Frequently Asked Questions PowerSchool Student Information System

Transcription

1 PowerSchool Student Information System

2 Document Properties Frequently Asked Questions Copyright Owner 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is the property of Apple Computer, Inc. and is for reference only. It is not to be reproduced or distributed in any way without the express written consent of Apple Computer, Inc. Other brands and names are the property of their respective owners. Technical Communication and Documentation Last Updated 8/28/2003 Version Please send comments, suggestions, or requests for this user guide to Your feedback is appreciated. Introduction 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

3 Contents Frequently Asked Questions Introduction... 5 Frequently Asked Questions... 6 Storing Grades... 6 How Do I Permanently Store Grades?... 6 What Does the Exclude Enrollment Records Option Do?...10 How Much Credit Should I Award When Storing Grades?...10 Report Cards...11 How Do I Prevent a Class from Displaying on Report Cards?...11 Why Do Some Classes Not Display on Report Cards?...15 How Do I Display Dropped Classes on Report Cards?...18 Grade Point Averages...22 How Do I Calculate GPAs?...22 Why Are Some GPAs Calculated Incorrectly? D Tools...39 How Do I Run 4D Tools and Repair a Damaged Data File?...39 What Does the Message An Interruption Occurred Mean?...42 Average Daily Attendance and Membership...42 How Do I Correct ADA/ADM Results?...42 What Factors Can Affect ADA/ADM Results?...43 PowerGrade Backups...44 How Do I Retrieve a PowerGrade Backup?...44 How Do I Make a PowerGrade Backup?...44 How Does a PowerGrade Backup Differ from Saving in PowerGrade?...44 PowerGrade...44 How Do I Set Up Final Grades?...44 How Do I Include a Midterm Exam in Final Grades?...46 Updating Server...49 Why Did the Server Not Update?...49 BLOB Error...51 What Is a BLOB Error and How Can I Correct It?...51 Teacher Comments...51 How Do I Get Teacher Comments to Display on Report Cards?...51 Introduction 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 3

4 Why Do Old Teacher Comments Still Display?...51 How Do I Use the Comment Bank?...51 How to Create Comments in the Comment Bank...51 Introduction 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 4

5 Introduction The PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS) provides many tools to manage your school or district. Since schools share common processes, PowerSchool users generally perform some procedures more often than others. Inevitably, questions will arise related to those procedures. This guide includes some of the most frequently asked categories of PowerSchool questions and their answers. This list of frequently asked questions does not replace the valuable services offered by PowerSchool s support organization. If you have any questions after reading this document and referring to the other help-related documentation, contact PowerSchool Technical Support. Introduction 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 5

6 Frequently Asked Questions The following sections describe 10 areas of questions related to the use of PowerSchool. Some areas include multiple questions. For procedures related to all areas of PowerSchool and PowerGrade, refer to the user guides available at: Storing Grades How Do I Permanently Store Grades? At the end of each grading term, copy and store students current grades as historical grades. 1. On the start page, choose System from the main menu. 2. Click Permanently Store Grades. The Permanently Store Grades page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 6

7 3. Use the following table to enter information in the fields: Field Store Code Description Use a two-digit code to indicate the term in which the students earned the grades, such as Q1 or S1. The first character must be a letter, and the second character must be a number. Note: Do not use the same store code twice in one year. The system will overwrite the grades you stored under the store code the first time with the grades you store the second time. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 7

8 Field Use this final grade Exclude and Include Enrollment Records Request that grades be stored only for a specific section Description Enter the term code from which you want to save the grades. The term code is usually the same as the store code, such as Q1 or S1. For more information on defining term codes, see the section "Final Grades Setup." You do not have to store current grades for all students. If you want to store current grades based on students' enrollment or dropped class dates, select any combination of the following checkboxes to filter the selected students: Exclude enrollment records where the student enrolled in the class after this date: Enter the date. Exclude enrollment records where the student dropped the class before this date: Enter the date. Include only enrollment records that are currently active and that were active on this date: Enter the date. To be included in the grade storing process for a class, a student must have enrolled in a class on or before the date you enter and cannot have dropped the course until or after the date. Note: If you leave the date-related fields blank, PowerSchool stores a grade for every enrollment record, including classes that students dropped during the term. Most schools enter a two-week grace period at both the beginning and end of the term. This allows for all of the add/drop procedures at the beginning of the term to be ignored in the store grades process. Also, PowerSchool does not store grades for students who enroll in your school during the last two weeks of the term. If you want to store grades for students in a specific course section only, enter the course and section numbers, separated by a period. For example, enter for Course 113, Section 04. You can do this when teachers are late in entering their final grades or when testing the process of storing grades. Store grades for one course section before you store grades for all course sections. Leave this field blank to store grades for all course sections. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 8

