We've gathered answers to commonly asked questions about Work Sampling Online. If you don't find the information you're looking for, please contact us via the Feedback Form.

Questions About Your Account

• What are the system requirements to use Work Sampling Online?
  


• What if I lose my password?
  


• Can I change my password?
  


• Do I need to re-register if my email address changes?
  


• Can I change my username?
  


• How do I report a technical problem?
  

Questions for Administrators

• How do I change a teacher's password?
  


• How do I add new teachers/new users? (Directions for Program Administrators or Site Administrators)
  


• How do I transfer teachers between sites?
  


• How do I set up my multi-teacher classes that have two or more teachers evaluating students? How do I assign two or more teachers to the same group of children?
  

Questions about the Work Sampling System

• Can I use Work Sampling Online to report group progress and outcomes?
  


• How does the online Portfolio differ from the one I keep in my classroom?
  


• How often should I update the information in a child's Teacher File?
  


• What happens when I complete a Developmental Checklist on Work Sampling Online?
  


• Is the Work Sampling System supported and validated by research?
  

Questions About Pricing

• What happens when my free trial ends?
  

1. Click Forget Your Password? link near the Log In box on the home page.
2. Enter your username when prompted, and click Send New Password.
3. Work Sampling Online sends a new password to you via email. See Note below.
4. Check your email account to get your new password.

Note: If you do not have an email address entered on Work Sampling Online, the email is sent to your administrator. Be sure to check with him or her to receive the new password.

1. Log in and click Your Account tab.
2. Select Edit Your Info from the sub menu.
3. Click Change Your Password.
4. Follow the instructions to update it.

Note: Your administrator can also change your password for you.

No. Simply update your Work Sampling Online account with your new email address.

1. Log in and click Your Account tab.
2. Select Edit Your Info from the sub menu. Your current information appears.
3. Make the necessary changes to your email address and click Submit.

No. Your username is permanent and cannot be changed.

If you encounter a technical problem, please contact a Work Sampling Online representative via the Feedback Form or call 1-800-874-0914, Monday-Friday, from 8:00 am-8:00 pm EST.

1. Login to your account and click the Admin link in the top right corner of the screen.
2. Locate the teacher's name in the "tree" on the left side of the screen.
3. Click the Edit User Info tab on the right side of the screen.
4. Click the link Change Password for [username].
5. Complete the form that appears and click Update.
6. Inform the user of their new password.

1. Login to your account and click the Admin link in the top right corner of the screen.
2. Locate the site name where the teacher is located in the "tree" on the left side of the screen.
3. Click the Create Teacher tab on the right side of the screen.
4. Complete the form that appears and click Create.
5. Inform the user of their username and password.

1. Login to your account and click the Admin link in the top right corner of the screen.
2. Click the teacher name that you want to transfer in the "tree" on the left side of the screen.
3. Click the Manage User tab on the right side of the screen.
4. Click the Transfer User link.
5. Select the new site from the list and clickCreate.

Two options if you have 2 or more teachers managing the same class are:

First, your organization should decided whether or not they feel it is appropriate for teachers to share the same account. The benefit of each teacher having their own account is that you would always know who entered what information for what student.

If your organization permits login-sharing, please list all of the children in one class, assign it to one teacher (normally the lead teacher), and have the other teachers for that class share the username and password. Note: Only one person at a time may use a specific login. Two people logging in simultaneously with the same username and password logs out one another.

Otherwise, divide the class into two separate classes and assign one class to each teacher. In this way, each teacher will have their own login and their own group of students to evaluate. However, only the administrator of the site will have access to generating reports that will aggregate the data for the two classes.

Yes. Work Sampling Online has a special reporting feature that allows you to analyze data on child outcomes that centers on patterns of progress for groups of children over the course of the year. Reports with narratives, tables, and graphs can be instantly generated to document children's growth and development. Not only can you create progress reports in all of the Work Sampling domains, but you can also generate outcomes reports that meet the federal requirements of Head Start.

The online Portfolio found on Work Sampling Online is a place for you to capture information and achievements about each child in your class. You can use it to store artwork, photographs, anecdotes, or sound files. Anything kept in this Portfolio can be passed onto the child's next teacher, or printed out and put into a scrapbook, providing a great way to share child development information with future educators or parents.

While you may access a child's teacher file at any given time, it is recommended that you complete the checklists three times a year-- approximately six weeks after the opening of school, mid-year, and three weeks before the closing of school. Of course, you can continue updating the child's Portfolio with samples of the child's work such as scanned artwork, writing, and photographs during all the collection periods.

Every time you complete a Developmental Checklist for a child, Work Sampling Online will deliver a host of related customized reports and planning tools, including:

• A completed progress report for the child that shows your ratings, collection period by collection period, for the entire year.
• Easy-to-use Summary Reports that offer suggested ratings, based on your checklist data.
• A class profile that outlines each child's progress in each performance indicator.
• An automatic outcomes report engine, that allows you look at your class's data according to different variables, such as ethnicity, language spoken, or a specific element from the Work Sampling System.

Yes. The Work Sampling System (WSS) has been studied more intensively than any other comparable performance assessment. A recent validity study was conducted in 17 urban Title I classrooms (N = 345 students, grades K-3). Work Sampling System ratings were compared with student scores on a nationally-normed, individually-administered, standardized test (the Woodcock Johnson Psychoeducational Battery - Revised™ [WJ-R]). Teacher implementation, understanding, and satisfaction, and family understanding and satisfaction were evaluated through surveys. Major findings included:

• Correlations between WSS ratings and standardized test scores were moderate to high, indicating that WSS is a valid and effective indicator of student learning in literacy and math. WSS ratings were a stronger predictor of test scores than demographic variables. More than 4 out of 5 students with low math and reading/literacy performance on Work Sampling scored at least one standard deviation below the mean on the WJ-R.
• Teachers reported a high level of understanding and implementation of WSS.
• Families reported that WSS helped them understand their children's school work and learning. They also said that WSS helped children understand their own learning and achievement.
• A related study of 3rd and 4th graders who had been in WSS classrooms showed change on a national, standardized achievement test (ITBS--Iowa Test of Basic Skills) that was 25 times higher than their matched non-WSS peers and 8 times higher than the district average.

When your trial ends, you will be unable to log into Work Sampling Online. This DOES NOT mean that the child data entered during the trial has been deleted. It means access to it has been temporarily suspended until you purchase an actual license. Contact us or via the Feedback Form at 1-800-874-0914, Monday-Friday, from 8:00 am-8:00 pm EST for more information on licenses.