1. ISIS and High Point Using ISIS Gradebook with High Point

2. 2 I. To set up your “Grade Point Values” for your classes, follow these steps: 1. Click on in the ISIS menu. 2. Select a class by clicking on its Course ID. 3. Click on in the Gradebook menu. 4. Click on under the “Options” sub-menu. 5. Select “AF” (Academic Final) from the drop-down menu at the right of the screen. Click on to make this change. 6. Change the “Lower Limit” for each grade to conform with the High Point grading scale by typing in new values. The values included in this graphic are only suggested values: A = 86.0 B = 75.0 C = 70.0 D = 69.99* F = 0. *Note that the values listed above are meant to conform with the 4-point rubric and with the 70%-or-better passing requirement of the High Point series. The letter grade “D” may be changed to an “F” if the teacher decides that the student is not meeting the standards. For more discussion on grading, see “Suggested Grading Scales” discussion on Pages 16 and 17. 7. Click on when you are done with this “Grade Point Values” page. II. To set up the “Assignment Categories” for your classes, follow these steps: 1. Click on in the Gradebook menu.

3. 3 2. Find the “Category” list on the left side of the screen. Remove categories from the list which you don’t want as part of the Gradebook. To do this, click on on the right side of the screen, then click. When you are done removing categories, click on. 3. Select “AF” (Academic Final) in the “Category Group” for your class in the drop-down menu. This will ensure that the grades in the class will be calculated cumulatively across the grading periods. 5. Assign percentage weights for each category by typing them into the “% Weight” box. Click on. Below is an example of categories and weights. 6. To add categories, click on at the bottom of the screen. Type in a new category in the “Custom Category” box. Remember to choose “AF” in the “Category Group” from the drop-down menu. Then click on. Assign percentage weights for each new category, and then click on. In the example below, the percentage weights for the LAAs, the Unit Tests, and the Unit Writing Projects reflect the District guidelines for the High Point portfolio. 4. Set the Grade Calculations to “Use Weights” in the sub-menu by clicking on the radio button. This will allow you to set the percentage weights for each category to reflect the High Point grading requirements. Click on. Note that you will not be able to change the title of a category later without erasing the assignments recorded under the category.

4. 4 III. To add assignments to the categories, follow these steps. 1. Click on in the Gradebook menu. 2. Click on at the bottom of the screen. Type in the date the assignment was assigned in the “Start Date” box. In the “Due Date” box, type in the date for the end of the grading period in which the assignment falls. 3. Click on “Yes” to show the assignment will be “Graded,” and then type in the maximum amount of points for the assignment in the “Max Points” box. 4. Select the “Category” from the drop-down menu under which the assignment will be saved. Type in an assignment title in the “Assignment” box, and then type in a short description of the assignment if desired. Below is an example. 5. Click on at the bottom of the screen. Then click on. 6. To score the assignment, click on at the bottom of the screen. Then type in the score for each student in the “Assessment” column. Click the “Exempt” box to exempt students from the assignment if necessary. Then click on. Note: Exempting assignments from the final grade may be necessary when calculating a student’s final grade for promotion purposes. Examples of exempting grades for promotion purposes in High Point are provided later in this manual. Note: When creating grade reports for a student or for an entire class, Gradebook asks that you select the “Week Ending” date from a menu to determine which grades are to be included in the grade report. (See Page.10, No. 4.) Gradebook assigns the Saturday of each week as the “Week Ending” date to ensure that all grades in the school week are included in reports. For this reason, use a calendar to find the “Week Ending” Saturday at the end of the marking period, and type this into the “Due Date” for each assignment given within that marking period. By doing this you will be able to create, view, and print out reports for a class or for a student in which all the assignments are grouped together on a single page. In addition, you will be able to create reports by the week, by the marking period, or by the semester, depending on which dates you choose.

5. 5 IV. To edit an assignment, follow these steps: 1. Click on in the Gradebook menu. 2. Click on the title of the assignment under the “Assignment” column. 3. Click on at the bottom of the screen. Make the changes, then click on to save the changes made. V. To delete an assignment, follow these steps: 1. Click on in the Gradebook menu. 2. Click on the title of the assignment under the “Assignment” column. 3. Click on at the bottom of the screen. Read the warning, double- check that you have selected the correct assignment to be deleted, and then click on to delete the assignment. VI. To exempt an assignment, follow these steps: 1. Click on in the ISIS menu. 2. Select a class by clicking on its Course ID. 3. Choose a student from the “Class Roster.” 4. Click on on the far right of the screen for this student. 7. The “Sort by” drop-down menu on this screen will allow you to sort the assignment in a number of ways. Select one and then click on. Click on when you have finished with this screen.