9 Field Percent of Credits to be awarded each term Options for classes enrolled at other schools Options for Withholding Credit Description For each term, specify the percent of possible credits each student can earn. For example, if you store grades for Q1 in a school year with four quarters, students earn 25% of the possible credits they can earn in a yearlong course. The terms listed refer to the courses, such as courses that are one year long, or courses that are one semester long. If you want to store grades and you do not want to award credit, enter 0 in these fields. Note: Be sure you define the proper amount of credits for all courses. Also, define that the appropriate grades earn graduation credit on the Gradescale page. Use the pop-up menus to indicate the options you want to apply for storing grades for classes that students take at other schools: Store grades for classes enrolled at: Select whether you want to store grades for all schools or for the selected school only. If storing for the selected school only, PowerSchool will not store grades for the other schools at which students may take classes. Record the school name of: Select which school name to use when storing grades. Select either the other school or the current school. You can determine that all students who receive a specific number of attendance points during the date range you enter do not receive credit for the course and earn an entirely different grade. For example, the student originally receives a C; however, due to excessive absences, the student receives a WC and no credit for this course. Complete the following steps: 1. Select the checkbox. 2. Enter the number of attendance points the student must have received and the date range during which he or she received them to earn the grade you enter. 3. Enter a comment in the teacher comment field if you want the original grade the student earned before counting the attendance points to appear with the comment. 4. Click Store Current Grades. The "Alert: Storing Grades" page displays the status of the storing grades process. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 9

10 Note: If you notice that you entered incorrect data after storing grades, repeat this procedure for the same store code. PowerSchool overwrites the existing grades with the new ones. What Does the Exclude Enrollment Records Option Do? You do not have to store current grades for all students. If you want to store current grades based on the date of students' enrollment or dropped class dates, select any combination of the following checkboxes: Checkbox Exclude enrollment records where the student enrolled in the class after this date Exclude enrollment records where the student dropped the class before this date Include only those enrollment records that were active on this date Description Select this checkbox if you want to store grades only for students who enrolled on or before the specified date. Enter the date in the blank field. Select this checkbox if you want to store grades only for students who were enrolled in the class and did not drop the class before the specified date. Enter the date in the blank field. Select the checkbox if you want to store grades only for students who enrolled in a class on or before the specified date and did not drop the course until or after the specified date. Enter the date in the blank field. Note: If you leave the date-related fields blank, PowerSchool stores a grade for every enrollment record, including classes that students dropped during the term. Most schools enter a two-week grace period at both the beginning and the end of the term. This allows for all of the add/drop procedures at the beginning of the term to be ignored in the store grades process. In addition, PowerSchool does not store grades for students who enroll in your school during the last two weeks of the term. How Much Credit Should I Award When Storing Grades? Depending on your school setup, the amount of credit per course will vary. Variables include: Credit Hours specified in the Course Setup. Length of section expressed in terms, such as S1 for the first semester or for a yearlong course. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 10

11 A general guideline is to award 25% of credit hours for a quarter, 50% for a semester, and 100% for the year. These settings vary, depending on your school s needs. Report Cards How Do I Prevent a Class from Displaying on Report Cards? There are two ways to prevent a class from displaying on report cards. One way is to modify the records using the Universal Search & Modify (USM) function. Modifying records using USM is an advanced function that should only be done by your PowerSchool administrator, who needs to have completed PowerSchool initial training as a minimum. Once trained, the PowerSchool administrator can contact PowerSchool Technical Support for the proper steps. The other way to prevent a class from displaying on report cards is to create a report card object report that includes transcript list objects. Use transcript list objects to limit the information that displays on the report card. You can select which student historical grades to display and the courses in which students received the grades. 1. On the Home page, click Reports. 2. Click Report Setup. The Report Setup page displays. 3. Click Object Reports. The Object Reports page displays the list of all object report templates created for your school. 4. Click the report card in the Report Name column. The Object Report page displays. Click Transcript List. The Transcript List Object page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 11

12 5. Use the following table to enter information in the fields: Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 12

13 Field Define the box that contains the transcript course listing Term/school name font Size, line height, style Course listing font Size, line height, style Horizontal offset of course name On each course listing line print this Term columns (store codes) Horizontal offset of first term column Width of each term column Description Enter the coordinates of the box in which the transcript information prints. Use inches as the unit of measurement. Determine how many inches from the top left of the page you want the transcript list object to print. Indicate the left, top, right, and bottom coordinates of the transcript list object. Use a ruler and a piece of paper to determine the coordinates, if necessary. Choose the font in which the term and school information prints from the pop-up menu. In the first field, enter the size of the font. In the second field, enter the height of each line in the object (in points). The height determines the space between each line in the transcript list. Choose the font in which the transcript information prints from the pop-up menu. In the first field, enter the size of the font. In the second field, enter the height of each line in the object (in points). The height determines the space between each line in the transcript list. Enter a number, in inches, to determine how far from the left margin the first course name prints. Enter any additional field or text you want to print next to each course. If you enter a PowerSchool field name, use the following format: ^(field name). For example, to include the possible credit a student could earn in each course, you can include the potential credit field. Then, in the Offset field, enter the number of spaces between the course listing and the information you enter. Enter the store codes (terms) you want to include in the transcript listing. The report prints historical grade information for only the term columns you define, such as S1, S2. Enter a number, in inches, to determine how far from the left box margin the first term column prints. Enter the width, in inches, of each term column. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 13

