Instructional Improvement System Release Notes

Schoolnet IIS Version 14.
3 Release Notes – December 2012
Instructional Improvement System

Version 14.3
Release Notes
December 2012
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Pearson/Schoolnet 2012 CONFIDENTIAL
Schoolnet IIS Version 14.3 Release Notes – December 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Schoolnet IIS Version 14.3 Overview .......................................................................................... 2

IIS Enhancements ........................................................................................................................ 3
IMS Enhancements ..................................................................................................................... 4
Educator Development Suite .................................................................................................... 14
Schoolnet for PowerSchool Integration .................................................................................... 46
Schoolnet IIS Version 14.3 Overview
Schoolnet is pleased to announce the release of Version 14.3 of the Instructional Improvement System
(IIS). This release continues to build out core functionality for our customers with a focus on Schoolnet’s
Instructional Management System (IMS), Educator Development Suite (EDS) and integration with
Pearson’s PowerSchool SIS.
Some of the new features and benefits that you will see in Schoolnet 14.3 are:
• Instructional Improvement System
• Alert Notification Framework
• Instructional Management
• iPad Assessments
• Support for low stakes assessments using an iPad
• Approval Submission for Items, Passages and Rubrics
• Ability to submit Items, Passages and Rubrics for approval to the next institution
level
• Phase 1: EQUELLA Integration
• Created a connection from Schoolnet to EQUELLA repositories to allow users to
view, save, schedule, and a link third-party material
• Custom Created By and Description in Item Central
• Ability to enter custom names/descriptions of item repositories when searching
for by Created By
• Enhancements to Test Assignments, Answer Sheet Generation, My Account,
Performance Based Assessments and Student Profile
• Educator Development
• Observations
• Scheduling observations
• Pre-observation forms
• Deleting in-progress observations
• Removing Observer-Teacher assignments in caseloads
• Creating templates and windows for measures other than observation
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• Support for 2-level frameworks

• Event notifications
• New measures
• Teacher self-reflection form and report
• Professionalism review
• Roster verification progress
• Professional Development
• Districts sharing their activities with other districts
• Schoolnet for PowerSchool

• Standardized Test Tab available in PowerSchool
• New Test Selector in Standardized Test Tab
• Schoolnet Assessment Data Available Directly in PowerSchool for Additional Roles
• Secure Tester Now Compatible with Schoolnet for PowerSchool Integration
• Redirecting to Login – Improved User Messaging for Schoolnet for PowerSchool Users
IIS Enhancements
Alert Notification Framework
A new Alert Notification feature was implemented within Schoolnet in 14.3. This alert system notifies
the user when specific background events have taken place.
New icons were added to the left of the “Welcome” user field. When the icon is red, the user has new
unread alerts; the number within the icon is the number of unread alerts. When the icon is grey, the
user has no unread alerts; the number within the icon will be 0 as there are no unread alerts.
 Clicking on the icon will bring up a list of your alerts. The list is sorted with the most recent alerts
at the top. Unread alerts can be noted by their darker shaded background, while the read alerts
have a lighter shaded background. The notification includes the following:
o Alert name
o Action link (If applicable)
o Date and time the alert was generated
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 When a background task is started the background activity notification will appear notifying the
user that their task will be performed in the background. The user can still work in Schoolnet as
they normally would while the task runs. The notification can be closed, via the x, or will be
closed automatically when the user changes pages.
IMS Enhancements
iPad Assessments
With the release of 14.3, students are now able to take low stakes assessments using an iPad. This
functionality is the first step in Schoolnet’s ability to support assessment on mobile devices.
The student experience has been mirrored from the PC/Mac to the iPad. A student can navigate to the
Schoolnet website, login and take an assessment. The student’s responses are available on the proctor
dashboard as well as recorded within the application.
All the features of online assessment are available including:
 Support for all item types (multiple choice, true/false, gridded and open response)
 Highlighting text
 Flagging an item
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 Questions linked to a single or multiple passages

