Welcome to OARSaccess.net,
your starting point for
the Online Assessment Reporting System (OARS).

OARS is a web-based software tool that facilitates the collection, reporting, and analysis of periodic assessments. OARS helps districts meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation by making assessment results readily available. Teachers are able to modify instruction based on assessment results, and school and district administrators can plan appropriate professional development and support.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about using OARS. These are intended for current users of our software. For questions about licensing OARS, please visit the Red Schoolhouse Software website.

1. Why don't my reports print in color?
2. Why can't I log in to OARS?
3. Why is there a student missing from my class list?
4. My class list is accurate, but when I try to put in scores, there is a student missing. What's going on?
5. How can I add or remove students from my class list?
6. Is there a way to view all the Spelling (or Vocabulary, or Fluency) results for the whole year all at once?
7. When I log in, all I see are the 'Home' and 'Options' tabs

Answers to FAQs

1. Why don't my reports print in color?

   By default, Internet Explorer assumes you don't want to print background colors, in order to save ink. To change this setting, follow these simple instructions:

   On a Mac:
   1. Go to File > Print Preview.
   2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
   3. Make sure that 'Print Background' is checked.
   4. Click on the 'Close' button.
   
   On a PC:
   1. Go to Tools > Internet Options.
   2. Click on the 'Advanced' tab.
   3. Scroll down to the section on 'Printing'.
   4. Make sure that 'Print background colors and images' is checked.
   5. Click on the 'OK' button.
   
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2. Why can't I log in to OARS?

   If you are having trouble logging in, you might want to check the following:

   • Are you trying to log in to the correct district? (Look at the welcome message at the top of the screen.)
   • Is the CAPS-LOCK key depressed?
   • Have you remembered that both your username and password are CaSe SenSiTivE?
   • Are you confusing your OARS username/password with the username/password for your email account or some other system?

   If you are still having trouble, you may need to contact your system administrator to have your password reset.

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3. Why is there a student missing from my class list?

   The information in OARS comes from your district's student database, but the two systems are not permanently linked. OARS is updated on a regular basis, but the frequency varies from district to district. You can see the last time the database was updated by reviewing the welcome message on the 'Home' page after you log in succesfully. If it's been a while since the last update, chances are that OARS will be updated soon, and the student you are missing will be loaded the next time that happens. If an update WAS done recently, and you still don't see a student, it may be that it was not in the district's extract. You might check with the database administrator at your school to confirm that the student is in the system correctly.

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4. My class list is accurate, but when I try to put in scores, there is a student missing. What's going on?

   This occurs if the student has not been assigned to an assessment level yet--usually if the student is a new arrival in the class. If the student had assessment results entered in her preview class, she will show up in your class assigned to an assessment level. However, if the student is completely new, you'll need to go to the 'Setup' tab and assign her to the correct assessment level. After that, she will show up with the rest of the class when you attempt to enter scores.

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5. How can I add or remove students from my class list?

   Student and teacher information is updated for your entire district by importing information for your district's student database into OARS on a regular basis. Manually updating student and teacher information directly in OARS, even with the best intentions, is very error-prone so we recommend against it. You can see the last time the database was updated by reviewing the welcome message on the 'Home' page after you log in succesfully. If it's been a while since the last update, chances are that OARS will be updated soon, and your class roster will be corrected.

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6. Is there a way to view all the Spelling (or Vocabulary, or Fluency) results for the whole year all at once?

   Yes, there is. When you create a Class Report (or a School Report, or a District Report) look at the options in Step 1. The first column of options allows you to view all results for one assessment period. The second column of options--'By Assessment Area'-- allows you to choose one subtest (like Spelling) and view all results for the whole year.

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7. When I log in, all I see are the 'Home' and 'Options' tabs

   The good news is that the system has recognized you as a user. The bad news it that your user account does not point to a class. This sometimes happens if Teacher IDs change in the middle of the year. Please contact your system administrator and ask him or her, 'Could you please check that the Teacher ID for my OARS user account matches the Teacher ID for the class that I teach?' This should resolve the problem.

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