14 Field Within each term column, the horizontal offsets of these fields (inches) Include only historical grades from these grade levels Restrict to this credit type Exclude blank grades? Include current grades? Description Enter how far from the left margin of the term column each of the following fields appears: Grade Credit hours earned: Then, enter the format in which you want credit hours to print. Percent Citizenship: Select the Include Citizenship checkbox to include the citizenship grades. If you do not select this checkbox, the citizenship grade does not print. If you want to print historical grades for only certain grade levels on the transcript, enter the range of grade levels. Otherwise, leave these fields blank. If you want to print only courses with a specific credit type in this transcript list object, enter the credit type. By default, within a transcript list, the system sorts course information chronologically, displaying the most recent courses first. If you would rather sort the transcript by courses with the same credit type (courses within the same subject, such as English, Mathematics, and Science), enter the credit type here. Then, you can create a transcript list object for each credit type. Otherwise, leave this field blank. Select this checkbox if you do not want to display courses for which the student did not receive a grade. For example, if your school schedules lunch as a course on student schedules, select this checkbox to not print lunch on student transcripts. Select this checkbox to include grades from the current term on the transcript. Otherwise, deselect this checkbox. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 14

15 Field Sort grades by If listing overflows this object, start a new column with these margins Page Layer Description Use this pop-up menu to determine the sort order of the grades on the transcript list object: Course Name: Results descend by school year, then ascend by school name, and then ascend by course name. Course Number: Results descend by school year, then ascend by school name, and then ascend by course number. Credit Type: Results descend by school year, then ascend by school name, then ascend by credit type, and then course name. Ascending by grade level, then course number: Results ascend by grade level, then school year, then school name, then course number. If the transcript information for the terms you specified does not fit in the box for a student, do one of the following to indicate how you want the report to print this information: To finish printing the student s transcript in another column on the same page, define the margins for the next column. If the student s transcript can continue on a new page, do not define any margins for the overflow box. Enter the page number of the report on which you want this transcript list object to print. If you want this object to appear behind or in front of another object, choose the layer placement from the pop-up menu. 6. Click Submit to save the transcript list object you created. When you print the report, the transcript list object prints according to your specifications. If the transcript list does not print correctly, edit the transcript list by clicking the object name on the Object Report page and repeating the procedure. Why Do Some Classes Not Display on Report Cards? You can only create report cards for the term selected on the Home page. To report on more than one term, create an object style report. For more information, refer to the section Object Reports. If you are certain that you selected the correct term, review the special schedule listing options for the report card. Schedule listings display grades, citizenship, absences, tardies, and scores for individual assignments. The special options filter courses based on selected criteria. 1. On the Home page, click Reports from the main menu. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 15

16 2. On the Reports page, click Report Setup. 3. On the Report Setup page, click Report Cards. The Report Cards page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 4. Click the name of the report card in the Format Title column. The Report Card page displays. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 16

17 5. Click Schedule Listing. The Special Schedule Listing Options section displays on the Student Schedule Listing for Report Card: [Report Card Name] page. 6. Use the following table to enter information in the fields: Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 17

18 Field Include Only Those Classes Extended stored grade retrieval Description Select this checkbox for the students who have final grades recorded in the specified term (optional). In the space provided, enter the term(s)/store code(s), such as Q1, Q2, and Q3. This tells PowerSchool to list only classes for which there are stored grades for the term(s) listed. When a student drops a class and does not receive a final grade, the class will not appear on the report card. Select this checkbox (optional). This is helpful when a student switches from one section of a course to another section of the same course. The courses and grades appear on one row of the report rather than different lines for each section. 7. Click Submit. The Report Card page appears. How Do I Display Dropped Classes on Report Cards? Report cards display stored grades. To display dropped classes on report cards, you must store grades for dropped classes. At the end of each grading term, copy and store students current grades as historical grades. 1. On the start page, choose System from the main menu. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 18

19 2. Click Permanently Store Grades. The Permanently Store Grades page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 3. Use the following table to enter information in the fields: Field Store Code Description Use a two-digit code to indicate the term in which the students earned the grades, such as Q1 or S1. The first character must be a letter, and the second character must be a number. Note: Do not use the same store code twice in one year. The system will overwrite the grades you stored under the store code the first time with the grades you store the second time. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 19

20 Field Use this final grade Exclude and Include Enrollment Records Request that grades be stored only for a specific section Description Enter the term code from which you want to save the grades. The term code is usually the same as the store code, such as Q1 or S1. For more information on defining term codes, see the section "Final Grades Setup." You do not have to store current grades for all students. If you want to store current grades based on students' enrollment or dropped class dates, select any combination of the following checkboxes to filter the selected students: Exclude enrollment records where the student enrolled in the class after this date: Enter the date. Exclude enrollment records where the student dropped the class before this date: Enter the date. Include only enrollment records that are currently active and that were active on this date: Enter the date. To be included in the grade storing process for a class, a student must have enrolled in a class on or before the date you enter and cannot have dropped the course until or after the date. Note: If you leave the date-related fields blank, PowerSchool stores a grade for every enrollment record, including classes that students dropped during the term. Most schools enter a two-week grace period at both the beginning and end of the term. This allows for all of the add/drop procedures at the beginning of the term to be ignored in the store grades process. Also, PowerSchool does not store grades for students who enroll in your school during the last two weeks of the term. If you want to store grades for students in a specific course section only, enter the course and section numbers, separated by a period. For example, enter for Course 113, Section 04. You can do this when teachers are late in entering their final grades or when testing the process of storing grades. Store grades for one course section before you store grades for all course sections. Leave this field blank to store grades for all course sections. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 20

