Preparing for Marking Period 4 Report Cards

Step 1- Check Your Settings

Before you begin to prepare your grades for student report cards, it is important to check your settings. Incorrect setting

can cause you problems throughout the year.

1. Go to the Grade Setup tab.

2. Double Click on Q4

3. Be sure you have Total Points

selected for your grade calculation. (Category weights should NOT be selected. Weights are added in the assignment field.) Close the window by clicking the X.

4. Kindergarten and 1st grade

only: Check your categories. Double –click on the categories in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. All categories should be set to 4 Points Possible and Score Type MUST be set to Letter Grade. Click OK.

5. Kindergarten and 1st grade only: Check all of your assignments and be sure they are set to 4 Points Possible and Score Type: Letter Grade. Go to your first class, click on Scoresheet and double click on the assignment title

6. Points Possible should be 4 and Score Type should be letter grade. Check all assignments to be sure they are set to 4 and letter grade.

7. 2nd-5th grade- Check all of your

assignments and be sure they are set to Score Type: Points or Percentages. You cannot mix letters grades, percentages, and points. All assignments must be in the same category.

7. To turn off percentages in the final grade column: Go to the Tools menu> preferences> grading. Uncheck percent and points earned under Final Grade and Attendance Columns Display. Uncheck Percent under Assignment Score Display in Scoresheet: Student View Mode

8. Be sure you have entered all of

your assignments and grades. The division minimum of 10 is used for equity of student opportunity to demonstrate mastery. Best practice is to use a mix of project, quiz and test. This allows for a more balanced approach to assessment using formative and summative measures.

9. Go to the Tools menu and click on Recalculate Final Scores.

Check Grades for students with modified Curriculums

10. Students with Disabilities who access the general curriculum

Students with disabilities who are educated using the Virginia Standards of Learning should be graded based on their mastery of those standards. If a student is accessing grade level standards with the use of accommodations (read aloud, extended time, alternate response, etc.), the student’s grade should represent an appropriate level of rigor. The use of accommodations does not equate to modification of the content.

11. Students with Disabilities who access a modified curriculum

Students who are being assessed using a modified curriculum (ASOLs), or who have not met criteria for VAAP, but are working SIGNIFICANTLY (more than 1 full year) below grade level should have an asterisk next to their grade that reflects that the student is not being assessed based on grade level standards, but are accessing a curriculum that is being modified to a different grade level standard.

12. To select an asterisk grade in the final grade column (next to student name,) right-click in the box by the student name. Select Score Inspector.

13. In the score inspector box, select

the Score Tab then click in the check box to select Manual Override. Click on the drop down menu to select *A, *B, *C, *D, *F or *4, *3, *2, *1. The asterisk grades are for modified curriculum. Click close.

14. You will see a red ! mark in the

final grade column beside the student’s name who has a manual override.

15. SWD VIDEO TRAINING/SUPPORT Please access the video linked below for further clarification regarding grading for students with IEPs. http://henrico.k12.va.us/hcpstv/2014-15/internal/gradingpractices.html

Step 2- Use Your Homeroom Class to indicate reading level and add comments

Your homeroom class is where you will mark your student’s reading level at either on, above, or below grade level and

add comments to your student’s report cards.

1. Click on Homeroom in your class list.

2. Click on the Scoresheet tab

and select the final grade button.

3. Grades 1-5- Right click in the

appropriate reading level box by the first student’s name. Select Grades, and then select the X. In this illustration, the student is reading ON grade level.

4. An X is placed in the square.

5. Continue this process for all

students. You may also double-click in the box and type in an upper case X.

Q4 For Q4 Only For Grades K-5

Under HR tab you need to place in X for Promoted or Retained (to the right of reading level)

6. If the majority of the class falls into one category, you can use the quick fill command to fill the entire column with an X. Right-click on the header of the column you want to fill. Select Quick fill and then X. The column fills with an X beside every student’s name. If you choose to use this method, remember to go back and delete the X(s) for those student who don’t fall into that category.

7. KINDERGARTEN ONLY- Instead of reading level, you will complete letter recognition for your students.

8. Right-click in the box beside

the first student’s name and under A. Select grades, then the appropriate letter combination for that student. L,S- Recognizes lowercase and sound U, S- recognizes uppercase and sound U-uppercase L- lowercase S- sound Etc.

9. If you want to fill an entire column (ex- all students get a U for the letter A), right-click in the header (the green portion) and select quick fill and the appropriate letter combination. All students will receive the same score. You can always delete a score and change it if you have 1-2 students who might need to receive a different score.

10. To add comments, right- click beside the first student’s name in the final grades column and select Show Score Inspector.

11. The score inspector opens.

Select the comment tab.

12. Click on a comment to select

it. Click Insert Selected to place the comment in the comment box below. TIP: You can also double-click on the comment instead of using insert selected and it will enter it into the comment box.

13. Scroll through the comments to select the ones you need and click the close button

14. You can also add your own

comments in the comment box. Enter your comment in the comment box and click close. You are limited to 1000 characters in this box.

15. A small blue C will appear in

the Final Grade Box when your comments have been entered.

Step 3- Select standards for your core content classes

1. Click on the first academic class in your class list.

2. Click on the Scoresheet tab and

select the final grades button.

You will see your assignments on the right and a series of standards fields on the left.

3. Mouse over the standards to see what each column says.

4. Place an X in any area of

difficulty for a student. Right-click in the box under the standard beside the student’s name. Select grades and then click on the X.

