The Guide to Grading Setup

Manager Edition

• Introduction

  This guide explores the steps required to prepare grades for an upcoming school year.

  Schools may not follow every single step in this guide as strictly as others depending on their grading structures. For example, if a school does not use numeric, percent-based grades, and instead opts for a more skill-focused system, then they will need only part of this guide. It is still suggested you read through each piece in a linear manner to ensure the relationship between each area is understood.

  Upon this guide's completion, the user should be equipped to establish grades and confidently make decisions regarding that process going forward.

  Note: Always work alongside your Blackbaud Software Consultant before making drastic changes to your grading setup if you are unsure of the results.

• Establishing a Grading Foundation

  Grade Translations

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Grade translations

  Grade Translations are grades (A+, B+, C, D, etc.) and the criteria associated with each grade for use in GPA calculations.

  If your school does not use GPA calculations or a numeric grading schema, then Grade Translations can be used to describe skills (e.g., Exemplary, Satisfactory, Improving).

  Courses rely on Grade Translations to determine what grade options are available and what those grade options equate to.

  Grade Translations are tied to Grade Categories and allow grading managers to determine whether a teacher records a raw score or sees a Grade label. They also determine whether the raw score or grade label appears on the report card and transcripts.

  Grade Translations are largely comprised of the following parts:

  

  Grade Labels associate grade values with a letter or abbreviation. Grade Labels or Abbreviations can appear on report cards and transcripts in place of a numeric grade.

  

  When a student's grade average for a course falls within a specified range, then they can be awarded the respective grade. Otherwise, a teacher must select the Grade Label.

  

  When a grade is awarded, both GPA Equivalent values can be used in a GPA calculation formula.

  Standard Translations

  Standard Grade Translations define the scores achieved by your students for use in GPA calculations, whether credit is awarded, and visually represent them on report cards and transcripts.

  If your school offers courses that require different grading scales (e.g., Honors, AP), then you only need one Grade Translation table if the GPA Equivalent trend is consistent between grades.

  If your school weights certain classes when calculating the GPA, the weight can either be applied at the course level if it's consistent across the board (e.g., AP classes get a GPA bump of 1 point and honors classes get a bump of .5 points) or at the translation level if it is not consistent (I.e. AP classes get a bump of 1.0 as long as a student earns a C or above). In the latter scenario, create a Grade Translation for each scaling difference.

  

  Assessment Translations

  

  Grade Translations apply to non-numeric grades and accommodate for skill-focused grading needs typical of Lower or Elementary school levels.

  Grade Labels, in this instance, are phrases that can be associated with skills to define student performance.

  Create an Assessment Grade Translation table for each unique instance of grading requirements. If different Assessment courses require different sets of Grade Labels to describe the grade, then create a Grade Translation table for each instance.

  Alternate Grades

  There may be instances where a student withdraws from a course and is unable to complete it. In these instances, your school may deem it inappropriate to assign a grade point calculation value to a grade.

  Add Alternate Grades to existing Standard or Assessment-focused Grade Translation tables. By doing so, a teacher will be able to easily select W (for Withdraw) or ML (for Medical Leave) when recording grades.

  Alternate Grades are best used if teachers record letter grades and display letter grades on report cards.

  

  Read More about Grade Translations

  Grade Categories

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Grade categories

  Grade Categories determine how Grade Translations appear on report cards. In addition, they allow teachers to add comments to a progress report or report card.

  Grade Categories are linked to courses through Grade Plans, and thus the Grade Plan Group containing the Grade Plan.

  Create a Grade Category for each Grade Translation table. There should be a 1:1 relationship between Grade Translation tables and Grade Categories.

  For Grades

  • To display a letter grade (e.g., A, B, C) or assessment grade label (e.g., +, -) on the report card:
    

    Enable Translate Score on Output. Otherwise, the Numeric Equivalent (or Max if there is no Numeric Equivalent) appears. If BOTH Input and Output options are off, then the raw grade appears on report cards.

  For Assessment Grading, the Abbrevation will appear instead of the Grade label.

