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Gradebook Class Setup in Aspen 1. Click the Gradebook tab and choose the class you need to setup. 2. Click the Details side-tab. The details for that class appear. 3. In the Course Nickname field, the default is the course and section number. You can rename or leave as is. 4. Choose the Average mode from the drop-down. You can get more information about the different types of Average Modes on the Aspen Teacher Resource page. Averages Grade Scale – Select the appropriate grade scale. Failure to do this will result in grades not appearing on student’s report cards. K-2 Classes: Elementary ESN Scale 3-5 Classes: Elementary School Scale All Elementary Work Habits: Elementary ESN Scale All Elementary Behavior: Elementary School Scale Middle School: Middle School Scale High School: High School Scale 5. Check the box for Portal Notes if you want to make a note about the class that appears on the Family Portal. Many teachers put a brief class description or the grading policy here. Page of 1 10 2 3 1 4 5

2021-2022 Gradebook Setup

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Page 1: 2021-2022 Gradebook Setup

Gradebook Class Setup in Aspen 1. Click the Gradebook tab and choose the class you need to setup.

2. Click the Details side-tab. The details for that class appear.

3. In the Course Nickname field, the default is the course and section number. You can rename or leave as is.

4. Choose the Average mode from the drop-down. You can get more information about the different types of Average Modes on the Aspen Teacher Resource page.

Averages Grade Scale – Select the appropriate grade scale. Failure to do this will result in grades not appearing on student’s report cards.

• K-2 Classes: Elementary ESN Scale • 3-5 Classes: Elementary School Scale • All Elementary Work Habits: Elementary ESN Scale • All Elementary Behavior: Elementary School Scale • Middle School: Middle School Scale • High School: High School Scale

5. Check the box for Portal Notes if you want to make a note about the class that appears on the Family Portal. Many teachers put a brief class description or the grading policy here.

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Linking Courses (Optional, but this should always be first!)

Linking Courses allows you enter Assignments in one class and have them appear in the linked classes automatically. Note: LINKING CLASSES SHOULD BE DONE FIRST! This is not a requirement, but waiting until after assignments or categories have been entered could cause problems. REMEMBER TO SAVE!

To link a section to another section, click Select… Choose the sections you want to link to the current one and click OK. The sections appear on the page. Name the group of linked classes (You can choose any name, example “Semester 1 Bio Classes”). Do not link sections from different terms because students receive assignment notifications.

IMPORTANT! CLASS DETAIL OPTIONS

1. Click Add to add a Category.

2. Code - Enter the Code that you want to use to identify this category - Shorter is better, as the field is limited. Examples: HW-Homework; QZ- Quizzes; TST-Test; DL-Daily Work; EOC-End of Course Test. Description - You can enter a larger amount of text that describes the category in the Description box. Weight – This is the Percent of the grade that you want this category to count in the total for the student.

At the bottom of the class details page there are three blue bars Click on the Expand All link to open the set-up components.

Categories

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Drop Mode (Optional)

In the Drop mode box, do one of the following to determine if you want to drop the lowest scores for this class • Select Do not drop scores if you do not want the system to drop any scores for this class. • Select Drop lowest overall score if you want the system to drop the lowest score(s) for a

term. • If you select Drop lowest score by category, you MUST create categories first.

Choose this if you want to determine how many scores to drop each term by category. For example, you might drop the lowest homework scores each term. To do so, type the number 1 in the # to drop column for each category, for each term. You must already have Categories entered to do this.

Note: On the Scores page, the system will indicate dropped grades with a down arrow symbol.

IMPORTANT STEP! Once you have created your categories, click on the category code in blue.

A window will open to allow you to set the defaults for all assignments entered in the category.

Make sure the visibility is set to PUBLIC.

The Total of all your Categories should equal 100. There is now a bar that displays a graph as you add categories. REMEMBER TO SAVE!

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Creating Assignments

You must create categories prior to adding assignments. There are two types of Assignments – Graded and Ungraded.

Graded assignments - Graded assignments appear on the Scores page for you to enter information. They also appear in the Student and Family portals. Graded assignments might be tests, quizzes, homework, papers, etc.

Ungraded assignments - Ungraded assignments do not appear on the Scores page but they have due dates. Ungraded assignments might include reading or other activities you want students to be aware of, but they will not earn a grade or score. Tip: You can also copy assignments from another class, or IMPORT from a previous year.

There are three ways to create assignments:

1. Click the Gradebook tab. Click the Assignments side-tab. On the Options menu, click Add Assignment; or

2. Click the Scores side-tab. In the top yellow header box, click Add Assignment; or

3. Click the Calendar tab. On the calendar, find and click in the date you want to assign the assignment. Select the type of assignment you want to create.(Graded or Ungraded)

The new assignment page will then appear:

Category- Choose the category that this assignment is tied to.

GB column name – Enter the short name that will appear in the heading of the scores tab when you enter grades.

Assignment name – This is the Long name you want to display for each assignment.

Date assigned and Date Due – Enter the appropriate dates.

Total Points – This field only appears if you calculate averages by Total Points.

Weight - This field only appears if you calculate averages using category and assignment weights.

Online Submission- Enter dates here if you are going to allow students to submit assignments online. You will receive these files on the Scores page.

