Dummy Courses

This article explains how to set up and use dummy courses in Arbor to help you collect non-subject-specific data (such as CAT4 scores or Reading Age information) or to create assessments for subjects such as Triple Sciences or English Literature, that may not be timetabled but need to have data (such as ad hoc assessment data) collected against them.

Permissions

• Academic structure: Administer - Create new courses
• School: Assessments: Administer - Set up an Ad Hoc assessment, or add User Defined Fields to marksheets
• General Admin: Administer - Set up User Defined Fields

Is a Dummy Course the right choice?

The most suitable option will depend on your needs as a school and whether you want the assessment to appear on all student marksheets.

Reading Ages using a UDF (User Defined Field) is the quickest option to set up, and UDFs can be added to all marksheets without needing new assessments. However, it will show on all assessment marksheets for all students; you cannot record changes over time without overriding past figures, and teachers cannot update the reading age from marksheets. Additionally, the data cannot be seen on Report Cards unless Custom Report Cards are used.

Reading Ages using an Ad Hoc assessment linked to a summative assessment allows English teachers to see and enter reading ages directly on their English class marksheets, enables recording different reading ages multiple times a year, and the data can be seen on Standard and Long Report Cards. The main drawback is that the data cannot be seen on other subjects' marksheets.

Reading Ages using a stand-alone Ad Hoc assessment supports recording different reading ages as many times a year as needed, and the data can be seen on Report Cards. The negative point is that the data cannot be seen on class marksheets alongside summative assessments.

Reading Ages using a summative assessment linked to a 'Dummy Course' (e.g., Test Scores) provides the ability to upload data in bulk, allows all teachers to view the data without the ability to amend it, and the data can be recorded as many times as required for progress tracking. The negatives include the use of Marksheet Templates and the need to copy over each year if required.

Additional Course using a summative assessment linked to a 'Dummy Course' (e.g., Chemistry or English Literature) lets teachers to enter data for a course that is not timetabled but on which students will be graded, and it appears in Marksheets like any other assessment. The only negative listed is the need to copy over each year if required.

Setting it up: Summative Assessment linked to a 'Dummy Course'

To begin, you will need to set up a 'Dummy Course' on Arbor. Follow these instructions on how to build a new course.  

For Test Scores

You will need to build your courses, we recommend naming them 'Test Scores' and setting up Year Group modules within the course. Enrol your students into the correct Year Groups. 

For non-timetabled courses, such as Triple Science, or English Literature

For courses where you teach students in one course (such as English), but then need to have a distinction between English Language and English Literature for grades, we would advise creating a dummy course for one half. 

Build your courses as exact matches of the existing course - e.g. create the same structure, classes and enrolments as your existing English course but call this new course "English Literature". Don't schedule any lessons within the course.

Top Tip: Use Students > Enrolment > Academic > Courses > Bulk Enrolment to see the student enrolment of your existing course, and use the bulk actions to add the same students to your new dummy course 

Add a Summative Assessment

Once you have built your courses, follow these instructions to see how to add a Summative assessment: Setting up Summative Assessments

Now you have your courses and Summative Assessments set up. 

If your assessment is already set up and has been added to the Annual Policy, you just need to link it to the new course by:

• Going into the assessment's annual policy page 
• Scrolling down to Students and Linked Courses 
• Then add the relevant course/classes there. You can also re-add the assessment to the annual policy for the relevant course/classes, and add any missing Subjects.

For Test Scores: Showing these on marksheets

You will need to follow these instructions to build a Custom Report and add this to your marksheet templates:  Setting up Marksheet Templates

You will then be able to import or input the Reading Ages into the marksheet by accessing the marksheet via School > Programmes > Courses > Test Scores and then selecting Assessments on the left-hand side. 

Teachers will be able to view the reading age marks alongside summative assessment marks, all on one marksheet.