Gradebook Passback is available for districts who utilize Skyward as their Student Information System to transfer points-based assessments and scores nightly from Otus to Skyward Gradebook.
If you wish to set up this integration, please contact the Otus team. You can expect to work closely with a member of our team throughout the process. The basic steps are outlined in the sections below.
❗️ IMPORTANT NOTES:
Skyward requires that districts purchase the 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.
Identify Assessment Category Mapping
When teachers create an assessment in Otus, they must select an assessment “type.” The Otus assessment type will map scores back to the corresponding district category code in Skyward. Below is an example of a category mapping from Otus to Skyward:
The Otus team will confirm the desired category mapping for your district. The Skyward categories must be district-level (not specific to a site or grade level).
❗️ IMPORTANT NOTE: Please ensure that all Skyward categories in your district's mapping table are included in the Skyward gradebooks of teachers participating in grade passback. This is required for scores to pass back successfully.
The categories will map as defined by the district and teachers can change the category, if desired, once the grade has been sent to Skyward.
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 in multiple ways. Then, after the scores are passed back, the 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:
Determine a Passback Effective Date
The Effective Date is the date that points-based scores will begin syncing from Otus to Skyward once the integration is complete.
Any assessments that have been assigned on or after the effective date and within the current grading period will transfer to Skyward.
This date can be in the past, present, or future. Selecting a date from the past means that assessment scores from that date and moving forward will flow to Skyward.
API: Confirm Settings & License; Provide Credentials
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.
Ensure that your district has purchased the Skyward LMS/OneRoster API license which is required by Skyward for grade passback.
You will need to generate an API Key and Secret so Otus is authorized to read data from the API. The Otus team will provide you with a link to a secure folder to safely upload this information for Otus to access.
Add Teachers to the Skyward Grade Passback Group in Otus
In order for teachers' assessment scores to pass back, participating teachers must be members of the Skyward Grade Passback Teacher Group in Otus.
❗️ IMPORTANT NOTE: 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.
Teachers can be added to this group throughout the school year and no additional work is required. Adding a new teacher to the group is all that is needed for their scores to begin passing back each night.
When a teacher joins the Skyward 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 Skyward Grade Passback group at the very beginning of a grading period.
Otus recommends adding to the Skyward Grade Passback group any teacher, co-teacher, or administrator who may be assigning assessments in Otus.
Assessments assigned directly to a class from an Otus Administrator (who is not in your SIS) will not passback to the gradebook. This assessment should be assigned to the class by the teacher or co-teacher.
Next Steps
Once the above information has been collected, 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.
Please be sure to review the teacher's guide to Gradebook Passback 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.