Introduction

What’s Inside This Guide

1. Exploring Item Banks: Review available items across multiple subjects and grade-level bands to find the right fit for your students and instructional objectives.
2. Building Assessments: Step-by-step guidance on selecting items, creating formative assessments, and aligning them to learning targets.
3. Assigning Assessments & Monitoring Results: Discover how to assign assessments to students, track completion, and monitor performance in real time.
4. Analyzing Reports: Use built-in reporting tools to analyze student data, identify learning gaps, and inform instructional decisions.

Teacher Checklist

General Interface (Test Builder)

Support Tab, Notifications Icon, and Profile Icon

1. Get technical support quickly and easily from the Sirius Customer Care team, allowing you to quickly recover from any online technical challenges you might face as you facilitate learning and growth in your students.
2. Access important notifications and news about Sirius Online, including monthly release notes.
3. Manage a limited set of profile attributes, access core policy documents, and log out of the Sirius Online platform.

Reports Tab

1. Course Report: View and analyze performance, usage, and engagement by course. 
2. Standards Report: View and analyze performance and usage by standard (TEKS).

Preparing for SFAB Training

Logging In to Sirius Online       

General Interface

Building Formative Assessments

Creating a New Assessment

1. Click Create New
   

1. Locate the Create New button in the Test Builder tab.
   
2. Clicking it will open a pop-up window where you’ll configure the foundational details of your assessment.
   

2. Enter Assessment Details
   
   In the pop-up window, you’ll be prompted to:

1. Name Your Assessment: Choose a clear, descriptive title that reflects the test’s purpose or subject. Example: Math Bell Ringer 8/25/25
   
2. Add a Description: Provide context or notes about the assessment—such as its intended use, target audience, or instructional goals.
   
3. Select a Template: Choose from available templates that determine which tools and reference materials students will have access to during the test (e.g., calculators, formula charts, reading aids).
   

3. Click Create

1. Once your details are entered, click Create to generate your assessment shell.    
2. The new test will appear in the Test Builder tab with the name you created, ready for item selection, customization, and further editing.

1. You can revise the assessment name, description, or template later if needed, prior to publication.
2. Item bank templates help ensure alignment with testing accommodation or instructional support —choose thoughtfully based on student needs.
3. Use the filtering tools (Standards, Tags, Content Type) to efficiently populate your test with relevant items.
   

Item Selection and Filtering

1. Standards Filter: Align items with specific learning objectives or curriculum standards.
2. Tags Filter: Refine items by attributes such as grade level, subject, item type, language, and more.

1. Open Your Assessment Shell

2. Choose an Item Bank

1. Grades 3–5 Formative: Math and Reading Language Arts      
2. Grades 6–8 Formative: Math and Reading Language Arts    
3. STAAR Released Test Questions: Math, Reading Language Arts, Science and Social Studies 

3. Select a Filtering Method: Standards

The Standards Filter allows you to refine your search by aligning items with specific academic standards. This feature is especially useful when targeting curriculum-aligned assessment items to classroom lessons. When you open an item bank, all available questions automatically populate in the right-hand results panel. To narrow these results by standards, follow the steps below:

Choose a Standards Set

A. Choose Your Target Standards

B. View Aligned Items

4. Select a Filtering Method: Tags

Use the Tags Filter to search or narrow down item content based on the following criteria:

1. Search: Enter keywords to locate specific item content. Supports semantic and word-based searches of question stems.
2. Grade: Filter items by the intended student grade.
3. STAAR Item Type: Includes all STAAR 2.0 formats and legacy item types.
4. Subject: Select from available academic subjects.
5. Language: Choose between English and Spanish items.
6. Genre: Filter by literary or informational genre.
7.  Point Value: Identify items worth one or more points (available only for STAAR Released Test Questions).
8. Social Studies Eras: Filter items by era (available only for social studies STAAR Released Test Questions)
9. STAAR Year: Search by the year the item was released.
   

How to Display Items

1. Enter keywords (e.g., terms from item stems).
2. Alternatively, select filters from the dropdown menus.

1. You can select multiple standards at once to broaden your results.
2. Deselected standards will automatically remove associated items from the results panel.
3. This filter works in combination with other filters (e.g., Tags, Grade, Subject) for more precise targeting.
4. To reset filters to “start fresh,” click the Reset Filters link at the top of the search panel, otherwise your searches narrow based on your first and subsequent menu selections across both standards and tags.
   
5. If too many filters are selected and no items appear, click Reset Filters to clear your selections and start over.

Item Review

1. Open the Item Options Menu

From the ellipsis menu, you can:

1. Preview: View the complete item, including question stem, answer choices, and any associated passages or visuals.
2. Info: View item metadata and access assessment details such as:

1. Usage History: See whether the item has already been used in another assessment. This helps avoid duplication and supports test variety.

