Archived EDSCLS Platform/VM 2.7

The EDSCLS VM 2.7.2 was released in July 2017 and replaced by the EDSCLS VM 2.7.3 on September 1, 2017. To access the latest VM and related materials, click here.

If you have already downloaded an older version of the EDSCLS VM and wish to download the new EDSCLS VM 2.7.2, make sure to save or export your data to PREVENT DATA LOSS. You can create a back-up copy by cloning your VM to be safe (see EDSCLS User Guide, Section 2.1.4 Virtual Machine Back-up for instructions). 

See the Recommended Steps for updating the latest EDSCLS VM below for more information.

 

Changes Made to EDSCLS Platform/VM 2.7.2

Installation

Patched security vulnerabilities with Ubuntu.  Upgraded MySQL, Python, PHP, and RabbitMQ.
What users need to do: For users who are currently using the EDSCLS VM 2.6 or 2.7, IT administrators can (1) install the EDSCLS VM 2.7.2, which includes these upgrades, or (2) manually apply patches from the terminal command line (see EDSCLS User Guide Sections 2.1.1 Installation and Configuration and 2.1.5 Security Patches and Upgrades for instructions). Users can also power the VM off to prevent cyber-attacks (see EDSCLS User Guide Section 2.1.1 Installation and Configuration).

Results and Reporting

Corrected a bug in the VM 2.7, which impacts how item frequencies are calculated for variables with a value of 1, including “Strongly Disagree,” “Male,” “White,” and “5th to 8th" when data is imported into the VM 2.7.
What users need to do: Users who imported data into the VM 2.7 will need to correct the item frequencies by reimporting the data into the VM 2.7.2. Users who did not import data into the VM 2.7 do not need to do anything.
Added the R Code for calculating student scale scores to an appendix of the User Guide.
What users need to do: Users do not need to do anything, but are welcome to use the R code to produce scale scores if they are administering the EDSCLS surveys outside of the platform.
Corrected how response labels of user-added items appear in the survey results export file.
What users need to do: Users do not need to do anything. Response labels for user-added items in the EDSCLS VM 2.6 were reported as “Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree” regardless of what response options had been created by the user. This has been corrected.
Corrected labels within the item lists for parent survey items 13 and 14, Pengrel23 and Pengrel25 respectively.
What users need to do: Users do not need to do anything.  The labels were changed within the item list from Pengpar23 and Pengpar25 to Pengrel23 and Pengrel25, respectively. Despite the labeling, these items measure school participation.
Added a note “Item is negatively valenced.” to the item list and codebook for the items that need to be reverse-coded before analysis.
What users need to do: Users who are administering the EDSCLS surveys and calculating scale scores independently from the VM need to reverse code the respective items. These notes help faciitate scale score analysis. (Users who are using the VM to calculate scale scores do not need to do anything because the system automatically does this.)

Recommended Steps for EDSCLS VM 2.6 Users Transitioning to EDSCLS VM 2.7

If you have already downloaded a previous version of the EDSCLS VM and wish to transition to the latest EDSCLS VM, review the options below to prevent a loss of data.

Option 1: Keep the older EDSCLS VM on your server to house data from previous survey administrations. Then simply download the new EDSCLS VM and follow the installation instructions. Thus, you will have multiple VMs on your server storing your older and newer data.

Please see User Guide section 2.1 System Setup in Virtual Environment for updated VM installation technical requirements. Note: Your server will require sufficient RAM and free hard disk space if you run multiple VMs on the same server. You also need to power off your old VM to prevent security breaches.

Option 2: If you do not wish to keep multiple versions of the EDSCLS VM on your server, and want to delete the older EDSCLS VM, you must first export all data reports you would like to save and export the raw data from the older EDSCLS VM for future use. If you do not, you will lose all the data stored in the older VM when it is deleted. It’s always a good idea to clone your current VM so that you have a back-up copy (see User Guide Section 2.1.4 Virtual Machine Back-up for cloning instructions).