 Question summary
EQUELLA Integration
For many clients, managing content provided by multiple sources in multiple locations can be complex.
Ideally, all content could be accessed using the same search experience without physically moving
content into one location. To that end, Schoolnet has begun integrations with a Pearson technology
called EQUELLA. This integration will allow teacher and state- and district-level educators to access their
instructional materials from a variety of sources and vendors within an integrated user experience.
While clients will not see or need to license EQUELLA, it will be used by Schoolnet to deliver this high -
powered solution to a very complex problem. EQUELLA powers the single federated search for this
content available to our users using our existing instructional materials search. By leveraging EQUELLA,
external content is not only available within Schoolnet but it also behaves like all other materials stored
in Schoolnet. They can search, view, or schedule materials as if the material were loaded into
Schoolnet. All of this is accomplished without the user logging into another system(s).
With 14.3, Schoolnet is making the transition from being content agnostic to content enabled. Our goal
is to not only be able to offer services to integrate content repositories on the client’s behalf but also
offer licensable content as well.
Configure a Third-Party Material Source
Third-Party Material Sources will need to be configured under System. A new link called Material
Sources has been added. This will allow our clients to set up EQUELLA as well as their external vendors.
New External Resource Material Type
Third-party materials are accommodated in Schoolnet as the External Resource material type and the
logo for this new material type will be displayed beside the title for each third-party material in search
result lists and as the heading for a list of linked third-party materials.
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Utilize the Integrated Search Process
Users will have access to a retooled search process that supports the integrated search of materials that
reside in Schoolnet and those that are stored in EQUELLA repository. The user will click on the
Instructional Materials link within the Classrooms tab of Schoolnet to access the search page. The user
will be able to filter by Subject, Grade, and/or Keyword to find the most relevant materials from all
available sources.
Tabs for each content source will enable users to navigate from the results for state/district/local
materials to the search results for each external content source. The results counts for each content
source will display on each tab.
Note: Search results default to display the state/district/local materials stored in Schoolnet.
Save an External Resource to My Materials
To enable the user to easily locate an External Resource at a future date, he or she can save it to My
Materials. To assist the user with the search process in My Materials, the External Resource type is a
filtering criteria option in the for Material Types list. And, a new Publisher filter option enables the user
to search for a specific Publisher’s materials.
View an External Resource
The user will access the Preview modal or the Material Details page for third-party material to review
detailed information about the material. In the Preview modal and on the Material Details page, the
user will have access to the URL for each Web Link associated with the material and/or a link for each
Attachment associated with the material.
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When the user clicks a Web link or an Attachment link in either the Preview modal or the Material
Details page, a new window that contains the associated content will open and the user will be able to
review the material or complete the material tasks.
Schedule an External Resource
Users will be able to schedule an External Resource to a personal calendar and/or section calendar in
the Planner. The user can click the Schedule link to access a personal or section calendar and click on
the date on which the External Resource should be scheduled. The user can click Save and Go to Planner
to make adjustments the scheduled External Resource or click Save and Close to the close calendar.
Users can also select the Lesson Planner link from within the Classroom module to search for and
schedule an External Resource.
Search for and Link an External Resource
To enable users with the Manage Curriculum operation to develop more robust instructional materials,
they will be able to link External Resources to the materials they create or edit using the Curriculum
Manager tools.
Within the Linked Materials component of a material that is being created or edited, the user will find
new filtering capabilities that enable him or her to search for Schoolnet material types and External
Resources. If the user selects External Resources, a material source field displays from which he or she
will select a material source. In addition, the user can opt to adjust other filtering criteria. The user will
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click Search to display a list of available materials that align to the filtering criteria and to hide the filter
fields.
Item, Passage and Rubric submission for approval
Historically, items, passages, and rubrics could only be shared from the level the item was created down
to all levels below. For example, if a district creates an item, that item can be shared with everyone in
the district.
Since great items, passages and rubrics are created at every level throughout a district/state,
functionality has been added to allow any user to submit these great items to the next level for
approval. For example, a teacher can submit an item to the school for approval.
Upon approval, the item, passage or rubric is available for use by everyone at the approver’s institution.
 Items can be submitted from the Item Central page, the Create New Item page (as long
as all alerts are resolved) and the Edit Item page.
 Passages, and their associated test items, can be submitted from the Item Central and
Edit Passage pages.
 Rubrics can be submitted from the Item Central and Edit Rubric pages.
To submit the item, passage or rubric, click the Submit to [Intuition] link located on one of the above
pages.
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Approve/Return: Items, Passages and Rubrics
A new operation has been added which allows a user to approve submitted items, passages or rubrics.
This operation is called Review Item, Passage, or Rubric.
If a user has this operation, a new link, called Pending Items, will appear on Item Central and Create
pages.
Clicking this link displays the pending items page which provides summary information for each
submitted item, passage and rubric.
NOTE: If a user has permissions to approve materials from the Classrooms module, those materials will
also appear here. The user will be able to approve all materials/items from the same screen.
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Administrators can either approve an item; upon which it will be available in their institution for use by
their test creators, or return an item to the submitter for changes. In both cases the approver has the
ability to add in comments that will be emailed directly to the submitter.
Test Assignments
An update has been made to test assignments for all institutions. Currently, test assignments allow the
assigner to view all courses in their highest institution (district or state) during the assignment process.
This has caused confusion when using test assignments, as the user is limited to assigning an assessment
to the courses available in their institution.
Now, only the available courses at the user’s institution will be displayed. The user will no longer see all
of the courses in the highest institution. For example, if a school administrator is assigning an
assessment, they will see all of the courses available in the school. This will alleviate the confusion
caused when the administrator saw all the courses available in the district even though they only had
rights to assign at their school.
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Answer Sheet Generation
Previously, answer sheets were generated on the front end. This limited the size of the file the system
could generate prior to the application timing out. It also prevented the user from using the application
while the file was being created.
Answer Sheet Generation now takes place behind the scenes. This allows the user to generate large
answer sheet files as well as use the application while the file is being created. Upon completion, the
user will be notified that the answer sheet file is available for download through the new Alert
Notification feature.
NOTE: The answer sheet file will be available for download on the day it was generated only.
My Account
Prior to 14.3, default roles and institutions were hidden from the user when the My Account link was
hidden by a system operator. If My Account was hidden upon login, the user could not change their
default roles or institutions. This prevented the user from accessing the information contained within
the application that was accessible to them using another role.
A change has been implemented that allows for each tab of My Account to be hidden individually. This
allows the district/state more control over the parts of My Account the role can access. If all tabs are
hidden, the My Account link will be hidden for that role. With this new feature, the system operator can
display default roles and institutions preventing the user from being locked out while also hiding access
to other parts of My Account.
Custom Created By and Descriptions in Item Central
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Custom item bank name and descriptions can now be defined for item repositories by system operators.
This information will assist users in identifying the type of content contained within these repositories to
better understand how to search for their desired items. This repositories name and description will be
displayed in Item Central under Created By.
Performance Based Assessments
Single dimensional rubrics have been updated to allow for the entry of a description for a rubric
containing Level 0.
Improved and Uniform Look for All of Student Profile
The Student Profile has a new, streamlined look. Enhancements to the user interface give a more
uniform, clean look to help with navigation.
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Default for Test Details Layout
To optimize the recommended layout of Test Details, there is no longer a configuration setting for
different views. The most utilized layout has now been set to the default for all users.
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Educator Development Suite
Observation Scheduling with Calendar Invite Support
EDS’s Observation Tool now has observation scheduling functionality that allows observers to:
 Schedule announced observations of teachers

