Synergy SIS Grade Book User Guide

Transcription

1 Synergy SIS Grade Book User Guide Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 1955 South Val Vista Road, Ste 200 Mesa, AZ Phone (877) Fax (800) Volume 01, Edition 01 April 2010 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC Document Number: SISGBUG

2 First Edition, April 2010 This edition applies to Synergy SIS Student Information System software and all subsequent releases and modifications until indicated with new editions or revisions. Edupoint s Synergy SIS Student Information System software and any form of supporting documentation are proprietary and confidential. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of the software and any form of supporting documentation is strictly prohibited and may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. Information in this document is provided in connection with Edupoint Educational Systems products. No license to any intellectual property rights is granted by this document. The illustrations, procedural steps, and sample reports in this manual may be slightly different from the actual software due to modifications in the software based on state requirements and/or school district customization. The data in this document may include the names of individuals, schools, school districts, companies, brands, and products. Any similarities to actual names and data are entirely coincidental. Synergy SIS is a trademark of Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC. * Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Copyright , Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC. All rights reserved. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

3 Table of Contents Chapter One :Introduction to Grade Book... 7 Overview Of Grade Book... 8 Accessing Grade Book for Teachers... 9 Accessing Grade Book for Principals, Specialists, and District Staff Chapter Two :SETTING UP GRADE BOOK Creating Assignments Editing Assignments Copying Assignments Setting The Overall Grade Configuration Configuring The Final Grades Secondary Teacher Types Setting Up Term Weighting Calculations- Secondary Teacher Types Chapter Three : ENTERING & REVIEWING GRADES Entering Grades Viewing Grades Viewing the Student Summary Analyzing Grades Chapter Four :MANAGING REPORT CARDS Posting Grades to Synergy SIS (Secondary Teacher Types) Creating Standards-Based Report Cards Assigning Final Grades with Report Card Wizard (Standards-Based Teachers Only) 84 Entering Grades on the Report Card Matrix (Standards-Based Teachers Only) Chapter Five :CREATING RESOURCES Adding Resources Editing Resources Chapter Six :ADDITIONAL CUSTOMIZATIONS Customizing My Subjects Customizing My Assignment Types Customizing My Grade Book Score Types Customizing My Report Card Score Types Customizing My Grade Book Comments Customizing Report Card Comments Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 3

4 Adding Classes Assignment Weighting Class Resources Linking Related Classes Sharing Classes Chapter Seven :SPECIALISTS Accessing Grade Book for Specialists Entering Grades as a Specialist Chapter Eight :REPORTS AVAILABLE Synergy SIS REPORTS Available Grade Book Reports Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

5 ABOUT THIS MANUAL Edupoint Educational Systems develops software with multiple release dates for the software and related documentation. The documentation is being released in multiple volumes to meet this commitment. The table below lists the release date, software version, documentation volume number, and the content included in each volume of documentation to date. Software and Document History Date Volume Edition Revision Content April Initial release of this document March Update and rebranding Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 5

6 CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS MANUAL Bold Text Bold Text - Indicates a button or menu or other text on the screen to click, or text to type. Tip Suggests advanced techniques or alternative ways of approaching the subject. Note Provides additional information or expands on the topic at hand. Reference Refers to another source of information, such as another manual or website Caution Warns of potential problems. Take special care when reading these sections. BEFORE YOU BEGIN Before installing any of the Edupoint family of software products, please be sure to rescreen the system requirements and make sure the district s computer hardware and software meet the minimum requirements. If there are any questions about the system requirements, please contact an Edupoint representative at (877) Caution: The Edupoint family of software does not support the use of pop-up blockers or third-party toolbars in the browser used to access Synergy SIS. Please disable any pop-up blockers (also known as pop-up ad blockers) and extra toolbars in the browser before logging into any Edupoint product. At any point, if there are any technical difficulties, please contact the Edupoint technical support team at support@edupoint.com or by phone at option 1. 6 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

7 Chapter One Grade Book User Guide Chapter One: INTRODUCTION TO GRADE BOOK In this chapter, the following topics are covered: Overview of Grade Book Accessing Grade Book for Teachers Accessing Grade Book for Principals, Specialists, and District Staff Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 7

