Select File Layout  

Select Test Results File  

Matching Students  

Update Test Tables  

Test Scores  

Test Details  

Chart for Field Data Elements 

Overview 

Navigate to School Info > Imports and Exports

The Import Test Results process can import both the STAAR 3-8 and STAAR Alternate 2 3-8 student test results files. For best results, load test files at the district level when possible. The Import Test Results process will also add any new STAAR and STAAR Alternate test parts into the Testing Control (CTL) table and the Content Standard Names (CSN) table when the file layout is selected. 

Select File Layout  ↑

Select the proper STAAR 3-8 Test Results file layout to import the STAAR 3-8 student results file. The data file must be in the format defined in the STAAR Grades 3-8 or STAAR Alternate 2 Grades 3-8 Student Data File Layouts found on the Texas Education Agency Data File Formats website. Once the file is downloaded from the testing vendor, it should NOT be opened before importing into Aeries, as that sometimes breaks the format the import routine is expecting. When deciding which year file layout to use, select the file layout that was in effect when the data was downloaded. 

NOTE:  It is VERY important that the correct file layout be chosen to match the results file, as the STAAR 3-8 and STAAR Alternate 2 3-8 file layouts are almost identical. Choosing the wrong layout for the file being imported will result in the test records being misidentified, and not aligning properly.

Select Test Results File  ↑

Once the file layout is selected, click on the Select File(s) to Load button, select the proper data file, and click on Open. 

The system will attempt to validate the data file against the file layout that was selected in Step 1 by looking for key words in the file layout name. If the key words do not exist a warning message will come up to check that the correct file layout and data file were selected. In the below example the STAAR Alt 2 3-8 file layout was selected, but the data file is the STAAR EOC. The warning message comes up alerting the customer to double-check that the correct data file was selected. After clicking on the OK to remove the warning the customer can click on the Clear button to remove the data file and then select a new file. 

Once the correct data file has been opened, click on the Upload file(s) and create temp data button to load the data file. A progress bar will display as the file is loaded.

The Default Date  and Testing Administration for the STAAR test results is derived from the Administration Date field contained in the data file (fields 1-4 of each record) . The Aeries Testing Administration (TST.TA, CST.TA, and TEX.TA) for the test results is SPRGXX where XX is the year of the month/year contained in the data file. NOTE: We do not recommend updating the Default Date or Testing Administration, especially when import test records from prior administrations.

If desired, the test results may also include an identification of the data source by choosing it from the Source drop-down menu, although the Source and Type fields are optional. Additional values can be added to both of these dropdowns through the Update Code Table process.

Matching Students  ↑

Click on the Match Students button to match the students in the data file to the students in Aeries. The Unique ID is the primary identification in the STAAR Student Results data files. It should be the first method used for matching students. If there are still large numbers of students unmatched, you can also select other options for matching.

If students are still unmatched, you can print a report of the unmatched students by clicking on the button labeled Print Unmatched Students:

Finally, students can be matched manually by searching by name, Student ID or Unique ID, or by entering the Student ID number directly into the matching field. For best results, please match as many students as possible before loading the test results.

Update Test Tables  ↑

The STAAR Test Results import will add/update records to the Test Scores (TST), Content Standard Scores (CST), Test Exclusions (TEX), and External Student IDs (ESI) tables. After the import process has completed an email with summary information will be sent to the user that initiated the import.

The Test ID that is saved in the Test Scores (TST.ID), Content Standards Scores (CST.ID) and Test Exclusions (TEX.ID) tables depends on which test was imported and the Language Version that the student used for each test part:

• STAAR Alternate 2 3-8 imports will have a test id of STR382
• STAAR 3-8 imports where the Language Version is English for the test part will have a test id of STR38
• STAAR 3-8 imports where the Language Version is Spanish for the test part will have a test id of STR38S

Test Scores  ↑

In the below example the student took an English language version of the STAAR 3-8 Mathematics test, but a Spanish language version of the STAAR 3-8 Reading test. 

Test Details  ↑

The Test Details will display with the Testing Administration date, Scale Score, Performance Level Indicator, and EL Performance Measure. If the Performance Level Indicator has a value of 0 or 99, this will translate to n/a for the test score.

Chart for Field Data Elements ↑

Below are charts of where the significant fields in the STAAR 3-8 and STAAR Alt 2 3-8 data files are stored in the Test Scores (TST), Content Standards (CST), Testing Exclusions (TEX), and External Student ID's (ESI) tables: 

For the STAAR 3-8 test TST.ID = STR38

For the STAAR 3-8 Language Version Spanish test TST.ID = STR38S

For the STAAR Alt 2 3-8 test TST.ID = STR382