21 Field Percent of Credits to be awarded each term Options for classes enrolled at other schools Options for Withholding Credit Description For each term, specify the percent of possible credits each student can earn. For example, if you store grades for Q1 in a school year with four quarters, students earn 25% of the possible credits they can earn in a yearlong course. The terms listed refer to the courses, such as courses that are one year long, or courses that are one semester long. If you want to store grades and you do not want to award credit, enter 0 in these fields. Note: Be sure you define the proper amount of credits for all courses. Also, define that the appropriate grades earn graduation credit on the Gradescale page. Use the pop-up menus to indicate the options you want to apply for storing grades for classes that students take at other schools: Store grades for classes enrolled at: Select whether you want to store grades for all schools or for the selected school only. If storing for the selected school only, PowerSchool will not store grades for the other schools at which students may take classes. Record the school name of: Select which school name to use when storing grades. Select either the other school or the current school. You can determine that all students who receive a specific number of attendance points during the date range you enter do not receive credit for the course and earn an entirely different grade. For example, the student originally receives a C; however, due to excessive absences, the student receives a WC and no credit for this course. Complete the following steps: 1. Select the checkbox. 2. Enter the number of attendance points the student must have received and the date range during which he or she received them to earn the grade you enter. 3. Enter a comment in the teacher comment field if you want the original grade the student earned before counting the attendance points to appear with the comment. 4. Click Store Current Grades. The "Alert: Storing Grades" page displays the status of the storing grades process. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 21

22 Note: If you notice that you entered incorrect data after storing grades, repeat this procedure for the same store code. PowerSchool overwrites the existing grades with the new ones. Grade Point Averages How Do I Calculate GPAs? Before running a grade-related report, such as a report card, set up the correct parameters to calculate your school's grade point average. Since GPAs are calculated on-the-fly, any changes take effect immediately and affect all schools on the server. You must log on to the district office before performing this procedure. 1. On the start page, choose District from the main menu. 2. Click GPA Calculations. The GPA Settings page appears. 3. Click Calculation Methods. The GPA Calculation Methods page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 22

23 4. Click New. The GPA Calculation Method page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 23

24 5. Use the following table to enter information in the fields: Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 24

25 Field Method name Description Formula Calculation type Description Enter the name of the calculation method. This is the name that will be referred to in GPA codes on other pages in PowerSchool. Note: The standard methods Weighted and Simple cannot be renamed. Enter a description of the calculation method. This description appears on the GPA Calculation Methods page. Enter the formula for the method used to determine the result of the calculation. The formula closely resembles a formula used on a spreadsheet. Formulas can include functions, such as average, round, and sum. Use standard operators, such as + (addition) and * (multiplication), or use logical operators such as = (equal to) and > (greater than). For more information, see the section "Formulas for Calculation Methods." Choose an option from the pop-up menu: Cumulative: Uses historical grades in the calculation that match the query options specified. Current: Uses current final grades in the calculation, as determined in the School Setup area. A current calculation type uses the current final grades from PowerGrade. Terms, grade levels, and school years are ignored with this calculation type. Projected: Uses historical grades and additional grades as defined in the Projected GPA Options area of the GPA Calculation Method page. A projected calculation type uses historical grades that match the query options specified, plus additional grades determined by any Projected GPA Options. If the calculation type is specified, the type parameter of the GPA code is ignored. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 25

26 Field Grade scale Terms Grade levels Description To override the GPA points used in the calculation with a single grade scale, choose the grade scale from this pop-up menu. If a specific letter grade is not found in the grade scale, it is not used in the calculation. Ordinarily, the GPA points associated with the stored grade are used in the calculation. Typically, these are the weighted points. A single grade scale may be specified to override these GPA points with the values in the specified grade scale for this calculation. For example, a stored grade A may have 5 GPA points. That same A may only be worth 4 GPA points on the Standard grade scale. Use scales to calculate complex weighted GPAs for class ranking and honor roll applications, while maintaining a standard 4.0 scale to use on transcripts and college applications. If a grade scale is specified, the scale parameter of the GPA code is ignored. Optionally, specify one or more term abbreviations, such as Q1 or S2, to use in the calculation. Separate multiple values with commas. Only grades whose store code matches one of the term abbreviations will be included in the calculation. If the calculation type is Current, terms are ignored. If terms are specified, the term parameter of the GPA code is ignored. Optionally, specify one or more grade levels to use in the calculation. Use the numeric grade level, such as 11 for eleventh grade or 0 for kindergarten. Separate multiple values with commas. Only grades recorded when a student was at the specified grade levels will be included in the calculation. Note that only grades that fall within the historical grade levels specified in the school's record in District Setup may be specified. For example, if the historical range for the school is 9 12, specifying 8 in the GPA code will return zero. Separate multiple grade levels with commas. If omitted, the historical grade range for the school is used. If the calculation type is Current, grade levels are ignored. If grade levels are specified, the grade parameter of the GPA code is ignored. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 26

