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USA Test Prep

How-To Teacher Guide

Hoosier Academies

Last Update:

December 15, 2014


Table of ContentsPart I: Basic Class Management

I. Create a class

II. Add & Delete students to an Existing Class

III. Locate student login credentials and history

Part II: Assignments

I. Individual Assignments

II. Grouped Assignments

III. Shared Assignments

IV. Assignment Settings

V. Assignment Results

Part III: Benchmarks

I. What are Benchmarks?

II. Basic v. Custom Benchmark

III. Creating a Basic Benchmark

IV. Creating a Custom Benchmark

V. Assigning a Benchmark

VI. Benchmark Results

Part IV: Gradebook & Student Scores

I. Gradebook Tips

II. Grades for Grouped Assignments

III. Resetting Attempt Counter for Assignments

& Benchmarks

IV. Multiple Result Fixes

Part V: Data & Analysis

I. Locating Results

II. Individual Results

III. Individual Grid

IV. Item Analysis

V. Compare Benchmarks

VI. Remediation based on Benchmarks

VII. Correlation Scores from Basic Benchmarks

Part VI: Instructional Resources (IP)

I. Student List View

II. Class Party

III. Class Games

IV. Daily Resources

V. Printable Resources

Part VII: How-To Guides for Students (IP)

I. Finding ID Number

II. Finding Assignments

III. Joining a Class

IV. Joining a Class Party

V. Checking Progress

VI. Re-doing an Assigned Skill

VII. Extra Practice

Part VIII: End of Semester Duties

I. Export USATP Gradebook

II. Delete USATP Classes

III. Un-Assign Assignments to Students

Part IX: Troubleshooting & FAQ’s (IP)

I. USATP Help

II. Feedback & Connect Button

III. FAQ’s & Solutions


Part I: Basic Class Management

I. Create a Class

Once you’ve logged into your USATP account, you can create a class from your teacher homepage.

1. Navigate to Class tab at the bottom of the page.

2. Click “Create New Class”.

3. Give your course a title. *TIP: Include your name in the title.*

4. Select the type of test your class is associated with. You are able to select more than one, if needed.

5. Click continue.

6. Add students to your class by clicking search. Navigate to the correct name and click “+Add”

7. Be sure to click “Save and Manage Class”!


II. Add & Delete Students to a Class after Initial Class Creation

1. Navigate to classes page on main menu.

2. Locate the class you to add or delete students from and click

3. Click the button on the top right.

4. Click on tab “2. Add/Remove Students”.

a. ADD A STUDENT: Click to +Search to find student by name and then +Add

i. A window will pop up asking if you want to assign any old assignments to the new

students. Click any that apply and then continue.

b. DELETE A STUDENT: Locate the student’s name in the list on left. Click purple X.

5. Be sure to click Save and Manage Class when you’re done!

III. Locate Student Login Credentials & View Activity 1. Navigate to classes page on main menu.

2. Locate the class you want to view activity/get login in for and click

3. The class roster view offers information about each individual student. To View Login Info: Click on the student name. Info will appear in a new window.

-OR- Click the “Show Login” next to the student

-OR- Click the “Password Card” button and copy/paste into a kmail.

This screen also shows you the number of times the student has logged in and the last date they logged in.


Part II: Assignments

Assignments expire two months after due date! If you want assignments open for the whole semester, the due date must be within 2 months of semester end date.

I. Individual Assignments 1. Navigate to Assignments tab from teacher homepage.

2. Click “Create New Assignment”

3. To assign a 1-task assignment, such as a Do Now, Exit Ticket, Benchmark, etc., click single assignment.

4. You must assign it to a class with students in it in order to create it. You can change the class later under

assignment settings.

5. Give the assignment a name and choose the particular task you wish to assign.

6. Click continue to access the assignment settings.

7. Choose a start and end date

START DATE NOTE: Assigning a start date in the future will not display the assignment for the

student until that date.

END DATE NOTE: Assignments will still be visible to students after the end date and students

will still be able to submit them. The scores will appear in a different color in the gradebook and

will say past due on the student dashboard.

8. Select other settings. If you’re requiring a minimum score, it’s recommended that you allow unlimited

attempts.

