Grade passback is available for districts that utilize Skyward as their student information system to transfer points-based assessments and scores nightly from Otus to Skyward. Standards-based assessments cannot be passed back to Skyward.
General Information
Assessments and scores are passed back nightly
Assessments must be points-based with a whole number for the total points possible
Example: An individual score of 8.5/10 will sync correctly but 8/10.5 will not
Assessment names must be less than 50 characters in length
Assessments need to be marked “Include Score in Final Grade” and graded in Otus to pass back
Any students’ scores that are marked Excluded in the Otus gradebook will not pass back
Any weighting of grades in Otus will not transfer to Skyward. Weighting can be changed by the teacher in the Skyward gradebook after the score passes back
If the due date has passed and the student has not submitted the assessment, it will pass back to Skyward with a score of 0 (zero)
❗️ IMPORTANT NOTES:
Skyward requires that districts purchase the Skyward LMS/OneRoster API license in order for Otus grades to post to Skyward.
In Skyward, the “Use Grade When Posting Secondary Gradebook Assignment Scores” API setting must be unchecked for scores to pass back successfully.
Setup Process
If you wish to set up grade passback, please contact the Otus team to schedule a meeting to review the steps. You can expect to work closely with a member of our team throughout the process.
1. OneRoster API: Confirm License & Settings; Provide Credentials
Ensure that your district has purchased the Skyward LMS/OneRoster API license which is required by Skyward to enable grade passback.
Ensure that the Skyward API setting “Use Grade When Posting Secondary Gradebook Assignment Scores” is unchecked. The setting is located under Skyward Contact Access > District Setup > Configuration > API Configuration.
If your district does not already roster with Otus directly via Skyward, or uses Skyward SMS, create an API access record for Otus and upload the generated credentials to the secure upload link shared by the Otus team.
➡️ For additional details about the Skyward OneRoster API credentials, please view our article on Skyward OneRoster API Configuration.
2. Complete the Assessment Category Mapping
There are 12 assessment types in Otus. To facilitate Grade Passback, each Otus Assessment Type must be mapped to a corresponding district-level Skyward Assignment Category.
Because this sync happens via the API, Skyward categories must be defined at the district level (standardized across all sites). The Otus team will coordinate with your district to confirm the specific mapping for all 12 types.
Below is an example of a category mapping from Otus to Skyward.
Each Otus Assessment type maps 1:1 to a single Skyward category.
While an Otus Assessment type cannot map to multiple Skyward categories, you can map multiple Otus Assessment types to the same Skyward category (e.g., both 'Paper' and 'Presentation' in Otus can map to 'Project' in Skyward).
Otus Assessment Type | Skyward Gradebook Category |
Assignment | Assignment |
Checklist | Classwork |
Homework | Homework |
Journal | Project |
Lab | Lab |
Observation | Observation |
Paper | Project |
Presentation | Project |
Project | Project |
Quiz | Quiz |
Test | Test |
Worksheet | Classwork |
❗️ Please ensure the following for grade passback to function smoothly:
The Skyward categories in your mapping table are district-level (not specific to a school or grade level)
The Skyward categories are active in the Skyward gradebooks of teachers participating in grade passback
The categories will appear in the teachers' Skyward gradebooks as defined by the district and teachers can change the category in Skyward, if desired, once the grade has been sent to Skyward.
3. Determine a Passback Effective Date
The Effective Date determines which assessments and scores are eligible to sync from Otus to Skyward once the integration is live. Any assessment assigned on or after the Effective Date whose Assign Date and Due Date fall within the current Skyward grading period will pass back.
The Effective Date can be set in the past, present, or future. Setting a past date allows existing scores from that point forward to flow into Skyward, as long as the grading period is still open.
Skyward requires that the Assign Date and Due Date for an assessment fall within an open grading period for scores to pass back.
❗️Skyward will reject assessments with Assign and Due Dates that fall within or straddle a closed grading period or contain invalid dates (e.g. a Due Date that precedes the Assign Date).
4. Add Teachers to the Skyward Grade Passback Group
Participation in the Grade Passback integration is managed via membership in the Skyward Grade Passback Teacher Group in Otus. If a teacher is not a member of this group, their assessments will not be included in the nightly sync. Group membership can be managed at any time by following the steps in this article.