27 Field School years Credit types Description Optionally, specify one or more four-digit school years to use in the calculation. For example, enter 2003 for the school year. Separate multiple values with commas. Only grades recorded during the specified school years will be included in the calculation. School years are closely related to grade levels. As such, if the school year specified translates to a student's grade level that is outside the historical range for the school, zero will be returned. For more information, refer to the "Grade levels" field. If the calculation type is Current, school years are ignored. If school years are specified, the year parameter of the GPA code is ignored. Optionally, specify one or more credit types to use in the calculation. Separate multiple values with commas. Only grades whose credit type matches one of the types specified will be included in the calculation. In case of a current GPA, the course's credit type is used. In case of a cumulative GPA, the credit type specified for the stored grade is used if present; otherwise, the course's credit type is used, if found. If an historical grade does not have a credit type or if the calculation type is Current, the course's credit type is used. If credit types are specified, the credittype parameter of the GPA code is ignored. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 27

28 Field Only include grades Projected grades are Description Select all, none, or a combination of the following checkboxes to narrow the selection of grades used in the calculation: That count in GPA: Includes only historical grades that are specified to be included in the GPA. If the calculation type is Current, only grades from courses and sections that have been flagged to be included in GPA will be included in the calculation. That count in class rank: Includes only historical grades that are specified to be included in the class rank. If the calculation type is Current, only grades from courses and sections that have been flagged to be included in class rank will be included in the calculation. That count in honor roll: Includes only historical grades that are specified to be included in the honor roll. If the calculation type is Current, only grades from courses and sections that have been flagged to be included in honor roll will be included in the calculation. With potential credit: Includes only historical grades that have a potential credit that is not zero. If the calculation type is Current, the potential credit is determined by referring to the corresponding course record. If you deselect all of these checkboxes, all historical grades will be included in the calculation. If the calculation type is Projected, choose the type of grades used for projected GPA calculations from this pop-up menu. Projected grades are used to determine grades mid-term, such as when colleges want grades for a twelfth-grade student for admission purposes. Current final grades: Uses current final grades from PowerGrade, as determined in the School Setup area. Stored grades from this term: Enter the term abbreviation in the blank field. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 28

29 Field Do not add grade if Stored credit hours Description If the calculation type is Projected, choose the term for the grade to use in projected GPA calculations from this pop-up menu: A grade for the course exists in any term A grade for the course exists in this term: Enter the term abbreviation in the blank field. A grade will not be added to the calculation if there already exists an historical grade for the current school year with the same course number for any store code or for the specified store code. If the calculation type is Projected, choose the credit hours option used in projected GPA calculations from this pop-up menu: Use actual credit hours Get potential credit from course If projected grades are historical grades, specify whether to use the actual potential and earned credit stored with the grade or to use the potential credit hours from the corresponding course. Note: When using projected GPA options, most schools will set the last three options as: "Projected grades are stored grades from this [specified] term;" "Do not add grade if a grade for this course exists in any term;" and "Stored credit hours use the course's potential credit hours." 6. Click Submit. The GPA Calculation Methods page displays the new method. Why Are Some GPAs Calculated Incorrectly? When calculating GPAs, check your school s calculation methods. Also check the grade scale that the course is set to, the grade scale the section is set to, the grade scale itself, and the historical grades. GPA Calculation Method Verify that the method for calculating your school s grade point average is set up correctly. You must log on to the district office before performing this procedure. 1. On the start page, choose District from the main menu. 2. Click GPA Calculations. The GPA Settings page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 29

30 3. Click Calculation Methods. The GPA Calculation Methods page appears. 4. Click the name of the calculation method used. The GPA Calculation Method page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 30

31 5. Modify the GPA Calculation Method information. See the section "How to Add GPA Calculation Methods" to enter information in the fields. 6. Click Submit. The GPA Calculation Methods page displays the edited method. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 31

32 Course Grade Scale Frequently Asked Questions Check the grade scale for the course. Before performing this procedure, log on to PowerSchool and change to the proper school. 1. On the start page, choose School from the main menu. 2. On the School Setup page, click Courses. A list of current courses appears in the courses menu. 3. Click the name of the course to which you want to assign a grade scale. The Edit Course page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 32

33 4. Make sure the correct grade scale is selected from the Grade Scale pull-down menu. If not, select the correct grade scale and continue to step Choose the grade scale from the Grade Scale pop-up menu. 6. Click Submit. The Courses page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 33

34 Section Grade Scale Frequently Asked Questions Check the grade scale for the section. Before performing this procedure, log on to PowerSchool, change to the proper school, and select the year mode. 1. On the start page, choose School from the main menu. 2. On the School Setup page, click Sections. 3. Choose the course name from the courses menu. The course information page appears. 4. Click either the period or the section number in the Per and Sec# columns. The Edit Section page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 34

35 5. Make sure the correct grade scale is selected from the Grade Scale pull-down menu. If not, select the correct grade scale and continue to step Click Submit. The course information page displays the edited section. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 35

