – Version 6.0, August 15, 2015.

[S_MA_SCH_X]OverrideSchoolCode

4

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

WAR Record Builder

SIF School Type

Select the type of school from the dropdown that should be reported in SIF.

[S_MA_SCH_X]SIF_SchoolType

4

SIF

SIF Only

Check this box if this is a scheduling school for some students who actually attend a different school.

[S_MA_SCH_X]Scheduling_School_TF

Boolean

SIF

Federal Reporting Information

Schools/School Info > Edit School

Access the common CRDC page.

Mapping Years and Terms

Schools/Schools Info > Edit School > Years and Terms State Mapping

Map state-required Term Periods to the respective PowerSchool term for each school in your district. These values are used to determine the year and term extracted when the Work Record Build process is run and the Work Assignment Record and SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS) Schedule extracts are generated.

The following values do not display on the New/Edit Massachusetts Years and Terms State Mapping Record page, but are included in each mapping record:

[S_MA_YearTermMapper_S]yearid – curYearID PS variable

[S_MA_YearTermMapper_S]foreignKey – [Schools]School_Number

[S_MA_YearTermMapper_S]sch_id – [Schools]School_Number

School

The school number appears.

[S_MA_YearTermMapper_S]school

10

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

WAR Record Builder

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

School Year

The school year appears. This value is determined by the Term selected at the top of the page.

[S_MA_YearTermMapper_S]sch_yr

9

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

WAR Record Builder

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Term

Choose the term from the pop-up menu.

[S_MA_YearTermMapper_S]termid

N/A

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

WAR Record Builder

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

State Term Value

Choose the state-provided term that correlates to the term.

[S_MA_YearTermMapper_S]termcode

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New/Legacy)

WAR Record Builder

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Creating Special Programs

Special Programs > Special Program Information

Program name

Enter the special program name.

[Gen]Name

[Gen]Cat=specprog

N/A

SIMS Data Collection

Chapter 74 Program (Vocational)

Select Yes if this is a Chapter 74 program. Select no if it is not a Chapter 74 program.

[S_MA_GEN_SP_X]Chap74ProgramInd or [S_MA_GEN_SP_X]NonChap74ProgramInd

[S_MA_GEN_SP_X]Chap74ProgramCode or [S_MA_GEN_SP_X]NonChap74ProgramCode

[Gen]Cat=specprog

1

SIMS Data Collection

6-digit Program Code for Chapter 74 Programs

Click “Codes” and select the appropriate code from the pop up or enter the 6-digit Chapter 74 Program Code if this is a Chapter 74 special program.

[S_MA_GEN_SP_X]Chap74ProgramCode

[Gen]Cat=specprog

6

SIMS Data Collection

4-digit Program Code for Non-Chapter 74 Programs

Click “Codes” and select the appropriate code from the pop up or enter the 4-digit Non-Chapter 74 Program Code if this is a Non-Chapter 74 special program.

Note: The following codes are no longer available for selection:

• 1907 Family & Consumer Studies
• 1535 Telecommunications – Fiber Optics
• 4766 Power Equipment Technology

[S_MA_GEN_SP_X] NonChap74ProgramCode

[Gen]Cat=specprog

4

SIMS Data Collection

Defining Years & Terms

Years & Terms

Define term names and abbreviations with term beginning and ending dates. For more information, see Online Help.

Name of Term

Enter the name of the term.

[Terms]Name

N/A

SIMS Data Collection

First Day of Term

Enter the date the term begins.

[Terms]FirstDay

10

SIMS Data Collection

Last Day of Term

Enter the date the term ends.

[Terms]LastDay

10

SIMS Data Collection

Creating GPA Calculation Methods

GPA Calculations > Calculation Methods > GPA Calculation Method

Four GPA calculation M=methods are included with PowerSchool by default: Simple, Weighted, Simple Percent, and Weighted Percent. These methods may be customized for the district or new methods may be set up. Review additional information about GPA calculation query options.

Method Name

Enter the name of the method.

N/A

N/A

Grades GPA Fact

Formula

Enter/verify the formula.

N/A

N/A

Massachusetts State Information

Mapping Grade Scales

Massachusetts State Information > SCS Grade Scale Mapping > Grade Mapping > New/Edit Mapping

Map each grade scale in the district using the Grade Scale Mapping function. Map letter grades to their proper numeric state value. These values are extracted in the Course Letter Mark field on the SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS).

Click Edit next to the grade scale you want to map. Click New to display the New Mapping page. Select the PowerSchool Grade that corresponds to each letter grade in the Description column and the numeric value displayed in the To State Value column.