6. 6 5. Sort the student’s assignments by “Category” in the “Sort by:” drop-down menu at the right of the screen, and click. 6. To exempt the student’s two lowest LAA scores, for example, click on the “Exempt” boxes next to these LAAs. Click at the bottom of the screen to save changes. 7. Note the change in the student’s “Weighted Average (Term Grade)” at the bottom of the screen after you exempt the two assignments. Exempt VII. Adjusting Gradebook to reflect the High Point promotion requirements: In order to meet the High Point series guidelines, it may be necessary to exempt assignments in order to assess whether a student has met the standards for promotion. Exempting a grade means that the grade will not be counted as part of the student’s final average. Refer to the “High Point Assessments and ELD Assessment Portfolio Alignment” page in the High Point Student Assessment Booklet at the appropriate level to determine which grades should be included in the student’s final grade for promotion. VIII. Example of Adjusting Gradebook to reflect the High Point promotion requirements: The “High Point Assessments and ELD Assessment Portfolio Alignment” page in the Advanced ESL 3 Student Assessment Booklet sets out the promotion guidelines for Advanced ESL 3 as follows:

7. 7 = B High Point Student Assessment Booklet, Level C Below is a sample entry from Gradebook for an Advanced ESL 3 student. Note that the student’s “Weighted Average (Term Grade) is “81.35,” a letter grade of “B.” AssessmentsMinimum Required Scores LAAs A score of “3” on 4 LAAs is the minimum passing score. Unit Tests (UTs) A minimum passing score is 70% on the last Unit Test. Writing Assessments (WAs) An overall score of “3” on two of the High Point WAs is the minimum required for passing.

8. 8 In order to determine whether the student has met the District High Point guidelines for promotion to the next level, it may be necessary to exempt grades that are not part of the District High Point guidelines for promotion. In this example, the lowest two of the six LAAs have been exempted. The Unit Test scores for Units 1 and 2 have also been exempted as the promotion guidelines for this level of High Point focus on the Unit 3 Unit Test score, as it is the last unit test in this level. In addition, all the scores for the Writing Assessments have been exempted except for the two highest High Point Writing Assessment scores. Finally, the scores for the “Classwork” and the “Homework” categories have not been exempted as they represent 10% of the student’s final grade under the District High Point guidelines. While only two grades have been included for the “Classwork” and “Homework” categories in this example, these two categories may in fact include dozens more grades, including Selection Tests, Practice Book assignments, Teacher Resource Book exercises, teacher created quizzes, oral presentations, etc. Regardless of the number of scores included, Gradebook still cumulatively calculates these categories as only 10% of the student’s final grade. = B

9. 9 1. Click on in the ISIS menu. 2. Select a class by clicking on its Course ID. 3. Click on in the Gradebook menu. 4. Click on the radio button on the far right of the screen for the grade you want to publish. 5. From the “Category Group” drop-down menu, select a grade type. 6. Click on at the bottom of the screen. 7. Check the published grades. Type in a new grade in the “Override” box if necessary. Note: the grade typed in the “Override Grade” box will override the earlier grade and will be the grade published by Gradebook. 8. When you are satisfied with the grades, click on at the bottom of the screen. 9. To add “Competency-Related Grades” [Work Habits- ‘WH’ and Cooperation- ‘CP’], click on at the bottom of the screen. 10. Type in the “Competency-Related Grades” (‘E,’ ‘S,’ or ‘U’], and click on when you’re done. To make changes, click on “Edit” at the bottom of the screen. Note: Make certain you have selected “AF” in the drop-down menu. IX. To publish grades, follow these steps: X. To a create report for a marking period, follow these steps: 1. Click on in the ISIS menu. 2. Select a class by clicking on its Course ID.