9. Save Assignment!

II. Grouped Assignments

Group assignments are a great way to assign multiple activities for students. This feature allows you to select different

start and end dates for specific activities and order the assignments as you wish. It’s a great tool to assign weekly

assignments.

Special Notes:

You can start a group assignment and finish it later.

Assignments in a group can have different start and end dates.

Group assignments can include quizzes or tests in addition to videos.

Group assignments are a great way to assign for the entire week and keep the student dashboard as organized

as possible.


Steps to Create:

1. Navigate to Assignments tab from teacher homepage.

2. Click “Create New Assignment”

3. Click “Grouped Assignment”

4. Select a class. *It must be a class that has one student enrolled.*

5. Click continue.

6. Give the group assignment a name, such as

“Algebra Wk 1: Equations”.

7. Choose the test that the assignment

corresponds to.

8. Select tests to include in group assignments.

Small, medium, large, & full tests all

refer to the summative test that the

practice is based off of.

Standard Test: Randomly creates

assessment based on indicators from

a specific standard. (All multiple

choice)

Benchmark Test: An assessment that

you created under benchmark tab.

(More help in Benchmark section)

Combined Assessment: Select from a

list of standards. Assessment contains all question types, including free response.

9. Select Practice.

Select the strand you want to practice.

The key allows you to see where your class struggles the most. It is based on past benchmarks

and will continually change through the semester.

You can preview the videos, performance tasks, puzzles and games before you assign them.

Questions: Random 5-10 questions practice on that specific indicator.


Vocabulary: flashcard type practice of the key words. These are typically the same for every

indicator in the strand.

10. You can add more practice from additional strands with +Add More Practice.

11. Click Continue.

12. On the Settings tab, you can set different due dates for different assignments, reorder the assignments,

and other preferences.

Start Date: You can pick any date for assignments to start. Each assignment can have a different

day or “copy first row” will give all the assignments the same start date. *Students won’t see the

assignment until the start date occurs*

End Date: Date the assignment is “due.” The assignment will still be accessible to the student

past this date. It will appear in red in your gradebook if completed after the due date.

Multiple Attempts: You can select how many times you want the students to try the

assignment. Not available for videos.

Min Score Required: Set a minimum score students must achieve in order to get credit for

assignment.

SPECIAL NOTE: If using minimum score, set multiple attempts to unlimited.

Completion Order:

In Specific Order students have to complete the assignment in sequential order

as listed on the settings screen. Only one assignment is open at a time.

Student View- Specific Order


Any Order opens all assignments at the same time and lets the student choose which

assignments to complete first.

Student View- Any Order

Share Assignment: Click “YES” if you’d like other teachers at your school to view your

assignment and possibly assign it to their class.

III. Shared Assignments Shared assignments are a great way to share best practices with other teachers at your school and work as a

team to create and implements assignments and benchmarks. You can change the share option after you’ve

created an assignment too!

Special Note on Shared Assignments: If you are assigning a benchmark test in a shared assignment, the

benchmark test MUST be shared as well. See Share a Benchmark for steps on how to share a saved benchmark.

How to Share an Individual Shared Assignment: 1. Create a new assignment (see Individual Assignments)

2. One the settings page, select YES to share.

3. Click save assignment


How Share a Group Assignment:

1. Create a new group assignment (see Grouped Assignments)

2. On the settings page, select YES to share.

3. Click Save Assignment.

Sharing an Existing Assignment:

1. Locate assignment under assignment tab from home page.

2. Under options, click share.

3. Select YES to turn sharing on or NO to turn sharing off.

4. Be sure to click Save Sharing!

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IV. Assignment Settings

Assignment settings is a great place to change options after you’ve created an assignment. Once one student starts

any part of the assignment the only place you can edit the assignment without losing data or having to reassign to

every student is under the settings option.

1. Navigate to Assignments tab from home page and locate the assignment you’d like to change.

2. Click Options, then Settings.

3. In the new window you can edit the name of the assignment, change the due dates, reset attempt counters

for students, assign and un-assign the assignment to students, and change the completion order.

Completion Order: See

Completion Order.