o Observers can schedule an observation for a future date on their caseload; the teacher
will be notified via email
o Both observer and teacher will receive calendar invites in iCalendar (ICS) format
(compatible with standard email clients such as Microsoft Outlook or OS X Mail)
 Schedule unannounced observations of teachers
o Observers can schedule an observation for a future date on their caseload without the
teacher being notified
o Observer will receive a calendar invite for themselves in iCalendar (ICS) format
(compatible with standard email clients such as Microsoft Outlook or OS X Mail);
teacher will not receive calendar invite.
New Observation Dropdown
The New Observation button on the Caseload has been replaced with a dropdown menu to support
observation scheduling. In addition to exposing new observation scheduling functionality, observers can
now easily designate an observation as Full, Partial, or Walkthrough from the caseload when they are
creating the observation.
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Announced Observation Scheduling
Selecting Schedule Announced from the New Observation dropdown opens the Announced Scheduling
View:
From this view, an observer can:
 Enter a date for the observation (cannot be in the past)

 Enter a time for the observation (cannot be in the past)
 Select a type for the observation (Full, Partial, Walkthrough)
 Enter a location for the observation (text)
When the observer clicks Send Appointment, a scheduled observation will appear in the caseload:
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An email with an attached calendar invite will also be sent to both the observer and the teacher after
the appointment is sent; it will contain the date/time/type/location information the observer entered on
the Announced Scheduling View.
An observer can upload a teacher’s filled out pre-observation form on the Announced Scheduling View.
If a pre-observation form template is configured within the system, the observer can download it from
this view for reference; the observer can also elect to have the pre-observation form template
automatically sent to the teacher in the same email that contains the calendar invite for the
observation. For more on pre-observation form workflows, see the Pre-Observation Workflow with
support for Pre-Observation Form Upload section later in this document.
Clicking on the Scheduled Observation in the observer’s caseload will display the Announced Scheduling
View again; from this view, the observer can:
 Make a change to the scheduled observation (a calendar update will be sent to both observer
and teacher)
 Start the observation
 Cancel the observation (a cancellation update will be sent to both observer and teacher)
Starting the observation will link the observation with a completed pre-observation form that has been
uploaded via the Announced Scheduling View. The form will then be downloadable within the
Observation Tool and the final, completed observation report.
The observation can also be cancelled directly from the Caseload by clicking the x next to the scheduled
observation:
Unannounced Observation Scheduling
Selecting Schedule Unannounced from the New Observation dropdown opens the Unannounced
Scheduling View:
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From this view, an observer can:
 Enter a date for the observation (cannot be in the past)

