21.6.0.0 Release Notes

Deployment of Release 21.6.0.0 is expected on July 3rd, 2021.

Product Updates

Product Area	Summary	Description
Data	Non-Binary Gender Field Fully Supported from Student File	In the Student file, blanks or a value of 2 in the gender field now display as Non-Binary throughout the site where Gender is displayed. This includes the MyDashboard page, Student Detail, Student and Parent Portal, Baseball Card Manage Columns, and all Student Filters under the Demographics tab Gender filter. Individuals who have declared their genders are recorded as such within their student information systems. With this in mind, any undeclared individual, where gender is blank or null, is automatically declared as non-binary. This programming logic allows us to ensure we are sensitive to the systems and individuals who are not declaring their gender and do not wish to be reported as undeclared or unknown. If a male or female student has a preferred gender, the student information system should be updated accordingly.
Data	I-Ready Instruction Available for Auto-Import	As part of our data-sharing agreement with Curriculum Associates, districts can now have I-Ready Instruction Data from the current school year automated for display in Performance Matters reporting. This data is separate from existing i-Ready Diagnostic data and hosted in a new BBCard folder called I-Ready Instruction. If you want to set data up for import into Performance Matters, you must submit a request via a support case.
Integration	Latest SIS Plugin Update Requires You to Delete Existing Performance Matters Assessment Plugin	For the Performance Matters to PowerTeacher Pro Gradebook integration, the ability to edit and delete your PowerTeacher Pro assignments from Performance Matters is possible if you upgrade to the latest version of the PS SIS plugin. The new PS SIS plugin is only available when upgraded to the 21.4.2 SIS version. The latest SIS plugin update requires that you delete the existing PMA plugin and install the latest plugin. Navigate to the Plugin Management Dashboard: Locate the PowerSchool Performance Matters plugin, version 1.0.9. Click Delete. Click Install. From Browse Plugins, click Browse. Choose the PowerSchool Performance Matters plugin, version 1.0.10 (or greater), then click Install. After the install is complete, the provided secret key must be updated in Performance Matters. Click your initials in the toolbar, then choose Manage Organization. Navigate to the PowerSchool Integration settings. Click the pencil icon to edit the PowerSchool SIS Shared Secret. Replace the existing ID with the newly generated plugin shared secret ID.
Item Creation	Updated the Rubric Finder Styling in Item Editor	For rubric-scored interaction types, the styling of the rubric finder modal when you click the Scoring Rubric button within the Item Editor is updated.
Online Testing	Expanded Secure Lockout Functionality for Online Testing	When taking online tests that include the secure lockout setting, keyboard commands are disabled to prevent students from being able to copy or print screen secured tests. The Secure Test Lockout feature renders keyboard shortcuts that involve CMD, Windows, or CTRL inactive. For example, CMD + C cannot copy any text in the tab containing the online assessment. If a student right-clicks, the context menu is also inactive. Lastly, the F8 key cannot trigger the print screen to be captured but does not trigger the test to lock. Commands that include the ALT key are not included as those shortcuts are used for alternate characters and switching languages if properly configured.
Reports	Excel Export Available in Comparative Results Student Subgroups Tab	An Excel export is available in the newly added Comparative Results Student Subgroups tab.
Reports	Student Details - Filter Additional Scores Tab by Measure Category	In Student Detail under the Test Results tab for Additional Scores, you can now filter by Measure Category to expedite finding and analyzing student data.
Reports	Improved Assessments Structure in Baseball Card	A new measure folder titled Common Assessments is now available in addition to the existing Assessment folder in Baseball Card for assessments administered via Performance Matters. The Common Assessments folder sorts your tests by Assessment Category, then Course Type, and the test title becomes a folder with the following additional data elements: Test Percentage Scores, Standards Percentage Scores, and Raw Test Score. Site Admins can click the lock icon next to the Common Assessment folder to control who can display the newly added folder in the Baseball Card report.
Scanview	Added Status Filter in Scanview	In Scanview, users can now filter sheets by status. Available status filters include Ready for Pickup, Processing, Archived, or Failed Processing.
Search	Updated the Search Test Preview to Display the True OLA Preview	The global search test preview now launches the true OLA preview in a new tab. This updated preview better emulates the formatting and student experience during online test administration.
Search	Magnifying Glass Added to Launch Search for Users, Roles, and Groups	Previously, when searching users, roles, and groups on pages such as Edit Group, the search started as you typed text in the search criteria field, resulting in latency. To improve latency, you can now click the magnifying glass icon or press Enter or Return to launch a search.
Student and Parent Portal	Student and Parent Portal Tabs Updated to Only Display if Data is Available	For customers using the student and parent portal, tabs only display if data is available. If the student does not have data for that tab, it does not populate in the display.
Style Updates	Styling Updates for PowerSchool Unification	The styling for pages that use the manila folder color is now updated. The manilla folder color is now replaced with a neutral color to match the PowerSchool design ecosystem across products for a unified classroom experience.
Style Updates	Updated Styling in Search Groups Pages	The styling of several of the secondary search pages is now updated and simplified. This includes Search Groups, Search Review Boards, Search Filters, Search Performance Bands, Search Generated Reports, and Search Report Templates. The option for Default Permissions to be updated directly within the site for groups was removed because the impact was not clearly understood and was a potential risk if used incorrectly. If you need these updated for your site, you must submit a support ticket to request that a group have default permissions in place (including the group ID, the user or role receiving the default permissions, and the level of access). Default permissions will automatically insert permissions for any object the users in that group author in the site and should be used deliberately since it has widespread impact.
User Manager	New Security Role for School Groups and Clusters	A new School Cluster security role is available for districts that utilize the School Cluster filter to group schools as needed. To use the role, the link in Manage Organization under Organization Roles, and User Manager designate the clusters to grant users access to groups of schools and limit their access to those student populations rather than giving a user district-wide access. File support through the Customer User Role file will be available in the following release.