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This guide is intended for Catamaran Coordinators and explains how to complete the District Justification Form activity in Catamaran. This guide is also for ISDs operating a Center-Based Program. The Justification Forms activity allows member districts to demonstrate a thorough review of alternate assessment participation rates and detail a plan for when participation rates exceed 1%.

Before beginning the work in Catamaran, the following resources are available to assist in the process:

Access

  1. Log into Catamaran.
  2. Access the activity in one of the two following ways:
    • On the Dashboard, scroll down to the Tasks Overview Use the filters, as needed, to narrow tasks, and select the District Justification Form 2024-25 link in the Activity column to open the activity.
Circle around the District Justification Form 2024-25 link on the Tasks Overview.
    • If the activity has been completed, it will not show on the Tasks Overview. On the Dashboard, select the Search link (A) in the upper right-hand corner of the page. By the section heading, select Policy (B). Filter the search results by selecting Justification Forms (C). Next, search for the specific Justification Form (D). Select the Search button (E) to display results.
Steps shown on how to access Justification Form District 24-25 through the Search tab.

Complete the District Justification Form

  1. From the activity menu, select the District Justification Form link to access the Data Table portion of the form.
Link towards the District Justification Form on the Justification Form Menu.
  1. On the District Justification Form,
    • Review the alternate assessment data in the data table.
    • Confirm the acknowledgements at the bottom of the page by selecting the checkbox by each statement.
    • Once all data has been reviewed and the acknowledgements have been checked, choose Acknowledge Data.
Note: If any of the Spring 2024 Participation Rate data is 1.1% or higher, an additional 5-6 pages will need to be completed. Continue to step 5.
Note: If all Spring 2024 Participation Rate data is at or below 1.0%, the District Justification Form is complete.
Assurance statement checked and a circle around the Acknowledge Data button on the Justification Form: Data page.
  1. Complete each page of the District Justification Form (up to seven total).
Note: Navigate quickly between pages of the District Justification Form by using the navigation bar on the left. Page number icons will fill in red when the page is complete.
Left navigation on the Justifications Form shown with completed pages filled in red circles.
  1. Once all required forms are completed, select Submit to ISD.
Submit to ISD button circled on the Justification Form: Assurances page.
Note: The ISD will review the work and either accept the submission or return it for modifications. Catamaran Coordinators will receive a notification when it is accepted. Catamaran Coordinators will also receive a notification if the work has been returned for modifications – comments will be included in this case.

When all member district data is accepted, the ISD will complete and submit the ISD Summary Justification Form to MDE.

Need Additional Assistance?

For assistance in understanding how to navigate Catamaran, please contact the Catamaran Help Desk at 877-474-9023 or help@catamaran.partners.