Acuity — Frequently Asked Questions


Acuity For Schools
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What is Acuity?
Acuity is an online/paper-pencil, comprehensive platform for grades 3 - 11 for Mathematics, Reading/Language Arts, Science and Social Studies.
Acuity includes the following components:
  • WVDE Authored Benchmark tests (modeled on WESTEST2 blueprint in terms of content coverage of each standard and sub-content area))
  • Custom tests, which utilize an item bank of 25,000 items aligned to WV 21st Century CSOs
  • West Virginia authored items, aligned to 21st Century CSOs
  • Instructional resources which target instruction
  • Immediate reporting capabilities
How do I access Acuity?
An important improvement in Acuity over the old iKnow platform is the addition of appliance servers. These servers were installed inside the West Virginia statewide intranet to increase the speed and availability of Acuity. Servers were installed in districts with large student populations and fast county-wide networks (WANs). Servers were also installed in the two point-of-presence (POP) locations.

You can select your local Acuity server by visiting this site: http://wvde.state.wv.us/oaa/acuity.php

NOTE: Your local Acuity server is not accessible from outside of the West Virginia school network. If you would like to connect to Acuity from home or from anywhere outside of the state-wide intranet, you can connect to the Acuity at Home site.
Why can't I find any Science or Social Studies exercises?
The Acuity platform, as purchased, only included content in RLA and Math for grades 3 - 8. The WVDE has added Science and Social Studies questions in all grade levels and content for RLA and Math questions for grades 9 - 11. However, we do not have the ability to add Instructional Resources, or exercises, to Acuity.
Will there be Instructional Resources added for Social Studies or Science?
The WVDE cannot add Instructional Resources to Acuity. The only Instructional Resouces available within Acuity are for Math and RLA in grades 3 - 8. Please note that Algebra I and Geometry Instructional Resources are available, but can only be found by searching for skills. Directions for accessing these items can be found here.
What tests are available in Acuity?
Acuity allows educators to create their own tests that assess student comprehension of the 21st Century CSOs. Acuity included Diagnostic tests that are pre-packaged tests created by CTB. However, the WVDE has decided not to use the Diagnostic tests and has disabled them in Acuity. Instead, the WVDE has created a series of State-Authored Benchmark Assessments that better assess student understanding of the 21st Century CSOs. These tests are optional. Therefore, you should check with your county to see if they are participating in the State-Authored Benchmark testing within Acuity.
What else can Acuity do?
Acuity includes lessons, or Instructional Resources, that are tied to the WV 21st Century CSOs. These Instructional Resources can be assigned by skill or by standard. These mini lessons are divided into three parts; introduction of a topic, guided practice and a mini summative assessment. Reports are available to teachers to show student progress on assigned Instructional Resources. Another important feature of Acuity is the powerful reporting function. Reports are available instantly and show student progress toward comprehension of standards and objectives. Instructional Resources can also be assigned from within the reports; e.g. a teacher can assign additional instruction to an entire class from the report after seeing that students need practice on a particular standard.
My school is on block scheduling. Can we use the State-Authored Benchmarks?
The WVDE shares all state-authored benchmarks with each county's Acuity district administrator at the beginning of the year. The district administrator can then share the tests with teachers or create assignments for students to take the tests. All state-authored benchmarks are available to be assigned at any time and can be used to best fit your schedule. If you do not have access to the state-authored benchmarks contact your school or district Acuity administrator to have the tests assigned.
Is there a way to bypass installing the Acuity browser plugins (Active X Controls) for all students?
Yes. Acuity requires several browser plugins that are installed using Active X. These plugins are installed very quickly, but must be installed for every student who logs into each computer. This may also present a problem for schools that utilize Deep Freeze. You can bypass the prompt to install these plugins using the following method. However, this requires administrator rights to the school network, or domain.

You will have to configure a GPO per user and add http://www.acuityathome.com and your local acuity server (e.g. http://acuity.north.k12.wv.us or http://acuity.south.k12.wv.us) to your list of trusted sites. When users logs in, they will get their list of trusted sites from the policy and will not be prompted to install Active X controls for any of these sites. A good example for configuring the GPO to add trusted sites per user is here: Example
*Note: This procedure should be performed by a network administrator.
How can I move a student to another school in Acuity?
Only district administrators can move students to other schools within the same county. If a student needs to be moved between counties, contact Rob Surface. The steps for moving students are as follows:
  • Select Management, Students, and enter the student ID and click search

  • Click the student name to bring up the student details screen

  • Scroll to the bottom and select Edit This Student

  • Scroll to the bottom of the next screen and select Save and Assign Classes

  • Click the link to Change School

  • Select the new school

  • You can then add class assignments by selecting the link at the bottom - Create new assignments

  • If you choose not to add class assignments, then the teachers at the new school will be able to search for and add the student to their class rosters after you move the student to their school.
How can I move a student to another county in Acuity?
Only the state-level administrator can move students to other counties in Acuity. If a student transfers into your school from another WV county and needs to be added to your class rosters, contact Rob Surface. You will need to provide the Student ID and the name of your county and school.
Can a test be re-assigned to a student?
Yes. A student can take the same test over (a re-score). If, for instance, a student accidentally submits an unfinished test, then you may want to re-score the test. There is no option in Acuity to delete a score. Instead, when a test is assigned to a student who already has a score for the test (the student has completed the test once), the person creating the assignment will be asked if this score should override the old score. Selecting yes will re-score the test for the student.
What are batch reports and how are they used?
Batch reports allow educators to simultaniously generate multiple reports of the same type for easy saving and printing. Each Acuity report contains a link at the bottom of report options to run the report in batch mode. After creating the batch job, the report usually will be availabe within 15 minutes and can be accessed by going to Management and selecting Report Batches. For more detailed information regarding Acuity batch reports view this video.

Still have questions? Contact Sandra Foster.