8 Chapter One OVERVIEW OF GRADE BOOK Grade Book allows teachers to track student performance on assessments such as homework, quizzes, and projects. Teachers can also setup online resources in Grade Book such as websites or documents to share with students via the StudentVUE portal. The classes, marks, and enrollment information are synchronized between Synergy SIS and Grade Book to reduce data entry. Grade Book is not included with the Synergy SIS software and must be purchased separately. This guide illustrates how teachers can create and grade assignments in their classes. There are a number of reports that can be generated from the information. This guide rescreens the available reports and shows how to customize and print these reports. Grade Book can support either standards-based report cards utilize the report cards within Synergy SIS. Standards-based report cards grade students on state and school standards, and the report cards are printed from Grade Book. These grades are not synchronized with Synergy SIS. The report cards within Synergy SIS report the grades students received for the sections in which they were enrolled. In order to print the report cards from Synergy SIS, THE final grade for each section must be posted from Grade Book to Synergy SIS. Teachers are assigned to one of two roles within Grade Book, depending on the type of report card used. The Teacher role is for teachers using standards-based report cards, generally elementary school teachers. The Secondary Teacher role is for teachers utilizing the Synergy SIS report cards, generally middle school and secondary teachers. Grade Book screens and functionality are slightly different for each of these two roles, and these differences will be outlined through this guide. The companion manual to this guide, Synergy SIS Grade Book Administrator Guide, outlines how to synchronize the information between Synergy SIS and Grade Book, and how to configure Grade Book for teachers. 8 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

9 Chapter One Grade Book User Guide ACCESSING GRADE BOOK FOR TEACHERS To access Grade Book: 1. Log into the Synergy SIS system using a username and password configured for the TeacherVUE software. Figure 1.1 Synergy SIS Log In Page 2. A red highlighted box then appears in the middle of the screen. Select the correct semester from the drop-down list at the top of the screen. Figure 1.2 Please Select a Class View, Confirm Semester 3. Select the class to be graded or for which attendance is to be recorded by clicking the radio button in the Period column. Figure 1.3 Please Select a Class View, Select a Period Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 9

10 Chapter One 4. Click OK. If students were added or dropped from the section, the Acknowledge Adds and Drops screen pops-up. To add the new student(s) to the seating chart, check the box Add to Chart. This is automatically checked by default. Figure 1.4 Acknowledge Ads and Drops View 5. Click OK to acknowledge the student changes. If announcements have been entered in Synergy SIS, the Announcements screen pops-up. 6. Figure 1.5 Announcements View Click Close to close the announcements. The main screen of software is displayed. the TEACHERVUE Figure 1.6 Main screen, TeacherVUE 10 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

11 Chapter One Grade Book User Guide 7. Click on Grade Book icon from the main Seating Chart screen. Grade Book Main screen opens in a separate window. Figure 1.7 Seating Chart screen Figure 1.8 Grade Book screen By default, the focus is set to the class in focus in TeacherVUE. To change the focus of Grade Book, click on the link with the teacher name & class name in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. The Focus Selections screen displays. Select the School Year, School, Enrollment Period, Class, and Grading Period view and click the Select button. Figure 1.9 Focus Selection screen Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 11

12 Chapter One ACCESSING GRADE BOOK FOR PRINCIPALS, SPECIALISTS, AND DISTRICT STAFF Principals, specialists and other staff not using the TEACHERVUE software can access Grade Book directly from within Synergy SIS. To access Grade Book from within Synergy SIS: 1. Open the Synergy SIS Navigation Tree by clicking on the Tree button at the top of the page Figure 1.10 Synergy SIS Navigation Tree Expand the Synergy SIS folder by clicking on the blue triangle pointing right, next to the word Synergy SIS. Once clicked, the triangle turns green and points downward. Navigate to Synergy SIS > Grade Book > Grade Book Admin Login. Click on Grade Book Admin Login icon, and the screen appears in the content pane on the right side of the screen. Figure 1.11 Grade Book Admin Login Icon 5. Click on the Open Grade Book button. Grade Book opens in a new window. Figure 1.12 Grade Book Admin Login Screen 12 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

13 Chapter One Grade Book User Guide Figure 1.13 Grade Book Screen By default, the focus is not set to any class or grading period. A focus must be selected to view class grades. Principals and other staff view any class to which they have access, but they cannot change the grades. To select the focus of Grade Book Select the School Year, School, Enrollment Period, Class, and Grading Period in the Focus Selections group box. Click Select. Figure 1.14 Focus Selection Screen Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 13

14 Chapter Two Chapter Two: SETTING UP GRADE BOOK In this chapter, the following topics are covered: Creating Assignments Editing Assignments Copying Assignments Setting The Overall Grade Configuration Configuring The Final Grades Secondary Teacher Types Setting Up Term Weighting Calculations- Secondary Teacher Types 14 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

15 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide After a teacher opens Grade Book for the first time, they see a list of the students in the class in focus in TeacherVUE. Students are listed alphabetically by first name by default. Figure 2.1 Grade Book Main screen All student grades are displayed as 0.0%, as no assignments have been created and no grades have been issued to any assignments. Grade Book has been preconfigured and is ready to begin tracking student assignments. This chapter will describe how to: Create assignments to be graded. Edit the overall grade book score calculations Configure the final grade calculations for report card output Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 15