  • To have teachers access a drop-down consisting of Grade Labels when recording grades:
    

    Enable Translate Score on Input. Otherwise, they will enter a numeric grade.

    Selecting this option will allow teachers to select Alternate Grades for students when they submit recorded grades at the end of a grading period.

  

  For Comments

  

  Grade Categories collect comments from teachers. Comments can appear on report cards. Comment Grade Categories do not need a translation table associated with them.

  Create one Grade Category called Comments if you record comments; the Comments Grade Category can be used across multiple Grade Plans.

  If your teachers copy and paste comments, then ensure Plain Text is selected for Comment Editor.

  Read More about Grade Categories

  Transcript Categories

  Academics > Grades > Transcripts setup > Transcript categories

  Transcript Categories take courses grouped by a common factor, and then use those categories to determine how they are arranged on a transcript.

  Visual Arts, World Languages, English, and History are examples of categories you will place courses in.

  Transcript Categories also allow for credit calculation for a certain subject (e.g., how many English credits does a student have?). 9 total categories can fit on a transcript.

  Create a Transcript Category for each course category.

  Transcript Categories also determine the order in which courses appear on transcripts, and on hybrid and standard report cards.

  Read More about Transcript Categories

  

• Assessment Setup

  Assessment Grading Periods

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Assessment grading periods

  The Assessment Grading Period is the link between the grades you record in courses and the report card itself. When creating an Assessment Report Card, you will specify an Assessment Grading Period to draw data from.

  Create an Assessment Grading Period for each instance during the semester where Assessment report cards are issued; if you issue Assessment Report Cards once a quarter, and you have four quarters in a school year, then create four Assessment Grading Periods

  

  However, if you have Assessment Report Cards with different header and footer text (for example, if Grade 1 and Grade 2 use different Grade Translations, resulting in different headers), then you will need an Assessment Grading Period for each instance.

  Additionally, if your school wants to include Q1 grades, but not Q1 comments on their Q2 report cards, then you will need to create both a Q1 and Q1 comment Assessment Grading Period.

  Assessment Report Cards contrast with Standard Report Cards in that they are used to display skill-focused grades, and not numeric-focused grades.

  Assessment Grading Periods are tied to Grade Plans, which are explored in a later step. Grade Plans allow you to determine the periods when grades are recorded and the specific grades you are capturing.

  Read More about Assessment Grading Periods

  Assessment Skills

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Assessment skills

  Assessment Skills are qualitative methods of assessing a student. Each Assessment Skill is a phrase to describe an area of potential growth.

  Consider the following examples of Assessment Skills:

  Social Skills

  • Abides by classroom rules
  • Collaborates with students on group projects
  • Considerate of others

  Literature Skills

  • Identifies critical themes
  • Articulates thoughts coherently
  • Clearly reads aloud in class

  Fitness/PE Skills

  • Cardiovascular Endurance
  • Cooperates in team activities
  • Reached Fitness Goals

  
  
  

  Assessment Skills can be used on multiple Grade Plans; Grading setup > Assessment skills is a master list of all of the skills for all grade plans at the school (regardless of school level/grade).

  Create Assessment Skills to describe every skill-based metric required from your courses.

  Read More about Assessment Skills

• Setting up Your School Year

  Now we need to set up the periods throughout your school year where grading takes place. By this point you must consider the following organizational questions:

  • How many times per year do teachers grade?

  • During each grading period, will I need progress reports? A report card?

  • At what point in the semester will grades be used to award credit?

  • What types of information should I be collecting for each grading period? Do I collect only grades, or do I want teacher comments, too?

  
  

  These questions are explored across the following areas:

  Grade Plan Groups

  Grade Plan Groups are used to link courses with grade plans. A grade plan group can contain several grade plans. Grade plan groups must either be defined as standard (typically used for letter/effort grades and comments) or assessment (typically used for skill-based grading and comments). Each class can be attached to one standard grade plan and one assessment grade plan if your school uses a hybrid report card.

  Create Grade Plan Groups based on the needs of courses. For example, if a set of courses requires a different grading scale than a standard set (e.g. AP/Honors), you will need to create Grade Plan Groups to accommodate each course type.