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Page 5: 2021-2022 Gradebook Setup

Extra Credit Points – Enter the number of extra credit points that are possible on this assignment. You only have to enter a value here if you are going to allow extra credit points for this assignment. Note: Aspen will not allow a grade that is higher than the value you entered in the Total Points field unless you have entered something in this field. For example; you have a 100 point assignment but you are going to provide two extra credit points at the end. You would enter 100 in Total Points and 2 in the Extra credit points field.

Entire Assignment is Extra Credit – You would ONLY check this box if the whole assignment is extra credit.

Sequence number – Feature to order assignments differently that the “by date” default.

Score not droppable – Select this checkbox IF you have set the category this assignment is attached to allow the lowest grade to be dropped, BUT want to exclude this assignment from that rule. In other words, this grade is going to count.

Visibility Type – All assignments should be marked as PUBLIC! Choosing any other value will cause averages to be displayed incorrectly in the Family/Student Portals.

Entry Mode – Choose whether your grade will be Alpha only, Numeric Only, or Both. This will auto-populate IF you set up categories completely

Grade Scale - Choose a grade scale this assignment is connected to.

Grade Term – Choose the Grade Term for this assignment.

Recurring Options – Choose how you want assignments to repeat, IF this is a recurring assignment. This is a great timesaver for assignments that repeat throughout the Term. Example: Weekly Spelling Tests, Weekly Behavior grades, etc.

Daily - enter the start and end dates and in the Frequency field, enter how often you want the assignment to repeat. Weekly – Enter the start and End Dates and then choose the day of the week you want the assignment to repeat. Monthly – Enter the Start and End Date and which day of the month you want the assignment to occur.

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After you choose the category, this section will auto-populate IF you set up Category Details! (page 3)

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Note: If this section is linked to other classes, you can also recur this assignment for the linked classes. To recur this assignment, you must define the schedule before you click Save for a new assignment. Subsequent edits you make to any assignment or recurring schedule for the assignment apply to the class you are working in only; the system does not copy edits to assignments to other linked classes.

Also add this assignment to linked classes – Check this box if you want to add this assignment to your other linked classes. (This will only appear when you have linked classes)

To add an assignment from the Assignment side tab, make sure to scroll all the way down to specify the correct sections.

To add the assignment from the Calendar view, click on the magnifying glass to specify the correct sections.

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Creating Individualized Assignments

Assignments can be assigned to specific students in Aspen. This is a great feature for teachers that want to individualize instruction. The assignment will not be seen by students/parents in the Family portal or used for calculation unless it is assigned to them.

Click on the Students tab in the assignment set-up box. Use the Include/Exclude buttons to choose the students that will receive the assignment.

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Entering Grades in Gradebook

To begin entering grades, click on the Scores side tab and enter student grades in the appropriate column.

Blanks do NOT count as zeros. You will have to enter a zero for it to count or use one of the Special codes that you can create as explained in the steps below.

If you would like to mark a grade so it does NOT count against a student, highlight the grade, then go to Options, and choose Exempt Current Cell.

Have you ever wanted to make a note on a grade in your gradebook that the Parent can see in their portal? It is very easy.

After entering the grade value, click the note icon:

The Assignment Feedback box will appear:

Assignment Feedback - the top area WILL BE seen by students and parents in the Family Portal. This is a useful way to communicate information regarding how the student did on an individual assignment. The only place this information will display is in the Portal. It will NOT print on any report.

Teacher’s Notes - The bottom area is for personal notes seen by the teacher only. Do NOT confuse the two areas.

Click OK when finished. The completed note symbol will appear by any grade in the gradebook that has feedback or notes attached.

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They can compare what is in the portal with the average in their gradebook by clicking on the icon at the top of the current average column.

It will display the Portal View in a column right next to it. If the averages are different, they know they have an assignment marked private somewhere.

**To identify Public assignments, look for the icon in the assignment header (see below).

A grade marked Private is not visible to anyone but the teacher. The grade that is Private will not be included in the average that others see, but will be calculated in the average the teacher sees, therefore it causes the average that the teacher sees to be different than what the parent and students see. Below are instructions to compare the average that the parent sees to what the teacher sees.

Assignments: Public vs. Private

Public (green icon) - Scores are viewable and included in the portal average

Private (red icon) - Scores are not viewable or calculated in the portal average. They are calculated in the teacher gradebook.

Scores Private, Assignment Header Public (blue icon) - Scores are not viewable or calculated in the portal average. They are calculated in the teacher gradebook. The assignment header (title) is viewable in the portal.

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Using Special Codes in the Gradebook

A teacher can assign a special code to a score field in the gradebook instead of a value. These special codes can designate certain meanings; such as Exempt, Missing, Absent, Field Trip, etc. Please follow the directions below to create a “special codes” library for your gradebook.

1. Choose Tools top tab, Special Codes side tab.

2. Select Options > Add

3. Enter the code that you will use in the gradebook. Remember, there are already letters being used in the gradebook. (A, B, C, D, F, U, E, S, N)You cannot use these for codes. You can combine codes (ex. AB).

4. Choose how the code will behave in the gradebook.

5. Check the box if you want the score to be reported as a missing grade in the missing column.

6. Click in the color box to color-code the entry.

7. Click SAVE. To add another, make sure you go to Options > Add.

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