Issues Validating a Load in PowerScheduler

[rswan]

After completing all Load steps, including, downloading the Engine, I click on Validate.  The vast majority of students do not get scheduled and the Engine never connects as it would in past years.

[BillO]

Did you do auto fill student information?  Check that 'schedule this student' is checked for all students, also 'schedule this course' for the courses.

Beyond that, what is the message you get when you click on the Q?

[rswan]

Thank you for your response.

Yes, I autofilled the student information and the course information.  I double checked a wide sampling of the students and courses and they are all checked to be scheduled.  When I click on "Q" it says the following...

Info Engine version:  Java Load 19.4.3.0.1388535/4.0.0
Info == Analysis: 1289 students ==
Info ***** 9 FULLY SCHEDULED *****
Info   0 students fully time scheduled but missing requests.
Info   9 students with 0 requests unscheduled!
Info   2 students with 1 requests unscheduled!
Info   6 students with 2 requests unscheduled!
Info   3 students with 3 requests unscheduled!
Info   8 students with 4 requests unscheduled!
Info   65 students with 5 requests unscheduled!
Info   130 students with 6 requests unscheduled!
Info   142 students with 7 requests unscheduled!
Info   154 students with 8 requests unscheduled!
Info   501 students with 9 requests unscheduled!
Info   230 students with 10 requests unscheduled!
Info   38 students with 11 requests unscheduled!
Info   1 students with 12 requests unscheduled!

and then it also lists out just about every student in the following way...

Warning Student with too few requests:  (Lists the student Name) (ID=9975).  Requests fill at most 28 of 44 bits of the schedule.

Also the engine does not connect when validating the load, it says waiting for incoming connections when opened.

[BillO]

The fact that you are getting any messages at all indicates to me that the loader is at least starting to run.  Are you checking off validate only?  

Have you created and entered a master schedule?   That pattern of messages looks like there are no sections to place students in, or the requests are not matching up to the sections that exist.  Do you have 9 students with no requests at all, 2 with only 1 request, etc  (you can see the number of requests per student on the Student Request Tally report). 

Are you getting messages like this ?   

Info Load completed in 0.613 seconds
Info Started 5/28/2020 17:07:04
Info Completed 5/28/2020 17:07:04
Info Engine version: Java Load 19.4.5.0.1397386/4.0.0
Info Started schedule: 5/28/2020 17:07:04
Info Students loaded: 373
Info Total students to load: 661
Info Students loaded: 56%
Info Load Completed Successfully
Info Total run time: 0.613 seconds.
Info Finished schedule: 5/28/2020 17:07:04

This was after the x students with y requests messages, but before the warnings about too few requests.

This warning :

Warning Student with too few requests:  (Lists the student Name) (ID=9975).  Requests fill at most 28 of 44 bits of the schedule.

may be normal (and annoying / unavoidable).   

If a student has a full timetable, and you look at the timetable for that student using the matrix tab, would there be white space someplace ( a registration period, lunch hour, early dismissal day?).   In that case, you get that message for every student.  I've never found a way to switch it off.     

The number of bits is the number of squares on the timetable  (# of days x # of periods x # of terms).   You get the warning unless the student has enough courses request to fill every last one of those squares  - but in many cases you don't expect all of them to be filled.

[BillO]

I just tried loading for the school I'm currently working on with the validate only button checked off for the loader.  I got pretty much the same sort of result you did - just a list saying every body had x requests unscheduled.

Try running without checking off validate only.  Nothing actually gets saved if you don't click Import (at the bottom of the report or on the Q) anyway.

[rswan]

Yes I was checking validate only.  Over the past years of doing it I have always validated first, fixed any errors and then went forward with the load. 

I have sections built with teachers and rooms assigned.  Due to school being in distance learning I put students into their core classes in mass and allowed the students to pick their electives through the portal in PowerSchool.  Almost every student has at least 5 courses listed, most have at least 7. There is a small handful of students who do not have any requests (about 15), and another small handful that have very few requests (about 10).

