SBA IAB Changes to Exports and File Formats

Changes in Export Process and File Format

Purpose:

Starting the 2019/20 school year, OSPI has changed the score file location and format of the Smarter Balanced Assessments Interim Assessment Blocks (IAB) score files located in the Washington Comprehensive Assessment Program (WCAP), also referenced as TIDE/ORS/Airways. This article will highlight the changes to the export process and score file format.

Export Locations and Process:

In prior years, IAB exports were located in WCAP’s Online Reporting System (ORS). The score files were able to be exported for the entire district in a single export. The export provided a zip file that included a file for each grade level.

Once exported, the SchoolData autoloaders were designed to load each grade’s score file and upload all available IAB scores for each student to Homeroom.

For the 2019/20 school year, IAB exports are located in WCAP’s AIRWays Reporting. The score files can be exported for each IAB for each grade, but there is not an available district export option. In addition, teachers have the ability to enter a “Test Reason” when administering the IABs, so exports for a single IAB could have several different instances because of the test reason. Each instance for a single IAB would need to be exported separately in order to export all of the district’s data for that grade’s IAB.

The below image shows an example of multiple instances for two different Grade 3 IABs. The first one has 4 different test reasons listed causing the Grade 3 IAB scores for “Read Informational Texts” to be exported as 4 separate files. The same applies to the second example where it would be necessary to export 6 different files for a single grade level IAB.

Without a method to export the entire district, this new export process greatly increases the export tasks and creates additional ones to compile each grade’s IAB scores for each test into a single score file for uploading to Homeroom.

Export File Formats:

In prior years when the scores were exported from ORS, each grade’s score file included all scores for IABs taken. In addition, the files also include two data points to list how many ELA and Math IABs were taken for each student.

The data related to “Number of Blocks Tested” is significant to the assessment structures in Homeroom. The Number of Blocks tested is used as a Parent Assessment with each IAB score displaying as a strand score nested under the Number of Blocks Tested.

For the 2019/20 school year, exporting score files from AIRWays Reporting for each grade’s IABs, requires compiling the data into a single score file for each IAB. Here is an example of an export for a Grade 3 ELA IAB:

Support:

SchoolData has been in communication with many districts regarding these changes and the impact it has had with loading IAB data to Homeroom for the 2019/20 school year. Several districts have reached out to OSPI with requests for a method to export IAB data for the entire district instead of separate file exports. Contact support@schooldata.net with any questions related to uploading IABs to Homeroom or to provide information and updates from OSPI related to the exports and file formats of IABs.

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