16 Chapter Two CREATING ASSIGNMENTS Assignments are any assessment items on which students will be graded in the class. To calculate students final grades properly, all assignments to be considered must be entered in Grade Book. To create assignments on which students will be graded 1. Click on the New Assignment button from the main Grade Book screen. The New Assignment screen appears. 2. Figure 2.2 Grade Book Main screen Enter a name for the assignment in the Assignment Name field, and a description in the Description field. 16 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

17 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide Figure 2.3 Assignment screen Select the Type of assignment from the drop-down list. Initially the available types are Homework, Project, Quiz, Test, and Assignment, but the district may customize the types available. Teachers may also create their own custom list of assignment types as outlined in Chapter Six. For standards-based teachers, select the academic Subject for the assignment from the drop-down list. The list of subjects may also be customized by the district or the teacher as outlined in Chapter Six. The option is not displayed for secondary teacher types. Select if Grading will be based on an Overall Grade Only or Overall Grade and Standards. Choose the Score Type from the drop-down list, such as Raw Score or a rubric. The list of score types can be customized at the district level, or each teacher can create their own score types as outlined in Chapter Six. This is Grade Book Score Type. Enter the Max. Score a student can receive for this assignment in numeric format, up to two decimal places. This is only available if Raw Score is selected. Enter the total number of Points the assignment is worth when calculating the final grade. The points should be entered in numeric format, up to two decimal places. Enter the date the assignment is distributed to the students in the Date of Assignment box. The date can be entered in MMDDYY format or it can be selected from a calendar by clicking on the drop-down arrow. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 17

18 Chapter Two 10. Select the Assignment Category from the drop-down list. Assignments can be categorized as a Normal assignment to be graded and included in the final grade, an Extra Credit assignment to be graded and included in the final grade to improve the student s final grade, or an assignment Not For Grading. Tip: Extra credit can be given in two different ways. First, the entire assignment can be extra credit. This option adds to the student s score, and not the total score possible for the class. The second way to give a student extra credit is to assign them extra points when grading an assignment. 11. Check the Show in Parent/Student Portal box if the assignment should be listed in the Grade Book screen of ParentVUE and StudentVUE. The assignment will appear as displayed in the picture below, and can list resources available to the student for the assignment. Working with resources is outlined in Chapter Five. Figure 2.4 Grade Book Assignment Detail Screen 12. If the assignment is given to the students on a different date from when the assignment is due, and the Assignment Type selected is configured for due dates, enter the Due Date for the assignment in MMDDYY format. The date can also be selected from a calendar by clicking on the drop-down arrow. 13. In the Assignment Drop Box group box, select the appropriate fields: The Enable Drop Box option allows students to submit and upload this assignment through StudentVUE. The Drop Box Open Date and Drop box Close Date fields specify the dates that the digital drop box will be available to students for this assignment. The Document Count Limit indicates the number of documents the student can upload for this assignment. 18 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

19 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide At the bottom of the Assignment screen, several tabs are displayed where the assignment can be correlated with standards or report card areas, or included for grading in other grading periods and/or sections. The tabs available are different based on the type of teacher. Standards-based teacher types will see the Report Card Correlations tab, but not the Section tab. Secondary teacher types will see the Section tab, but not the Report Card Correlations tab. Both types of teachers will see the Standards Correlations and the Grading Periods tabs. Figure 2.5 Standards-Based Tabs Figure 2.6 Secondary Tabs Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 19

20 Chapter Two (Standards-based Teacher types) To correlate an assignment to an item on the report card Check the box in the column for the Report Card and Report Card Item. To link it to a report card item for all report cards Check the All box. An assignment can be linked to more than one report card item and more than one report card. Figure 2.7 Report Card Correlations To link the assignment to a standard 1. Select Standards Correlations tab. 2. Figure 2.8 Standards Correlations tab Select the Standards Type, Grade Level and Subject of the assignment from the drop-down lists, and a list of standards appears below. 20 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

21 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide 3. Figure 2.9 Standards Correlations Select the standards that are correlated with this assignment by simply clicking on them. More than one standard may be selected. The selected standards are listed at the top of the tab. 4. Figure 2.10 Standards Correlations Enter the number of points that can be earned towards each standard in the # Possible column. To remove a standard, click the Remove link. Figure 2.11 Entering Points for Each Standard Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 21

22 Chapter Two (Secondary Teacher types) To add the assignment to more than one class 1. Click on the Sections tab. 2. Check the boxes in front of the classes that will also use the assignment. Figure Sections To apply the marks for an assignment to more than one grading period Click on the Grading Periods tab. Check the boxes in front of the grading periods in which the assignment will be considered. Figure 2.13 Grading Periods 3. Click the Save/Add Another Assignment button to save the assignment and immediately add another assignment. A yellow confirmation box appears, and the boxes at the top of the screen are cleared so a new assignment can be entered. OR Figure 2.14 Assignment Added Click the Save Assignment button to save the assignment and return to the Main Grade Book screen. OR Click the Cancel to discard the assignment. 22 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

