Big Changes Ahead for Illuminate DnA Assessment Platform: Take Action Before June 30

Illuminate Education

Attention Illuminate Legacy Item Bank Users! Renaissance Education is making big changes to their Illuminate DnA assessment platform this summer. As part of these changes, we have recently learned that they are ending access to and use of the Legacy Item Bank after June 30, 2024. Please read on to learn what this means and what you need to do.

What This Means

  • ALL supported items in the ACPS Legacy Item Bank (LIB) are being migrated to the New Item Bank (NIB) where we will continue to have access to the items we have authored.
  • Teacher-authored items that have been published will be migrated, whether shared or private, and you will have access to your items in the New Item Bank going forward.
  • Legacy Item Bank assessments should be duplicated into the New Item Bank before June 30, 2024, if the assessment is needed for future administrations, to ensure the access to make edits/updates as necessary to Legacy Bank items.
  • Legacy Bank assessments will be disabled from being administered;, however, they will still be viewable for historical data.
  • At this time, new items should not be created in the Legacy Item Bank, as they likely will not be migrated to NIB. (Item migration is currently in progress.)

What Teachers Need to Do

Before June 30, teachers will need to DUPLICATE to the NEW ITEM BANK any Legacy Item Bank assessments that you would like to keep as a current assessment. You do not have to move your assessments from Legacy Item Bank to New Item Bank unless that assessment is needed for future administrations.

You will also need to publish any test drafts in the LIB you would like to continue to access.

How to Duplicate a Legacy Bank Test to the New Item Bank:

Once the test has been duplicated, make sure to review the content for items that did not migrate.

Important Information to Know

Items that will not migrate until supported in the New Item Bank include:

  • Items with calculators
    • Renaissance has indicated that the ability to add calculators to individual items should be an option around the end of this calendar year.
  • Items with rulers
  • Item Materials

Items/features that will not migrate from the LIB:

  • NTSR with Partial Scoring (Scoring is managed in the assessment in the NIB, not the item.)
  • Unpublished Items
  • Drawing items (authored)
  • Test sections
  • Items without correct answers selected
  • Items with images that are not accepted by NIB
  • Multi-part items
  • Any items with a rubric (other than Constructed Response)
  • Audio files on authored items

Any items that do not migrate over will need to be re-authored in the New Item Bank (if supported).

The Test ID and hyperlink will not stay the same. If an assessment is duplicated, an entirely new assessment is created, thus generating a new ID and hyperlink. Any documentation referencing Legacy Bank tests by Test ID or hyperlink will need to be updated.

The New Item Bank does not allow the same level of detailed formatting for passages as the Legacy Bank; however, Renaissance has indicated that some enhanced formatting should be an option around the end of the calendar year.

Don’t Panic!

If you miss the June 30 date, you will still be able to see your Legacy Item Bank tests in Illuminate and duplicate them; you just will not be able to edit items, edit the test structure, or administer the test as is.

  • Once the Legacy Item Bank has been disabled, Legacy Item Bank assessments will appear on the View Assessments page with grayed-out title links (versus the blue title links of other assessment types). This color change provides a visual difference between assessment types, but Legacy Item Bank assessments can still be accessed by selecting the title link from the View Assessments page. Most assessment data and functions can still be accessed, including the ability to duplicate the assessment to the New Item Bank.
  • Test Booklets and Teacher Booklets for Legacy Item Bank assessments will still be accessible and can be generated in the same way that assessment booklets will generate for any other assessment type. These booklets will continue to look the same as they did prior to the Legacy Item Bank being disabled.
  • After the Legacy Item Bank has been disabled, historical data linked to Legacy Item Bank assessments will be maintained, and reports to view that assessment data will continue to function. However, reports that link assessment items may display differently, depending on the type of item.

If you have questions about next steps or need assistance with the duplication of your assessments, please reach out to your LTI or email IlluminateSupport@k12albemarle.org.