 Enter a time for the observation (cannot be in the past)
 Select a type for the observation (Full, Partial, Walkthrough)
 Enter a location for the observation (text)
When the observer clicks Set Appointment, a scheduled observation will appear in the caseload:
An email with an attached calendar invite will also be sent to the observer after the appointment is set;
it will contain the date/time/type/location information the observer entered on the Unannounced
Scheduling View. The teacher will not receive an email or calendar invite.
It is not possible to convert an existing scheduled unannounced observation into an announced

observation.
An observer can upload a teacher’s filled out pre-observation form on the Unannounced Scheduling
View. If a pre-observation form template is configured within the system, the observer can download it
from this view for reference. For more on pre-observation form workflows, see the Pre-Observation
Workflow with support for Pre-Observation Form Upload section later in this document.
Clicking on the Scheduled Observation in the observer’s caseload will display the Unannounced
Scheduling View again; from this view, the observer can:
 Make a change to the scheduled observation (a calendar update will be sent to the observer)
 Start the observation

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 Cancel the observation (a cancellation update will be sent to the observer)
Starting the observation will link the observation with a completed pre-observation form that has been
uploaded via the Unannounced Scheduling View. The form will then be downloadable within the
Observation Tool and the final, completed observation report.
The observation can also be cancelled directly from the Caseload by clicking the x next to the scheduled
observation:
Pre-Observation Workflow with support for Pre-Observation Form Upload
EDS now supports a pre-observation form workflow within the observation scheduling process for
uploading pre-observation forms and attaching them to observation data. The process can be
summarized as follows:
 Observer schedules an Announced observation, electing to have the system automatically

include a pre-configured blank pre-observation form template in the email that contains the
scheduled observation’s calendar invite.
 Teacher fills out the pre-observation form template and emails their completed pre-observation
form directly back to the observer.
 Observer uploads the completed pre-observation form via the Announced Scheduling View.
 Observer starts the observation via the Announced Scheduling View (automatically linking the
uploaded pre-observation form with the observation).
 Observer conducts the observation.
o The completed pre-observation form is downloadable within the Observation Tool.
o Upon completing the observation, the completed pre-observation form is downloadable
from the teacher’s final observation report.
Pre-observation Form Template Configuration
System operators can configure the pre-observation form template by visiting

System -> HCMS Settings -> Miscellaneous Settings.
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From this view, the system operator can upload a pre-observation form.
Pre-observation Form Upload via Scheduling Views
Observers can upload a teacher’s filled out pre-observation forms via the Announced and Unannounced
Scheduling Views:
Note: the Download Form Template link is unavailable if a pre-observation form template has not been
configured in the system.
Once an observation has been started the teacher’s filled out pre-observation form will be available for
download within the Observation Tool:
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Once the observation has been completed, the teacher’s filled out pre-observation form will be
available for download from the final observation report:
Delete Observations
EDS now supports the ability for observers to delete their own In Progress observations they created in
error. It also supports the ability for admins with the Delete Observations operation to delete another
observer’s In Progress or Draft observation.
Observer Deleting an In Progress Observation
An observer can delete their own observations provided they are in the In Progress state. This is
intended for observers to be able to delete an observation they created in error. An observation is
deleted from the caseload by clicking the x next to the observation:
Admin Delete Observations
An admin can delete another observer’s In Progress or Draft observation provided the admin has the
Delete Observations operation. Another observer’s observation is deleted from the caseload by clicking
the x next to the observation:
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The admin is then required to enter a justification:
For In Progress observations, a notification will be emailed to the observer who created the observation
once the observation is deleted. The notification will include the admin’s justification for deleting the
observation.
For Draft observations, a notification will be emailed to both the observer (who created the
observation) and the teacher (the subject of the observation) once the observation is deleted. The
notification will include the admin’s justification for deleting the observation.
Caseload Manager removes an Observer-Teacher assignment
After uploading an observation caseload file, administrators may discover that one or more peer
observers may have inadvertently been assigned to the wrong teachers or that due to scheduling or
staffing changes after the upload, it may be necessary to change these assignments.
Now it is possible for users to remove the assignment between a peer observer and a teacher in a
caseload on the View Current Caseload screen if
 the user has a role that includes the Manage Caseload operation
 no observations have been started or completed between that observer and teacher in the
specific window to which the caseload is assigned
Notice that Basiladis, Donika and Bektesevic, Chadwick are assigned to observer Gribben, Rebecca and
that the Remove column includes a red X in those cases.
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Notice in the next screen below from Rebecca’s perspective, in the same window, 14.3S3Demo, that she
has only scheduled an observation with Donika and has not actually started an observation.
Notice also that while the principal has completed observations for Bektesevic, Chadwick, Rebecca has
only scheduled an observation with Chadwick.
In both cases, it’s possible to remove that association.
Choosing to remove an assignment in a window’s caseload will prompt the user to confirm or cancel the
removal before proceeding.
You will also notice that as an observation has been completed for Akinwande, Ayshea and Aljbli,
Christopher, the red x is not available for them in the View Current Caseload screen for this window.
2-Level Framework Support for Observations and Scoring Help Rubrics
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The Observation Tool now supports conducting observations against 2-level frameworks:
Both scored and non-scored observations can be conducted against 2-level frameworks.
Additionally, scoring help rubrics can be authored against 2-level frameworks via
HCMS Settings -> Rubrics and Exemplars -> Manage Scoring Help Rubrics.
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Enhancements to Scoring Help Rubric Configuration
EDS now supports the ability to assign a Scoring Help rubric to an in-use observation template from
HCMS Settings -> Measure Templates -> Observation.
An in-use observation template’s Scoring Help Rubric can now be edited:
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Note that nothing else on the observation template can be edited; once the observation template is in-
use, only the scoring help rubric is editable.
IMS Integration in Observation Tool
EDS now has enhanced support for integrating with IMS’s wealth of data. In 14.3, an observer can now
select the section they are observing for a particular teacher within the Observation Tool:
Selecting the Teacher’s Section automatically imports the following information and displays it on the
form to provide additional context about the teacher to the observer:
 Grades taught in the section