23 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide EDITING ASSIGNMENTS Assignments can be edited individually, or the order and main information for all assignments can be changed. To edit an individual assignment: 1. Click on the name of the assignment on the Grade Book Main screen. A drop-down menu appears. Figure 2.15 Main Grade Book Screen Select Edit Assignment. The Assignment screen appears. Edit the information as needed in the boxes. For more information about the assignment options, see the previous section on Creating Assignments. Click the Save/Add Another Assignment button to save the change and immediately add another assignment. A yellow confirmation box appears, and the boxes at the top of the screen are cleared so a new assignment can be entered. OR Click the Save Assignment button to save the changes and return to the Main Grade Book screen. OR Click the Cancel to discard the assignment. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 23

24 Chapter Two To view all assignments, edit the primary information for the assignments, and determine their order 1. Click on the Assignments option in Grade Book menu. The Assignments List screen appears, listing the assignments for the class and period currently in focus. Figure 2.16 Grade Book menu Figure 2.17 Assignments screen To list assignments for another class or period Select the Class and/or Grading Period from the drop-down lists. Figure 2.18 Assignments List filters 24 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

25 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide To change the order of the assignments on both the Assignments screen and the Grade Book Main screen. By default, the assignments are listed in chronological order by assign date. 1. Click the Custom Assignment Sort button. The Sort Assignments screen opens. Figure 2.19 Assignments List filters 2. Figure 2.20 Sort Assignments screen Drag the assignment in the desired order and click Save. The assignments are reordered on both the Assignment screen and the Grade Book Main screen. To see the assignments correlated with a particular standard Select the standard from the Correlations drop-down list. Figure 2.21 Correlations drop-down Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 25

26 Chapter Two To edit the information for an individual assignment 1. Click in the boxes for that assignment and enter the new information. 2. Click Save Changes. Figure 2.22 Assignments screen To set a column of information to the same value for multiple assignments 1. Enter or select the value for the column in the All line Figure 2.23 Assignments screen Check the boxes in the Action column for the assignments that should be set to the new value or select All to select all the assignments. To copy the new value to the selected assignments, click the green arrow in the column pointing down. The value is then copied to all assignments selected and the assignments modified are highlighted in yellow. The number of unsaved changes is indicated above the list. Figure 2.24 Editing Multiple Assignments 4. Click the Save Changes button above the list To save the changes made, or click the Undo button to cancel the changes. Figure 2.25 Saving Changes 26 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

27 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide The Action drop-down list at the top of the list can be used to edit all assignment grades, as outlined in Entering Grades. To add the assignments listed to other grading periods or screen the grading periods assigned 1. Click on the Grading Periods tab. The Assignment Grading Period grid appears Figure 2.26 Assignment Grading Periods Screen Check the boxes to add an assignment to a grading period. The grading periods currently assigned are already checked and listed as Included in red. Click on the Save Grading Periods button to save the changes, or click the Undo button to cancel the changes. To delete an assignment 1. Click on the name of the assignment on the Grade Book Main screen. A drop-down menu appears. 2. Figure 2.27 Main Grade Book Screen Select Delete Assignment. A message box pops-up to confirm the deletion. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 27

28 Chapter Two 3. Click the Delete button to continue deleting the assignment, or click the Cancel button. Figure 2.28 Message Box Caution: When an assignment is deleted, it also deletes any grades that have been issued for that assignment. These grades cannot be retrieved once the assignment is deleted. It also deletes any resources associated with the assignment. COPYING ASSIGNMENTS Assignments can also be copied from one class to another, across school years and any class in the school. To copy one or more assignments from one class to another: 1. Click on Copy Assignments from Grade Book menu. 2. Figure 2.29 Grade Book Menu The Copy Grade Book Assignments screen appears listing all assignments for the class and grading period currently in focus. To copy other assignments, select the School Year, Class Type, Class and/or Period from which to copy. Figure 2.30 Copy Grade Book Assignments Screen 28 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

29 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide 3. Check the box in front of the assignment to copy. To copy all of the assignments listed, check the All box. Figure 2.31 Assignments Selected for Copying Click the Next button at the bottom of the screen to move to the next step. A list of all the classes for the school year and grading period is displayed. From this list, select the classes to which you want to copy the assignments by checking the box in the Copy To column in front of each class. To display classes for another year or period, select the School Year and/or Period from the drop-down lists Figure 2.32 Choosing Classes Once all of the classes have been checked, scroll to the bottom of the list and click the Next button. Select a Date Option. To copy the Assignment Date and Due Date from the original assignment, leave the Date Option set to Copy Original Dates. To set new dates for the copied assignments, click the I ll Edit The Dates option, and enter the new dates in MM/DD/YYYY format or select them from the calendar by clicking on the drop-down arrow. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 29

30 Chapter Two Figure 2.33 Setting the Options 8. Click the Finish button at the bottom of the screen to copy the assignments. When the process is complete, the Grade Book Main screen displays. Note: Edupoint offers LessonVUE Curriculum Management a completely integrated component of the Grade Book module to help school districts streamline the process of instructional management without adding additional burden to teachers. LessonVUE is sold separately, and being an optional component, it is not covered in detail in this manual. LessonVUE allows districts to manage curriculum by creating a consistent framework of courses, units, lesson plans and supplemental materials, aligned to standards, tied to courses or grade levels and taught by all teachers in the district. Students benefit from a consistent educational experience regardless of what teacher they are assigned to, and the district is now able to measure and track student progress, measure effectiveness of curriculum and lesson plans, and ultimately adjust teaching strategies to ensure students are achieving. LessonVUE is configurable such that either the district or the school can create curriculum and customize curriculum maps, depending on an individual district s needs. LessonVUE enables administrators and teachers to: Create unlimited elements with an associated library of resources Define unit, topic, lesson, and intervention method structures from a district level Align curriculum elements to standards Create an unlimited number of curriculum maps by course, subject or grade level Customize and personalize allowable elements of an inherited map to fit individual teaching styles Create Grade Book entries directly from curriculum elements Perform cost / benefit analysis of instructional materials 30 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

31 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide SETTING THE OVERALL GRADE CONFIGURATION The Grade Book Setup screen enables teachers to customize Grade Book settings to meet their needs and preferences. On the Grade Book Setup screen, teachers can configure assignment types, assignment weighting, score types, comments, and more. Click on Grade Book Setup in Grade Book menu. Grade Book Setup screen is displayed. My Subjects, My Assignment Types, My Grade Book Score Types, My Report Card Score Types, and My Grade Book Comments allow the teacher to create custom types for their classes, as explained in Chapter Six of this guide Figure 2.34 Grade Book Menu Figure Grade Book Setup Screen Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 31

32 Chapter Two To set assignment weighting Assignment weighting determines how much weight each type of assignment holds in calculating the final grade. The total weight of all the assignment types should add up to 100%. If the numbers are left at 0, each type of assignment will automatically receive an equal amount of weight. The student s overall class grade will be determined by the total points earned divided by the total points possible. 1. Select the Assignment Weighting tab Figure Grade Book Setup screen, Assignment Weighting tab Select the class these assignment weights apply to from the Classes drop-down list. Select Only Show My Types to show assignment types created by the teacher, or Add My Types to the District Types to show both the assignments created by the district and the teacher. Set all the appropriate values to weight the different types of assignments. The Weight (%) fields indicate how much weight each assignment type holds in relation to the other assignment types. The sum of all the weights must equal 100%. The Drop Scores field is the number of scores that can be excluded from the grade calculation. The Default Points Possible sets the default number of points possible for each assignment of that type. Select any additional classes which the assignment weighting setting should be applied. Select the Update button to save the changes. 32 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

33 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide To set how the final grade is rounded 1. Select the Grade Book Setting tab Figure Grade Book Setup screen, Grade Book Settings tab In the Class Percentage drop-down, select either the Rounding On or Rounding Off option. Select the number place (Whole Number Only, 1 Decimal Place, or 2 Decimal Places) to round up to in the second drop-down list. To set the default grading period for new assignments Select the grading period from the options in the drop-down list, which include: Assignment Due Date Assignment Date Current Period in Grade Book (Default) Current Period in Synergy My Last Selection Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 33

34 Chapter Two To use district Grade Book settings If your district requires its teachers to use their pre-defined Grade Book settings, teachers will automatically inherit assignments and settings from the district. Teachers will not be able to remove the district s assignments from their Grade Book. If the district allows teachers to choose to use the district defined assignments: Select the Inherit Assignment from the District Grade Books checkbox, to automatically include the district s pre-defined assignments in your Grade Book. Click the Remove District Grade Book Entries button, to remove any existing predefined district assignments from your Grade Book. To set class notifications Select the checkboxes to set alert and reminders within Grade Book, including: Alert me when students are added Remind me to delegate new students Remind me when a custom report card is setup Remind me to set final grade config for new students 34 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

35 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide CONFIGURING THE FINAL GRADES SECONDARY TEACHER TYPES While Grade Book Setup changes the configuration for the final grade displayed in Grade Book, the Final Grade Config screen sets the report card score types to be used when the final grades that are included in the student s course history and transcript are transferred from Grade Book to Synergy. By default, the score types available are GenesisGrading, GenesisGradingTA, GenesisProgressPeriod, or GenesisProgressPeriodTA. If a district or teacher has created custom score types by duplicating and editing one of these score types, those custom types will be displayed. To change the final grade configuration: 1. Select Final Grade Config from Grade Book menu. The Student Final Score Configuration screen is displayed. The students and grading periods for the selected class and semester are listed on the Final Grade Setup tab. Figure 2.38 Grade Book Menu Figure Student Final Score Configuration Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 35

