Assignments, Assessments and Grade Book Faculty Perspective Assignments, Assessments and Grade Book

Assignments

Assignments allow you to post both graded and non-graded assignments for students and their families to see online.

There are two primary places to view and manage assignments: Assignment Center & Class Assignments. You can also add assignments through the Grade Book. Assignment Center: Allows you to see and manage assignments for all the classes you teach. Students see a similar view when they log in. Access the Assignment Center from My Day. Class Assignments: Allows you to see and manage assignments for an individual class. Access Class Assignments from the class page.

Complete the following fields and click Save when done. No matter where you access the + Assignment screen, the process to add an assignment is the same. Complete the following fields and click Save when done. Title: Assignment name - or entire assignment description as long as it’s less than 255 characters. Description: Additional details about assignment. Type: Type of assignment: homework, quiz, test, etc. Attachments: Include links or downloads relevant to the assignment. Abbreviation: Assignment abbreviation - will appear in grade book as column header. Max Points: Maximum number of points assignment is worth. Factor: Number of times assignment will be counted in cumulative calculation. Add to Grade Book: If checked, assignment will be added to grade book. Add to Cumulative Grade: Check to include assignment in cumuatlve grade. Extra Credit: Check if assignment should be counted toward extra credit. Publish Grade: Check to publish grades to parents/students (if enabled). Drop Box Enable: Check to enable assignment drop box (online assignment submission) Number of Files: Number of files a student can submit through Drop Box. Mark Late at: Assignment will automatically be marked late if submitted after this time. Publish Options: Enter assigned and due dates and choose to which sections the assignment is attached.

If you’ve allow students to submit their assignment using Drop Box, you can view and grade submissions from the Assignment Center or Class Assignments. Any assignment with Drop Box enabled will be labeled with Online Submission.

You can download assignments in bulk by clicking Download All Files, or download individual assignments by clicking the icon next to a student’s name. If the assignment was included in the grade book, record the grade by entering a number in the Grade field.

Grade Book

The grade book provides a space for you to keep track of assignment grades. The grade book is customized for each class you teach, so you can set up the grade book for each class independently.

As a teacher, you can access grade books for all the classes you teach from the Schedule & Performance section of My Day.

You can also access grade books for a specific class while on the class page by clicking Grade Book.

You must set up the grade book before you add assignments You must set up the grade book before you add assignments. Setting up the grade book allows you to define the calculation method used to calculate cumulative grades, select the assignment types you’ll use in your class, and determine the weight of each assignment type. Click Edit Setup to begin.

You’ll first need to decide whether you want to set up the grade book by: Year: Use this option if you grade the same way throughout the entire class. or Marking Period: Use this option if you grade differently in each term. For example, choose this option if you have a project count towards a student’s cumulative grade in second semester but not in first.

Next, you’ll need to decide which assignment types you want to use to calculate students’ cumulative grades. Click Edit next to the school year or marking period and check the assignment types you will use in your class. Click Apply when done.

Choose the calculation method from the three available options, Percentages, Total Points, or Total with Weight. These options are explained on the subsequent pages.

Percentages In this calculation method, each assignment must be worth 100 points. The assignments are averaged together within each assignment category, and the average is used to calculate the cumulative score based on the weights. For Example: Homework: 30% Quizzes: 40% Exams: 20% Participation: 10% Within each of those categories, assignments have equal weight. Formula: sum(assignment grade/maximum points * factor) / sum(factor) = assignment type grade then: sum(assessment type grade * weight) / sum(weight) * 100

Total Points In this calculation method, a student’s cumulative score is based on the total points earned divided by the total points attempted. The software does not look at assignment types when calculating the cumulative score. Formula: sum(assignment grade * factor) / sum (maximum points * factor)

Total Points with Weight In this calculation method, a student’s cumulative score is based on the total points a student earned, divided by the total points attempted within each assignment type. The assignment type cumulatives are then averaged together based on their weights. For Example: Homework: 30% Quizzes: 40% Exams: 20% Participation: 10% Within each of those categories, assignments can be worth different point values. Formula: sum(assignment grade * factor) / sum (maximum points * factor) = assignment type grade then: sum(assessment type grade * weight) / sum(weight) * 100

If you selected Percentages or Total Points with Weight as the calculation method, you must assign weights to each of the assignment types selected. You can also choose to drop the lowest scores by entering the number of assignments you’d like to drop in the Number to Drop field. If you’ve set up the grade book for the entire year, you may also define the default point value for assignments added to each assignment type. For example, if you give daily homework that is always worth 10 points you can enter “10” in Default Max Points field. These point values can be changed, but it will save you time when adding new assignments. You will not see this option if you choose to set up the grade book by marking period.

If you teach multiple classes and want to copy the settings you have established from one grade book to another, check the classes listed under Other Section(s) to Apply. This option will not be available if you’ve already established settings in other classes.

When you’re done, click Save & Close and you’ll be returned to the grade book.