36 7. Repeat steps 4-6, if any other sections are listed. Grade Scale Check the grade scale. Before performing this procedure, log on to PowerSchool, change to the district, and select the year mode. You must log on to the district office before performing this procedure. 1. On the start page, choose School from the main menu. 2. Click Grade Scales. The Grade Scales page appears. 3. Click Edit Scale next to the name of the grade scale to be edited. The Grade Scale: [grade scale] page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 36

37 4. Make sure that the grades are set to count in the GPA and have some GPA points specified. If not, click the grade to enter a value in the Grade Points field and to select the Counts in GPA? checkbox. 5. Click Submit. 6. Click Back on your Web browser. The Grade Scales page displays. 7. Repeat steps 3-6 for any other actively used grade scale. Historical Grades Check the historical grades. Before performing this procedure, log on to PowerSchool and change to the proper school. 1. On the start page, search for and select the student. 2. Choose Historical Grades from the student pages menu. The Historical Grades page appears. For each course in which the student earned a grade, the page displays the following: Year and store code of the term in which the student enrolled in the course Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 37

38 Student s grade level at the time he or she enrolled in the course Course name Number of possible credit hours the student can earn in the course Historical grade the student earned in each grading term Note: The Normal View page displays only the grades the student received during the grade levels of the current school. 3. Click Detail View to view expanded information and the grades the student received at other grade levels. The Complete Academic Record Detail View page appears. Note: The Complete Academic Record Detail View page displays all of the student s historical grades in PowerSchool. The Detail View page is not specific to the grade levels at this school. In addition to the information on the Historical Grades page, this page displays the following detailed credit information: Number of credit hours the student earned in each course Potential credit hours the student could earn in each course If the course is included in a graduation requirement and the credits the student earned count towards the requirement If the grade in the course is included in the student s GPA calculation If the grade in the course is included in the class rank calculation If the grade in the course is included in the honor roll calculation Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 38

39 If the credits in the course count towards a graduation requirement based on credit type Note: Your school can create credit types to group courses together to fill a graduation requirement. Assign credit types to courses or final grades and then specify that a requirement be filled by any courses or grades of that credit type. For example, you specify that any two courses with the ALGEBRA credit type fulfill a math requirement 4. Click Normal View to return to the Historical Grade page. The Historical Grades page (Normal View) reappears. If you have proper access, see the PowerSchool Help section "Historical Grades Setup" to create or edit historical grades. 4D Tools How Do I Run 4D Tools and Repair a Damaged Data File? When your PowerSchool data file becomes damaged, you will need to run 4D tools. There are two versions of 4D Tools. One is for the PowerSchool server. PowerSchool recommends that you run this tool under the direction of PowerSchool Technical Support. Be sure to first back up your data file. The other version is for PowerGrade itself. 4D Tools for PowerSchool Server To access 4D Tools, you will need to access the PowerSchool server where the program is automatically downloaded to the computer. Note: Running 4D Tools creates a log file called journal.txt in the same directory as the data file. The log file contains essentially the same information that appears in the 4D Tools dialog boxes when running 4D tools. 1. Backup your data file before running 4D tools. 2. On your server, navigate to PowerSchool > System > Tools. 3. Start 4D Tools application. 4. In the dialog box, choose Custom Document (Mac) or Compiled Database (Windows) from the pop-up menu. 5. Select the PowerSchool application. Press and hold ALT while clicking Open. 6. Select the PowerSchool data file. If a screen appears indicating that there is a damaged data file, select Other. Do not select Repair. 7. Click the Maintain tab. 8. Choose Check All. If 4D Tools indicates damage, click the Repair tab and click Repair All. If the progress bar moves backwards during the Check All or Repair All processes, the function Recover by Tags must occur. This function completes automatically when you choose the Repair All option. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 39

40 Note: When conducting a Recover by Tags operation, there is a potential for data loss. If that occurs, verification should be performed immediately by the PowerSchool system administrator. 9. Replace the damaged data file with the repaired data file. 10. Restart PowerSchool. 4D Tools for PowerGrade The PowerGrade 4D Tools are not automatically downloaded to your computer, but you can download them from: Select the appropriate version of 4D Tools, depending on which version of PowerGrade you use. If you try to run a version of 4D tools that is not compatible with the PowerGrade data file, an error message indicates that the database has been made with a different version of 4D. Note: Running 4D Tools creates a log file called journal.txt in the same directory as the data file. The log file contains essentially the same information that appears in the 4D Tools dialog boxes when running 4D tools. The following instructions are for PowerGrade 4.1 or higher for Mac OS X, Mac, and Windows. The PowerGrade files may be in various locations depending on where and how PowerGrade was installed. If you do not know where your files are, contact your PowerSchool administrator. PowerGrade for Mac OS X The 4D Tools installation files for PowerGrade v4.1 or higher for Mac OS X are shipped as "packages with the file extension ".app." The 4D executable exists inside the package, several levels down that particular type of file folder. 4D Tools does not automatically navigate down to that level. 1. Control + click or right-click the.app file. 2. Choose Show Package Contents. 3. Navigate to the PowerGrade executable file. 4. Move the PowerGrade executable file to a location that 4D Tools can find, such as your hard drive. 5. Backup your data file before running 4D tools. 6. Install 4D Tools on the user s computer. 7. Double-click the 4D_Tools icon. 8. Change the Files of type pop-up menu to Custom Document in the Open dialog box. 9. Find and select the PowerGrade application file. Note: If the system cannot find your data file, an Open dialog box displays after you click Open. Select your [filename].data file. 10. Click Open. The 4D tools dialog box appears. If a screen appears indicating that there is a damaged data file, select Other. Do not select Repair. 11. Click the Maintain tab. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 40

