TeacherPlus Management Site User Guide

TeacherPlus GradebookManagement SiteUser Guide

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This guidewas last updated on February 13, 2017.

ContentsContents 3

CHAPTER 1 Get Started 51.1 Introduction 61.2 Interface and Icons 8

CHAPTER 2 Grading 92.1 Add and Weight Assignment Categories 102.2 Create a New Grade Scale 122.3 Assign a Grade Scale to a Specific Course 132.4 Weight Semester and Final Averages 14

CHAPTER 3 Scores 213.1 Create Score Symbols 223.2 Add Score Annotations 23

CHAPTER 4 General Settings 254.1 Change Marking Period Start Dates 264.2 Set Demographic Fields 274.3 Configure Default Column Settings 304.4 Configure Attendance 324.5 Configure Comment Visibility 344.6 Enable Narratives 374.7 Integrate IEP Direct 384.8 Set up a New Gradebook School Year 404.9 Report Permissions 45

CHAPTER 5 Skills Classic 475.1 Create Skills and Link Them to Courses 485.2 Create Skill Grade Symbols and a Grade Pool 515.3 Link a Grade Pool to Specific Skills 535.4 Configure Skill Grade Cut-off Values 545.5 Skill Grade Settings 55

CHAPTER 6 Gradebooks 596.1 View Teacher Gradebooks 606.2 Create a User Account 61

CHAPTER 7 Logs 637.1 Create a Gradebook Change Log 64

CHAPTER 8 Reports 678.1 Generate an Attendance Report 688.2 Generate a Grade, Comment, or Narrative Report 72

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Get StartedThis chapter introduces you to the TeacherPlusManagement Site by coveringwhat you can accomplish with the software and this guide. It also gives you anoverview of the user interface.

1.1 Introduction 6

1.2 Interface and Icons 8

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1.1 Introduction

With the TeacherPlusManagement Site, administrators can fully customize TeacherPlus to meet the needs oftheir school, all fromone central location at an enterprise level. This guide shows you how to use theManagement Site to set up andmaintain TeacherPlus according to your school’s preferences. The guide isorganized in the same order as theManagement Site’s navigation, with the exception of theGet Startedchapter. Topics in this guide include:

n Grading: Create score categories (such as “homework” and “quiz”), create letter and/or number gradescales and assign them to courses, and set up weighting of semester and final averages. You can alsocontrol whether or not teachers can changeweight settings.

n Scores: Add or edit score symbols and score annotations, and choosewhether or not teachers can addtheir own annotations.

6 Chapter 1 | Get Started

n Skills: Create and assign grade scales (including those for Common Core) as well as choose how tocalculatemarking period skills grades.

n Gradebooks: View gradebooks as specific teachers, create user accounts, and lock or unlockgradebooks.

n Logs: Obtain logs for when teachers change scores, skills, marking and end term grades, and scorecolumns and categories. You can also generate logs on IEP views.

n Reports: Generate reports related to attendance, grades, averages, scores, skills grades, comments, andnarratives.

n Comments and Narratives: Select comment categories coming fromAdminPlus, and enable teachers toadd narratives to marking periods as well as control whether or not the information can be shared onPlusPortals.

n Other General tasks: Set up a new gradebook school year, set marking period start dates, selectdemographic fields, and change default column visibility for PlusPortals (and teachers’ ability to changethis visibility).

Some of these tasks require interaction with both theManagement Site and AdminPlus. TeacherPlusManagement Site integrates seamlessly with AdminPlus: Information is kept up-to-date between the twoapplications through the SyncManager in AdminPlus, such as grades, skills, demographic information, andcomments and narratives. This guide assumes you’re familiar with using AdminPlus, but it includesinstructions for both applications whenever a task requires it. Formore information on using AdminPlus,please see our AdminPlus documentation at redikersupport.com/documentation.

Because this guide is organized in standalone topics that cover specific tasks, you can read it in any order.Tasks that contain different sub-tasks are broken down into different sections while remaining a single overallarticle, such as the topic on creating a new gradebook school year.

Chapter 1 | Get Started 7

1.2 Interface and Icons

8 Chapter 1 | Get Started

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GradingCustomizing the grading process from theGradingmenu begins with creatingcolumn categories and configuring their weights. You can create any number ofcategories, such as Homework, Quiz, Test, and Project. Then, you can choose tocalculate the categories based on weight ratios (points earned and pointspossiblemultiplied by theweight) or calculate based on awhat-you-see-what-you-get model (total points earned divided by total points possible). You canalso choose to give teachers permission to create their own categories andchange their weights, though this is not generally recommended if you want toreinforce consistency across all gradebooks.