2. Click Preview in the ellipsis to see the item live.

Adding Items to Assessments

1. Click on the drop-down menu in the Item Bank you would like to use and filter items by using the Standards and Tags filters.
2. Click the check box next to the item(s) you want to use. Then click the Add Items button. 

3. The items you have selected will appear in the Selected Items panel on the left. Click on the plus sign (+) below an individual item to add it to the assessment or click on the plus sign in the upper right corner of the panel to add all the selected items at once.
   

4. Items added to the assessment will appear on the right-hand panel, listed in the order they’ll be presented.

1. To rearrange items, use the up/down arrows beside each one.
2. To randomize the order, click Randomize.
3. To remove an item, click the X next to it.
   

5. Use the tools in the upper-right corner to build your assessment:

1. Add More Items: Return to the filtering screen to browse and select additional items. 
2. Preview: View the assessment as students will see it.
3. Exit: Return to the Test Builder home screen. Your assessment will be saved automatically.

6. When you open the preview of the assessment, you will need to choose the appropriate grade-level test template from the dropdown.

7. The gray navigation bar at the bottom mirrors the student view during the assessment.   

1. Next advances to the following screen.
2. Back returns to the previous screen.
3. Go To opens a secondary navigation panel with a list of all screens and their contents. Click any screen in the list to jump directly to it.

Teacher-Only Toolbar Tools

1. Reveal: Allows you to hide specific parts of an item during presentation. For example, you can show just the question portion of an assessment item and conceal the answers, then reveal the answers when you’re ready. 
2. Answers: Displays the answers for each question.
   

When you've finished reviewing your assessment, click the Done button in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Building Formative Assessments with Reading Language Arts (RLA) Passage with Items or Multipart Items (RLA, E1, E2)

1. Create the test shell (Name, Description, Template).
2. Click on the drop-down menu for the item bank you would like to use and filter items by using the Standards and Tags filters.
3. Click the checkbox next to the Passage Activity(s) you want to use. Then click the Add Items button.

4. Click the caret in the bottom left corner of the Passage Activity box to see the list of all of the questions associated with the passage. To remove an item, click the X next to it.
5. Use the up and down arrows next to each passage to adjust their order. To shuffle the questions automatically, click the Randomize button.

6. Use the tools in the upper-right corner to build your assessment:

1.  Add More Items: Return to the filtering screen to browse and select additional items.
2. Preview: View the assessment as students will see it.
3. Exit: Return to the Test Builder home screen. Your assessment will be saved automatically.

When adding more than one Passage with Items activity to an assessment; they will show up as different sections when you preview your test.

7. Preview the Passage with Items assessment. The passage will appear in the left panel with questions in the right panel. Use the numbered menu on the right to navigate among a passage’s items. If the test contains a second passage, view the second grouping of question items in the Go To menu and choose the second passage.

Assigning Formative Assessments

1. From the Test Builder tab
   
2. From the Classes tab

If this is your first time assigning the assessment, you must do so from the Test Builder tab.

Assigning Assessments in Test Builder

1. Navigate to the Test Builder tab and locate the assessment you wish to assign.
   

2. Click the ellipsis icon (...) in the lower-right corner of the assessment card.
3. Select Assign from the menu options.

4. A confirmation modal will appear, notifying you that the assessment will be added to your classroom content under your My Assessment folder in courses. Once assigned, the assessment becomes locked and cannot be edited. To proceed, click Continue. To return and make changes, click Cancel.

Clicking Continue at this stage will finalize the assessment. It will become non-editable and move to your My Assessments folder as Assignable. 

5. The Assign pop-up window will appear. Complete this section just as you would when assigning activities to students—by filling out the fields as outlined below.

If you cancel the assignment at this stage, the assessment will still be published to your My Assessments folder and will become locked—further edits will no longer be possible.

1. Assign To: Select which class or classes you wish to assign the activity in. If you select an individual class, you then have the option of assigning the activity to the entire class, to one or more individual students, or to any group of students you have created within the class.
   

All of your classes that contain the course will appear in the Assign To drop-down menu. To assign the activity to all or multiple classes at once, select All Classes beneath the drop-down menu.

1. Date Range: Select the start date and time of the assignment as well as the due date and time. This range controls when a student can access the assigned content.
   
2. Reports & Scores:

1. Reporting: Choose whether to include student scores in district-level Course and Standards reports. To exclude scores from district aggregation, toggle the Release to Reports field off.
   
2. Student Access: Once the activity has been submitted for scoring, you may Release Scores to Students. You can also enable the option for students to review their submitted work.
   

1. Student Instructions: Add customized instructions to the class(es), group(s), or individual students you are assigning the activity to. 

6. When all fields are complete and settings are confirmed, click Assign. A success message will appear to confirm that the assessment has been assigned.

When assigning assessments from the Formative Item Bank, the Practice Mode Option is not available—students will complete the assessments in Test Mode by default. Once the assignment is submitted and the teacher has enabled review access, students can revisit the assessment and use feedback tools such as hints, show correct answer, and other support to review their work.

