Issue:

 

Tips on using your Renaissance Learning software during summer school.

 

Note to Renaissance Data Integrator (RDI) users: If you have arranged for this service, our Technical Service Consultants have set up RDI on your Renaissance Place database server to automatically link your student information system (SIS) data to the Renaissance Place database. Contact a consultant to discuss how to set up your Renaissance Place database for summer school. Do not follow the steps in this article since most of them are not necessary.

 

Resolution:

 

Renaissance Place

 

Most districts consider summer sessions to be part of the previous school year. If this is the case for you, wait until after all summer sessions are over before setting the new 2011-2012 school year to be the current year. This is especially important if you will be testing students in the STAR programs over the summer, since norm-referenced scores are based on both the student’s grade, and the specific month and day in which he or she takes a test. When you view the new school year in Renaissance Place and click the link to “Set as Current School Year”, you will be accessing the new year and students’ grades will all go up by one. See KB article #1857027 for more information on grade placement, or refer to your STAR Technical Manuals for an in-depth explanation of the importance of grade placement.

 

·        Adjusting your school year and marking period dates

 

If students will be using Renaissance Place software during the summer, simply create a new marking period to keep the records separate for reporting purposes. For example, perhaps your 2010-2011 school year ends on 5/27/2011, and students attend summer school from 6/6/11 to 7/29/11. You could extend your current school year to end on 7/29/11 and create a new “Summer Session” marking period with the dates 6/6/11 to 7/29/11. In Accelerated Reader, students will have a choice of viewing all quizzes taken, quizzes taken since the beginning of the previous school year, or just those taken during the Summer Session. In all programs, teachers will have the option to generate reports for just the Summer Session marking period. Note: If you need to edit the school year start date in order to correct the end date, but the school year start date is in the past, contact Renaissance Learning Technical Support for assistance.

 

TIP: If you use the Date and Time Restriction preference in Accelerated Reader, you’ll want to check the preference at each school to make sure the dates include your summer session.

 

• Setting up new classes

 

The existing classes can be used for summer school but you may find it more convenient to add new classes, since the student enrollments and teacher assignments will probably change.

 

When you are ready to move ahead to the new school year, refer to KB article #4849610.

 

Desktop Applications

 

Most districts consider summer sessions to be part of the previous school year. If this is the case for you, wait until after all summer sessions are over before setting the new 2011-2012 school year dates in the software and promoting your students. This is especially important if you will be testing students in the STAR programs over the summer, since norm-referenced scores are based on both the student’s grade, and the specific month and day in which he or she takes a test. If you are using the previous school year as your dates in STAR, be sure the students' grades in the database reflect the grade they were in during the previous school year. If the school year dates have been changed to the new year in any Renaissance Learning application using this data location, students need to be promoted to their new grades before they test. See KB article #1857027 for more information on grade placement, or refer to your STAR Technical Manuals for an in-depth explanation of the importance of grade placement.

 

·        Adjusting your school year and marking period dates

 

If students will be using any of the desktop programs during the summer, simply create a new marking period to keep the records separate for reporting purposes. For example, perhaps your 2010-2011 school year ends on 5/27/2011, and students attend summer school from 6/6/11 to 7/29/11. You could extend your current school year to end on 7/29/11 and create a new “Summer Session” marking period with the dates 6/6/11 to 7/29/11. In Accelerated Reader 5.x and above, students will have a choice of viewing quizzes taken since the beginning of the previous school year or just during the current marking period. In Accelerated Vocabulary, students will see only the words learned within the current marking period or school year. In all programs, teachers will have the option to generate reports for just the Summer Session marking period.

 

·        Archiving goals in Accelerated Reader

 

In Accelerated Reader, setting the school year dates ahead to the new year will cause goals to be archived the next time you access the software. This may also occur if you make substantial edits to the school year dates. To restore goals when you have not yet moved ahead to the new school year, see KB article #3085893.

 

·        Setting up new classes

 

The existing classes can be used for summer school but you may find it more convenient to add new classes, since the student enrollments and teacher assignments will probably change. However, when you unenroll students in Accelerated Grammar & Spelling, Accelerated Grammar & Spelling High School, Accelerated Math, Accelerated Writer, or MathFacts in a Flash, all performance data is lost. If students are continuing to work on the same objectives, assignments, or levels but you want to set up new classes, you can transfer their data to the new classes. Before you transfer data you will need to make sure that both classes have the same objectives added for Accelerated Grammar & Spelling, Accelerated Grammar & Spelling High School, or Accelerated Math, the same assignments assigned for Accelerated Writer, and the same levels added in MathFacts in a Flash. If students have any outstanding assignments in Accelerated Grammar & Spelling, Accelerated Grammar & Spelling High School, Accelerated Math, or Accelerated Writer, or have worked on a level in MathFacts in a Flash but have not mastered it, this work will be deleted in the transfer.

 

1)     Log into the Management program with full administrative access.

 

2)     Click on the [School] button.

 

3)     Click on the [Classes] button.

 

4)     Select the class that the student(s) are currently enrolled in. Then select the student(s) under Enrolled Students that you want to transfer into a new class. If you want to select more than one student, remember to press the <Shift> or <Ctrl> key (<Apple> key on Mac).

 

5)     From the Classes menu, choose [Student Transfer].

 

6)     Select the class that you would like the students to be transferred into. Click [Next]. The Select Students screen will show you the percent transferable for the students. You can either click [Next] to continue or [Cancel] to stop the transfer.

 

7)     At the Student Transfer Summary Screen, click [Finish] ([Done] on Mac) to complete the transfer 

 

When you are ready to move ahead to the new school year, refer to the following articles on that topic:

 

Accelerated Grammar & Spelling, Accelerated Grammar & Spelling High School, Accelerated Math 2.x, Accelerated Writer, and MathFacts in a Flash 1.x – KB article #2157546.

 

Accelerated Reader 5.x, Accelerated Reader 6.x, Accelerated Vocabulary – KB article #1655213.

 

STAR Early Literacy 1.x, STAR Math 1.x, STAR Math 2.x, STAR Reading 2.x – KB article #1655218.