Here is the message you wondered about....

nfo Load completed in -1.590616047221E9 seconds
Info Started 5/27/2020 14:47:27
Info Completed 12/31/1969 17:00:00
Info Engine version: Java Load 19.4.3.0.1388535/4.0.0
Info Started schedule: 5/27/2020 14:47:27
Info Students loaded: 9
Info Total students to load: 1289
Info Students loaded: 0%
Info Load Completed Successfully
Info Total run time: -1.590616047221E9 seconds.
Info Finished schedule: 12/31/1969 17:00:00

Yes we do set up students to have a space for an early bird and a full schedule, but most don't take an early bird and all of our seniors have a half day so that makes sense that it shows up.  I just don't recall in past years seeing that warning.  It might have been because the load was successful and I only worried about the errors.

I just ran a load without the validate and received this....

nfo Engine version:  Java Load 19.4.3.0.1388535/4.0.0
Info == Analysis: 1288 students ==
Info ***** 1042 FULLY SCHEDULED *****
Info   0 students fully time scheduled but missing requests.
Info   1042 (1112) students with 0 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!
Info   232 (166) students with 1 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!
Info   11 (9) students with 2 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!
Info   2 (1) students with 3 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!
Info   1 (0) students with 4 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!
Info [[ DETAILED REPORT ]]
Info   0 students fully time scheduled but missing requests.
Info   1042 (1112) students with 0 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!

and then this as well a little ways farther down...

Info Load completed in 3.508 seconds
Info Started 5/28/2020 17:39:56
Info Completed 5/28/2020 17:39:59
Info Engine version: Java Load 19.4.3.0.1388535/4.0.0
Info Started schedule: 5/28/2020 17:39:56
Info Students loaded: 1042
Info Total students to load: 1288
Info Students loaded: 80%
Info Load Completed Successfully
Info Total run time: 3.508 seconds.
Info Finished schedule: 5/28/2020 17:39:59

The engine never popped up like it would in the past and nobody was scheduled.

It is weird, it is as if I have no requests put in for any of our students.  This is a real first for me.  I felt like I went through the exact same steps as I have several times in the past. 

[BillO]

That looks like it worked although probably with not as good results as you'd hoped.

PowerSchool has updated the loader.  The new version runs faster and doesn't put up the same messages as it runs.  In most ways it's better - but it does have some strange parts.  We've been using the new version for a couple of years (it's been optional until now but is now the only choice).

I think the old version only complained about the 'too few requests' for 25 students and then said something to the effect of "I told you 25 times, I'm not telling you more".   The new version tells you for every student - very annoying, especially in big schools.

The new version complains about some things the old one didn't, and doesn't complain about others - for example, this new version doesn't care if you leave grad year blank.

Info ***** 1042 FULLY SCHEDULED *****
Info   0 students fully time scheduled but missing requests.
Info   1042 (1112) students with 0 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!
Info   232 (166) students with 1 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!
Info   11 (9) students with 2 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!
Info   2 (1) students with 3 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!
Info   1 (0) students with 4 requests (excluding impossible) unscheduled!

This says 1042 of your 1288 students got everything they asked for, 232 didn't get one course, 11 didn't get 2 and so forth.  It will give you 4 or 5 names in each category, just below this bit.  (note that the ones who didn't ask for anything are part of the 1042 - they got everything they requested  - but they will be listed further down as "Warning:  Student with no requests: John Doe (# xxxxx)"

[rswan]

Happy that it worked (mostly)!  I was just thrown off by the validate not working and the process/results looking a bit different.  I imported to see the results.  Mostly ok, but there is some things to work on I think.  A couple of periods severly underscheduled and a couple way over scheduled.  Tried to balance and close sections at max to see if it makes any improvements and it didn't.  I guess I am looking at some by-hand work.  Thank you for your help, greatly appreciated!

[Reshma]

Hi @rswan,

Thank you for posting on Community!

You should be able to reach out to the Designated Support Contact within your district who will be able to work with the PowerSchool SIS Support team to assist you further on the issues that occur when validating a load in PowerScheduler with best practices.