The grading process also involves creating grade scales and assigning them tocourses. You have the flexibility to create number or letter grade scales as wellas assign specific scales to specific courses. Lastly, you can configure howsemester and final averages are to be calculated. You can do this by settingspecific weights formarking periods and semesters. If necessary, you can alsogive teachers permission to change these settings, though such permissionsmay cause inconsistencies across the board.

Topics in this chapter include:

2.1 Add andWeight Assignment Categories 10

2.2 Create a NewGrade Scale 12

2.3 Assign a Grade Scale to a Specific Course 13

2.4 Weight Semester and Final Averages 14

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2.1 Add andWeight Assignment Categories

You can create new assignment categories or change the default ones as well as change their weight values.Category weights are based on ratios, and percentage values are automatically adjusted based on the valuesentered. You can choose to allow teachers to add their own categories, convert all scores to percentages,weight their own columns, and/or edit the default category weights you've set for them.

Add an Assignment Category

1. Click Grading, and then click Column/Category Settings.

2. Click Add Category.

3. Type the category name, enter a weight, if you've enabled weighted categories, and click a color fromtheColor drop-down list.

Note: The color you pick will be associated with all assignments belonging to that category inteachers' gradebooks and cannot be changed by the teachers.

4. Do either of the following:

n Click Save and Add Another to save the current category and continue addingmore.

n Click Save.

5. To edit an assignment category, click beside the category, type the new category name, and click

.

10 Chapter 2 | Grading

Manage Column and Category Weights

1. Click Grading, and then click Column/Category Settings.

2. In theConvert Scores to a percentage before calculating Marking Period Averages area, clickNo (Recommended) or Yes.

Note: Choosing Yes for this feature converts all scores to percentages. For example, an 8 out of10 on a quiz is converted to an 80% out of 100%. In this example, the quiz is now considered ashaving the same number of points as a test, whichmay not be ideal in most situations. For thisreason, we recommend not enabling this feature.

3. In theWeight Columns area, clickNo (Recommended) or Yes.

Note: Choosing Yes for this feature enables teachers to weight each column. Both the pointsearned and the points possible aremultiplied by theweight. For example, a student may earn an 8on a 10-point quiz and also an 80% on a 100-point test. The teacher can then weight the testcolumn as a "2" and the quiz column as a "1," whichmakes the test count twice asmuch as thequiz, even though 100 points is not twice asmuch as 10 points. It's recommended to chooseNo(Recommended) for this feature because students have an easier time understanding the "whatyou see is what you get" gradingmethod (that is, total points earned divided by total pointspossible).

Tip: If a small group of teachers wants to use these features, select theAllow teachers tochange this setting check box to give teachers permission to adjust a setting in theirgradebook. Keep inmind this change affects all teachers.

4. In theCategory Weight Settings area, do any of the following:

n Select theWeight Categories check box.

n Select theAllow teachers to add their own categories check box.

n Select theAllow teachers to edit default weights check box.

Note: Teachers can only edit theweight of categories not in use. If they wish to change theweight of a category in a newmarking period, they should create a new secondary categoryof the same type. For example, the category Homework 1 can have aweight of 10 in thefirst marking period, and the category Homework 2 can have aweight of 15 in the secondmarking period. (As long as the category Homework 1 isn't used in the secondmarkingperiod, its weight will not impact students' grades.)

5. In theWeight column, double-click the cell corresponding to a category, enter theweight value, andpress Enter.

Chapter 2 | Grading 11

2.2 Create a NewGrade Scale

Grade scales use cut-off value ranges to assignmarking period and term grades based on the scores studentshave earned in all assignments, tests, or quizzes. You can create any number of grade scales as well asmodifythe default ones that comewith the TeacherPlusManagement Site. Keep inmind that the gradesmust bepresent in your school's AdminPlus grade table.

1. Click Grading, and then click Add/Edit Course Grade Scales.

2. Click Add Course Grade Scale.

3. In theAdd Grade Scale dialog box, enter the grade scale name.

4. In theGrade column, enter the first grade beginning with the highest one, and press Enter.

5. In theCut-off Value column, type the cut-off value percentage, and press Enter. For example, the cut-off value for A could be 90 (that is, 90 to 100).

6. Enter the remaining grades and cut-off values, and click Save when finished.

Tip: You can set any grade scale as the default by selecting the check box Default Course Grade Scalecorresponding to the course.


2.3 Assign a Grade Scale to a Specific Course

Upon setting a grade scale as the default (thus, assigning it to all courses), you canmanually assign a specificgrade scale to a particular course.

1. Click Grading, and then click Assign Grade Scales to Courses.

2. Browse for the course, and click beside the course.

3. In theGrade Scale column cell corresponding to the course, click a grade scale from the list.

4. Click .


2.4 Weight Semester and Final Averages

Configuring semester and final averages is a three-part process: selecting a calculationmethod, enabling termaverage columns, and setting the term averageweights. Youmust first configure these settings in TeacherPlusManagement Site before teachers can view and calculate the term averages in their gradebooks. Uponconfiguring term averages and checking your school's grading policy, you also have the option to give teacherspermission to change the term average values set by you.