 Count of students in the section
Once the observation has been completed, this section information is available on the final observation
report under Additional Details:
The information can be dismissed by clicking Hide additional details.
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Improved Observation Tool User Experience
EDS includes several improvements to the Observation Tool’s user experience in 14.3.
 For iPad users, the Observation Tool now supports native date picker controls:
The introduction of native date picker controls resolves earlier usability issues where the iPad’s
keyboard would display when editing dates on the observation form.
 Information about the teacher being observed can be collapsed:
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Once collapsed, it can easily be shown again:
 The Observation Tool now includes clear indicators that show the state of the observation:
Observation Notifications
After an observer has shared a draft observation with a teacher or has submitted an observation as final,
the teacher will find an alert in the header.
Both types of notifications include a link to view that specific observation.
Multiple measure templates
EDS now allows system operators to configure and create multiple evaluations based upon the needs of
the customer. EDS now supports the following types of evaluations:
 Observations
 Self-Reflections
 Professionalism Reviews
System Operators can now choose the type of evaluation to create the template accordingly.
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The template settings will adapt according to the measure chosen, and the appropriate scoring options
will be surfaced.
Note: The templates also continue to work with Scoring Rubrics, and Framework tags as in previous
versions.
The following sections will describe in detail how a particular teacher evaluation measure can be setup
for a customer to use.
Self-Reflection
Loading Standards
A System Operator is able to load an additional standard document which supports all the aspects of
teacher effectiveness other than observations. Once additional standard documents are added they will
be available to be selected as part of the template.
Note: This will make these standards part of PD Standards, and allow resource and activities to be
aligned to them. PD Search will also include these standards as part of the browse view.
Creating a Self-Reflection Template
EDS allows system operators to create a self-reflection template that comprises of the following options:
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 Template Name
 Scoring option
o Comments Only
 This option allows observers to add comments, but no scores.
o Numerical Scores
 This option allows observers to give numerical scores based on the selected
Score template.
 Selecting the scoring template is mandatory if this option is selected.
o Score groups
 This option allows observers to score based on the Score groups in the selected
Score template.
Once created the Self-Reflection Template is added to the ‘Templates’ tab within the Settings area.
Creating a Self-Reflection Window
EDS allows system operators to create a self-reflection window that will allow self-reflections to be
conducted within that time frame.
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System operators can choose the Measure along with the other information to create Windows specific
to Self-Reflection. The templates available for association with this window will be based on the
measure selected.
Note: Once a window is created, the self-reflection form will be available to teachers for submission.
Self-Reflection by teachers
Once provisioned, Self-Reflection forms will be available to teachers. Teachers will be able to get to their
self-reflection forms from the Sub Navigation or from the EDS dashboard.
In their Self-Reflection forms teachers will be able to:
 See a brief intro of themselves, their Name, ID and School Name.

 Periodically save their work. Once saved, they will see a confirmation.
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 Select the window of the evaluation.

