eGradebook Help

eGradebook Help

The eGradebook provides the capability for teachers to communicate with parents regarding class assignments, student grades, student behavior, etc. The information stored in the eGradebook is used to create report cards and transcripts, providing an integrated information management system.

Manage Users

Manage Classes

Manage Class Rosters

Schedule Assignments (Tests, Quizzes, Homework, etc)

Grade Computation

Assign Grades

Assign Infractions (Demerits, Detentions, Absent, etc)

Check Extracurricular Activities Eligibility

Assign Character Traits

Sending Email to Parents and Students

Create Report Cards

Correct Grades (After Report Cards Generated)

Manage Terms

Manage Academic Records

Create Transcripts

Student Retakes a Course

New Teacher Joins Staff

New Student Enrolls in School

Manage Users

Users include students, teachers, secretaries, and administrators. The capabilities available depend on the type of user logged into the eGradebook (e.g. students cannot assign grades). To access the list of users in the school, click the “Users” link.

To add a user, select the person from the “Add a User” drop-down list at the top of the page. Select the appropriate user type, then click the “Submit Changes” button. Before users can be added to the school, they must first be added to the Faith Baptist directory. The Faith Baptist directory can be accessed by clicking the “Church Directory” link in the top row of the users table. See the Personal Information section of this document for further details.

To remove a user, click the “Remove” link next to the user. A confirmation box will appear at the top of the page. If the “Confirm Delete” box is checked and the “Submit” button is clicked, the user will be deleted, along with all grades. Teachers are not able to remove users due to the infrequent need to remove users and the unrecoverable nature of this action.

Manage Classes

Classes are created for each subject in elementary school. Each student receives a cummulative grade in each class. Click the "Classes" button to see a list of classes.

To add a new class, enter a name for the class in the top row, enter a date and time for the class, then click the "Submit Changes" button. To edit an existing class, find the class in the list, make the changes to the name, date, and time, then click the "Submit Changes" button. To remove a class, click the “Remove” link next to the class in the classes table. Removing a class removes all scheduled items and grades associated with the class.

Manage Class Rosters

To see the roster (class list) for a particular class, click the "Classes" button, then click the "Class List" link next to the class in the Classes table.

To add a user to a class, select the person from the “Add a User” drop-down list. Before users can be added to classes, they must first be added to the school. See the Manage Users section of this document for further details.

To remove a user from a class, click the “Remove” link next to the user in the class list. A confirmation box will appear at the top of the page. If the “Confirm Delete” box is checked and the “Submit” button is clicked, the user will be deleted, along with all grades for the particular class.

Schedule Assignments (Tests, Quizzes, Homework, etc)

The types of assignments that can be scheduled include tests, quizzes, homework, reports, and participation.

To schedule an assignment on a particular day, click the “My Schedule” button. Click the day number on the calendar. Fill in the requested information on the schedule edit pop-up form, then click the “Submit Changes” button.

To edit an existing assignment, click the assignment on the calendar. Fill in the requested information on the schedule edit pop-up form, then click the “Submit Changes” button. Existing assignments can also be edited from the class details page, which can be accessed by clicking the class name on the summary page.

Grade Computation

Each type of assignment is weighted according to importance. The following table lists the weight for each assignment type.

Type	Weight
Homework	1
Test	10
Final Exam	20
Minor Project	10
Report	4
Participation	4
Notebook	10
Major Project	30

To compute an average grade for a class, each graded assignment is multiplied by its weight and the resulting value is added to a weighted total. The weighted total for all graded assignments is then divided by the total of all the weights for the assignments.

As an example, a student receives a grade of 97% for a report, 89% for a test, 100% for a homework assignment, and 95% for participation. The weighted total is (97 x 4) + (89 x 10) + (100 x 1) + (95 x 4) = 388 + 890 + 100 + 380 = 1758. The total of all the weights for the assignments if 4 + 10 + 1 + 4 = 19. The student’s average grade is 1758 / 19 = 92.5. This example demonstrates that the test affects the student’s grade more than the homework, report, or participation, because the test has a higher weight.

One exception to the method of computation is that the average for all of the quiz grades in a particular class equals one test grade.

Assign Grades

On your summary page, click the class name in the class table. On the class details page, you will see a table of assignments, quizzes, etc. The class details page is split into two tables, past schedule items and current/future schedule items. In the Options column, click the "Assign Grades" link. Enter a grade and comment (optional) for each student, then click the "Submit Changes" button.

Assign Infractions (Demerits, Detentions, Absent, etc)

Teachers, secretaries, and administrators can assign demerits, detentions, tardy, and absent to any student in the school. Your summary page contains a list of infraction types along with the number of infractions you have assigned of that type. The infractions page lists the infractions of a particular type.

To assign an infraction, on your summary page, click the number in the infractions table next to the type of infraction you are assigning (e.g. “Demerit”). On the infractions page, enter a date, type of infraction, choose a student from the list, enter comments (e.g. “disrespect”), click the “Add” check box, then click the “Submit Changes” button.

To remove an infraction, click the “Remove” link next to the infraction in the infractions table, then click the “Submit Changes” button.

Check Extracurricular Activities Eligibility

An eligibility violation is a type of infraction that persists for a period of time. An eligibility violation will be created if any of the following occur:

· 10 demerit threshold exceeded for the year (eligibility violation for 2 weeks)

· 15 demerit threshold exceeded for the year (eligibility violation for rest of year)

· 5 demerits assigned for one infraction, such as lying, cheating, stealing, disrespect, willful disobedience, or rebellion (eligibility violation for 2 weeks)

· Failing a core class in the current term (eligibility violation for 2 weeks)

· All grades averaged < C for the current term (eligibility violation for 2 weeks)

To see an eligibility report for all students, click the "Reports" link, and select "Report - Eligibility Violations (Active)" or "Report - Eligibility Violations (All)" from the list. The "Quantity" column indicates how many days the violation is in effect. The list is sorted inversely by end date, so the most recent will be at the top.

If an eligibility violation is already active for a particular reason (e.g. failing a core class), another eligibility violation for the same reason will not be created. However, a second eligibility violation could be created for a different reason (e.g. 15 demerit threshold), which may or may not begin or end on the same dates as the existing violation.

Behavior based ineligibility is computed as soon as demerits are assigned. To compute and update academic eligibility, click on the "Terms" link, and then click "Finalize Records". It takes about 20-30 seconds to run. Finalizing records will not change the term, it will not remove any grades, and it will not create redundant ineligibility records.

Here is an example of how academic eligibility works:

On January 26th, records are finalized, John Doe is failing a core class, so an eligibility violation is created, lasting from February 2 through February 16.
On February 10th, records are finalized, John Doe is still failing the core class, but an eligibility violation is not created because an active one already exists.
On February 24th, records are finalized, John Doe is still failing the core class, so a new eligibility violation is created, lasting from March 3 through March 17.

Assign Character Traits

Note: This is an optional feature that your school may or may not be using.

Character traits (e.g. “courtesy, self-control) are graded for each student, using the scale E = Excellent, G = Good, S = Satisfactory, N = Needs Improvement, I = Improving. Character traits are grouped in three categories: work habits, social development, and personal development.

Any school staff member can assign character trait grades for any student. To assign character traits, click the “Character” button. Choose a student from the list. For each character trait, select a grade from the list in the “Grade” column and enter comments in the “Comment” column. After filling in all desired character traits for the student, click the “Submit Changes” button at the bottom of the page.

Only character traits that are graded for a particular student will appear on that student’s report card. For example, if “Does work neatly” is not graded for high school students, then the trait will not appear on the report card.

Sending Email to Parents and Students

You can send a personal email to a parent of one of your students:

Click the "Users" button to list all students.

Click the "Family" link next to the student.

Click the "Family Members" link in the Options column.

Click the email link (if the parent has email). You can also send email to both parents at the same time, just copy and paste the second email address into the "To" box in the email message.

You can send a personal email to one of your students (if your student has email):

Click the "Users" button to list all students.

Click the "Email" link next to the student. If the student does not have email, the link will not appear.

Create Report Cards

Click on the "Report Cards" link, select a student, and view and print the report card.

Correct Grades (After Report Cards Generated)

In the rare event that a grade must be corrected after report cards are generated, the following steps will be followed:

Academic administrator approves the correction(s)
eGradebook administrator retrieves the database from the time that the report cards were generated
eGradebook administrator modifies database from the time that the report cards were generated
eGradebook administrator generates an updated version of the affected report card(s)
Teacher reviews and sends home updated version of the affected report card(s)
eGradebook administrator updates the corresponding term grade record in the current version of the database

Manage Terms

The gradebook is set up with 4 terms per year. To access the terms management page, click the “Terms” link on the top navigation bar.

To finalize grades for the current term (e.g. before creating report cards), click the “Finalize Grades” link on the terms management page. This step is not necessary, since the grades are automatically finalized before creating report cards and before changing to the next term.

Create report cards prior to starting the new term. To change to the next term, click the “New Term” link on the terms management page. Adding a new term will finalize the grades for the current term and then remove all current term information. Once this step is complete, grades and schedule items for the old term will be permanently removed. All schedule items newer than the start date of the new term will be part of the new term. Enter the start and end date for the new term in the text boxes, then click the “Confirm New Term” button to change to the new term. If the current term is the 4^th term of the current year, the current year will be incremented to the next year, and the current term will be set to “1”.

Manage Academic Records

Computed academic records are created from the class and grading information entered into the gradebook. Computed academic records may be viewed but not edited directly. Independent academic records are created for classes taken at another institution (e.g. correspondence courses) and for classes taken without the use of the gradebook. Independent academic records may be added, changed, or removed.

To access academic records; click the “Records” link on the top of the gradebook page. Choose a student from the list provided. Independent academic records are listed separately at the bottom of the screen. Type the information for a new record or change the information for an existing record, then click the “Submit Changes” button.

To remove an existing record, click the “Remove” link next to the record. This function can only be performed by an administrator or secretary with appropriate privileges.