An Overview of Calculation Methods

There are two calculationmethods to choose from: By Grade or By Average. Themain difference is that withthe By Grademethod, a semester or final grade is calculated based onmarking period grades and not themarking period averages. Also, because teachers can overridemarking period grades, using the By Grademethod takes into account those overrides because they'remade to themarking period grade.

In the following example, let's imagine how each calculationmethod would affect a school using a letter gradesystem. First, let's take a look at a custom letter grade scale used to calculate amarking period grade.

There are five grade symbols on this grade scale. Each symbol has a school-defined cut-off value associatedwith it. This cut-off value is used to determinewhich grade each student will receive for amarking period. Thevalue is equal to the lowest mathematical average that a student needs to achieve in order to receive thatgrade.

For example, in order to receive amarking period grade of “E” on this scale, the student must achieve amarking period average between 89.50 and 97.49. This is how themarking period grade is determined. Keepinmind themarking period average comes from all the gradebook score columns of that marking period,which the teacher has chosen to count in the average.

Now, imagine a student has received the following grades for the first twomarking periods and that eachmarking period is weighted equally:


Marking Period Average of Column Scores Grade Teacher Grade Override

Marking Period 1 88 S E

Marking Period 2 98 M -

For the first marking period, the student's averagewas 88, resulting in a grade of S, which the teacheroverrode to the higher grade of E. According to the scale above, a student needs at least an average of 89.5 toreceive an E, but the teacher decided to give student an E anyway perhaps because the student demonstratedextra effort. Moreover, in the secondmarking period, the student's averagewas 98, resulting in a grade of M(no override).

If the school chooses to use theBy Averagemethod, only themarking period averages of 88 and 98 wouldbe averaged to arrive at a semester grade, which would be a grade of E, based on an average of 93.

However, if theBy Grademethod is chosen instead, the semester gradewould be an average of themarkingperiod grades E (the overridden grade) andM. Becausemarking period averages are not taken into account,TeacherPlus automatically assigns a value to each grade symbol, based on an equidistant grade scale, such asthe following:

As a result, the student's first marking period grade of E (a value of 4.00 on the scale) would be averaged withthe grade of M (a value of 5.00) from the secondmarking period. The semester grade comes to M (4.50).

In this scenario, each calculationmethod results in a different grade, mainly because the grade overridewastaken into account with the By Grademethod, whereas it was ignored when the By Averagemethod waschosen.

Choose a Calculation Method

Warning: This setting has enormous consequences for your school and understanding it is crucial.Before proceeding with the following steps, make sure you understand the critical difference incalculationmethods explained above.

1. Click Grading, and then click Semester And Final Averages.

2. Choose one of the following two options:


n Click By Average. Thismethod only looks at the numerical average value of eachmarkingperiod when calculating a semester or final grade, ignoring any marking period grade overrides.

n Click By Grade. Thismethod only considers themarking period grades (not average) whendetermining semester or final grades, including any marking period grade overrides.

Tip: To give teachers permission to edit the average formulas, select the check box AllowTeachers to Edit Formulas. Please consult your school's grading policy before enablingthis setting.

3. Optional: Select theUse Minimum Numeric Value check box, and set theminimumnumeric valueallowed for averages.

About the "Use Minimum Numeric Value" Option

In letter grading schools, a student who receives an “A” in the first marking period and an “F” in thesecondmarking period would have a semester average of a “C.” However, in number gradingschools, a student who receives a “100” in the first marking period and a “0” in the secondmarkingperiod would have a semester average of a “50,” which is still failing.

In order to bemore equitable, number grading schools can now set aminimumgrade of “50.” Thismeans that the “0” that the above numeric school’s student received in the secondmarking periodwould count as a “50,” resulting in a semester average of “75.” This is equivalent to the “C” the lettergrading school’s student received for the exact samework.

This option applies whether semester averages are being calculated using theBy Average orByGrade settings. Theminimum valuewill also be used for Exam scores. (In the example above, anexam score of 40 would be counted as a 50.)

4. Optional: Select theAvailable to Teachers check box for each term available. This check box makesterm average columns available to teachers, allowing them to calculate term averages but notnecessarily edit the average formulas you've set.

5. For each semester/term table, choose one of the following options:

n Option A: Clear the check box Use Combined Marking Periods, and enter the average valuefor each course type relevant to the semester table.