You can also choose how you want certain data to appear in the grade book. To establish these settings, click Display Options. Group by Assignments: If “on,” this option will group assignments together by assignment type. Assignment: Select whether you’d like to display assignments by the assigned date or by due date. From/To: Enter dates to display only grades/assignments from a specific date range. Student(s): Select whether to sort students by their first name or last name, either ascending or descending. Cumulative: Choose whether to show or hide the cumulative score. Highlight Cumulative Less Than/Equal To: Enter a threshold below which a student’s grade will appear in red text. Year Cumulative: Choose whether to show or hide the cumulative score. Access: If enabled, you can give access or view which roles have access to see assignment grades. You can also allow constituents to see year-long cumulative grades.

Once assignments have been added to the grade book, you can enter grades by clicking the cell for the assignment and student. Grades can also be entered in bulk by clicking the Max: # button below the assignment and entering the grade to give to all students. This number can be then be overwritten for individual students.

Press the spacebar to enter additional information about a student’s score. If parents or students have access to grade book grades, they will see the information entered in this section. Grade: The student’s assignment grade. Exempt: If checked, the grade will not be included in the cumulative score. Incomplete: Indicates an assignment is incomplete; has no impact on the cumulative score. Missing: Indicates an assignment is missing; has no impact on the cumulative score. Late: Indicates an assignment is late; has no impact on the cumulative score. Days Late: Indicates the number of days an assignment is late. Comment: A comment about the student’s assignment.

Once grades are recorded, you can see analytics about an individual student’s grades by clicking their name in the left-hand column. These analytics display a student’s assignment score compared to the class average, as well as details about each individual assignment.

In addition to individual student analytics, you also have access to several reports from the Reports menu. Grades – By Student: Description: This report shows grades for all assignments, organized by student. Information about the assignments is also displayed, including: date assigned, date due, max points, factor, extra credit, points earned, late, incomplete, exempt, & whether or not the assignment was included in the cumulative grade. This report also displays any dropped grades in red. Filter Options: Marking Period, Students Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Grades – By Student with Comments: Description: This report shows grades & comments for all assignments, organized by student. Information about the assignments is also displayed, including: date assigned, date due, max points, factor, extra credit, points earned, late, incomplete, exempt, & whether or not the assignment was included in the cumulative grade. This report also displays any dropped grades in red. Filter Options: Marking Period, Students Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Comments – By Student: Description: This report shows comments for all assignments, organized by by student. Filter Options: Marking Period, Students Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Exempt - By Student: Description: This report any exempt grades for all assignments, organized by by student. Filter Options: Marking Period, Students Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Incomplete - By Student: Description: This report any incomplete grades for all assignments, organized by by student. Filter Options: Marking Period, Students Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel

Late - By Student: Description: This report any late grades for all assignments, organized by by student. Filter Options: Marking Period, Students Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Averages – By Assignment Type: Description: This report shows all students & their averages in each of the assignment types used in the grade book. The students' names are listed on the Y-axis & the assignment types are displayed on the X-axis. The average percentage, points earned, & maximum points are displayed at the cross-section. Filter Options: Marking Period, Single Student on Page Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Details – By Assignment Type: Description: This report displays detailed information about students' assignment grades organized by assignment type. The students' names & cumulative grade appear on the Y-axis, & the assignment types & due dates appear on the X-axis. At the cross-section, the percentage, points earned, & maximum points are displayed. Filter Options: Marking Period, & Display Options Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Grades – By Assignment Type: Description: This report shows detailed information about assignments in each assignment type. It includes the mean, median & mode for assignments, the grades for all students for each assignment, & pertinent information about the assignment, including max points, factor, extra credit, included in cumulative grade, & the assigned/due dates. Filter Options: Marking Period, Assignment Type, Assignment Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Cumulative Grade - By Section: Description: This report displays cumulative grades for students' other courses. Filter Options: Marking Period, Start Date, End Date, & Display Options Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel

Grades - For Dropped Courses: Description: This report shows all assignment grades for students who have transferred into the section after leaving another course or section. Filter Options:Marking Period Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Grade Book Printout: Description: This report shows the grade book grid in a condensed format for printing. It displays all student names on the Y-axis, & all assignments on the X-axis. At the cross-section, the assignment grade is displayed. Filter Options: Marking Period, Assignment Type, Assignments Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Empty Assignment Grid Report: Description: This report displays a blank grade book. Students names are listed in the first column, & then there are 6-8 blank columns Filter Options: School Year, Grade Level, Day/Boarding Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Grades By Student (condensed): Description: This report shows a summary of grade book grades for each student in the roster. It displays the assignments by category, & the grades earned in each. Filter Options: Marking Period, One Student per Page Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel Ungraded/Incomplete - By Student: Description: This report shows all incomplete or ungraded assignments, organized by student. Filter Options: Marking Period, Students, & Include either Incomplete or Ungraded Assignments Exportable To: PDF, Word, Excel