41 12. Choose Check All. If 4D Tools indicates damage, click the Repair tab and click Repair All. If the progress bar moves backwards during the Check All or Repair All processes, the function Recover by Tags must occur. This function completes automatically when you choose the Repair All option. Note: When conducting a Recover by Tags operation, there is a potential for data loss. If that occurs, verification should be performed immediately by the PowerSchool system administrator. 13. Replace the damaged data file with the repaired data file. 14. Restart PowerGrade using the repaired data file. 15. Move the PowerGrade executable back to its location prior to step 4. PowerGrade for Mac 1. Backup your data file before running 4D tools. 2. Install 4D Tools on the user s computer. 3. Double-click the 4D_Tools icon. 4. Change the Files of type pop-up menu to Custom Document in the Open dialog box. 5. Find and select the PowerGrade application file. Note: If the system cannot find your data file, an Open dialog box appears after you click Open. Select your [filename].data file. 6. Click Open. The 4D tools dialog box appears. If a screen appears indicating that there is a damaged data file, select Other. Do not select Repair. 7. Click the Maintain tab. 8. Choose Check All. If 4D Tools indicates damage, click the Repair tab and click Repair All. If the progress bar moves backwards during the Check All or Repair All processes, the function Recover by Tags must occur. This function completes automatically when you choose the Repair All option. Note: When conducting a Recover by Tags operation, there is a potential for data loss. If that occurs, verification should be performed immediately by the PowerSchool system administrator. 9. Replace the damaged data file with the repaired data file. 10. Restart PowerGrade using the repaired data file. PowerGrade for Windows 1. Backup your data file before running 4D tools. 2. Install 4D Tools on the user s computer. 3. Double-click the 4D Tools icon. 4. Change the Files of type pop-up menu to Compiled Database in the Open dialog box. 5. Find and select the [filename].4dc file in the Open dialog box. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 41

42 Note: If the system cannot find your data file, an Open dialog box appears after you click Open. Select your [filename].4dd file. 6. Click Open. The 4D tools dialog box appears. If a screen appears indicating that there is a damaged data file, select Other. Do not select Repair. 7. Click the Maintain tab. 8. Choose Check All. If 4D Tools indicates damage, click the Repair tab and click Repair All. If the progress bar moves backwards during the Check All or Repair All processes, the function Recover by Tags must occur. This function completes automatically when you choose the Repair All option. Note: When conducting a Recover by Tags operation, there is a potential for data loss. If that occurs, verification should be performed immediately by the PowerSchool system administrator. 9. Replace the damaged data file with the repaired data file. 10. Restart PowerGrade using the repaired data file. What Does the Message An Interruption Occurred Mean? If you receive the message An Interruption Occurred, you need to run the 4D Tools. The full error is, "An interruption occurred while flushing to disk. Run 4D Tools to see if the database is okay." For instructions on how to run 4D Tools, refer to the section How Do I Run 4D Tools? Average Daily Attendance and Membership How Do I Correct ADA/ADM Results? To change ADA/ADM results, set up attendance conversion values and set your school year to either positive or negative attendance. Set up attendance conversions to calculate attendance based on the number of periods a student is absent. For example, a student receives only a half-day of attendance credit if he or she is absent for two to four periods, and receives no credit if absent for five or more periods. After creating attendance conversions, set up attendance conversion items. Then, indicate whether your school uses positive or negative attendance. 1. On the start page, choose School from the main menu. 2. Click Attendance Conversion. The Attendance Conversions page appears. 3. Click New. The New Attendance Conversion page appears. 4. Enter a name for the attendance conversion. 5. Click Submit. The Attendance Conversions page displays the new attendance conversion. 6. On the Attendance Conversions page, click Edit Conversion Items. The Attendance Conversion Items: [attendance conversion name] page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 42

43 7. Click New to create an attendance conversion item. For each conversion item, define the number of periods in which the student must be present in order to receive the number of points you define 8. Use the following table to enter information in the fields: Field If Absent this many periods in a day (or more) Membership Percentage (decimals allowed) Comments Description Choose from the pop-up menu the minimum number of periods a student must be absent to earn the number of attendance points specified in the next field. For example, choose 5 to define that students who are absent five or more periods in a school day receive the points entered in the next field. Enter the number of attendance points students receive if they are absent, based on the number of periods you chose in the previous field. For example, if students are counted as absent for the entire day if they are absent for five or more periods, choose 5 in the previous field and enter 0 in this field. Enter any comments that are relevant to this attendance conversion item. 9. Click Submit. The new attendance conversion item appears on the Attendance Conversion Items: Default page. 10. Create additional new attendance conversion items as necessary. 11. Click School Setup in the navigation path. The School Setup page appears. 12. Click Years & Terms. The Years & Terms page appears. 13. Click the year of the school year to be edited. The Edit School Year page appears. 14. From the Calculate Daily Attendance Using pop-up menu, select Positive Attendance if your school calculates daily attendance using the number of periods a student is present. For example, if a student is present four out of seven periods, he or she is present. Select Negative Attendance if your school calculates daily attendance using the number of periods a student is absent. For example, if a student is absent five out of seven periods, he or she is absent. 15. Click Submit. The Years & Terms page appears. What Factors Can Affect ADA/ADM Results? The membership reports use Daily Attendance to generate average daily attendance and average daily membership numbers that depend on the number of days a student has membership and has attended school. The daily attendance values are determined based on the number of minutes a student attends school. The system internally calculates and determines the total number of minutes available for the given schedule type and determines the number of minutes a student attends school. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 43