Example

For semester one, a school could have an average of 45 for the first quarter, 45 for thesecond quarter, and 10 for themidterm exam. Keep inmind that although the averagevalues are ratios and don't have to add up to 100, it may be easier to have them add up to100 (like in the following illustration).

About Term Columns

Depending upon your AdminPlus Report Card settings, youmay have the following term


tables:

n Semester (one ormore): available when SEMESTER is selected as a term type.

n Final grade: available when FINAL is selected as a term type. This table is used tocalculate final grades based on the term averages.

Each term table has a Sections column that lists each course type available, rangingfrom all-year courses to courses that only taken place during a certain quarter orsemester. The remaining vertical blue columns refer to marking periods or exams. Thecolumn names and their order are based on your AdminPlus Report Card columnsettings, varying from school to school.


n Option B: Select the check box Use Combined Marking Periods, and then select whichmarking periods you want to include in the average to calculate a semester grade.

When you select Use Combined Marking Periods option, TeacherPlus takes all theassignments in all of themarking periods you select, including assignment category weights.Then, it averages all of the assignments using the assignment categories weights to arrive at agrade. It's as if all themarking periods selected were combined into onemarking period. Also,with this option, the By Average or By Grademethod is not taken into account in theterm/semester grade calculation.

Tip: This option can be useful for schools that only report grades every trimester orsemester. When it comes time to report progress grades, using this option would combineall of the selectedmarking periods into one bigmarking period for the semester gradecalculation.

6. Click Save.

Tip: Once you've configured semester and final averages, you can do a term grade audit report topreview how an a term grade has been calculated based on theManagement Site settings. To do so,open a teacher's gradebook, locate a semester or final grade column, right-click a student's semestergrade, and then click Audit Report.


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ScoresThe first step to getting teachers ready to assign scores in their gradebooks iscreating score symbols. TheManagement Site comes preloaded with severalscore symbols you can choose fromwhile also making it easy for you to createyour own. You can create any type of score symbol to fit your school's gradingstandards, from letter grade symbols to check marks or pass or fail. To makethe grading process easier for teachers, you can define shortcuts to a scoresymbol (for example, P for Pass).

Score annotations are also an important part of the grading process. They helpteachers keep track of special circumstances regarding a score, such as when anassignment is turned in late. With theManagement Site, you can create anynumber of annotations (such as Turned in Late or Incomplete), predefined forteachers to quickly choose from.

This chapter covers both of these processes:

3.1 Create Score Symbols 22

3.2 Add Score Annotations 23

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3.1 Create Score Symbols

Teachers use score symbols to grade students on individual assignments in their gradebooks. The symbolscan be numbers, letters, or symbols, such as letter grades, Pass or Fail, or check plus orminus. Each symbolrepresents an exact percentage value (that is, not a range). For example, a B+ could be exactly 89%, whereasan A- could be exactly 92%. In addition, the symbols can only bemodified in theGradebook Management Sitein order to maintain consistency across the school.

1. Click Scores, and click Additional Score Symbols.

2. Click Add Score Symbol.

3. Enter the scoreName, Code, Shortcut, and numerical Value.

Note: Score symbols do not have to exist in your school's AdminPlus Grade Table, as they do notshow on report cards or other reports in AdminPlus.

4. Do one of the following:

n Click Save and Add Another to save the current score symbol and continue addingmore.

n Click Save.

5. To edit a score symbol, click beside the symbol.

6. To delete a score symbol, click beside the symbol.

22 Chapter 3 | Scores

3.2 Add Score Annotations

You can create a variety of ready-to-use annotations for teachers to choose from, such as "Great Work,""IncompleteWork," "Turned in Late," or "Latewith no Penalty." Each annotation is represented by a code tomake it easier for teachers to add the annotation to a column score. Although only the annotation codesdisplay on Score columns, the actual annotations are visible to parents and students on PlusPortals.

1. Click Scores, and then click Score Annotations.

2. Click Add Score Annotation.

3. Type the annotation code and its description. For example, "INC" would be the code, and "Incomplete"would be the description.


n Click Save and Add Another to save the current annotation and continue addingmore.

n Click Save.

5. To edit an annotation, click beside the annotation.

6. To delete an annotation, the click beside the annotation.

7. To allow teachers to add their own annotations, select the check box Allow Teachers to add ScoreAnnotations.

Tip: Use at the top of theCode andDescription columns to sort through the annotations and onlydisplay the ones relevant to you.

Chapter 3 | Scores 23

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General SettingsTheGeneral Settingsmenu containsmiscellaneous customizations, whichdon't require frequent maintenance once configured. For example, you can setmarking period start dates for the remainder of the school year as well as whichdemographic information teachers can see for students.