Start/End Date: Edit the

dates the assignment

starts and ends.

Students: Assign it new

students, only assign to

STI students, etc by click

the box to the right of the

student name.

Reset Attempt Counter:

Resets the assignment for

the student to take it

again. This does NOT

erase the results from the

first attempt. See Multple

Result Fixes

Remember to scroll all the way to the bottom and click SAVE Assignment!!!!


V. Assignment Results

1. Navigate to Assignments tab on home page and locate the specific assignment.

2. Click Grades. A new window will open displaying the grades and questions missed.

3. If it’s a grouped assignment there will be a + next to the title to get results for specific assignments.


4. In a group assignment, to get grades for the entire assignment, click and this will open:

5. If you want grades for a specific part of a group assignment, click and all results show, including

option to the questions that specific students missed.


Part III: Benchmarks

Like assignments, assigned benchmarks expire two months after start date. If you’d like to leave a benchmark open for longer than 8 weeks, you can change the end date

under the assignment settings.

I. What are Benchmarks?

Benchmarks are customized assessments created by teachers to gauge student progress at the test, Standard, and

Indicator level.

Creating a Benchmark is a simple process. After entering your information and selecting your testing settings,

choose whether you want randomly-generated questions or the freedom to browse all questions. You also have the

option to add interactive performance task items and free response questions. Save your benchmark once you are

happy with it, and you can either give students the unique Benchmark Code or assign it to them directly.

Wait for student results to come in and then analyze the data to identify both class and individual student strength

and weakness areas. Benchmarks are an excellent tool for diagnostic testing and remediation.

II. Basic v. Custom Benchmark

Basic Benchmarks

A basic benchmark is a test that uses the parameters of your state standardized test blueprints that USA

Test Prep used to create the program. To view these parameters:

1. Navigate to the specific test from the top navigation bar.

2. Select the test from the drop down menu.

3. Under Daily Resources, click Test Information. It opens up a pie chart with the breakdowns.


4.

When assigning a basic benchmark you have four options:

Students can also take practice tests of basic benchmarks to help prepare for the actual state test.

Custom Benchmarks

Custom benchmarks allows a teacher complete autonomy over the questions and standards that are included in

a benchmark. It is identical to a quiz or test a teacher would create for a traditional classroom.

Custom benchmarks can still be shared among teachers. They can also be part of grouped assignments.

III. Creating a Basic Benchmark 1. Navigate to the Benchmark tab from teacher homepage. 2. Click “Create New Benchmark.” 3. Select the settings of your benchmark.

Remember: If you’re creating a benchmark for multiple teachers (common assessments)

be sure to select SHARED BENCHMARK! 4. On the next screen, click BASIC.

5. Select the length of test.

6. Click “Continue and Skip to Preview.”

7. Preview the questions that are generated from the DOE testing blueprint. If you don’t like a

particular question, you can replace it on this screen by clicking “Replace with Similar Question.”

8. Click Save Benchmark


IV. Creating a Custom Benchmark 1. Navigate to the Benchmark tab from teacher homepage.

2. Click “Create New Benchmark.”

3. Select the settings of your benchmark.

Remember: If you’re creating a benchmark for multiple teachers (common assessments)

be sure to select SHARED BENCHMARK!

4. On the next screen, click CUSTOM.

5. Choose Standard, then Indicator to preview questions

Features on Question Selection Page:

SORT: Filter questions using options in drop down menu.

STATS: Hover over graph icon to get question stats since as DOK, times students

have answered the question (national data), % correct

FEEDBACK: Provide INSTANT feedback to USATP about a question

6. Continue to add questions from different standard strands by clicking at the bottom of the page.

TIP: If you see a question you like, but not sure if it meshes with other questions already

selected, SELECT IT!! You can easily remove it on the preview screen.

7. Click continue.

8. Favorites- Questions you’ve starred or content you’ve added yourself.

9. Performance Tasks- Tasks that are technology enhanced items.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Benchmarks that contain performance tasks CAN NOT be compared

with other benchmarks using the Compare feature.

10. Preview: Shows the student view for all questions as multiple choice or short answer.

Replace with Similar Question: USATP generates 5 alternate options that address the same

standards

Remove Question

Bonus Question: USATP will automatically calculated percentages!

