Grade pass back is available for districts that utilize Aeries as their student information system to transfer points-based assessments and scores nightly from Otus to Aeries. Standards-based assessments cannot be passed back to Aeries.
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 Aeries. Weighting can be changed by the teacher in the Aeries 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 Aeries with a score of 0 (zero).
❗️The Aeries implementation of the OneRoster API does not support grade pass back for Elementary Schools without a Master Schedule.
❗️Grade passback is supported for unlinked Aeries gradebooks only.
Setup Process
If you wish to set up this integration, 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. Configure OneRoster API in Aeries
In Aeries, navigate to the API Security page and add Otus as a product with the OneRoster API type. Configure the permissions as follows:
Read Access: Required for all table and program areas.
Update Access: Required only for the following three areas:
Gradebook Scores
Gradebook Category
Gradebook Assignment
2. Identify Assessment Category Mapping
There are 12 assessment types in Otus. To facilitate Grade Passback, each Otus Assessment Type must be mapped to a corresponding Aeries Gradebook Category.
Because this sync happens via the API, Aeries 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 Aeries:
Otus Assessment Type | Aeries 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 that all Aeries category codes in your district's mapping table are included in the Aeries gradebooks of teachers participating in grade passback. This is required for scores to pass back successfully.
💡 Tips:
Each Otus Assessment type maps 1:1 to a single Aeries category.
While an Otus Assessment type cannot map to multiple Aeries categories, you can map multiple Otus Assessment types to the same Aeries category (e.g., both 'Paper' and 'Presentation' in Otus can map to 'Project' in Aeries).
The categories will map to Aeries as defined by the district and teachers can change the assessment category in Aeries, if desired, once the grade has been sent to Aeries.
One way to achieve different category mappings by site or grade level is to define a new "generic" Aeries category (for example, OTUS category code) for assessment types that you would like mapped in multiple ways. Then, after the scores are passed back, the teachers can adjust the OTUS category to something else locally in Aeries. 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 determines which assessments and scores are eligible to sync from Otus to Aeries once the integration is live. Any graded assessment assigned on or after this date will be included in the nightly sync.
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 Aeries.
There are no restrictions based on grading periods; as long as the assessment is assigned in Otus on or after the Effective Date, the scores will pass back.
4. Add Teachers to the Aeries Grade Passback Group in Otus
Participation in the Grade Passback integration is managed via membership in the Aeries Grade Passback teacher group. If a teacher is not a member of this group, their assessment scores 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 Aeries, the user who has assigned the assessment must be included in the Aeries Grade Passback Teacher Group in Otus.
💡 Tips:
Adding a teacher to the group is the primary requirement for their scores to be eligible for passback.
When a teacher joins the Aeries Grade Passback group, all of their eligible assessments will passback retroactively to the beginning of the current grading period (or the effective date, if more recent). To avoid duplicate gradebook entries, Otus recommends adding new teachers to the Aeries Grade Passback group at the very beginning of a grading period.
Otus recommends adding any teacher, co-teacher, or administrator who may be assigning assessments in Otus to the Aeries Grade Passback group.
Assessments assigned directly to a class from an Otus Administrator (who is not synced from your SIS) will not passback to the gradebook. This assessment should be assigned to the class by the teacher or co-teacher.
FAQ and Troubleshooting Details
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Once the above information has been collected, what happens?
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?
Please be sure to review the teacher's guide to Grade Passback (click the link below) and share this article with participating teachers in your district. This will ensure that your team follows the correct steps to successfully utilize this feature. Copy the link here: Teacher Guide for Aeries Grade Passback.