A topic of special importance in this chapter is setting up a new gradebookschool year. This is a process you complete at the beginning of a new schoolyear, which helps archive gradebook information for the previous year whilecarrying over settings to the new year. The task involves working with the SyncManager in AdminPlus to create the new year and theManagement Site to setmarking period start dates. All information needed for this process is includedin the Set up aNewGradebook School Year topic.

This chapter includes the following general settings topics:

4.1 ChangeMarking Period Start Dates 26

4.2 Set Demographic Fields 27

4.3 Configure Default Column Settings 30

4.4 Configure Attendance 32

4.5 Configure Comment Visibility 34

4.6 Enable Narratives 37

4.7 Integrate IEP Direct 38

4.8 Set up aNewGradebook School Year 40

4.9 Report Permissions 45CHAP

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4.1 ChangeMarking Period Start Dates

TeacherPlus displays the current marking period to teachers, depending upon the date each period has beenset to in the TeacherPlusManagement Site. When teachers are not in the current marking period, TeacherPlusdisplays a red warning, notifying themof what the present marking period is.

1. Click General Settings, and then clickMarking Period Start Dates.

2. Click beside amarking period to browse the calender, and then click a start date.

3. Repeat step 2 to set the start date of anothermarking period.

4. Optional: If you wish to disablemarking period dates, select theDisable Marking Period Dates checkbox.

Note: If you disable this feature, teachers will no longer be notified of what the current markingperiod is when they're currently viewing a different one. Formore information about this feature,click .

5. Click Save.

26 Chapter 4 | General Settings

4.2 Set Demographic Fields

Demographic fields are imported fromAdminPlus. From the TeacherPlusManagement Site, you can choosewhich student demographic fields teachers are able to view in their gradebooks.

Export Demographics from AdminPlus

1. In AdminPlus, click Tools on themenu bar, and then click TeacherPlus Setup & Sync Manager.

2. Click Demographic Fields.

3. Hold down the Control key while clicking the demographic fields you want to export.

4. Click to import the selected fields, and then click Done [F10]. You can also click to import alldemographics fields.

Chapter 4 | General Settings 27

Select Demographic Fields in the TeacherPlus Management Site

1. Click General Settings, and then click Demographic Fields.

2. In theAvailable Fields column, hold down the Control key while clicking each demographic field youwant displayed.

3. Click to transfer the selected fields to the Selected Fields column. Alternatively, click totransfer all available demographic fields.

4. To remove a demographic field from the Selected Fields column, click the field, and then click .

Alternatively, click to clear all transferred fields.

5. Optional: Select the Show Contact Details check box to display the contact information of astudent's guardians when a teacher clicks the student's name in TeacherPlus.



4.3 Configure Default Column Settings

Default column settings determine the shared status (public or private) of new assignment Score columns aswell as if the columns count in averages. Upon configuring these default settings, you can choosewhether ornot teachers can change them. If your school uses PlusPortals, the default shared settings affect howimmediately assignment scores are shared with students and parents on Portals.

1. Click General Settings, and then click Columns.

2. In theDefault new columns to area, do one of the following:

n Click Private. This option is recommended because it doesn't instantly share Score columngrades with parents and students on Portals, giving teachers the opportunity to make gradechanges beforemaking them live.

n Click Shared (Public). This optionmakes new score column grades instantly available to parentsand students on Portals.

3. Do one of the following, depending on whether or not you want Score columns to count inmarkingperiod and term averages by default:

n Click Do Not Count in Averages.

Note: If you've set default columns to Private, it's recommended you also set themnot tocount in averages. For example, if a Score column is set to private but it counts in averages,some parentsmay misinterpret their child's average on PlusPortals because they cannotsee a grade (made private) that may be affecting the average.

n Click Count in Averages.

4. To allow teachers to edit the settings you configured in steps 2 and 3, do either of the following in theAllow teachers to edit area:

n Select the check box Shared (Public)/Private Setting.

n Select the check box Count in Averages Setting.


Note: If you've set default columns to private and not to count in averages, make sure yougive teachers permission to change these settings, so the information can be shared withparents and students on PlusPortals once it's ready.

If you've given teachers the option to edit both settings in step 4, when they click the shared icon of aScore column tomake it public, the column automatically counts in averages.

Similarly, if they click to make the column private, it automatically makes the column not count inaverages. The grades of a column not counting in averages appear in red.


4.4 Configure Attendance

All AdminPlus attendance codes are imported into the TeacherPlusManagement Site. From theManagementSite, you can select which codes are available to teachers in their gradebooks. In addition, you can set whichday theWeekly Attendance View chart begins with.

1. Click General Settings, and then click Attendance.

2. In the School Week area, select the check box for each day of the school week for which teachers willtake attendance.

3. Click a day from the First Day Of Week list.

The day you select is the day theGradeBook'sAttendance Weekly Viewwill begin with.