7. To assign this assessment to additional students or classes, click Yes. This will create separate copies for each group. If you're assigning it to just one group, click No to proceed without duplication.

Assigning Assessments via Classes

1. Navigate to the Classes tab and click Content from the class card.

2. Navigate to your My Assessment folder.  The folder will appear as My Assessments with the teachers' first and last name.

3. Click Open. This will take you the Unit card, click Open.

4. From this screen, you can View, Present, or Assign the assessment—just as you would with any Sirius Online assignment. To proceed, select Assign from the available menu options.
5. The Assign pop-up window will appear. Complete this section just as you would when assigning activities to students.
6. When all fields are complete and settings are confirmed, click Assign. A success message will appear to confirm that the assessment has been assigned.

7. To assign this assessment to additional students or classes, click Yes. This will create separate copies for each group. If you're assigning it to just one group, click No to proceed without duplication.

Scorecard

1. Navigate to the Class card and click Assignments.

2. On the Assignments screen, you will see a list of assessments and activities. To view performance details, click the Score button next to the relevant item—this opens the Scorecard, which displays student results.

1. Summary
   
2. Details
   
3. Engagement      
4. Standards

Summary Tab

1. Assignment: Displays how many times the assessment has been assigned. For example, a value of 2 means the student received the activity twice.
2. Submitted: Shows the date the student submitted the assessment. You can reassign or Unsubmit student work by hovering over the submitted date. You can also “force submit” students' work if they have not submitted or forgot to submit.
3. Student Work: Shows the score for the student on the assessment. To view details of the student’s work on the assessment, click the score percentile in the column.
4. Score Reporting: Use the on/off switches in the scoring area to individually control which scores on different assessments need to be shared with the student or sent to Reports.
5. Feedback: Leave feedback for the student by clicking the speech bubble icon on the far right.

Details Tab

1. Usage: Shows the time a student spent working on an assessment.    
2. Grade: Shows the score for the assessment (as long as there are no manually graded items in the assessment).

Accessing and Reviewing Student Assignments

1. Accessing Assessments: Click the score or the Eye icon in a student’s row to open their assignment. You can also click any cell to jump directly to that specific question.
2. Previewing Questions: Hovering over a cell in the Item Report table reveals a pop-up preview of the question, allowing for quick reference before deeper review. You may choose to exclude the item from the student’s final score.
3. Navigating Student Work: Teachers can review responses either item-by-item for a single student or student-by-student across an item, with options to evaluate, leave comments, and interact via the comment fields.

Use the Show/Hide toggle to display or hide items that are not scored.

Engagement Tab

1. Time on Task Ratio: Indicates the balance of time the student spent answering items correctly versus incorrectly.

Helping students learn to slow down and proceed through test items methodically is perhaps the single most effective measure of engagement that you can use in your feedback to students as they use Sirius Online.

1. Feedback Usage: Shows the number of times  the student used the feedback feature.  It displays the data as a ratio. The first number is the total number of times the student used feedback out of the total number of times feedback was available on the assessment.

This metric is only visible for activities set to Practice Mode. Because formative assessments are delivered in Test Mode, feedback usage data is not available for the formative assessments.

1. Resources Usage: Shows the number of uses of tools or resources (such as Calculator, Dictionary, References, etc.) used. Although these special resources may not be useful for students on all items, you’ll want to understand which students are using their program’s resources at hand and whether engaging with these resources helps improve their ability to provide correct responses.
2. Annotations Usage: Shows the number of uses of annotation tools such as Strikethrough, Highlight, Sticky Notes, or Mark for Review. You may be requiring students to use specific strategies or meta-cognitive markers as they dissect passages, questions, and responses. With the Annotations Usage column, you’ll be able to see the students’ annotations usage quickly before examining their work in more granular ways.
3. Language Tool Usage: Shows the number of uses of the Translate and Speak tools. With such data, you can gain greater insight into how English language learners become better readers using text-to-speech and translation as they acquire greater language skills.

Standards Tab

Exporting Scorecards: Overview & CSV Breakdown

1. Summary CSV: Provides high-level metrics for each student, ideal for quick comparisons or progress tracking:

1. Item Analysis CSV: Delivers granular insights into how students interacted with each item:

1. Standards CSV: Offers a comprehensive view of each student’s performance, including:

Reporting

1. Automatic report generation requires that you click at least one of the View Report buttons in either the Course Reports or Standards Reports windows.
   
2. Reports refresh twice weekly and are available for:

1. Teachers on Thursday and Saturday mornings
2. School Administrators on Friday and Saturday mornings
3. District Administrators on Saturday and Monday mornings

1. Assignment scorecard reports are available in real time for teachers, including performance scores, item analysis, engagement, and standards raw data.
   

Course Report

Standards Report

For step-by-step guidance on reviewing these two reports, refer to the Reporting in Sirius Online section of the Sirius Online User Guide: Teachers, Co-Teachers, and Tutors.

Final Words