 See all the standards that they need to reflect upon.
For each standard the teacher will be able to:
 Enter a score or Score level (according to how the template is configured)

 Add additional notes
The teacher is expected to enter either comments or scores for each standard in order to be able to
submit the form. If the teacher misses any required entry, the form will be highlighted with places
where updates are needed. Teachers need to add a score or a comment per standard to be able to
submit a completed Self-Reflection.
Once teachers have completed their self-reflection they will be able to submit the form to their school’s
leadership. Once Submitted they continue to see a read-only version of their Self-Reflection. The same
view will be available to school leadership.
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School Leadership Viewing Self-Reflection
School Leadership can track completion of self-reflections for all teachers in the school. They will have
access to this report from the Sub-Navigation and from the EDS dashboard.
They will be able to get a summary of:
 Number of teachers that have submitted their completed Self-Reflections

 % of teachers who have submitted, and not submitted.
The view will also indicate which teachers have submitted their self-reflections and on what date.
Leadership can click through to a submitted self-reflection and review it. The view will remain the same
as the teacher’s read-only view.
Every time a teacher submits a self-reflection, School Leadership will also be notified through the
notification window. They can click on the link to get to the Self-Reflection form directly.
Note: This form is not available to District and State admins. This will be available to all users who have
leadership role in the school. They will need to have “View Teacher Effectiveness” permissions to
actually open the form and conduct a Professionalism Review.
Professionalism
Loading Standards
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A System Operator is able to load an additional standard document which supports the off-stage aspects
of teacher effectiveness. Once additional standard documents are added they will be available to be
selected as part of the template.
Note: This will make this part of PD Standards, and allow resource and activities to be aligned to them.
PD Search will also include these standards as part of the browse view.
Creating a Professionalism Template
EDS allows system operators to create a Professionalism template that comprises of the following
options:
 Template Name
 Scoring option
o Comments Only
 This option allows observers to add comments, but no scores.
o Numerical Scores
 This option allows observers to give numerical scores based on the selected
Score template.
o Score groups
 This option allows observers to score based on the Score groups in the selected
Score template.
Once created the Professionalism Template is added to the ‘Templates’ tab within the Settings area.
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Creating a Professionalism Window
EDS allows system operators to create a Professionalism window, similar to the Self-Reflection window,
that will allow Professionalism Self-Reviews and leadership reviews to be conducted within that time
frame.
System operators can choose the Measure along with the other information to create Windows specific
to Professionalism. The templates available for association with this window will be based on the
measure selected.
Note: Once a window is created, the Professionalism Self-Review form will be available to teachers for
submission.
Professionalism Self-Review by teachers
Once provisioned, Professionalism Self-Review forms will be available to teachers. Teachers will be able
to get to their Professionalism forms from the Sub Navigation or from the EDS dashboard.
In their Professionalism Self-Review forms teachers will be able to:
 See the type of measure

 See a brief intro of themselves, their Name, ID and School Name.
 Periodically save their work. Once saved, they will see a confirmation.
 Select the window of the evaluation.
 See all the standards that they need to reflect upon.
For each standard the teacher will be able to:
 Enter a score or Score level (according to how the template is configured)

 Add additional notes
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The teacher is expected enter either comments or scores for each standard in order to be able to submit
the form. If the teacher misses any required entry, the form will be highlighted with places where
updates are needed.
Teachers need to add a score or a comment per standard to be able to submit a completed Self-Review.
Once teachers have completed their Professionalism self-review they will be able to submit the form to
their school’s leadership. Once Submitted the teacher continues to see a read-only version of their
Professionalism Self-Review.
School Leadership Viewing Professionalism Self-Review
School Leadership can track completion of Professionalism Self-Reviews for all teachers in the school.
They will have access to this report from the Sub-Navigation and from the EDS dashboard.
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They will be able to get a summary of:
 Number of teachers that have submitted their professionalism self-reviews.