4. In Available Codes, hold down the Control key while clicking each attendance code to be used.

5. Click to transfer the codes to the Selected Codes area.

6. In the Selected Codes area, use the up and down arrows to sort the attendance codes in the order youwould like teachers to see them in theAttendance column of TeacherPlus.

The following figure illustrates how teachers see the order of the attendance codes.

7. Click Save.


4.5 Configure Comment Visibility

When youmake comment columns visible to teachers, they can choose from a pre-populated list ofcomments to add to students' progress reports in TeacherPlus, such as "Outstanding Student" or "PoorEffort." The columns and comments are imported fromAdminPlus andmust be configured there.

Make Comments Visible to Teachers in the TeacherPlus Management Site

1. Click General Settings, and then click Comments.

2. Select the check box for eachmarking period comment column you want to make visible to teachers.

Note: Because each comment column is specific to amarking period, the comments a teacherenters while in amarking period is confined to that marking period alone.


Enable a Comment Column in AdminPlus

1. Click Report Cards on the Shortcut Bar, and then click Cust RC.

2. Click Customize report card columns, and then clickNext.


n To create a comment column, enter a column name, a 5 and 3 character abbreviation, and setthe column Type to COMMENT.

n If you already have comment columns created, make sureCOMMENT is selected in the Typecolumn.

4. Click Accept [F10].

Note: Comment columns are used for both report cards in AdminPlus and progress reports inTeacherPlus.


Edit a Comment in AdminPlus

1. Click Report Cards on the Shortcut Bar, and then click Cust RC.

2. Click Edit report card comments, and then clickNext.

3. To edit a comment, click the comment, type the changes, and click Accept [F10].

4. To add a comment, enter the comment in an empty row, and click Accept [F10].


4.6 Enable Narratives

Narratives are custom commentary teachers can enter about a student for amarking period, which can beadded to the student's progress report in the report settings and shared on PlusPortals. Unlike the pre-populated list of comments, narratives enable teachers to write whatever commentary about the studentthey wish.

1. Click General Settings, and then clickNarratives.

2. Do any of the following:

n Select Allow teachers to share narratives to make the narratives public on PlusPortals.

n Select Allow teachers to enter marking period narratives. As the name implies, this optionenables theNarrative feature in TeacherPlus.

n To impose a character limit on narratives, select the check box Limit Narrative Length, andenter a character limit value.

3. To impose a character limit on narratives, select the check box Limit Narrative Length, and enter acharacter limit value.

Note: Because narratives can be added to progress reports, it's a good idea to impose areasonable character limit to avoid lengthy commentary that may take up toomuch space.

4. Click Save.


4.7 Integrate IEP Direct

If your school uses IEP Direct, teachers can see students' IEPs right in TeacherPlus, without having to firstimport them into AdminPlus. Clicking the IEP icon in the IEP column in TeacherPlus opens the IEP directly fromIEP Direct’s website.

Note: In order for IEP Direct to work, youmust store the IEP Direct ID in a field in your AdminPlusdatabase.

1. In AdminPlus, click Tools, and then click TeacherPlus Setup & Sync Manager.

2. In the TeacherPlus Setup & Sync Manager, click Send (Sync) Settings.

3. In theGeneral Specifications dialog box, use option 3 to select the field containing your IEP DirectID.

4. Back in the TeacherPlus Setup & Sync Manager, click Select Demographic Fields, andmake surethe IEP Direct ID field is in the Selected Fields column. This ensures teachers have access to the fieldwith the IEP Direct ID in their gradebooks.


5. In the TeacherPlusManagement Site, click General Settings, and then click IEP Direct.

6. In the Enter IEP Direct Specifications area, select the Enable IEP Direct check box, and specify thefollowing:

n Security Token: Security token provided by IEP Direct.

n SMS Token: Unique token provided by IEP Direct.

n User Role: A user's role, such as Principal, Teacher, or any other short string.

n Viewer Type: Data as provided by IEP Direct.

For information how teachers can enable the IEP column in their gradebook, refer to the IEP topic "View IEP"in the TeacherPlus Gradebook user guide for teachers.


4.8 Set up a NewGradebook School Year

After setting up a new school year in AdminPlus, youmust also go through the new year process forTeacherPlus. This process ensures a gradebook archive is created for the previous year and that your settingsare carried over to the new year. Please note that running this process will temporarily remove teachers’access to their gradebooks of the school year that has ended. This topic assumes you know how to set up anew AdminPlus year.