  Create Grade Plan Groups

  Grade Plans

  Grade Plans are the periods during a school year where grading takes place. They are effectively time-sensitive buckets that teachers drop grades into.

  Create a Grade Plan for each period when you want teachers to record grades specific to a term. Examples of grading periods could be Q1 Report Card, Q1 Progress Report, Tri 2 Report Card, and so forth.

  Create Grade Plans

  Grade Plan Grades

  Grade Plan Grades are what you allow teachers to record for that period, whether that be a comment or a standard grade. If Grade Plans are akin to buckets, then Grade Plan Grades are the contents of those buckets.

  Grade Plan Grades are linked to your Grade Categories and, therefore, your Grade Translations are added to report cards and transcripts.

  Create Grade Plan Grades

  Grade Plan Groups: Assessment vs Standard

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Grade plan groups

  There are two categories of Grade Plan Groups: Assessment and Standard. Each type has a different purpose for associating a different set of information with a course. Grade Plan Groups are unique to School Level; you cannot associate a Middle School Grade Plan Group with Upper School courses.

  Standard

  Used to associate letter, numeric-based grades with a course. Only Standard Grade Plan Groups will contribute to GPA calculation. Linked with standard, AP, and honors courses.

  Assessment

  Used to associate Assessment Skills (i.e. Working with others) with Grade Translations. Does not contribute to GPA calculation. Linked, often, with Lower School courses.

  Creating Grade Plan Groups (Standard)

  Create a Grade Plan Group for each instance where a course requires unique grading parameters. For example, if all your Upper School courses use the same Grade Translation table for determining letter grades, then create one Grade Plan Group.

  • If you have Elementary or Middle School level courses, then create Grade Plan Groups for each School Level.

  • If you offer courses that operate on a different grading scale (AP, Honors, University of California GPA calculations), then create a Grade Plan Group to accommodate for these types.

  • If your school records Final Grades, and offers both single-term and multi-term courses, then create Grade Plan Groups for both Multi-term and Single Term courses.

  For example, if you offered Honors and Standard courses, and each of those course types use a different Grade Translation table, and are segmented into Multi-term and Single-term courses, then you would need 4 Standard Grade Plan Groups: Single-term Honors, Single-Term Standard, Multi-term Honors, Multi-term Standard.

  Read More about Grade Plan Groups

  

  Creating Grade Plan Groups (Assessment)

  

  Create a Grade Plan Group for each instance where a course requires unique grading parameters.

  • For example, Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 in your Elementary School may be graded on a different set of skills than one another. As such, you would create four Assessment Grade Plan Groups (one for each grade level).

  • In addition, you may create Grade Plan Groups for each subject area within a grade. If Grade 1 has different types of courses that require different sets of skills, then create a Grade Plan Group for each of these areas. For example, Grade 1 Visual Arts might differ from Grade 1 Music and require Grade Plan Groups with Assessment Skills matched with each of those areas.

  Read More about Grade Plan Groups

  Grade Plans: Your Grading Periods

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Grade plans

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > School year setup

  Create a Grade Plan for each period when grading occurs.

  For example, assume you have two semesters throughout your school year. During those two semesters, you may have four quarters. Within those four quarters, you may record grades for a progress report and then a report card.

  
  

  To follow the above example, we would need 8 Grade Plans added to the Grade Plan Group where grades are collected.

  The Grade Plans for Semester Term 1 and 2 can be created to calculate the End of Term grade, which is the appropriation of credits and the calculation of GPAs based on grades within that term.

  Read More about Grade Plans

  

  
  
  

  Grade Plan Grades: The Information You Collect

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Grade plan grades

  

  Grade Plan Grades are the links to the Grade Categories/Translation you created. Grade Plan Grades are what teachers record – both grades and comments. Grade Plan Grades are tied back to the Grade Categories created earlier in the setup.

  Grade Plan Grades are added directly into Grade Plans. The Grade Plan determines when a teacher has access to recording grades, and the Grade Plan Grade determines what exactly is being recorded.

