Before switching LMS, rehearse the move with one fictional assessment record and check its connections—not just whether the files arrived. Follow the learner, assignment, criteria, first submission, feedback, grade and resubmission from source to destination. Record anything missing, changed or deliberately retained elsewhere before approving the wider migration.
By the EduMark team
Build a small record with a complete assessment story
In an approved test area, create a fictional learner, TEST-L001, and an assignment called Recommend a workplace improvement. Give it two criteria: C1, evaluate the evidence; and C2, justify the recommendation. Use a clearly labelled criteria version.
Add an initial submission, a mark of 48/100 and feedback such as “Explain why this evidence supports your recommendation.” Then add a resubmission and a revised mark of 62/100. These are invented test marks, not qualification thresholds. Include submission times, assessor identity and whether results have been released.
| Before: source record | After: what the team must verify |
|---|---|
| TEST-L001 → assignment A01 | The correct destination learner is connected to the correct assignment. |
| A01 → criteria C1 and C2, version 1 | Criterion wording and version remain identifiable. |
| Attempt 1 → report-v1.pdf → feedback → 48/100 | The original evidence, comments and mark remain connected. |
| Attempt 2 → report-v2.pdf → revised feedback → 62/100 | The resubmission is distinguishable from the first attempt, with its own decision. |
| Submission times, assessor and release status | Context is preserved or explicitly documented in an accessible archive. |
Write these acceptance conditions before importing. If the destination represents attempts differently, agree an understandable alternative rather than assuming an identical workflow.
Check what the export actually contains
For Moodle, course-backup documentation explains that users with appropriate permissions can choose whether to include users, role assignments, files, comments, logs and grade history. Some settings can be locked by the site administrator. Ask the administrator to confirm the options used for your rehearsal.
The Moodle 5.1 backup FAQ documents separate controls under Site administration → Courses → Backups → General backup defaults:
- Include logs enables the course-log option in the backup process.
- Include histories enables the grade-history option.
The FAQ states that both defaults are off. Record the actual settings used on your installation. A current grade alone does not demonstrate that earlier grade changes were included, and inclusion in an export does not establish that another LMS can import them.
Other platforms also distinguish course content from learner records. Instructure’s Canvas export guidance states that a course export excludes student submissions and gradebook records, and directs users to download these separately. Check the documentation for your source platform, version and export route.
Use a source-to-destination checklist
Have an assessor and an administrator compare the source record with the imported result. Record the export date, import run and evidence checked.
- File access: open both submissions and feedback attachments from the destination. Check content, page order and annotations where relevant. Test links without relying on an existing source-platform login.
- Learner matching: confirm the agreed unique identifier, course membership and assignment connection. Do not approve a match solely because display names agree.
- Criteria: compare wording, identifiers, version, weightings and grade scale. Check that criterion-level judgements still refer to the intended evidence.
- Feedback: verify comments, attachments and their association with the correct attempt. Check whether private staff notes remain private.
- Grades: compare first and revised marks, maximum marks, assessor, timestamps and release status. Distinguish the current result from the history of decisions.
- Resubmission: confirm that the first attempt has not been overwritten or mistaken for the latest one.
- Staff permissions: use authorised test accounts for learner, assessor and quality reviewer roles. Check both permitted actions and restrictions, including access to other learners’ work and authority to change or release results.
Use the preview to resolve decisions before importing
EduMark’s migration guidance describes a dry run showing what will be created, matched or skipped, with decisions flagged before import. Compare that preview with your record map: does each expected item have a destination or an agreed alternative?
A preview is not the final acceptance check. After importing, open the evidence and test the relationships and permissions. Do not assume every historical record, annotation type or workflow transfers unchanged. Where AI assists the move, keep human review and approval throughout; EduMark’s AI features are beta.
Sign off transferred, missing and archived information
Use the following register for each requirement. The entries below illustrate decisions, not actual migration results.
| Status | Example finding | Required sign-off |
|---|---|---|
| Transferred | Both submission files open and belong to the correct attempts. | Assessor records the checks completed and date. |
| Missing | The first-attempt feedback attachment is absent. | Migration owner records a fix, owner and retest date; the requirement remains unresolved. |
| Intentionally archived | Historical activity logs are retained outside the new LMS. | Records owner approves the location, access arrangements, retrieval test and retention review date. |
For an archive, include an index connecting retained material to the destination learner and assessment identifiers. Ask a reviewer to retrieve the earlier decision using that index.
Finally, agree how to capture changes made after the rehearsal. EduMark’s step-by-step guide describes catch-up runs before switching off the old platform. Recheck affected records afterwards. One successful fictional record is a starting test, not approval for every assessment type: expand the sample to cover your actual exceptions before retiring source access.
Sources & further reading
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