By completing the new year process, you will accomplish the following:

n Copy the following TeacherPlusManagement Site settings from the previous year to the new year:

n Default categories

n Grade scales and the courses to which they are linked

n Semester and final average formulas

n Skill grade settings

n Additional score symbols

n Score annotations

n Demographic field selections

n Column settings

n Attendance code selections

n Comment settings

n Narrative settings

n Combined Progress Report settings

n Management Site user accounts and their credentials

n Teacher accounts with credentials


n Copy the following gradebook teacher settings:

n Categories and their weights

Note: Categories are stored by gradebook in order to make it possible for different classesto have different categories and weights. If theManagement Site setting allows teachers toedit categories and weights, then the new year process will attempt to copy what theteacher created in the previous year to the new year. This will only work if the teachertaught the same class in the previous year; otherwise, their initial categories will come fromtheManagement Site defaults.

Note: Teachersmust inspect all of their categories and weights to make sure the categoriesand weights are as they want them to be in the new school year.

n Settings

n Report settings

n Templates

n Teacher-defined annotations

n View > Sort Columns

n View > Header Rows

n View > Statistics

n View > Gradebooks > Also Show in the Gradebook Menu > Line 2

n Create archival Excel files for all of your gradebooks for the year that has ended. These Excel files can befound in the TeacherPlus Archival Excel Files folder, located on your server in the RS4 folder.

Note: Creating this archive is amanual process, shown in step 5 below.

To set up a new TeacherPlus year, do the following:

1. On the toolbar in AdminPlus, change the school year to the new year.

2. On the toolbar, click Setup > General > Current And Scheduling Year.


3. Change theCurrent Year (Active Year) to the new school year, set Scheduling Year to NONE, andthen click Done.

The next step involves accessing the SyncManager to finalize creating the new year in AdminPlus andto create an Excel archive of gradebooks.

4. Click Tools > TeacherPlus Setup & Sync Manager, and then click Create New Year. Select theprevious Active Year to copy TeacherPlus Gradebook User details, and then click Done [F10].Confirm thewarning.

Note:To send pictures and IEP documents to the new year, click Tools > TeacherPlus Setup & SyncManager, and then, under Send to Teacher Plus, click All Data (Since Year Start). In theTeacherPlus Gradebook Sync: All dialog-box select Send All Pictures and Send All IEP Files.

5. Click Create Archival Excel Files, select the school year that just ended, and click Done [F10].



Amessage appears, indicating that the archive has been saved to RS4 > TeacherPlus Archival ExcelFiles on your computer.

You can then navigate to the specified location on your computer to access the archive.

Inside the TeacherPlus Archival Excel Files folder, a folder is created for each gradebook schoolyear archive.

The last step involves accessing the TeacherPlusManagement Site to set themarking period start datesfor the new school year.

6. In the TeacherPlusManagement Site, click General Settings >Marking Period Start Dates, and setthemarking period dates for the new school year.

Note: When teachers next open TeacherPlus, they will see the new school year's courses androsters.

Now that you've created a new year, proceed to creating archival Excel files of gradebooks.

If, for any reason, you need to modify gradebook information for the school year that has ended, do thefollowing:

1. Change the school year to the year that has ended on the AdminPlus toolbar.

2. Make the school year the active year (Setup > General > Current And Scheduling Year).

3. Using the TeacherPlus Setup & Sync Manager, perform aAll Data (Since Year Start) sync.

Note: The gradebooks for the school year that ended will be back and can be edited. Please beaware that this process undoes the gradebook new school year process described in the beginningof this topic.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 to return to the new school year.


4.9 Report Permissions

When generating a student progress report, it's possible for a teacher to generate a combined report thatincludes all of the student's courses and sections, even those not taught by the teacher generating the report.This feature is enabled in the TeacherPlusManagement Site.

1. Click General Settings, and then click Report Permissions.

2. Select the check box Allow teachers to include sections of other teachers.


46


47

Skills ClassicIn the Skills Classicmenu, you can comprehensively customize grading forskills. This customization process begins with creating a skills grade scale andthen choosing how the skills grades are to be calculated formarking periods.You can set a default calculationmethod for all teachers or give them theflexibility to change this default method. Lastly, choosewhether or not toenable calculation for semester and final skills grades, based on the formulasyou previously set up for semester and final grades.

In this chapter, you'll learn to:

5.1 Create Skills and Link Them to Courses 48

5.2 Create Skill Grade Symbols and aGrade Pool 51

5.3 Link a Grade Pool to Specific Skills 53

5.4 Configure Skill Grade Cut-off Values 54

5.5 Skill Grade Settings 55

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5.1 Create Skills and Link Them to Courses

Skills must first be set up in AdminPlus before they can be used in TeacherPlus. Creating and configuring skillsin AdminPlus and theGradebook Management Site is a four-part process, covered throughout this chapter:

n Creating the skills and assigning them to courses (covered in this topic)

n Creating skill grade symbols and a grade pool

n Assigning a grade pool to specific skills (optional)

n Configuring cut-off values in theGradebook Management Site

Create Skills in AdminPlus

1. On the Shortcut Bar, click Report Cards.

2. In theReport Cardsmenu, click Cust RC.

3. In theCustomize Report Cards Plus dialog box, click Skills and concepts, and then clickNext.

48 Chapter 5 | Skills Classic

4. On the Skills tab, click aRecord # that is unused, and fill out the information for the skill beingcreated.

5. Click Accept [F10] to save the skill.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to createmore skills, and then close the dialog box when finished.

