Cambium Test TIDE (Test Information Distribution Engine) and Student Data Management — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of TIDE (Test Information Distribution Engine) in the Cambium Assessment ecosystem?
- To manage student enrollment, demographic data, and test eligibility before testing begins (Correct answer)
- To deliver test items to students during an active testing session
- To generate score reports after all tests have been scored
- To configure proctor workstations and verify browser compatibility
Correct answer: To manage student enrollment, demographic data, and test eligibility before testing begins
TIDE is a pre-testing data management portal used by district and school test coordinators to upload student information, assign accommodations, set designated supports, and verify enrollment before any testing session opens.
Question 2: A student transfers to a new school two weeks before the summative testing window opens. Which TIDE action must the Test Coordinator take first?
- Move the student's existing TIDE record to the correct school and verify the student's accommodations are still correctly listed (Correct answer)
- Delete the student's old record and create a brand-new enrollment record from scratch
- Contact Cambium's customer support to manually transfer the student's data
- Wait until after testing is complete and submit a post-test amendment
Correct answer: Move the student's existing TIDE record to the correct school and verify the student's accommodations are still correctly listed
TIDE allows coordinators to update a student's school assignment while retaining their existing data and accommodation settings. Deleting and recreating the record is not necessary and risks losing accommodation history.
Question 3: Which of the following student attributes is managed directly in TIDE and directly affects how a test is delivered to that student?
- Designated supports and accommodations such as text-to-speech or extended time (Correct answer)
- The specific test items the student will receive on adaptive sections
- The student's historical score data from prior years
- The grading rubric applied to the student's written responses
Correct answer: Designated supports and accommodations such as text-to-speech or extended time
TIDE stores each student's accommodation and designated support settings, which the test delivery engine reads when the student logs in — ensuring eligible supports (e.g., text-to-speech, Spanish glossary) are automatically available during testing.
Question 4: A Test Coordinator discovers that 30 students were uploaded to TIDE with an incorrect grade level. What is the correct remediation step?
- Upload a new file through TIDE's file-upload feature with the corrected grade level for those students (Correct answer)
- Email the state education agency and wait for a manual correction
- Have the students log in and self-correct their grade level in the student interface
- Void the students' test registrations and reassign them to a new testing window
Correct answer: Upload a new file through TIDE's file-upload feature with the corrected grade level for those students
TIDE supports bulk file uploads that allow coordinators to overwrite specific fields — including grade level — for multiple students at once. This is the fastest and most reliable correction method without requiring state-level intervention.
Question 5: What is the consequence of a student NOT appearing in TIDE when the testing window opens?
- The student will be unable to log in and begin the test through the Cambium testing platform (Correct answer)
- The student can still test but their results will be flagged as unofficial
- A proctor can manually create a temporary login for the student in the testing platform
- The student's results will be automatically held and added to TIDE after testing ends
Correct answer: The student will be unable to log in and begin the test through the Cambium testing platform
The Cambium testing platform authenticates students against the TIDE roster. If a student's record does not exist in TIDE, the system cannot verify their identity or load their accommodation settings, so they will be blocked from logging in.
Question 6: Which role in TIDE has the highest level of access and can create accounts for School Test Coordinators?
- District Test Coordinator (Correct answer)
- School Test Coordinator
- Proctor
- Teacher
Correct answer: District Test Coordinator
In the Cambium TIDE permission hierarchy, the District Test Coordinator (DTC) has the broadest access, including the ability to create and manage School Test Coordinator (STC) accounts, upload district-wide rosters, and view data across all schools in the district.
Cambium Test TIDE (Test Information Distribution Engine) and Student Data Management
What is the primary purpose of TIDE (Test Information Distribution Engine) in the Cambium Assessment ecosystem?