1. Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE)
Training Module
Welcome to the online training module for the Test Information Distribution Engine, also known as TIDE. This training module includes many examples of TIDE’s features. In addition, you should consult your TIDE User Guide located on your state’s portal for details on features implemented by your state.
Copyright © 2014 American Institutes for Research. All rights reserved.

2. Objectives Activate your new TIDE account Log in to TIDE
Navigate the TIDE interface
Manage user accounts
Understand account permissions
Manage student test registrations
Manage rosters
Manage Test Impropriety requests
After viewing this presentation, you will be able to do the following:
Activate your new TIDE account
Log in to TIDE
Navigate the TIDE interface
Manage user accounts
Understand account permissions
Manage student test registrations
Manage rosters
Manage Test Impropriety requests

3. What is TIDE used for? Manages user accounts Manages students
Eligibilities
Test settings
Demographics
Manages rosters
Manages Test Impropriety requests
TIDE has several uses. The first use is to manage user accounts for TIDE itself, the TA Interface, and the Online Reporting System (referred to as ORS).
TIDE’s second use is managing student testing information. TIDE associates students with assessments, tests and exams, usually based on the student’s enrolled grade. TIDE also stores accommodations for testing, such as font size and color, and also stores student’s demographic information. ORS uses the accommodations, demographics, and test settings to provide aggregated test scores and trends.
TIDE’s third use is to group students into rosters. A roster is a collection of students with a similar characteristic. Most rosters are the same as classroom lists, but some rosters are specialized groupings, such as those for gifted students or students with special needs. ORS can report test results for rosters.
Finally, TIDE is also used to manage requests for grace period extensions, and requests to retake a test, invalidate a test, or restart a test.
Consult your TIDE User Guide to learn about other ancillary functions besides those listed here.

4. Activating TIDE Account
When you are added to TIDE, you receive an activation . This contains your user role, a temporary password, and an activation link.
To activate your account, click the link in the activation . A page appears with fields to enter your and temporary password. Click Secure Login, and a new page appears to enter your permanent password. In the Old Password field, type the temporary password you received in the activation . In the New Password and Confirm Password fields, type a new password. The passwords have restrictions for the number and type of characters; see your TIDE User Guide for details.
After completing the New and Confirm Password fields, click Submit. The Select a Security Question page appears. Select a security question and enter an answer. You’ll need this information if you need to reset a forgotten password.

5. Logging in to TIDE
To log in to TIDE, go to your portal. Click the required administration and then your user card. In this example, the Test Coordinators/Administrators card is shown as a way to access TIDE. After you select your user card, click the Online TIDE System card. In the next screen, enter your username and password—the new password you entered when activating your account. Completing these steps logs you in to TIDE and displays the home page. 5

6. TIDE’s Home Page
The TIDE home page appears after you log in. The home page displays tabs, which group similar tasks. Some tabs contain subtabs. We will go into more detail about each tab during this presentation.

7. Banner
A banner appears at the top of each TIDE page. On the left there is a drop-down list for accessing other applications. On the right there are links for changing your account settings, contacting the Help Desk, and logging out. The Help link displays the TIDE User Guide, and the FAQ link displays answers to frequently asked questions.

8. Help Text
Most pages in TIDE have “help text” that describes the page and how to use it.
Help Text

9. Roles and Permissions Task Principal Test Coordinator
Test Administrator
Viewing Students   
Editing Student Records (limited)
Adding User Accounts  
Viewing and Editing User Details
Create Test Impropriety Cases
Upload Class Rosters
Download forms
Your TIDE account has a role, and that role has certain permissions. This table gives some examples of the permissions associated with Principal, Test Coordinator, and Test Administrator roles. For instance, the Test Coordinator role has permission to perform all the tasks in TIDE. The Test Administrator role can only retrieve student records and download forms.
In addition to limiting tasks, permissions limit scope. A complex-level user can work with data pertaining to that complex, and a school-level user can work with data pertaining to that school.
For a detailed list of user roles and associated permissions, see your TIDE User Guide.

10. Manage Users
The Manage Users tab contains subtabs for viewing and editing users, adding users, and uploading users from an external file.

11. Retrieve Users
The View/Edit Users tab includes a form for setting selection criteria to retrieve users. In this example, the required criteria are the role, state, complex area, complex, and school information. Other criteria are optional, such as the first or last name. Your particular version of TIDE may have other fields by which you can retrieve users.

12. View Retrieved Users
TIDE displays all the users satisfying the search criteria. You can sort the listing by clicking a column heading in the table. You can modify a user’s information by clicking View. You can export user information into an Excel file, and you can delete users from TIDE. For more detailed information about all of these activities, see your TIDE User Guide.

13. Add Users
There are two ways to add user accounts. The first way is to manually add them with the Add User tab. Fill out the information in the form, and click Add User. The fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory. The address is the user’s username for all applications.

14. Upload Users
The second way to add users is to compose an upload file in Excel or CSV format and then upload that file to TIDE. This method is easiest if you have many new users and you don’t want to add them one at a time under the Add User tab.
The best way to compose an upload file is by downloading one of the available templates and then following the instructions in the template.

15. Student Information
The Student Information tab contains subtabs for viewing students, and uploading student settings.
The students you can retrieve under View/Edit Students are limited by your role’s scope. For example, if you are a complex-level user, you can retrieve students enrolled within your complex. If you are a school-level user, you can retrieve students enrolled within your school.

16. Retrieve Students
The View/Edit Students tab includes a form for setting selection criteria to retrieve students. In this example, some criteria are required, such as the state, complex area, complex, and school. Other criteria are optional, such as the SSID and student’s first or last name. Your particular version of TIDE may have other fields by which you can retrieve students.
You can further refine your criteria by clicking Add Additional Search Criteria. Using this feature, you can retrieve students matching required demographics, test settings, or other criteria.

17. View Retrieved Students
TIDE displays all the students satisfying the search criteria. You can sort the listing by clicking a column heading in the table.
You can modify a student’s information, including test settings and accommodations, by clicking View.
You can export student information into an Excel file.
For more detailed information about all of these activities, see your TIDE User Guide.

18. Uploading Student Settings
If you have many students for whom you need to apply test settings, it may be easier to perform those transactions through file uploads. This task requires familiarity with composing comma-separated value (CSV) files or working with Microsoft Excel. The TIDE User Guide describes how to compose the files and then upload them to TIDE.

19. Rosters
Rosters are groups of students associated with a teacher in a particular school. Rosters typically represent entire classrooms in lower grades, or individual classroom periods in upper grades. Rosters can also represent special courses offered to groups of students.
The rosters you create in TIDE are available in the Online Reporting System. ORS can accumulate test scores at these roster levels.

20. Retrieve and Add Rosters
The Manage Rosters tab is where you retrieve existing rosters and add new rosters. In this example, the Manage Rosters tab shows adding a new roster.

21. Manage Rosters
The Manage Rosters tab displays the characteristics of an existing roster. The roster’s name and associated teacher appear in the top section.
The check boxes in the middle of the page indicate the students’ enrolled grades. In this example, the students in this roster are all enrolled in the seventh grade.
The Available Students list shows all the students in the seventh grade that are not already in the roster. The Students in This Roster list show all the seventh grade students that are in the roster.
This page has buttons for saving changes to the roster, as well as for deleting and printing the roster.

22. Upload a Roster
Another way to create rosters is to compose an upload file in Excel or CSV format and then upload that file to TIDE. This method is easiest if you have many new rosters and you don’t want to add them one at a time under the Manage Rosters tab.
The upload file includes the roster’s name, teacher’s name, and student ID numbers. The best way to compose an upload file is by downloading one of the available templates and then following the instructions in the template.

23. Printing Rosters
When you print a roster, the roster’s name, teacher, and students appear in your web browser. You can send this listing to your printer.

24. Test Impropriety
In the normal flow of a test, a student takes the test in the test delivery system, which is known as TDS, and then submits it.
Next, TDS forwards the test for scoring. Then ORS reports the tests scores.
Test Improprieties are a way of interrupting this normal flow. A student may need a grace period extension due to a loss of Internet access during a test session that prevented the opportunity to check previously answered questions . A Test Administrator may want to invalidate a test because of a hardware malfunction or an impropriety. You should consult your Test Administration Manual for your state’s Test Impropriety policies and procedures. The pages under the Test Impropriety tab provide these activities.

25. Create Test Impropriety — Retrieving
The Create Test Impropriety tab is where you can create a new request.
The first step is to select the type of request you want to create. The TIDE User Guide lists the available test improprieties and explains the implications of each.
The second and third steps set search criteria for a given test result. In this example, we are searching for test results associated with a student whose SSID is You can also search by result ID, request date, or case ID.
When you click Search, TIDE displays all the test results satisfying the criteria.

26. Create Test Impropriety — Entering
When TIDE retrieves the matching test results, you type a reason in the text box and then click Create. TIDE places the request in a list for a state-level administrator to review and approve.

27. Status of Requests Request Status Description of Status Error Occurred
An error was encountered while the request was being processed.
Item Information Sent
Information about the specified item was sent to the technical team. No further action is necessary.
Pending State Approval
Request has been created, but the state needs to approve the request before it can be submitted for processing.
Processed
Request was successfully processed and the test opportunity has been updated.
Rejected by State User
Request was rejected by the state.
Rejected by System
Test Delivery System was unable to process the request.
Requires Resubmission
As a result of a processing error, the request needs to be resubmitted before it can be processed.
Retracted
Originator retracted the request.
Submitted for Processing
Request has been submitted to the Test Delivery System for processing.
After you create a request, it moves through an approval process until it is finally disposed. This table describes the possible statuses a request can have.

28. View Test Impropriety
You can review submitted requests from the View Test Impropriety tab. You select search criteria and then click Search. In this example, we are searching for requests to invalidate a test associated with a student with SSID , whose request’s status is Submitted for Processing.

29. View Test Impropriety
The View Test Impropriety tab displays those requests awaiting action. State-level users can apply one of the following actions to a request:
Process—This approves the request, after which TIDE, TDS, and ORS update the test opportunities and results accordingly. For example, if the request was to invalidate a test, then the number of test opportunities the student has decreases by one, and the student can take the adaptive test again if any opportunities remain.
Reject—This rejects the request, and the test results’ processing continues as if the request were never submitted.
Retract—This retracts a request.

30. Upload Test Impropriety
Another way to create requests is to compose an upload file in Excel or CSV format and then upload that file to TIDE. This method is easiest if you have many new requests and you don’t want to add them one at a time under the Create Test Impropriety tab.
The upload file includes the request type, search criteria for a result ID, and a reason for the request. The best way to compose an upload file is by downloading one of the available templates and then following the instructions in the template.

31. Voice Pack
The Download Voice Pack tab provides resources, including the download file and installation instructions, that users may need in order to conduct online tests.

32. Thank You! Further Information Visit
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smarterbalanced.org
Call, fax, or the American Institutes for Research HSAP Help Desk
Hours: 7:30 am to 4:00 p.m. HST, Monday-Friday (except holidays)
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Thank you for taking the time to view this training module. For additional information, refer to your TIDE User Guide located on your portal or contact the Help Desk.