Note: If you create a grade scale mapping using the mapper, and then later rename the grade scale in District Setup, you MUST delete the grade scale mapper entry for that grade scale and rebuild it. Failure to do so will cause the Course Letter Mark to be reported as ‘55’ because the grade scale name stored internally in the mapper will no longer match the grade scale used for awarding the marks.

Description

A description of the letter grade displays.

N/A

N/A

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

From PowerSchool Grade

Click the PowerSchool letter grade to map to the state value.

[GradeScaleItem]ID

[GradeScaleitem]Name

N/A

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

To State Value

The state values for each grade column appear.

[S_MA_SCS_GradeScale_S]value01

through

[S_MA_SCS_GradeScale_S]value23

[S_MA_SCS_GradeScale_S]value40

[S_MA_SCS_GradeScale_S]value50

[S_MA_SCS_GradeScale_S]value77

N/A

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Defining Staff Qualification Subject Areas

Massachusetts State Information > Staff Qualification Subject Areas > Add/Edit

Define staff qualification subject areas to be used for determining highly qualified status and subject matter competency for Work Assignment Records.

Subject Area Description

Enter a keyword or description for this subject area.

[S_MA_StaffQualSubjArea_S] SubjAreaDescription

200

Work Assignment Record Extract (New)

Active

Check the box if this subject area is active for the current school year.

[S_MA_StaffQualSubjArea_S]Active

1

Work Assignment Record Extract (New)

Civil Right Data Collection (CRDC)

Massachusetts State Information > Civil Right Data Collection (CRDC)

Access the common CRDC page.

Massachusetts State Information > Staff Qualification Subject Areas > Edit

Associate courses with qualification subject areas to be used for determining highly qualified status and subject matter competency for Work Assignment Records.

Select a qualification subject area to associate courses with by clicking the pencil icon in the Edit column to the right of the desired qualification subject area.

Course Name (Course Number)

Enter the course name or course number for the course you want associated with the selected qualification subject area. Click the Plus (+) sign in the Add column to associate the course.

[S_MA_StaffQualSubj_RelCrs_C] CoursesDCID

[S_MA_StaffQualSubj_RelCrs_C] S_MA_StffQualSbj_RelCrsDCID_FK

N/A

Work Assignment Record Extract (New)

Creating Sub-Districts

Massachusetts State Information > Sub-district Configuration (List Sub-Districts) > New/Edit Sub-District

Define Sub-districts and school associations for Regional School districts using Sub-district configuration.

District Number

Enter the number assigned to this district by the state.

[CST_Subdistricts] SubDistrict_Number

8

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

 EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New)

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

CRDC

Name

Enter the name of the district.

[CST_Subdistricts]SubDistrict_Name

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Abbreviation

Enter an abbreviation to identify this district.

[CST_Subdistricts]SubDistrict_Abbr

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Address

Enter the mailing street address for the district.

[CST_Subdistricts] SubDistrict_Address

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

City

Enter the city for the district’s mailing address.

[CST_Subdistricts]SubDistrict_City

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

State

Enter the two-digit state abbreviation for the district’s mailing address.

[CST_Subdistricts]SubDistrict_State

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Zip Code

Enter the zip code (five or nine-digit) for the district’s mailing address.

[CST_Subdistricts] SubDistrict_ZipCode

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Phone Number

Enter the district’s phone number with area code.

[CST_Subdistricts]SubDistrict_Phone

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Fax Number

Enter the district’s fax number with area code.

[CST_Subdistricts]SubDistrict_Fax

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Superintendent

Enter the name of the district’s superintendentt.

[CST_Subdistricts] SubDistrict_Superintendent

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Superintendent Phone Number

Enter the district superintendent’s phone number with area code.

[CST_Subdistricts] SubDistrict_Superintendent_Phn

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Superintendent Fax Number

Enter the district superintendent’s fax number with area code.

[CST_Subdistricts] SubDistrict_Superintendent_Fax

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

WARSIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Superintendent Email

Enter the district superintendent’s e-mail address.

[CST_Subdistricts] SubDistrict_Superintendent_Eml

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

EPIMS Staff Roster

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

Schools

In the Available Schools list, click to select each school in the list that belongs to this district.

Click the Right Arrow button to move the schools to the Assigned Schools list.

[CST_SchoolSubDistricts]SchoolID

[CST_SchoolSubDistricts] SubdistrictID

N/A

EPIMS MEPID Extract

MEPID

EPIMS Work Assignment Record (New)

SIMS Student Course Schedule (SCS)

CRDC