If you are currently collecting data using the EDSCLS VM, we recommend you NOT transition to the new EDSCLS VM until your data collection is complete.

Instructions on How to Download and Start Using the EDSCLS VM 2.7

To help you navigate the administration of the EDSCLS, we have created a variety of tools. Below you will find links to download the latest EDSCLS VM, the EDSCLS User Guide which has been updated to reflect lessons learned, the updated EDSCLS Survey Item Lists, the updated EDSCLS Codebooks, and the Nonresponse Bias Worksheet.

We recommend that you download and read the EDSCLS User Guide before downloading the EDSCLS VM. Section 2.1 System Setup in Virtual Environment in the User Guide, which was just carefully updated, is intended for the education agency’s IT staff who will be in charge of downloading, installing, and configuring the EDSCLS web-based platform. Section 2.2 EDSCLS Administration is intended for Survey Administrators, who oversee the survey data collection through the EDSCLS dashboard.

 

Lessons Learned to Keep in Mind
As You Get Started:

Install the EDSCLS VM to a physical server, not another virtual machine, such as VMWare. See section 2.1 System Setup in Virtual Environment (for IT Staff) in the User Guide.

Use one of the three methods to keep your EDSCLS VM secure from cyber-attacks. See 5.2 Technical Platform Capabilities in the FAQ section of the User Guide.

Contact the EDSCLS helpdesk at EDSCLS@air.org or 866-730-6735, between 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST, if you need assistance.

 Download EDSCLS 2.7.2 Administration User Guide
Download EDSCLS 2.7.2 Survey Item Lists
Download the EDSCLS 2.7.2 Code Books

DISCLAIMERS

General Disclaimer

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (THE DEPARTMENT) AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THIS WEB SITE FOR ANY PURPOSE. ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. THE DEPARTMENT AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THIS INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE DEPARTMENT AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE WEB SITES, WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEB SITES OR RELATED SERVICES, THE PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND RELATED GRAPHICS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEB SITE, OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE WEB SITE, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF THE DEPARTMENT OR ANY OF ITS SUPPLIERS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY PORTION OF THE WEB SITE, OR WITH ANY OF THESE TERMS OF USE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE WEB SITE.  USERS WHO CHOOSE TO USE THE WEB SITE DO SO WITH THE UNDERSANDING THAT (1) IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE END USER TO CHECK THE WEB SITE FOR UPDATE AND TO USE THE “UPDATE” FEATURE DESCRIBED IN THE USERS MANUAL TO DESCRIBE UPDATES, (2) THE DEPARTMENT IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SECURE HOSTING OR ADMINISTRATION OF THE WEB SITE AND REALATED APPLICATIONS ONCE INSTALLED ON USERS’ INFRASTRUCTURE AND (3) ONLY QUALIFIED IT ADMINISTRATORS WHO UNDERSTAND BEST PRACTICES IN SERVER ADMINISTRATION AND RELATED SECURITY CONTROLS SHOULD DOWNLOAD, INSTALL CONFIGURE AND ADMINISTER APPLICATIONS AND SOFTWARE IN UTILIZING THE DEPARTMENT’S APPLICATION.

Limitations Disclaimer

The EDSCLS works best for 150 or fewer concurrent respondents using the minimum requirements as detailed in the EDSCLS Administration User Guide. Up to 500 concurrent respondents can be supported if dual servers are used with the following server settings: 8 vCPU, 8G Memory, 32G disk.

If a user wishes to support more than 500 concurrent respondents, multiple copies of the EDSCLS platform can be installed and results from the multiple copies can be combined (see 2.2.10 Respondent-Level Survey Results for instructions on combining results from multiple copies). Due to these load limitations, it is recommended that large education agencies (for example, State Education Agencies) install multiple copies of the platform. Large education agencies may also wish to reduce the load on the EDSCLS platform by staggering their survey administration such that a limited number of respondents attempt to access the platform at the same time.