 Number of teachers for whom leadership has completed their professionalism review.
 % of Professionalism Reviews that have been submitted, and completed.
The view will also indicate which teachers have submitted their self-reviews and on what date.
Leadership can also see if the professionalism review by leadership has started. If the review is in-
progress or completed the name of the person and the date of completion will be available.
Leadership can click through to a submitted professionalism self-review and add their professional
review. The view will allow leadership to view the teachers self-review while also being able to enter
their feedback on the teacher’s professionalism.
Every time a teacher submits a self-reflection, leadership will also be notified through the notification
window. They can click on the link to get to the Professionalism self-review directly.
Note: This form is not available to District and State admins. This notification will be sent to all users
with the leadership role in the district. They will need to have “View Teacher Effectiveness” permissions
to actually open the form and conduct a Professionalism Review.
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Validations for this form will be identical to the teacher’s professionalism self-review.
Completed Professionalism Review
Once the principal submits her professionalism review, it is deemed to be completed. Teachers get a
notification of the completion and a completed version of the form. This contains both the teacher’s
professionalism self-review and the principal review. Emails will also be sent to the teacher indicating
the completion.
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The next time the teacher logs in, she will get a notification that leadership has completed the
professionalism review.
Observation Type in Year-to-Date Views
For each observation, the ‘Observation Type’ will be now be available in the teacher’s Year-to-Date
report along with Observer Name and Observer Type.
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SPS Results Link
Because Schoolnet is not the source of Student Perception Survey data, 14.3 provides system operators
with a feature to add a link to an external web site if clients choose to make another system with the
source data available for more details about the SPS results. The feature is available in the same location
where links to external web sites can be added to the EDS dashboard, Configure External Links in HCMS
system settings.
Only one link among the external links can be designated as the SPS link.
This link then is available in the teacher view of SPS results. As with the dashboard external links, system
operators must add a URL, an alias for the link, and may add an optional description available on hover.
If no external link has been added for the SPS location, then no link will appear in this report.
Roster Verification for States
Roster Verification tracking reports have now been extended to state customers. School and District
Leadership can now track the completion of the verification process in their schools and districts
respectively using these views. Access to these reports is available from the ‘Tools & Reports’ section in
the EDS dashboard.
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Note: State Leadership currently does not have an equivalent report in 14.3.
PD Planner
District Tenants and Statewide Activities
Release 14.2 added features so that users with the proper permissions in the state tenant in a multi-
tenant instance can:
40
 choose whether an activity they create is available only to other users in the state tenant or is
available to users in every tenant
 manage registration, attendance and credit for all participants
This is important in order for state clients to be able to control and view quality and participation for
activities that hold some significance with regard to their funding or to adherence to state policies or
laws. Consult 14.2 release notes for specific details of state-administered statewide activities.
Release 14.3 now includes features that enable users in district tenants of a multi-tenant instance to do
the same—to reserve an activity for their own users only or to open it up to participation by users in
every other tenant.
However, a system operator must deliberately allow this in the PD Planner system settings. This setting
is prominently featured at the top of the PD Settings tab. The default setting is NOT to allow district
tenant users to share activities state-wide. Don’t forget to use the Save Settings button at the bottom of
the screen if you change this to allow districts to create state-wide activities!
If this is changed to the second option to create activities for their districts and create state-wide
activities, then users who can create PD can choose the option to make an activity available statewide
(the default selection is not to share the activity statewide)
Only users with the right permissions in the host district can view section details in order to approve
registration requests, view waitlist and add users from waitlist, remove participants from a section,
enter attendance or award final credit.
Waitlist, Cancelled Registrations, Attendance and Award Credit screens also include the district of each
participant.
41
42
However, when searching for users to add as walk-ins or to add directly to a section, the host district can
only look up users in the same district unless the PD administrator or facilitator is also a member of the
state tenant.
This is also true when running any report; only users from the same district will be included. However, a
user with report access can still find evidence of users from the same district in any reports, regardless
whether his or her district actually hosted an activity.
Users from any tenant with the recommend PD permission can recommend any state-wide activity to
any users in their same institution or its children.
Appendix A includes a large breakdown of users from which tenant can complete which tasks regarding
state-wide activities.
Also, the Help content includes a useful outline of who can do what regarding statewide activities.
You may also notice on top of the Track Attendance and Award Final Credit, there is summary of
relevant information
Mentoring
Finding and completing mentoring tasks is a little easier in 14.3.
After assigning a mentor to a user, the confirmation no longer redirects the user to a totally different
page.
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Mentors now can add a mentor interaction in a single form rather than in two different pages.
Initiatives
In 14.3, the count of users who have completed any initiative in the Manage Initiatives view and in the
Initiatives Progress webpart no longer includes optional activities and resources. If an initiative includes
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3 required activities, 1 optional activity, 1 required resource and 2 optional resources, then a user who
has received credit for the 3 required activities and who has viewed the 1 required resource at least
once will be included among the users who have completed the initiative, regardless whether they have
credit for the optional activity or have viewed either optional resources.
Notification when registration for school-based activities has finished
After choosing the option to enroll all eligible users in a district in the sections for a school-based
activity, users will now
 see a start notification in the header

 receive an email notification when the auto-registration task is finished
 find an alert among their other notifications in the header when all users have been registered
The notification on finish will also let users know if any conflicts were discovered during auto-
registration and provide the user with a link to view those conflicts.
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Schoolnet for PowerSchool Integration
Schoolnet Standardized Test Tab Available in PowerSchool
Schoolnet Standardized Test data is now available in PowerSchool. Along with Benchmark Tests and
Classroom Tests, Schoolnet Standardized Tests are easily accessed through the Public/Parent portal
simply by clicking the Test Results link on the Left Navigation Bar. Once in the Standardized Tests tab,
users can drill into test details.
46
Standardized Test Details View
New Test Selector in Standardized Test Tab
Parents, Teachers and Administrators reviewing multiple standardized assessments for students no
longer need to return to the Student Profile to review a different test for the same student. Now, when
toggling between different assessments, users can select each test directly from the Standardized Test
tab using the new Test Selector, located in the Filter bar above the currently selected test.
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Schoolnet Assessment Data Available Directly in PowerSchool for Additional Roles
Teachers working directly in PowerSchool Student Information no longer need to return to the main
PowerTeacher menu to single-sign-on (SSO) into Schoolnet. With 14.3, this can now be done directly
from the PowerTeacher Class List.
Additional Roles View Selected Student’s Schoolnet Test Results in PowerSchool
Teacher
Should a teacher, administrator or counselor need to reference a student’s assessment information