  Read More about Grade Plan Grades

  
  

  Grade Plan Grade Formulas

  Grade Plan Grades can pull from other Grade Plan Grades when calculating a grade. For example, if a teacher records a numeric final exam grade in the Grade Plan, that grade can be factored into the final grade calculation.

  Additionally, Grade Plan Grades can draw from the Grade Book Cumulative of each course. This allows teachers to neatly and uniformly apply grades based on a formula determined by the Grading Manager.

  For example, if final exams count as 20% of the semester grade, you can add the final exam as a numeric Grade Plan Grade and create a formula which pulls 80% from the grade book cumulative and 20% from the exam grade. If some teachers do not give a final exam, you can make the exam grade optional in the Grade Plan and the formula will ignore the grade if it is blank — leaving 100% of the semester grade pulling from the grade book. If some departments or teachers use different formulas when calculating the semester exam, you can add multiple formulas to account for those differences. You might end up with a formula that factors in the exam grade as 15% or 25%. If a Grading Manager does not enter a formula, teachers will be able to create their own formulas. If a Grading Manager does enter a formula, teachers will not be able to create their own formulas.

  Create Grade Plan Grade Formulas

  

  End of Term and Final Grades

  Grade Plan Grades can either be marked as End of Term or Final in Grade Plans that have End of Term enabled. All schools will use Term Grades if credit is awarded.

  For schools that record Final Grades:

  • Single-term course credits are calculated using term grades.

  • Multi-term course credits are calculated using term grades.

  • The credit for term grades can be used to calculate a GPA using the final grade instead of term grades.

  • Credits will not display on a transcript until the Final grade is recorded

  For schools that do not record Final Grades, the End of Term grade is still when both single and multi-term courses calculate and award credits.

  Assessment Skills

  Assessment Skills are what Assessment Grade Plans rely on to determine what skills are associated with courses. They are structured in the same manner as Grade Plan Grades in that they rely on Grade Categories to determine what grading scale is associated with each skill, and that Comment Grade Categories are also required to add comments.

  However, when you add an Assessment Skill to a Grade Plan, you assign it to a category; an assessment category contains a similar set of skills for organization purposes when recording grades and when added to report cards. If you create report cards that draw from two grade plans — effectively two grading periods — then the Sort Order of each skill determines how it will appear on the report card.

  You can add an Assessment Category for comments and allow teachers to record comments for the marking period. Add a Comment Grade Category to each Assessment Skill group as needed.

  Learn More about Assessment Skills

  

• GPAs, Ranks, and Academic Performance

  Creating Grade Averages

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Calculations > Grade averages

  Creating GPAs is a multistep process.

  Think of the process as revolving around these three components:

  Create Your GPA Formulas

  

  A formula is an equation used to calculate grade point averages. The formula draws data from several different areas to perform this calculation.

  Pull From Grade Plans

  

  Courses that are placed within the Grade Plans that you associate your GPA calculation with will follow that formula.

  Determine GPA Types

  

  Select which GPAs you wish to calculate. These options can appear on report cards and transcripts.

  Note: A formula can be reused each academic year; this is accomplished by associating the new school year's Grade Plans in the formula.

  Step 1: Formula

  The Formula is the equation used to calculate students' grade point averages.

  Create a formula that follows your criteria for calculating grade averages, noting the following:

  • GPA Equivalent 1 & 2
    relate to the value of the fields belonging to the Grade Translation table of the recorded Grade Plan Grade.

  • Weight & Alt Weight
    set at the course level provide an overall bump to the GPA Equivalent.

  • Grade draws from the Numeric Equivalent of a grade in a corresponding Grade Translation table.

  Create as many formulas as needed to match your school's needs, such as having them for Quarters, Mid-Year Cumulative, Final GPAs, and so forth. You may also need separate formulas for weighted and unweighted calculations, and term and final. Additional formulas might be needed for academic performance and honor rolls.

  

  Step 2: School Years

  Select the School Years you want to include in the GPA calculation. If you want final transfer grades to be included, check the include transfer grades checkbox.

  

  Step 3: Grade Plans

  If your Grade Plan Groups are not differentiated by term (for example, multi-term and single-term Grade Plan Groups), then simply select the Grade Plan to be used in determining the GPA for both the Multi-term courses and single-term courses columns. If you'd like to include term transfer grades check the box for Include term transfer grades.