36 Chapter Two 2. Select whether to set the grades for the entire enrollment period (generally this period is the entire school year) or to adjust the scores for only a particular grading period. If all grading and progress periods use the same score type, it is quicker to set the scores for the entire enrollment period. However, if specific grading periods use a different score type, select grading period Figure 2.40 Student Final Score Configuration screen Select the Enrollment Period from the drop-down list. If all the students will have their grade periods set to the same score type, select the score type from the Set All Students to Score Type drop-down list. Or Select the individual score types from the Score Type column for each student and for each grading period. 5. If no Score Type is selected, students score types defaults to GenesisGrading or GenesisProgressPeriod, depending on the current period type. Click the Save button to save the score type setting. When the changes are saved, a yellow confirmation message box appears. To set the default report card score type for new students 1. Select the Final Grade Default tab. All the available grading periods and default score types are displayed. Figure 2.41 Student Final Score Configuration screen Final Grade Defaults tab 36 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

37 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide Change a score type for a grading period by selecting it from the drop-down in the Score Type column. Click Save Defaults to apply the selected defaults to new students. Or Click Save & Apply To All Students to apply the selected defaults to both new and current students. To manage final grade calculations Click on the Manage Final Grade Calculations button. The Report Cards Score Type screen is displayed. Figure 2.42 Student Final Score Configuration screen Final Grade Defaults tab Figure 2.43 Report Card Score Type screen For more information on configuring report card score types please see My Report Card Score Types. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 37

38 Chapter Two SETTING UP TERM WEIGHTING CALCULATIONS- SECONDARY TEACHER TYPES Secondary teacher type users can use term weighting to customize the grade calculations used in their report cards. To setup term weighting 1. Click on Term Weighting from the Report Card menu. The Term Weighting screen appears. Figure 2.44 Report Card Menu 2. Figure 2.45 Term Weighting screen Select the class to adjust from the drop-down list. You can set term weighting for more than one class by selecting the additional classes from the grid at the bottom of the screen. 38 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

39 Chapter Two Grade Book User Guide 3. Check the box in front of each period that will use a calculated grade. 4. Figure 2.46 Selecting the Grading Periods For each period selected, check the Marks that will be used in the calculation and enter the Weight (or percentage) that each mark weighs in the calculation. 5. Figure 2.47 Selecting the Marks Click the Update button to save the changes. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 39

40 Chapter Two Chapter Three: ENTERING & REVIEWING GRADES In this chapter, the following topics are covered: Entering Grades Viewing Grades Viewing the Student Summary Analyzing Grades 40 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

41 Chapter Three Grade Book User Guide ENTERING GRADES Once assignments have been created for a class, the teacher can enter grades for each assignment. Only teachers can edit assignment grades. All other staff with access to Grade Book view grades in read-only mode, but cannot edit them. Scores and comments can be entered directly in Grade Book Main screen, or by using the Enter Score screen. To enter grades on the Grade Book Main screen 1. Click on any score box on the screen. The selected box will turn yellow, and a cursor will appear Figure 3.1 Entering an Assignment Score Enter the score in the appropriate format (e.g. letter grade, raw score, percentage.) The system will display an error message if the score is in the wrong format. The score will appear red until they are saved. Click the Save Changes button at the top of the screen. To enter comments on the Grade Book Main screen 1. Click on any score box on the screen. The selected box will turn yellow, and the text in the box is selected. 2. Figure Editing Score on Grade Book Main screen Enter the score and/or comment code. If no score is available, the comment code can be entered alone. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 41

42 Chapter Three Comment codes are often pre-configured by the district and may vary. Common comment codes include mi for Missing Assignment or la for Late. 3. To exclude a score from the final grade calculations use the comment code of ex for Exclude. A red lower case e is displayed next to the excluded score. Click the Save Changes button at the top of the screen. To edit scores on the Grade Book Main screen 1. Click on any score box on the screen. The selected box will turn yellow, and the text in the box is selected. 2. Edit the score and/or comment. Figure 3.3 Editing Score on Grade Book Main screen Clear a comment code by retyping the score followed by a space and an exclamation mark!. 3. Clear an exclusion by retyping the score followed by a space and!ex.. Click the Save Changes button at the top of the screen. 42 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