while still in PowerSchool, all Schoolnet assessment tabs are now available directly through the Class
Lists by selecting Test Results in the drop down menu after clicking on a student’s name. All Schoolnet
assessment data available for this student will be displayed.
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Counselor
Counselors can now view Schoolnet assessment information by selecting Test Results on the Counselor’s
Screen after selecting a group of students. Once a student’s name is selected, all available assessment
information will be displayed.
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Administrator
Controls to Hide Schoolnet Features
For PowerSchool administrators managing the Schoolnet for PowerSchool configuration, there is now
the ability to select the current version of Schoolnet or the last version prior to the most current
PowerSchool release. This allows the system to keep track of each version and how they should be
aligned to fully optimize all of the integrated features.
Unless specifically disabled, automatic updates are enabled and are the default. These automatic checks
occur upon PowerSchool startup as well as the PowerSchool nightly process.
District Setup > Pearson Applications > Schoolnet Settings > Schoolnet Version Management Settings
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Secure Tester Now Compatible with Schoolnet for PowerSchool Integration!
Secure Tester, Schoolnet’s application to administer tests in a locked down environment, is now
compatible with the Schoolnet for PowerSchool integration. Students whose logins have been enabled
with the single-sign-on from PowerSchool to Schoolnet can now login to Secure Tester directly with
PowerSchool credentials. When configured, students will see a PowerSchool login screen. Once a
student logs into the Secure Tester with his or her PowerSchool credentials, he or she will be prompted
to enter the online passcode to gain access to the test.
There are no changes to Schoolnet-only users. Students using Schoolnet only will continue to login with
their Schoolnet credentials.
Redirecting to Login – Improved User Messaging for Schoolnet for PowerSchool Users
Any Schoolnet for PowerSchool user who directly accesses the Schoolnet URL will now see a more user
friendly, informative message providing options for a simple return to the correct PowerSchool portal.
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Instructional Improvement System Release Notes

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Schoolnet IIS Version 14.

3 Release Notes – December 2012

Instructional Improvement System

Schoolnet IIS Version 14.3 Overview .......................................................................................... 2

Schoolnet IIS Version 14.3 Overview

• Support for 2-level frameworks

• Schoolnet for PowerSchool

Alert Notification Framework

All the features of online assessment are available including:

 Questions linked to a single or multiple passages

Configure a Third-Party Material Source

New External Resource Material Type

Utilize the Integrated Search Process

Save an External Resource to My Materials

View an External Resource

Schedule an External Resource

Search for and Link an External Resource

Item, Passage and Rubric submission for approval

Approve/Return: Items, Passages and Rubrics

Answer Sheet Generation

Custom Created By and Descriptions in Item Central

Performance Based Assessments

Improved and Uniform Look for All of Student Profile

Default for Test Details Layout

Educator Development Suite

Observation Scheduling with Calendar Invite Support

 Schedule announced observations of teachers

New Observation Dropdown

Announced Observation Scheduling

From this view, an observer can:

 Enter a date for the observation (cannot be in the past)

Unannounced Observation Scheduling

From this view, an observer can:

 Enter a date for the observation (cannot be in the past)

It is not possible to convert an existing scheduled unannounced observation into an announced

 Start the observation

 Cancel the observation (a cancellation update will be sent to the observer)

Pre-Observation Workflow with support for Pre-Observation Form Upload

 Observer schedules an Announced observation, electing to have the system automatically

System operators can configure the pre-observation form template by visiting

Pre-observation Form Upload via Scheduling Views

Observer Deleting an In Progress Observation

Admin Delete Observations

The admin is then required to enter a justification:

Caseload Manager removes an Observer-Teacher assignment

In both cases, it’s possible to remove that association.

2-Level Framework Support for Observations and Scoring Help Rubrics

Enhancements to Scoring Help Rubric Configuration

An in-use observation template’s Scoring Help Rubric can now be edited:

IMS Integration in Observation Tool

 Grades taught in the section

The information can be dismissed by clicking Hide additional details.

Improved Observation Tool User Experience

 Information about the teacher being observed can be collapsed:

Once collapsed, it can easily be shown again:

Both types of notifications include a link to view that specific observation.

Multiple measure templates

Creating a Self-Reflection Template

Creating a Self-Reflection Window

In their Self-Reflection forms teachers will be able to:

 See a brief intro of themselves, their Name, ID and School Name.

 Select the window of the evaluation.

For each standard the teacher will be able to: