We're pleased to introduce a new feature designed to simplify the process of providing customized support to students during exams and assignments: Customization Presets. This allows administrators and advanced teachers to preassign specific accommodations and assistive technologies to individual students within the Trelson Assessment environment. These preset customizations will be automatically applied whenever the student is added to a new assignment or exam, by a teacher in the organization.
This how you add preset customizations:
- Log in and access customizations: Upon logging into Trelson Assessment with administrator or advanced teacher credentials, navigate to the left-hand menu and select "Customizations." This will bring up a table where you can manage preset customizations for your students.
- Assigning customizations: Within the "Customizations" section, click on the option to add students. You'll then be prompted to select the students for whom you wish to preset customizations. Once selected, you can assign specific accommodations and assistive technologies.
- Updating and removing customizations: Should the need arise to update or remove preset customizations for a student, simply locate the student within the table and edit or clear the student from the table. The latter will remove any previous preset customizations for that student.
- See changes: Trelson Assessment keeps a record of the latest customization changes, including who made the adjustments and when they were made. You will see who made the last changes specified on each student row.
About providing extra writing time (in %) as a customization
If you need to provide extra time for a specific student during any exam as a preset customization, you can do so by setting a percentage. Here’s how it works:
You enter a percentage (e.g., 20%) in the preset customization list for a student. Any time that same student is added to a new exam, the system will calculate what 20% of the designated writing time is, automatically applying the corresponding number of additional minutes to their exam time. For example, if a student preset customization is 20% extra time on any exam, once added to an exam with a set writing time of 60 minutes, the student will be assigned an extra 12 minutes of writing time.
This change ensures that extra time is applied to the actual duration a student is allowed to work, rather than the overall exam availability window. This adjustment was implemented based on feedback from schools in the United Kingdom, ensuring compliance with common exam accommodations.
Important note:
- If you change the exam writing time after adding a student with preset customizations to the same exam, the extra time granted to that student will not automatically adjust. The system calculates the extra time based on the writing time at the moment the student was added. Any subsequent changes to the writing time will not alter the extra time already assigned.
- Recent change: As of the end of February, extra time is now calculated based on the designated writing time instead of the overall exam window. Any preset customizations set before this change will be calculated differently now. If necessary, review and update existing customizations to align with the new calculation method.
However, you can manually adjust the extra time if needed. To do this:
- Locate the specific student in the exam list.
- Click on the three dots next to the student’s name.
- Select 'Customizations.'
- Adjust the extra time in minutes according to the new exam schedule.
This process ensures that the student receives the correct amount of additional time, even if the writing time changes.
FAQ
Will the preset customizations I set apply to other organizations in Trelson?
No, preset customizations are unique to the organization where they are applied and are not transferred to other organizations in your domain.
Why do I not see any students under the "Customizations" tab?
Only students with preset customizations are displayed in the "Customizations" section to keep the feature as straightforward as possible. If you don't find a student in the list of preset customizations, it means that no one has added customizations for that student yet. You can do so by following the instructions earlier in the article.
Can the teacher modify preset customizations for the student?
Yes. Once a teacher has added a student to an assignment or exam, they can choose to modify the customizations as they wish. Any changes made will only be applied to that specific assignment or exam.
What role do I need in Trelson Assessment to make preset customizations?
To make preset customizations for students in your organization, you need to have one of the following roles: 'Advanced Teacher', 'Administrator', or 'Owner'.