We use a number of external assessment systems like the CEM Centre's ALIS, MIDYIS and YELLIS testing, along with GL PTE and PTM scores.
When we export data into those systems we include the iSAMS SchoolID so that when we want to import results into iSAMS it should be easier. Unfortunately when the SchoolID starts with a zero it tends to get lost between the systems, making it harder to map the pupils and resulting in a lot of unnecessary work.
Going forward it would be great if SchoolID could be prevented from starting with a zero so that spreadsheets and data systems do not remove the zero. I recognise it's not feasible to do this retrospectively to existing students.
Completely agree! This issue causes a lot of problems, especially with integrations to other systems.
The use of a number field with leading zeros is a serious flaw in DB design. For one, everytime you export data from iSAMS the zeros get truncated.
I have asked this to be fixed in the past but got the "cannot be fixed at this time." I have been able to get past it by using a number format of twelve zeros as all numbers that start with a 1 are longer and all the others that do not start with a 1 had leading zeros. However, a student that was recently created started with ‘08’ but was 13 digits long, so this removes the ability to use a number format of twelve zeros as if I add thirteen, the others have two leading zeros.
iSAMS, please fix this.