43 Chapter Three Grade Book User Guide To edit an assignment s grades using the Assignment Score Entry screen 1. Click on the name of the assignment on the Grade Book Main screen. A drop-down menu appears. 2. Figure 3.4 Grade Book Main screen, Assignment Drop-Down Menu Select Enter Scores. The Assignment Score Entry screen for the selected assignment is displayed. 3. Figure 3.5 Enter Scores screen Enter the grades for the assignment in the column underneath the assignment name. Tip: To enter the same grade for all students for the assignment, enter the grade in the first student s line and then click the green arrow to copy that score to all students below that line. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 43

44 Chapter Three Click the box in the Exclude column to exclude a score from inclusion in the final grade calculation. To exclude the score for all students, check the All box. Click the box in the Portal column to display this score on the ParentVUE portal. To display the score for all students, check the All box. A Comment for the assignment can be selected from the drop-down list. A note about the assignment can be entered in the Notes column. Notes in the Public box are displayed on the ParentVUE and StudentVUE portals. Private notes are only available to school personnel. Click Save and remain on the Assignment Score Entry screen. OR Click Save/Return to Grade Book and return to the Grade Book Main screen. OR Click Cancel/Return to Grade Book and return to Grade Book Main screen. To modify assignment grades for all students in a class: 1. Click on the Assignments option in Grade Book menu. The Assignments List screen appears, displaying the assignments for the class and period currently in focus. Figure 3.6 Grade Book menu 44 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

45 Chapter Three Grade Book User Guide Figure 3.7 Assignments screen Tip: To list assignments for another class or period, select the Class and/or Grading Period from the drop-down lists. 2. Check the boxes for the assignments to be changed in the Action column, and select Set All Grades from the Action drop-down list. The Actions Panel opens at the top of the screen. Figure 3.8 Setting All Grades Figure 3.9 Setting All Grades Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 45

46 Chapter Three Enter the current grade to be changed in the From box. If the From box is left blank, all assignments with no grade will be assigned the grade in the To box. Enter the new grade in the To box. If the To box is left blank, all grades in the From box will be cleared. Click the Change Grades button to make the changes, or click the Cancel button. To transfer student scores Student scores for assignments in other classes can also be transferred between classes. This is helpful for students that switch between sections after assignment grades have already been issued. 1. Select the Transfer Student Scores option from the Grade Book menu. The Transfer Student Grade Book Scores screen is displayed Figure 3.10 Grade Book Menu Select the student s original class from the Copy From Class drop-down list. Select the class to copy the scores to from the To Class drop-down list. Select the Student from the drop-down list. From the assignment grid, select which assignment scores will be copied by using the To Assignment drop-down list. Figure 3.11 To Assignment list If the scores for a particular assignment should not be copied, select Do Not Copy. If the assignment exists in the new class, select it from the list. The transferred score will populate in the selected assignment. 46 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

47 Chapter Three Grade Book User Guide 6. If the assignment does not exist in the new class, select Add Assignment. A new assignment is created based on the assignment in the original class. Both the assignment information and the student s score are transferred to the new class. Click the Copy Student Scores button to complete the transfer. Grade Book Main screen is displayed with the newly transferred scores. VIEWING GRADES Once grades have been entered, the grades can be analyzed and screened in many different ways. One way is using Grade Book Main screen. Grade Book Main screen is the primary screen in Grade Book, and it is the first screen opened when teachers log on. It can also be accessed by clicking on Grade Book Main option from Grade Book menu. To view grades using the Grade Book Main screen Once scores have been entered, the Grade Book Main screen can be used to analyze and view a great deal of class information in many different ways. The Grade Book grid displays all students and assignments for a selected class. The grid can display the student s overall grade in the class, their grades for each assignment, and the overall averages for both the class and individual assignments. Figure 3.12 Grade Book Main View Overall grades or assignment scores that are below the at-risk percentage are highlighted with a red arrow pointing downwards. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 47

48 Chapter Three Scores that also have a comment are shown in bold. When the cursor is hovering over that score, the comment will display in a pop-up box. Clicking on an individual student s name displays the Student Summary screen. The student ID is also displayed in a pop-up box when the cursor hovers over a student name. If an assignment is designated Not For Grading, those words appear in red above the assignment name. Extra Credit assignments are labeled above in green. To filter information on the Grade Book Main screen Grade Book Main screen lists all students in a class, and shows their overall grade and the grade they have received in each assignment. The default configuration of Grade Book Main screen can also be customized to display this information in many different ways. By default, the grid is sorted by the student. However, the grid can sort by any column. Next to each column name is a small gray square. Once a column is used for sorting, the gray square displays an arrow instead of an S. This arrow indicates the direction of the sort, either ascending or descending. To switch the direction of the sort, click on the square with the arrow again. The direction of the arrow and the direction of the sort will be reversed. The information on the Grade Book Main screen can also be filtered is by using the drop-down menus at the top of the screen. Figure 3.13 Drop-down Menus on Grade Book Main screen Figure Drop-down Menus on Grade Book Main screen for Secondary Teacher Types Term - Filters by the school term, such as a semester or quarter. Class - Switch to the records for another class from the list. Period - Select the records for another grading period. 48 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

