Assessment Import Tool for Texas State Assessments

Introduction

This report processes Texas State Assessment Student Data Reporting files and offers two options for importing student test results into PowerSchool.   Both options produce a zip file containing two files

• Manual Import: Output File for Quick Import by District (Quick Import File and Excluded Records File)
• Auto Import: Automatically Import Student Test Results (List of imported Students and Excluded Records file.

Student Record Matching

• CSV assessment reporting files: students are identified by the Local Student ID number only.
• TXT assessment reporting files: students are first matched by the Local Student ID number; if no match is found, Student Unique ID is used. 
• Districts that are new to PowerSchool where Local Student Numbers in historical reporting files from a prior SIS do not match the PowerSchool Student Number must use the .txt file format. 

The Excluded Records file contains records with the following error messages.
Records flagged with validation errors are excluded from the Quick Import and Auto Import output files unless corrected. As needed, update the records in the source file and re-run the Assessment Import Tool.

• Student Number not found in PowerSchool
• Unique ID not found in PowerSchool
• Duplicate test in PowerSchool
• Duplicate records in file for same student
• Score Code is not S; assessment is not scorable
• Invalid Test Date
• Test Name is not set up in PowerSchool application (applies to Auto Import only)

Records excluded based on Score Code are informational only and no action is required.

• For STAAR EOC Test Versions S, A, L, or M, records where the Score Code is not S are excluded
• For STAAR EOC Alt2 Test Version T, records where the Score Code is not S, G, M, or N are excluded
• For STAAR 3-8 and STAAR Alt2 3-8, as long as the student has at least one scorable test result, the student is included; records for subjects where the Score Code is not S are not included

Supported File Formats

STAAR EOC and STAAR Alt2 EOC
Fall 2022 and beyond

• STAAR EOC and STAAR Alt2 EOC reporting files are supported for the fixed length .txt version only.

Fall 2021 - Summer 2022

• STAAR EOC reporting files are supported for both the fixed length .txt and .csv versions.
• STAAR Alt2 EOC reporting files are supported only for the fixed length .txt version.

Fall 2016 - Summer 2021

• Student test results are delivered in two separate files for STAAR EOC & STAAR Alt2 EOC
• Both the fixed length .txt and the delimited .csv files are supported

Fall 2012 – Summer 2015

• Student test results are delivered in one file for STAAR EOC & STAAR Alt2 EOC
• Only the fixed length .txt files are supported

STAAR 3-8 and STAAR Alt2 3-8
Spring 2022 and beyond

• Result files are supported only for the fixed length .txt version.

2018 – Spring 2021

• Result files are supported for both the fixed length .txt and the delimited .csv versions.

TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate

• Spring 2019 and beyond: Result files are supported only for the fixed length .txt version.

Running the Assessment Import Tool for Texas State Assessments

Select Processing Options and Download Output File

• Select the assessment from the Assessment Type list.

• Select the school year from the Administration Date list.
• Select the Student Test Results Import Option
  • Manual Import: Output File for Quick Import by District
  • Auto Import: Automatically Import Student Test Results

• Select the Test Administration File from the State

  • Click the Browse button to select the source file containing your student test results.

  • Click Open. 

  • Click Create Process: depending on the Student Test Results Import Option selected above, either the Quick Import file will be generated, or student test results will be automatically imported.
• Based on the selected assessment, school year and source file type (.txt or .csv), the import tool validates the file based on the test administration date and processes the file. 
• From the Reports Queue, download the .zip file. Extract the file the contents.
  • Manual Import Output

    • TEST_ADMDATE_AssessmentImport_QuickImport_File.txt

    • TEST_ADMDATE_AssessmentImport_ExcludedRecords_File.csv

  • Auto Import Output

    • TEST_ADMDATE_AssessmentImport_ImportedRecords_File.csv

    • TEST_ADMDATE_AssessmentImport_ExcludedRecords_File.csv

Excluded Records Validation Errors

• Before proceeding with either the Quick Import or the Auto Import, validation errors should be reviewed and corrected if applicable in the source test results file before re-running the assessment import tool process.

• The Excluded Records file displays the Student Number, Last Name, First Name, and the error along with the row number and column (.csv file), or row number and position (.txt file) in the source file.

• Some validation errors are informational, and no action is required. Other errors require correction before the student test results can be imported.

  • Student Number not found in PowerSchool: Local ID does not exist; update the source file if applicable.

  • Unique ID not found in PowerSchool: Neither the local ID nor the UID exist in PowerSchool; this message applies to the .txt version only.

  • Test is not scorable: Informational only; no action required

    • Score code is not S in the record (STAAR EOC, STAAR 3-8, STAAR Alt2 3-8))

    • Score Code is not S, G, M, or N (STAAR EOC Alt2)

  • Invalid file format for Test Date: Test date must be valid for the selected school year.

  • Duplicate test found in PowerSchool: Student already has a result for the same test based on student number, test, subject, and test date.

  • Duplicate tests found on rows NN and NN: test record is duplicated in source file based on student number, test, subject and test date.

• After correcting records, re-run the Assessment Import Tool to produce a clean file for Quick Import and Auto Import.

Quick Import of Test Results

• If the Manual Import option was selected, to import the student test results, navigate from the District Office to Special Functions > Importing & Exporting > Quick Import. Set the following values and click the Import button.

  • Table: Test Results

  • Field delimiter: Tab

  • End-of-line marker: CR

  • Character Set: Mac Roman or Windows ANSI

  • File to import: click Choose File and select the test results file to import

  • Suggest field map: checked

  • School: District Office

• Select the assessment from the dropdown list and click Submit.

• The Import Records from an ASCII Text File page is displayed.

• Field mapping is performed automatically based on the header record.  Adjust the mapping if needed and ensure the student name fields are not mapped. 

  • Student_Number: Student Number

  • Test_Date: Test Date

  • Grade_Level: Grade Level

  • For STAAR 3-8, STAAR EOC and the Alternate2 assessments, the following scores are mapped

    • TestScoreName_1: Number score holds the Scale Score
    • TestScoreName_2: Percent score holds the Performance Level
    • TestScoreName_3: Alpha score holds the Score Code and Test Version such as S/S (scored result/standard version) or S/T (scored result/Alternate 2 version)
  • For TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate, the following scores are mapped as Number scores:
    • TELPAS Listening
    • TELPAS Speaking
    • TELPAS Reading
    • TELPAS Writing
    • TELPAS Composite

Report Input