11. Click SAVE!!

V. Sharing a Benchmark Sharing a benchmark is much like sharing an assignment. You can create a shared benchmark when you first

create it and you can also change the share settings after you’ve saved it.

Share While Creating 1. Navigate to the Benchmark tab from teacher homepage.

2. Click “Create New Benchmark”

3. On the first screen select shared benchmark.


Share After Saving

1. Navigate to Benchmark tab from teacher homepage. 2. Locate Benchmark you’d like to share. 3. Click Options menu and select Settings.

4. Select Yes or No for Sharing feature.

5. Click Save Benchmark!


VI. Assigning a Benchmark You can assign benchmarks right after you create them or from the benchmark tab. All shared benchmarks

can also be assigned from the benchmark tab.

Assign as You Create Once you save the benchmark, on the confirmation screen click “Assign This Benchmark” and it will auto

generate the assignment for you.

Assign Later or Benchmark Created by another Teacher

1. Navigate to Benchmark tab on teacher homepage.

2. Locate the desired benchmark to assign.

3. From the options menu select assign.

4. Select the settings for your class and press SAVE!

Important Note: The primary teacher needs to assign the benchmark to their classes to ensure data is

reported correctly and scores appear in the correct gradebook.


VII. Benchmark Results

Once students have taken benchmarks, USATP has mountains of data you can use to provide remediation and

drive instruction. Benchmark results offer a wealth of information.

Where to Find Results

1. Navigate to Benchmarks tab from teacher homepage.

2. Select results button. (Alternatively, you can also select the name of benchmark from gradebook

screen.)

3. Class Average v. School Average and Grade Distribution is displayed on first screen.

4. Scores are also presented by standard. Toggle to view scores by indicators to pinpoint specific skill

results.

For more on data analysis features please see data analysis section.


Part IV: Gradebook & Student Scores

I. Gradebook Tips II. Grades for Grouped Assignments III. Resetting Attempt Counter for Assignments & Benchmarks

Once you have deleted the score for the benchmark under benchmark results, you need to un-assign

and re-assign the benchmark so the program refreshes the assignment. Failure to do this still will result

in the student seeing a 0% on the assignment and not being able to retake the test.

1. Navigate to Assignments tab.

2. Locate the assignment. Click the to the right of the assignment and select Settings.

3. Edit Assignment Settings will appear. Scroll down to the specific student and check “Reset Attempt

Counter.”


4. Scroll all the way to the bottom of “Edit Assignment Settings” window and click “Save Assignment.

Not doing this will not save your settings!

5. It is recommended to log in as the student to verify that the assignment does reappear for them to

retake it again.

IV. Multiple Result Fixes


Part V: Data & Analysis

I. Locating Results

A. Individual Results 1. From the Benchmark Results screen, click the individual Students tab to view student results

and submission data for each student.

You can do a great many things from this screen!

Export Data: Export all scores or specific students to an Excel spreadsheet. Click export

at top of list

View Full Results: Each students specific answer responses are visible by clicking the

link. *Great for 1:1 sessions!*

Teacher/Class: You can edit the teacher/class assignment from this page if an

association error occurs or if the student switches classes. Be sure to scroll back up to

save changes!

Submission Data: Provides data the test was taken and how long the student spent in

the test.

Multiple Attempt Counter: Multiple attempts are recorded individually. If a student

attempts a benchmark more than once it will be recorded as Sample, Student (1) to help

the teacher see how the score changed with subsequent attempts.

TIP: Use the CTRL F function to search for (1) when trying to eliminate multiple

scores.

Delete Selected Results: VERY useful when students use the benchmark code more than

once or if a student accidently hits submit instead of save. Select the box next to

individual results and then scroll back up to delete selected results.


B. Student Grid

The student grid provides a one glance look at how students performed on each standard. The

colored circles provide how close the student is to mastering the standard. To view the breakdowns

for the colors click Instructions in the top right to view

C. Item Analysis

D. Compare Feature

II. Individual Results

III. Individual Grid

IV. Item Analysis

V. Compare Benchmarks

Compare benchmarks feature is a great way to see student growth and class growth between benchmark

assessments.