  

  If you follow a Final Grade setup and have courses that are segmented into Multi-term and Single-term Grade Plan Groups, then you must ensure that you only select a Grade Plan within the corresponding column.

  For example, in the row containing your Multi-term Grade Plan Group, under the Multi-term courses column, select the Grade Plan that contains your Final Grades. Repeat the same steps, but for your Single-term Grade Plan Group next.

  Read More about GPA Calculation Formulas

  

  Step 4: Types

  Each Type selection will determine what calculates from your formula. Term GPA and Year to Date GPA can both appear on a report card. Cumulative (GPAs across multiple years) and Term GPAs can appear on transcripts.

  

  Step 5: Excluded Courses

  Excluded Courses are courses that are not included in GPA calculations. Study halls and Homerooms, for example, might fit into this category.

  Courses do not need to be excluded if they are not in a Grade Plan selected in the previous step.

  

  Ranks & Academic Performance

  Ranks & Academic Performance rely on the formulas that you have established to determine how students rank against one another and if a student is deserving of additional accolades due to excellent performance.

  Note: Ranks can appear on transcripts, and Academic Performance (ex. Honor Roll) can appear on report cards and transcripts.

  Ranks

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Calculations > Rank

  

  Ranks use either the Cumulative, Term, or Year to Date value calculated using a specified GPA calculation formula to display information on a transcript.

  Final grade schools need different grade average formulas for mid-year versus end-of-year, often because the Semester 1 grade for year-long courses should be counted in the cumulative grade at the mid-year, but only the final at the end of the year.

  Academic Performance

  Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Calculations > Academic performance

  Step 1:

  Academic Performance can be used to compare students' grade averages against a metric you define. The outcome can range anywhere from a list of Probation-ranked students to assessing Honor Roll worthiness.

  You can associate similar Academic Performance measurements with one another. For example, President's List and Honor Roll can be subcategories within the same category because they similarly reward success.

  The priority will determine which Academic Performance measurement is used if a student meets more than one requirement. In this example, a student would receive the Principal’s List designation if they met that requirement because of its higher priority.

  

  Step 2:

  Each subcategory must be assigned a means for comparing the GPA with a standard. Select the threshold that should be reached by the student to achieve the academic performance designation.

  In this example, Principal's List is set to a higher threshold requirement. If a student meets that threshold, and because Principal's list has the higher priority, the student will appear on the Principal's List and not the Honor Roll.

  

  Read More about Academic Performance

• Linking Courses to Grades

  Academics > Scheduling > Requests and schedules > Departments & courses > Edit course > Grading

  Linking courses involves associating the Grade Plan Group containing your School Year Setup with a course. Once a course is linked to a Grade Plan Group, teachers will be able to record what has been specified in the Grade Plan that is currently active.

  Step 1: Link Grade Plan Group

  Begin by selecting the Grade Plan Group that contains the Grade Plans, and therefore Grade Plan Grades, that are specific to this course.

  You can associate a course with one Standard and one Assessment Grade Plan Group, allowing for two unique report card representations of performance.

  

  Step 2: Credit Worth

  Determine how many credits should be awarded for completion of a course.

  If a course is year-long, and therefore spans more than one term, toggle Specify Credit Awarded per Term to award partial credit only if a different credit amount should be awarded each term. Credits must be specified every year in the Offer Courses task.

  

  Step 3: GPA Weight Determination

  Weight influences GPA calculation. If you offer AP/Honors courses that are graded on the same scale as standard courses (4.0, for example), then give standard courses a weight of 1 and AP/Honors an appropriate bump.

  For example, students might get a .5 bump for AP courses and a .3 for Honors; this can be indicated in the GPA Weight/Alt Weight fields in the Course.

  

  Step 4: Transcript Organization

  Enter an Abbreviation if the Abbreviation of the course should take the place of the course name on the transcript. Enter the Transcript Category to determine how the course is organized on the transcript.

  An Abbreviation is best used if the course title is too long and does not appear on transcripts fully.

  

  Read More about Course Grade Settings

• Report Cards

  Academics > Grades > Report card setup

  Report Card Builder is a drag-and-drop interface designed to streamline the visual construction of report cards and progress reports.

  Report Card Builder allows you to put grade, attendance, GPA information, and more on a report card that can be communicated to students, parents, and faculty.

  To begin, navigate to Academics, then choose Grades followed by Report card setup.

  Step 1: Getting started

  1. Select + Build a new report card.

  2. Type in a Report card name to identify your report card. An example might be US Letter to indicate a report card designed for all upper school courses that use standard letter grades.

  3. Select a Layout to determine the orientation of your report card. There are two options:

     • Portrait

     • Landscape

  4. Select a Paper size to determine the dimensions of your report card for printing. There are two options:

     • Letter (8.5in x 11in)

     • Legal (8.5in x 14in)

  5. Select a School level. The grade levels associated within a school level will appear below; select specific grade levels to include on the report card.

  6. Select a Sort order, which determines where in the list the report cardappears. Lower numbers (ex. 1) will appear higher in the list.

  7. Select Next to advance to the Design form.

  

  Step 2: Design form

  The Design form holds rows that contain sections of data. Sections can have widths determined either by percentage, inches, or proportion to other sections in a row. Width determines how many sections can reside by one another, and thus can help emphasize certain sections over others.

  For example, a row dedicated as the report card’s header can contain the student header, school header, and school logo sections. Each section would need to have a maximum width of about 33% in order to comfortably fit in the row. Some elements can be longer than others if desired.

  When you have filled a row, expand Page elements and drag a new row into the report card template to add additional data sections. You can also use the Horizontal space widget to create space between different sections on your report card.

  Dragged sections, when dropped, will produce a prompt where you can customize the specifics of the dropped element, such as column width.

  Hover over placed elements to reveal four possible actions:

  • Drag (triple-line icon): Select and hold the drag icon and then drag the element to a new position in a row.

  • Edit section: Modify the dimensions and other details of the hovered element.

  • Copy column: Add another related element into the hovered element.

  • Delete (X) Delete the element and the elements contained with it. Be careful as this action is irreversible.

  

  1. Add a header (Student, School information, Logo)

  The header appears at the top of the report card and contains the student information, school information, and logo.

  

  

  • Student header:

    The student header communicates who the report card is addressed to and key information about that student.

    There are two parts to the student header:

    • By default, a new report card template will start with part of the student header. That part communicates the student name, preferred address, date of birth, date entered (labeled Enroll date), and graduation date. Hover over it and select Edit section to find options for the format.

      Note: These default fields can be deleted as needed when editing the section. The only field that cannot be removed is Student name.

    • Drag the student header into report card builder to add additional student information. Under edit student header, you can:

      • Add one or more columns to express more data or group it accordingly. Columns appear beside one another in the row. If a column appears outside the section, then expand the section width.

      • Determine if you include labels for fields to help students and parents identify what data is being communicated.

      • Select student data fields from the drop-downs. These fields populate with data from the student profile. Some fields can have varying formats to display the text differently.

  • School header:

    The school header communicates school address information. Under Edit school header, fill out the school name and address fields, formatting the address field as necessary with line breaks.

  • School logo:

    The logo field lets you place an image on your report card. Under Logo to use, select Browse the image gallery to pull from existing logos and seals. Select Actual size to use the dimensions of the image in the column. Alternatively, select Fit in section to cause the image to stretch to fill the section width.

    Note: By default, the transcript template will start with your school's selected default logo.

  • Student photo:

    The student photo allows you to add student user profile photos to the report card. You can set the Section width as well as set the Student photo size.

  2. Add Details (Grades, Academic Performance)

  There are three types of grades that can be put on a report card: Standard, Skill-based, and Comments. Comments, while not traditional grades, add detail to standard and skills-based grades.

  The primary section under Details is the Courses/Groups grid, which displays selected term-specific grades and comments.

  The Courses/Groups grid is unique in that, when dragged to the report card, it occupies the full width of the row, and contains within it columns used to communicate grades and comments.

  

  

  Under Edit course section, follow this procedure:

  1. Enter a Section header. This is the header to communicate what grades are illustrated below.

  2. Format either:

     1. All on one page:

        Each grade will appear vertically in the leftmost side of the grid. The corresponding grade for selected terms will appear.

        OR

     2. Separate page for each course:

        Each course appears on its own page on the report card. This format may be ideal for Lower School or Assessment report cards that make heavy use of comments.Rows added before or after the Course/Groups grid will still appear before the grid begins or on the last page that contains room for the information to display.

  3. Select as many Group types as you want to include on your report card. These selections will filter down into the terms in which grades/comments for the selected group types are available. Schools can add grades/comments for Academic, Activity, Advisory, Athletic, and Dorm groups.

  4. Use Display courses in the following order to set a sort order for courses.

  5. Include skill assessment ratings for each course if your school uses assessment, skill-based grades.

     If selected, enter a Section header to communicate that assessment grades are being displayed (ex. Assessment Performance), and determine whether the Grade value (ex. Exemplary) or Abbreviation (ex. E) displays in the section for each grade.

     In order for assessment grades to appear on a printed report card, Print on report card must be selected under the Grading tab for each respective course's settings.

  6. Include comments below each course:

     If you select this option, enter a Section header to convey that the section communicates comments (ex. Comments).

     Label comments with grade plan grade label uses the label associated with the Grade Plan Grade containing the Comments. Otherwise, you can specify a custom name to describe the comment below.

  7. Select Save.

  3. Add Grades:

  

  1. Hover over the top of the Courses/Groups grid and select Add column.

  2. Under the Column dropdown menu, select Grade. That data will appear in the Course/Groups grid.

  3. In Grade plan grade, select the grade plan grade that contains the term grade that you wish to convey on the report card. For more information about Grade Plan Grades, click here.

     Note: if you select a grade plan grade that is attached to multiple grade plans, you will need to select the grade plan you wish to pull the grade from.

  4. If Assessment grading is selected, select the Assessment grading period that contains the skill-based evaluation you wish to communicate.

  5. Determine the Format. Use the example to the right of the drop-down to visualize what each option looks like.

  6. Type in a Column header. For example, if the Quarter 1 or Trimester 1 Grade plan grade is selected, you might type Q1 or Tri 1, respectively.

  7. The Column width can be used to enforce uniformity or emphasize uniqueness. Equal to other designated columns causes the column to be proportionate to other columns with the same setting in the grid. If this column should be longer or shorter than others, then specify the width in percentage or inches.

  8. Suppress column if blank will hide the column if the student does not have a grade recorded for that column. For example, some classes may need a column for a term paper grade, it will only display for students that have a grade recorded for their term paper.

  9. Include incomplete grades will display an I on the report card if a teacher selects Incomplete when recording a Grade plan grade.

  10. Select a decimal precision option from the drop-down. Opt for 0 for a whole number.

  11. Select Save.

  12. Optional: Select Copy column to create another column. Use different variables to illustrate different data, and repeat steps 1-10.

  4. Add GPAs:

  Grade point averages (GPAs) can be communicated to parents and students for a specific term or across multiple terms. This includes the term GPA, cumulative GPA, and the year-to-date GPA.

  To get started with GPAs, drag GPAs from the leftmost pane into an open row.

  

  1. Determine the Section width.

  2. Add a Section header (ex. Grade point averages).

  3. Under GPAs to include, select a Category and Type from the dropdown menus. Edit the Label if needed.

  4. Optional: Select + Add a calculation to add another GPA.

  5. Select Suppress blank GPAs to hide blank GPAs.

  6. Select Save.

  To learn more about GPAs, see Create Grade Calculations & Rank.

  5. Add Academic Performance:

  Academic Performance allows schools to calculate honor roll for their students. To learn more about setting up Academic Performance, see here.

  Drag the Academic performance selector from the left pane into an open row.

  

  1. Determine the Section width.

  2. Add a Section header.

  3. Use Select calculations to choose which calculations to include on the report card.

     Note: To remove a calculation, select the X.