49 Chapter Three Grade Book User Guide Grade - Filters by assignments for a particular grade level. The default shows all grade levels. Subject - Filters assignments by subject. The default shows all subjects for the class. Date - Filters the assignments by date. The default shows all dates. Type - Displays a particular type of assignment such as a quiz or homework. The default is to show all assignment types. Report Card Item - Filters assignments by their related report card items. The default shows all assignments. Search - Use keyword searches to locate assignments. Enter all or part of the assignment name in the Search box. As the name is typed, the potential matches will appear in a dropdown list below the Search box. Additional filters are available on the Grade Book Options panel. Expand the panel by clicking on the arrow next to the Grade Book Main grid. Figure Grade Book Option Panel Expansion Arrow Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 49

50 Chapter Three The options available include: Figure 3.16 Grade Book Options Panel Sort Students by - Enables teachers to change the order students are listed. By default, students are sorted by Last Name. They can also be sorted by First Name or Student ID. A custom list order can also be created using either Custom Sorting First Name or Custom Sorting Last Name. When using custom sorting, the student list will first be sorted by either first name or last name (depending on the custom sort option selected). The student names can then be dragged and dropped on screen into a different order. Just click on the student s name, and drag it to its new position. Once the student list is in the desired order, click on the Save Changes button. When new students are added to a class they will appear at the top of the list. Assignment Order - By default assignments are displayed on the Grade Book grid from Oldest to Newest (left to right). This can also be changed to either Newest to Oldest, or the Custom Sort Order as set on the Assignments screen. See Using the Assignments Screen for... Show dropped assignments - Assignments that are not included in the final grade calculation are still shown on the grid but are marked with a red d. Show dropped students - Students that were dropped from the class are still displayed in the grid. A line through their name and the word drop in red indicates dropped students. Hide class grade - The Grade column, which shows the student s overall grade in the class, is not shown. Show total missing - The Missing column is added to the grid that shows the total number of assignments that a particular student has not completed. 50 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

51 Chapter Three Grade Book User Guide Enable group editing - Allows student groups to be edited through Grade Book. For more about student groups, please see... Show grades by type - The grid displays the grades for the assignment types in addition to the grades for the individual assignments. Show comment codes - Comment codes are displayed after the score for the assignment, and the score and code are in bold. Show - Selects how the assignment scores are displayed. Normal displays the raw score. Percentage shows the score as a percentage of the total points. Points show the total points. Available Comments (such as Late, Absent, Missing, Incomplete, Language, or Extra Credit) shows scores with the selected comment highlighted in the grid in orange. Summary Mode - Select either Show Median and/or Show Mode to display the median score or the mode for the class at the bottom of each assignment column. Row Size - Adjusts the size of each row in the grid. The row size can be Large, Medium, or Small. At risk highlight scores percentage - By default, at risk students are defined as those students with a score of 50% or below for either an assignment or overall. Change the percentage used to determine an at risk student by entering the new number. Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 51

52 Chapter Three VIEWING THE STUDENT SUMMARY The Student Summary screen presents a detailed overview of both the student s performance in a specific class and their performance in all their classes. The Student Summary screen can be accessed from the Grade Book Main screen. Secondary Teacher Types can also access the Student Summary from the Student Final Grades screen. To access the Student Summary for Standards-based teachers On the Grade Book Main screen, click on a student s name. The student s names are underlined links. The Student Summary screen opens. Figure 3.17 Grade Book Main screen Figure 3.18 Student Summary screen for a Standards Teacher Type Note: Once on the Student Summary screen, the screen can be switched between students by using the Student drop-down list at the top of the page. 52 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC

53 Chapter Three Grade Book User Guide The Class tab of the Student Summary screen displays: the Category Summary, a graph of the student s score by assignment type, the Subject Summary, a graph of the student s performance by subject and in relation to the rest of the class, and the Detailed Score List, which is shows all individual assignments for the student for the current class & current grading period. Clicking on the Show Summary Detail link at the top of the screen also displays the Scores by Assignment Type table and Scores by Subject table, which offer detailed views of the information presented in the Category Summary and Subject Summary graphs. Figure 3.19 Student Summary Screen Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC 53

54 Chapter Three To access the Student Summary for Secondary Teacher Types 1. Select the Student option on the Report Card menu. The Student Final Grades screen opens. Figure 3.41 Report Card menu 2. Figure 3.20 Student Final Grades screen Click on a student s name. The Student Summary screen displays the selected student s information for the current class. Figure 3.21 Student Summary screen for Secondary Teacher Types 54 Copyright 2012 Edupoint Educational Systems, LLC