44 Factors that affect ADA/ADM results include whether the system calculates positive or negative attendance, whether the section is excluded from ADA/ADM attendance, and how the attendance conversion values are defined. PowerGrade Backups How Do I Retrieve a PowerGrade Backup? The backups are stored on your PowerSchool server in a folder named PowerGrade Backups. To retrieve a backup file, select Retrieve Last Backup from the File menu in PowerGrade. How Do I Make a PowerGrade Backup? The easiest way to back up your data is to select Make Backup from the File menu in PowerGrade. This command sends a copy of your data file to the PowerSchool server. The PowerSchool server generally stores the last five backups you made. Note that making a backup to the PowerSchool server is different than just saving your work. A backup to the PowerSchool server saves not only the grades and assignments, but also items such as customized settings, preferences, and notes. If your computer crashes, retrieve students grades from the PowerSchool server. However, if you do not make a backup of your data file, all the personalized settings are lost. Alternatively, make a copy of your PowerSchool data file on your computer for use as a backup. The extension on an Apple data file is.data. The extension on a PC data file is.4dd. To make a backup, copy your PowerGrade data file to another location: the PowerSchool server, a network server, an external disk, or any combination of these places. It is a good idea to keep several backups; you might want to use both of the above methods to back up your data file after every PowerGrade session. If you are not sure how to make a backup or which is your data file, contact your PowerSchool administrator. How Does a PowerGrade Backup Differ from Saving in PowerGrade? Saving in PowerGrade saves items such as grades and assignments. A backup to the PowerSchool server saves not only the grades and assignments, but also items such as customized settings, preferences, and notes. PowerGrade How Do I Set Up Final Grades? In PowerGrade, a final grade is any grade that is based on added or averaged scores. Since PowerGrade immediately processes any score you enter, a student can get his or her final grade at any time during the term, even if you have only entered one assignment in PowerGrade. When administrators, parents, or students log on to the PowerSchool server, they can view students current final grades. Final grades display on the left side of the spreadsheet. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 44

45 If you do not weight final grades, then you do not need to complete the following instructions. Continue if you want particular categories or terms to be weighted more than others. It is important to set up weighting at the beginning of the term, and to use care when doing so. Note: Set up all terms at the beginning of the year to prepare for the remainder of the year. If you make an error in weighting or if you do not complete the setup at the beginning of the term, the final grade may not accurately reflect your students work. 1. Choose an available class from the Classes menu. The class page for the selected class appears. 2. Choose Windows > Final Grades Setup. The Final Grades Setup page appears. 3. Select the final grade term from the Which final Grade pop-up menu. Note: Your PowerSchool administrator sets the name of the term and its start and end dates. You cannot edit the data in this field. 4. Select the Show on spreadsheet checkbox if you want the final grades for the selected term to appear on the spreadsheet. 5. Select the factor type from the pop-up menu. If you select Total points, skip to step 10. If you choose any other factor type, continue with the next step. 6. Select the appropriate category, assignment, or term from the dialog box. 7. Click OK. 8. Enter the number of low scores to drop if you select a category and want to drop any low scores from the category assignments. This option is not available for other factor types. 9. Enter the (percentage) weight for the factor type in the final grade. The Total weight at the bottom of the list changes with each number you enter. 10. Click + to add another factor. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 45

46 11. Repeat steps 5-10 to set up additional factors. 12. Select the row, and click - to delete a factor. 13. Repeat step 12 to delete other factors. 14. Click Accept. The spreadsheet appears, and any grades already entered have been recalculated to reflect the weighting. Note: If you have weighted the factors and their sum does not equal 100%, an error message appears. Click OK to return to the Final Grades Setup dialog and adjust the weights. How Do I Include a Midterm Exam in Final Grades? In PowerGrade, tests are assignments that are included in the final grade score. Create a tests category, and assign a test to that category when creating an assignment. In a grading structure that includes 20% homework, 40% class work, 25% tests, 5% midterm, and 10% final exam, create four categories: homework, class work, tests, and term tests. In this example, assign a midterm to the category term tests. It is important to include midterm or other special exams in a category other than the category that includes regular tests to avoid counting an exam twice. 1. Choose an available class from the Classes menu. The class page for the selected class appears. 2. Choose Windows > Assignments (or click the Assignments icon). The Assignments page appears. Frequently Asked Questions 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. 46