Grade Columns

Grade columns are what you allow teachers to record during a Marking Period period, whether they are comments or traditional grades. If Marking Periods are like buckets, then Grade Columns are like the contents of those buckets.

Tip: For a tutorial on setting up grading at your school, see The Guide to Grading Setup.

  1. From the persona menu, select Academics.

  2. Select Grades then choose Grading setup.

  3. Select Grade columns.

  4. Select the Add (+) button

  5. Enter a Description

    Tip: Name Grade Columns based on the term and the intent of the grade. Examples include: Q1 Progress, Tri1 Report, Semester 1 Term Grade.

  6. Set the Status to Active

  7. Select Save & Close, or select Save and Add Another to repeat steps 1-5 and add an additional Grade Column.

Here are some important definitions to know during grading setup:

  • Grade Translations are grades (such as A, B, C, D, or F) and the criteria associated with them for use in GPA calculations.

  • Grade Categories determine how Grade Translations appear on report cards. They are linked to courses through Marking Periods. You should create a Grade Category for each Grade Translation table.

  • Marking Periods (formerly Grade Plans) are the periods during an academic year when grades are recorded. They are time-sensitive buckets that teachers drop grades into. Marking periods are added to Grade Groups.

  • Grade Columns (formerly Grade Plan Grades) are what you allow teachers to record during a Marking Period, whether they are comments or traditional grades. If Marking Periods are buckets, then Grade Columns are the contents of those buckets.

  • Grade Groups (formerly Grade Plan Groups) are used to link courses with Marking Periods. There are two types of Grade Groups: Traditional or Skills-Based.

  • Grade Calculations use student grades to generate Grade Point Averages, academic performance awards, and class rankings.

  • Transcript Categories determine how courses are grouped together on a transcript.

  • Traditional Grading (formerly Standard Grading) uses letter grades or percentages to summarize a student's overall performance in a course and grades are used to calculate GPAs.

  • Skills-Based Grading (formerly Assessment Grading) evaluates how well a student has mastered specific skills or learning standards. Instead of an overall course grade, it shows progress on each skill to provide clear insight into a student's strengths and areas for growth.