  4. Select Suppress blank calculations to hide blank Academic Performance

  5. Select Save.

  6. Add Summaries (Attendance, text area, student notes, legend, awards, test scores):

  

  

  • Attendance:

    An attendance summary can be added to communicate tardiness and absences accumulated over the course of a term.

    Schools can add a Days present category to their report card. This is calculated based on the school level's selected Attendance Record Method:

    • Daily: The system uses the days the school is considered in session and will subtract a day each time there is an attendance entry.

    • Per period: The system will use the days the school is considered in session and will subtract a day each time there is a day with attendance in all class periods.

    To get started, drag the Attendance selector from the left pane into an open row.

    1. Select which Group types to include.

    2. Under Attendance categories to include, select which attendance reasons are tallied and communicated in the summary.

    3. Select Suppress blank/zero count categories if a category should not appear if a student has no attendance reasons associated with their profile.

    4. Select Save.

    5. Hover over the attendance summary header and select Add column.

    6. Add one of the three columns:

       • Category

         The attendance reason to display.

       • Number of occurrences

         The number of times an adjacent attendance reason has been logged across the selected group types.

       • Sum of units

         The portion of a school day that a student missed due to an attendance reason. If a student missed an entire course one day, then the Sum of Units would be proportionate to the number of classes missed in a day. For example, when recording attendance Per Section and attendance is calculated using the number of classes in a student's day, if one class out of 4 the student was absent, then the amount of the school day missed is 0.25. Every whole number equates to a completely missed day of school for the recorded attendance reason. Only attendance reasons that are set to Use in Calculations will contribute to this count.

         Note: Tardy excuse types will not contribute to the Sum of Units column. The number of tardies recorded under selected group types appears in the Count column.

       For more information on attendance excuse types, click here.

  • Text Area:

    Text areas are designed to communicate non-data information to parents and students. Examples of text areas could be a message communicating school policies, the means to contact the administrative office, or a grading scale.

    To get started, drag the Text area selector from the leftmost pane into an open row.

    1. Determine the Section width.

    2. Enter your desired text, using the included formatting options to style it as desired.

    3. Optional: Under Insert, Date/Time will populate with the date that you inserted the text.

    4. Optional: The link icon can be used to direct students and parents to external resources when viewing the report card from a student profile or downloaded PDF. Ensure the URL you add begins with http:// or https://.

    5. Select a format option under If the content doesn't fit.

    6. Select Save.

  • Student Notes:

    The student notes section allows schools to include specific official note types on the report card. To learn more about official note types, view Official Note Types.

    To get started, drag the Student notes selector from the left pane into an open row.

    1. Determine the section width.

    2. Select the official note fields to display.

    3. Select the official note types to include.

    4. Select Save.

  • Legend:

    The legend section allows schools to show information about the grade translation(s) on the report card.

    To get started, drag the Legend selector from the left pane into an open row.

    1. Determine the section width.

    2. Select the grade translations to include.

    3. Select to display abbreviation, grade label, range, numeric equivalent, GPA equivalent 1, or GPA equivalent 2 for each grade translation.

    4. Select Save.

  • Awards:

    The awards section allows schools to include school created Awards on the report card.

    To get started, drag the Award selector from the left pane into an open row.

    1. Determine the section width.

    2. Select the awards calculations to include.

       Note: Once an Award is added, you can remove it by selecting the X.

    3. Select Save.

  • Test Scores:

    The test scores section allows schools to include school-created test scores on the report card.

    To get started, drag the test scores selector from the left pane into an open row.

    1. Determine the section width.

    2. Select the test scores to include.

       Note: Once a test score is added, you can remove it by selecting the X.

    3. Select Save.

  Step 3: Style form

  

  The Style form allows you to customize the font style and formatting of each section in the report card.

  Select an area in the report card view, and modify the font style in the pane on the left. Select each area, modifying the font as needed, until the report card is formatted as desired.

  In some sections that contain an HTML text field, you can override previously established text color settings by selecting the checkbox Apply to HTML fields.

  Note: "Inherited" means that the element section is using the same font under Overall style. Consider keeping the font face unedited to enforce uniformity.

  Read More about Report Cards