10. 10 5. Select “Grades” in the drop-down menu. Then click on. 6. Click on. On the “Class Assignments and Grades Report” page that appears, select the correct information for the class using the windows and scroll-down menus. 7. Click on either “Detail” to create a report with the titles of the assignments and the student’s grades for the assignments, or click on “Summary” to create a report with the titles of the categories and the student’s percentages and grades for the categories. 8. Click on to have ISIS create the mark report for you on your computer. Check the information in the report, and print it if desired. XI. To a create report for a semester, follow these steps: 1. Click on in the ISIS menu. 2. Click on “Please Select” at the top of the screen. 3. Select “Grades” in the drop-down menu. Then click on. 3. Click on in the Gradebook menu. 4. Click on “Please Select” at the top of the screen. Note: The date you select in the “Week Ending(s)” box will create a report which includes all the assignments recorded for the week ending with that date. If you used the last day of the marking period as the “Due Date” for assignments within a marking period when you added your assignments (See Page 4, No. 2), selecting that date now will create a report including all the assignments recorded for that marking period.

11. 11 3. Select “Grades” in the drop-down menu. Then click on. 4. Click on. On the “Student Assignments and Grades Report” page that appears, select the correct information for the class using the windows and scroll-down menus. Type in the “Begin Date” and the “End Date” to include all the assignments you want to appear in the report. Type in the ISIS student ID in the box. 5. Click on to have ISIS create the student’s report for you on your computer. Check the information in the report, and print it if desired. 4. Click on. On the “Class Assignments and Grades Report” page that appears, select the correct information for the class using the windows and scroll-down menus. 5. Click on to have ISIS create the semester report for you on your computer. Check the information in the report, and print it if desired. XII. To a create report for a single student, follow these steps: 1. Click on in the ISIS menu. 2. Click on “Please Select” at the top of the screen. Note: More than one date can be selected in the “Week Ending(s)” box by selecting one date, and holding down the control key (Ctrl) while selecting a second (or more) dates. An entire semester can be displayed in a report by selecting the ending dates for each of the four marking periods.

12. I. To use the GradeMAX option, follow these steps: 1. Click on in the ISIS menu. 2. Select a class by clicking on its Course ID. 3. Click on in the sub-menu 4. When GradeMAX has finished loading, the screen will look similar to this: Gradebook or GradeMAX? The previous pages have described how to record grades for a High Point class using the ISIS Gradebook option. A second option for recording grades on ISIS is GradeMAX. GradeMAX is more convenient as it allows you to make changes and record information in a student’s record without having to move between windows. That is, GradeMAX allows the user to access all the class information from Gradebook in one window. GradeMAX also offers more choices in filtering and viewing the information. To use GradeMAX, the “Grade Point Values” and the “Assignment Categories” for the class have to be first set up in Gradebook as described earlier. (See Pages 2 through 3.) Once this is done, the GradeMAX option can be selected by clicking on in the Gradebook menu. Note, however, in order to use the GradeMAX option, the computer you are using must have the Java Runtime environment 1.4.2 or higher installed and enabled. If your computer does not have this software, a link will appear inviting you to download the Java Runtime environment free of charge. 12

13. 13 II. To use the “Filter” option, follow these steps: 1. Click on “Filter” in the GradeMAX menu to ‘filter’ (that is, to select) what will appear in the GradeMAX window. 2. Information for students, for example, can be filtered by placing the cursor on “Students,” and information for assignments can be filtered by placing the cursor on “Assignments.” 3. Selecting “Set Constraints” under “Students” brings up a Java Applet Window which allows you to filter what is to appear in the GradeMAX window. Select the desired criteria and then click on. 4. A separate Java Applet Window will allow you to filter assignments under “Assignments” to include a range of dates, grading periods, category groups, or categories. 5. Double-clicking in the GradeMAX window headings will change the order in which the information is displayed. For example, double-clicking in the “Student Name” heading will change the displayed names in either ascending, or descending, alphabetical order.

14. 14 1. Assignments can be added by clicking on “Add Assignments” under “Assignments” in the GradeMAX menu. A Java Applet Window will appear, allowing you to add assignments as well as to add the assignment parameters. Click on the box to save your added assignments. III. To use the “View” option, follow these steps: 1. Click on “View” in the main GradeMAX menu to select the student information to be displayed in the GradeMAX window. 2. Click on the radio button next to each of the seven choices to select the information to be included in the GradeMAX window for each student in the class. IV. To “Add Assignments,” follow these steps: V. To score assignments, follow these steps: 1. Put the cursor in the column under the assignment to be scored in the GradeMAX. Type in the grades and press the “Return” key. 2. Click on to “refresh” (that is, to update) the student’s weighted average as new scores are added. 3. Click on to save your work.

