Welcome to Week 6.
A quick announcement below before we talk about linking assessments.
Please take a minute this week to make sure that your password for Illuminate matches the password you use to log in to your computer and get into your email. We are adding Illuminate to our Single Sign On which means that the password you use will be the same for: logging into your computer, Outlook (email), Google and now Illuminate. This switch will happen on Friday afternoon, October 5. If your password for Illuminate already matches your other password, then you don't need to do anything. If not, log into Illuminate, go into the control panel and choose change password.
LINKING ASSESSMENTS
What does it mean to link an assessment?
Linking an assessment that you give in Illuminate to your gradebook will automatically move the scores from the assessment into your gradebook as one of your assignments. You will be asked to create an assignment, name it, identify category, etc. before you link. Any changes you make to the scores in the assessment (grading constructed responses, or score changes) will automatically update in your gradebook.
What if I need to change a score for a scholar?
If you need to change a score of an assessment for a scholar, you should do that directly in the assessment. Any changes made in the Student Responses Tab of the assessment will automatically update in your gradebook. You cannot change a score in your gradebook of an assessment that is linked--you must change it in the assessment itself. This ensures that you are keeping accurate data for assessments.
What if the scholar takes an assessment after I have linked it to my gradebook?
The score, once entered, will update in the gradebook.
Can I adjust the details of an assignment that was created by a link from an assessment?
Yes, you can unlink the assessment and make changes to the assignment, then link again.
Should I display Points or Performance Band?
When linking the assessment you will be asked to display in points or performance band. If the performance band does not match your grading scale in the gradebook, you will not be able to use the performance band in the gradebook. This will not impact the "donut" on your assessment, that will use the performance band that is the default for Catalyst. For your gradebook, use the Display Points option.
Linking assessments to your gradebook is a great way to save time and will make sure that your data is accurate. It will save time and be more efficient in dealing with make-up and late work. It is definitely one of the benefits of having the assessment module and student information in the same place.