5. An X is placed in the box under

the standard. Repeat by adding an X for any other students having the same area of difficulty for that standard. You can also double-click in the box and type an X. Continue the process with the rest of the standards. Only put an X in the boxes that indicate areas of difficulty for your students. All other boxes should remain blank.

6. Repeat the process for the rest of your academic classes. Standards are specific to each content area.

Step 4- Enter Work Habits and Conduct:

1. Select work habits from your class list

2. Click the assignments tab

3. Click the + symbol at the bottom of the

page and add one assignment called Work Habits. Select any category- it will not show up on the report card. Score type should be letter grade. Click save.

4. Enter an S or N in the Work Habit assignment you just created. If the majority of the class should receive an S, you can use the quick fill command to fill the entire column with an S. Right-click on the header of the column you want to fill. Select Quick fill and then S. The column fills with an S beside every student’s name. If you choose to use this method, remember to go back and change the S to an N for any student who should not receive an S.

5. Click on the scoresheet tab and select

final grades.

6. Mouse over the standards to read

7. Right-click on the box beneath the first comment next to the student’s name who should receive that comment and select Grades, then the X. Remember that students only get an X if it is an area of need. Repeat for any other students who have an area of need for that specific comment. When you have finished marking areas of need for the first comment, proceed to the second comment. Place an X in the box beside the student(s) name(s) who have an area of need with respect to that comment. Repeat the process for all of the comment columns.

8. Click on Grade Conduct in your class list and follow steps 1-7 above to enter X’s in the appropriate conduct comment columns. Remember that X’s indicate an area of need.

Step 5- Last Step- How to let your PowerSchool admin know that your grades are ready for

report cards

When your grades are completely finished, for each class listed in your class list- including Homeroom, work habits, and

conduct, do the following:

1. Click on the Scoresheet tab.

2. Click on the Q4 in Progress button

3. Click on the checkbox beside Final Grades Complete. A checkmark will be entered. This will let your PowerSchool administrator know that you are ready for that class to be stored. If you have notes for your PowerSchool admin, you can enter them in the box below. Click OK. REPEAT STEPS 1, 2, & 3 FOR EVERY CLASS (including Homeroom, Work Habits, and Conduct.)

IMPORTANT REMINDER!

If you have any student with a grade of D or lower in 2nd – 5th or a 2 or lower in K-1st, you must have a documented conference with

your principal on the plan for remediating the student. There is no standardized format for documentation as most schools have

current practices that are sufficient, but the principal must have documentation that a conference was held and a remediation plan

was developed. This will be helpful as part of the planning for parent/teacher conferences.

DIRECTIONS FOR GRADES FOR RESOURCE TEACHERS (MUSIC, ART, PE, ETC.)

Step 1- Check Your Settings Before you begin to prepare your grades for student report cards, it is important to check your settings. Incorrect settings can cause you problems throughout the year.

1. Go to the Grade Setup tab.

2. Double Click on Q4

3. Be sure you have Total Points

selected for your grade calculation. (Category weights should NOT be selected. Weights are added in the assignment field.) Close the window by clicking the X.

Step 2- Set up Participation Grade Category 1. Double-click on Homework in the

Categories box in the bottom left-hand corner.

2. Change the Name of the Category to Participation. Change score type to letter grade. Click OK.

Step 3- Set up Your Assignments 1. Click on the first class in your class

list.

2. Click on the Assignment tab.

3. Click on the + symbol to add an

assignment.

4. In the Name field, enter participation or Q3 participation. In the category field, select participation. Change Score Type to letter grade. Click Save. Close the window.

5. Change the Reporting term to Q4. Repeat # 3-4 to add an assignment to Quarter 3. You must give each assignment a different name so name this assignment Q4 Participation.

6. The default date for the assignment is today’s date. You will also need to change the dates for each quarter to the following: Q2- 1/23/15 Q3- 4/2/15 Q4- 6/11/15 Click on the calendar beside Date Due to change the date.

7. Add an assignment to Q 3 and Q 4 in the same manner. Now your assignments are added for the year and all you will need to do is enter your grades each 9 weeks.

8. Be sure you are on the Assignments tab. Go back to Q 1. Right-click on the Q2 assignment you entered and select Copy Assignment.

9. A window opens to show you what

you are copying. Click Next.

10. Click in the checkbox to the left of

Classes at the top of the column. All classes will be selected with a checkmark as in the illustration provided. Click OK. The Q1 Participation assignment is copied to all of your classes.

11. Change your reporting term to Q2

and repeat the process in steps 11-13 to copy Q2 assignment to all classes in Q2. Repeat for Q3 and Q4.

Step 4- Enter Your Grades 1. To enter grades, go back to Q1. Click

on the Scoresheet tab. To fill down the assignment grade, right-click in the assignment header and select Quick Fill and then S. All students will be given a grade of S. If you need to assign an N to a students, double-click on the S, delete it, and enter an N. Click SAVE.

Step 5: When your grades for each class are completely finished, do the following: 1. Click on the Scoresheet tab.

2. Click on the Q4 in Progress button

3. Click on the box beside Final Grades

Complete. A checkmark will be entered. This will let your PowerSchool administrator know that you are ready for that class to be stored. If you have notes for your PowerSchool admin, you can enter them in the box below. Click OK.

4. Repeat steps 4 (Enter your Grades) & 5(When your grades for each class are finished) to enter grades for each class and submit them to your PowerSchool administrator.