15. 15 VI. To “Edit Assignments”, follow these steps: 1. Assignments can be edited by placing the cursor on the title of an assignment in the heading of the GradeMAX window and right-clicking the mouse. A drop-down menu will appear which allows you to add, edit, and delete assignments. You can also change the way assignments are displayed in the GradeMAX window from this menu. Click on the box to save your work. VII. To change how scores are displayed, follow these steps: 1. Click on the arrow in “Score Display Options” box in the main GradeMAX menu. 2. Select the display format from the drop-down menu. Scores can be displayed as either raw scores, percentages, or letter grades. Observe the changes under the assignments in the GradeMAX display window as you make your selection. Note: GradeMAX defaults (returns) to the “Show Percentages” option when you close GradeMAX, so you will have to change the “Score Display Option” each time you open GradeMAX if you want information displayed as raw scores or letter grades. Note: If you do not have a mouse with the “right-click” option, this drop down menu can be accessed by placing the cursor on the heading in GradeMAX, holding down the control key (Ctrl) while clicking once.

16. 16 Suggested Grading Scales ISIS, like most grade recording software, requires that you set up “traditional” grades (A through F) with values that add up to 100%. This will be necessary in any case for High Point as we use a 100-point scale for our Selection Tests and Unit Tests, and we must use these “traditional” letter grades for publishing grade reports with ISIS. However, High Point also requires that we use the 4-point scale for Writing Assessments and for LAAs. Grade recording software automatically distributes these 4-point values over the 100-point scale as you type them in. Thus, we get: 4 = 100 3 = 75 2 = 50 1 = 0 A difficulty arises from recording the scores from a 4-point rubric in a 100-point scale. Notice that a score of “3” on the 4 pt rubric is automatically converted to a “C” by the grade recording software. [ “3” = 75, a “C” on the 100-point scale.] This throws off the student’s “Weighted Grade” which is used by the software to calculate and publish a student’s “Final Grade.” Below are two suggestions for adjusting grades in the ISIS program to try to overcome this mismatch between the 4-point scale and the 100-point scale. Suggestion 1: Adjusting the Point Distribution in the Software Set-up As has been done with the example class in this manual, you may want to make an adjustment to the point spread as you set up the “Grade Point Values” in the “Class Information” section of Gradebook. Make this adjustment as you set up the “Lower Limits” for the grades in the class. (See Page 2, No.6.) Don’t forget to first select “AF” in the “Grade Type” menu! Type in these lower limits for each grade: A = 86 B = 75 [Note: a “3” = 75, which is recorded as a “B”] C = 70 D = 69.99 F = 0 This adjustment to the grading scale would align the 4-point scale with the 100-point scale. If necessary, any final grade can be adjusted using the “override” option. (See Page 9, No. 7.) For example, the letter grade “D” could be changed to “F” before the grades are published, using this “override” option in ISIS. This would be done to meet the District guidelines for High Point which state that a grade of 69% or less is a failing grade.

17. 17 Suggestion 2: Converting the 4-point Rubric to Match the 100-point Scale Another suggestion to adjust for the discrepancy between the 4-point scale and the 100-point scale is to “convert” the scores on the 4-point scale to match the 100-point scale before you enter the marks in the grade recording software. This is done a follows: 4 = 90 - 100 3 = 70 - 89 2 = 60 - 69 1 = 0 - 59 While the student’s paper would carry the 4-point rubric score, this score would be entered into Gradebook using its converted score. For example, a “3” on an LAA would be converted to an 85 as it is entered in Gradebook. If desired, the wide range of points for a “3” (70 to 89 points) would allow the teacher to assign “3+,” “3,” and “3-” as grades to more accurately represent the student’s effort. Deciding on a Grading Scale The choice of how to set up a grading scale for a class is left up to the you, the teacher. How you ultimately reconcile the 4-point scale used with High Point Writing Assessments and High Point LAAs with the 100-point scale used by ISIS in its Gradebook software is your decision. Remember, though, to make sure that the grading scale you choose accurately reflects the efforts and abilities of your students.