1. Navigate to the Benchmark tab from teacher homepage.

2. Find the OLDEST test you want to compare.

3. Click settings.

4. Click compare.

5. Select the NEWER benchmark from the list provided. Then click compare at the bottom of the screen.

6. Results open in new window. Whole class comparison is default setting. Individual growth available under

individual scores tab.

Important Notes about Comparing Benchmarks


In order to see growth, you must start with the older benchmark first. For example, if you want to see growth

during the first quarter of school, you would select the compare option from the settings of the initial diagnostic

test.

You can compare any benchmarks that have at least two standards in common.

Administrators can do this for the whole school under the Benchmark tab under their Admin privileges.

Benchmarks with Performance Tasks can NOT be compared.

VI. Remediation based on Benchmarks

VIII. Correlation Scores Based on Basic Benchmarks

One great advantage of using the basic benchmarks USA Test Prep creates is that they produce a correlation score to

the state ECA test. You will need to provide this information to USA Test Prep, but it’s a great way to put a realistic

spin on a student’s score (and it gives great predictive pass rate data). Instructions on how to assign a basic

benchmark in the Benchmark section of this document.

Steps to Locating a Student’s Correlation Score:

1. Navigate to Benchmark tab on teacher homepage.

2. Click the tab for the benchmark that you’d like the correlation score for. 3. Results will open in new window. Scroll half way down and select Individual Results. 4. Navigate to the student you’d like a correlation score for. Click View Full Results.

5. Correlation score is listed under raw percentage.

Important Notes about Correlation Scores

While USATP does provide correlation scores for every benchmark assigned in the program, the correlation

score is calibrated on the basic full test benchmark. Correlation scores from other benchmarks may not be

accurate.

As of November 2014, there is not a report or class view feature for correlation scores. You’ll need to click each

student to view their correlation scores.


Part VI: Instructional Resources

I. Student List View

Student List View is a great way for students, learning coaches, and teachers to see a student’s progress on

standards and to retry certain skills.

II. Class Party

III. Class Games

IV. Daily Resources

VI. Printable Resources VII. Student Progress Reports


Part VII: How-To Guides for Students

I. Finding ID Number

You can find your Student ID in My Info under the student's School tab. (Must use the Learning Coach Logon to access myinfo.k12.com)

1. Login to myinfo.k12.com using your LC username and password or select the My Info Quick Link from your Online School Home Page

2. Select your student's name 3. Go to the School tab

II. Finding Assignments

Once you’re logged into your account, all your assignments will be displayed on the right. Click the blue BEGIN or

CONTINUE button to start the assignments.

If you’re enrolled in multiple USA Test Prep classes, you can filter your view so you only see certain classes or

activities.


III. Joining a Class

IV. Joining a Class Party

V. Checking Progress

VI. Re-doing an Assigned Skill

VIII. Extra Practice


Part VIII: End of Semester Duties

I. Export Gradebook for All Classes

1. From the teacher home page, click gradebook next to the class name.

2. Ensure you’re displaying all grades. Click “Filter Grades”

3. Select “Show All Dates.”

4. Then click “GO”

5. Once gradebook updates, click export.

6. Save Excel file using the naming conventions

Coursename_SectionNumber_Term_USATP_TeacherFirstInitialTeacherLastName

7. Upload your USATP gradebook to Engyte as you do your final course gradebook.

II, Delete USATP Classes

1. Click the red X to the right of the course.


III. Remove Assignments from Student Accounts

**DO NOT COMPLETE THIS PROCESS FOR DIAGNOSTICS, BENCHMARKS, OR POST-ASSESSMENTS.**

1. Select Assignments tab.

2. Click Filter Assignments.

3. Click All Dates from drop down menu.

4. Select Go.

5. Select Options menu for the assignment and select Settings.

6. Select Uncheck All for all classes and cohorts.


7. Scroll to the bottom of settings window and select Save Group.

8. Repeat this process for EVERY assignment in USATP.

**DO NOT COMPLETE THIS PROCESS FOR DIAGNOSTICS, BENCHMARKS, OR POST-ASSESSMENTS.**

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