Gradebook passback is available for Skyward districts to transfer points-based assessments and scores from Otus to Skyward gradebooks. Standards-based assessments cannot be passed back to Skyward.
General Information
Assessments and grades are passed back nightly
Only points-based grades that are whole numbers will pass back
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 setup process. 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 for grade passback.
Ensure that the Skyward API setting “Use Grade When Posting Secondary Gradebook Assignment Scores” is unchecked. The setting can be found under Skyward Contact Access > District Setup > Configuration > API Configuration.
You will need to generate an API Key and Secret so Otus is authorized to read data from the API, and you also need to provide Otus with the base URL for your Skyward instance. The Otus team will provide you with a link to a secure upload folder to safely share this information.
➡️ For additional details about the Skyward OneRoster API credentials, please view our article on Skyward OneRoster API Configuration.
2. Complete the Assessment Category Mapping
For grade passback to work, a mapping needs to be defined from each of the 12 Otus assessment types to a corresponding district level Skyward assignment category code.
Click for more details about setting up an assessment category mapping
Click for more details about setting up an assessment category mapping
For illustration purposes, below is an example of a category mapping from Otus to Skyward:
❗️ For grade passback to work, please ensure that:
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 according to the mapping table and teachers can change the category in Skyward, if desired.
One way to achieve different category mappings by site or grade level is to define a new "generic" Skyward category (for example, OTUS category code) for assessment types that you would like mapped to multiple category codes in Skyward. Then, after the scores are passed back, teachers can adjust the OTUS category to something else locally in Skyward. For example, a generic category mapping for Otus types Test and Quiz might look like this:
3. Determine a Passback Effective Date
The effective date is the date that scores will begin syncing from Otus to Skyward.
Any assessments that have been assigned or changed on or after the effective date and within the current grading period will transfer to Skyward.
This date can be retroactive (if the grading period is still open) or in the future.
❗️Skyward will reject assessments with assign and due dates that fall within or straddle a closed grading period.
4. Add Teachers to the Skyward Grade Passback Group
In order for teachers' assessment scores to pass back, participating teachers must be members of the Skyward Grade Passback Teacher Group in Otus.
Click for more details about the Grade Passback Teacher Group
Click for more details about the Grade Passback Teacher Group
Once your Skyward Grade Passback Teacher Group is created in Otus, you may add participating teachers to the group throughout the school year by following the steps in this article. Adding a new teacher to the group is all that is needed for their scores to begin passing back each night.
❗️ When a teacher is added to the IC Grade Passback Teacher Group, all scores will pass back starting from the effective date or the start date of the open grading period (whichever is later). To avoid duplicate gradebook entries, Otus recommends adding new teachers to the Skyward Grade Passback group at the very beginning of a grading period.
❗️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:
Any teacher, co-teacher, or administrator who may be assigning assessments must be added to the Skyward Grade Passback teacher group in Otus in order for grades to passback.
Assessments assigned directly to a class from an Otus Administrator (who is not in your SIS) will not passback. 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.