This group will be created by the Otus Integration Team during your initial Grade Passback implementation meeting.
❗️In order for grades to pass back to Skyward, the user who has assigned the assessment must be included in the Skyward Grade Passback Teacher Group in Otus.
💡 Tips:
Adding a teacher to the group is the primary requirement for their assessments to be eligible for passback.
When a teacher is added to the Skyward Grade Passback group, all of their eligible assessments will pass back retroactively to the beginning of the current grading period (or the effective date, if more recent). To avoid duplicate gradebook entries, we recommend adding new teachers to the Skyward Grade Passback group at the very beginning of a grading period or requesting an effective date change with the Otus team.
Any teacher, co-teacher, or administrator who may be assigning assessments in Otus must be added to the Skyward Grade Passback Teacher Group - not just the primary teacher of the class.
Assessments assigned directly to a class from an Otus Administrator (who is not in your SIS) will not pass back. This assessment should be assigned to the class by the teacher or co-teacher.
FAQ and Troubleshooting Tips
Click here to see FAQ and troubleshooting tips
Click here to see FAQ and troubleshooting tips
Once the above information has been collected, what happens?
Once the OneRoster API configuration is completed in Skyward and the API Key, Secret, and base URL have been provided to Otus, the Otus team will take it from there! You can expect the team to update you once the configuration is complete and ready for initial testing.
How does this work for teachers?
The Teacher Guide for Skyward Gradebook Passback knowledge base article explains grade passback from the teachers' perspective. Please be sure to review this article and share it with participating teachers in your district. This will ensure that your team follows the correct steps to successfully utilize this feature.
How do I troubleshoot issues with grade passback?
Check the Teacher Guide for Skyward Gradebook Passback article for a number of troubleshooting steps if grades are not showing up in Skyward as expected.
Can grade passback be set up mid-year?
Yes! Grade passback can be configured at any time during the school year. The Effective Date determines which assessments are eligible to pass back, so as long as the Assign Date and Due Date of an assessment fall within an open grading period, scores will pass back successfully.
Can the Effective Date be changed after the integration is live?
Yes, the Effective Date can be changed at any time after the integration is live by contacting the Otus team. Please keep in mind that changing the Effective Date will impact which assessments are eligible to pass back. Setting the date further in the future may exclude assessments that were previously passing back, while setting it further in the past may cause additional assessments to become eligible.
Does anything need to be reconfigured at the start of a new school year?
For the most part, your grade passback configuration carries over from year to year. The Otus team will proactively update your Effective Date to align with your district's first day of school. The following items remain the same unless changes are needed:
Category mapping — remains as configured but can be updated at any time by contacting the Otus team.
Teacher Group membership — remains intact but is the district's responsibility to maintain. Administrators should ensure that any new teachers participating in grade passback are added to the Skyward Grade Passback teacher group at the beginning of each school year.
What happens if a teacher is removed from the Skyward Grade Passback group?
If a teacher is removed from the Skyward Grade Passback group, their assessments will no longer be included in the nightly sync from that point on. Any assessments and scores that have already passed back to Skyward will not be affected.
If the teacher is re-added to the group and the grading period is still open, any assessments that were not passed back during the time they were removed will pass back retroactively. Previously passed back assessments will only resend if a change was made in Otus, such as:
The assessment title, due date, or category was modified
A student's score was changed or a student earned a new score
Do substitute teachers need to be added to the Skyward Grade Passback group?
Yes, if a substitute teacher will be assigning assessments in Otus and is set up as a co-teacher or primary teacher in your SIS, they should be added to the Skyward Grade Passback group. As a reminder, the user who has assigned the assessment must be a member of the group for scores to pass back successfully.
What happens if our API credentials change or expire?
If your district's API credentials change or expire, grade passback will stop functioning until the credentials are updated. The steps to resolve this depend on your Skyward version:
Skyward SMS: Generate new API credentials and share them with the Otus team via the secure upload link provided by the Otus team.
Skyward Qmlativ: The Otus team can generate updated credentials directly through the Skyward Partner Portal on your behalf, unless the credentials have been manually disabled by your district.
In either case, please reach out to the Otus team as soon as possible to minimize any disruption to the nightly sync.