Assign Skills to a Course in AdminPlus

1. On the Shortcut Bar, click Report Cards, and then click Ent. Courses.

2. Click View/edit courses & sections, and then clickNext.

3. Click Lookup on the left, click the course to which you want to assign skills, and then click Select.

4. Click Skills on the left.

Chapter 5 | Skills Classic 49

5. In theAvailable Skills area, hold down the Control key while clicking the skills to be linked, and thenclick the arrow pointing to the right to transfer the skills to the Selected Skills area.

6. Click Accept [F10].


5.2 Create Skill Grade Symbols and a Grade Pool

Skill grade symbols are used by teachers to assign skill grades. The symbols are linked to a grade pool, whichworks like an umbrella or box for the grade symbols and is imported into theGradebook Management Site,where you will later configure the grading cut-off values for each symbol.

1. On the Shortcut Bar in AdminPlus, click Report Cards, and then click Cust RC.

2. In theCustomize Report Cards Plus dialog box, click Edit grade table, and then clickNext.

3. In the Edit Grade Table dialog box, click Edit, and then enter the grade symbols that will be assignedto the skills, one symbol per empty row. Create symbols in the numerical order you want them toappear in theGradebook Management Site.

Note: Although the grade symbols you create can be used for both standard and skill grades, westrongly recommend that you create entirely new symbols if your school has not used skill gradesbefore.

4. Enter the quality points for each grade symbol.

Important: The quality pointsmust be equidistant. In the following illustration, we created fourskills: Exceeding (EX), Meeting (ME), Progressing (PR), and Not Progressing (NP). We used anequidistant four-point scale, with EX being the highest at 4 quality points and NP being the lowestat 1 quality point. We could also have used a scale from 0 to 3 instead of 1 to 4.

5. Click Accept to save your changes.


6. To create a grade pool and assign it to skills, click Create Grade Pools at the bottom center.

7. Click Add New [F2].

8. InGrade Pool Name, enter a name for the grade pool. The grade pool will be identified by this namein theGradebook Management Site.

9. On the left, locate and click each skill grade you created previously, and then click to transfer eachskill grade to the grade pool in the Selected Grades area.

Note: If a particular grade pool will be used predominantly for different skill types, select the Setas Default Grade Pool check box to apply the grade pool to all skills that don't have a grade poolassigned to them. You can override this default setting for any specific skill by manually assigninga different grade pool to it.

10. Click Save [F10].


5.3 Link a Grade Pool to Specific Skills

If you've set a grade pool as the default, it applies to any skills that do not have a grade pool assigned to them.This topic shows you how to link specific skills to a grade pool in AdminPlus, which overrides the default gradepool.

1. On the Shortcut Bar in AdminPlus, click Report Cards, and then click Cust RC.

2. In theCustomize Report Cards Plus dialog box, click Skills and concepts.

3. Click Assign Grade Pool To Skills.

4. Click a skill, and then click Edit.

5. Click a grade pool from the list in theGrade Pool column.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to link other skills to the grade pool, and then click Save [F10]when done.


5.4 Configure Skill Grade Cut-off Values

Once you export a grade pool with skill grade symbols fromAdminPlus to theGradebook Management Site,the next step involves setting the grading cut-off values for each grade symbol. (The grade poolmust becreated in and imported fromAdminPlus.) TeacherPlus uses these cut-off values to automatically assign a skillgrade to skills linked to assignment columns.

1. In the Skills Classicmenu, click Skills: Grade Scales.

2. Click for the grade scale (grade pool) imported fromAdminPlus.

3. In theCut-off Value column, type the cut-off value percentage for the first skill grade symbol, andpress Enter.

4. Enter the remaining skill grade cut-off values, and click Save when finished.


5.5 Skill Grade Settings

The skill grade calculationmethod you choose affects how skill grades linked to assignment columns areaveraged into marking period skill grades. There are threemethods: Assessment Scores, Assessment SkillsUsing Quality Points, and Assessment Skill Grades Using Numerical Order. The method you choose hasenormous consequences for your school, and understanding how each one works is critical.

The Difference Between the Three Methods

Note: All of the following examples use theMeanmethod of calculation to determine amarking periodskill grade.

The Assessment Scores Method

Thismethod focuses on the overall assessment score of the assignment instead of the individual skills withinit. Consider the following grades a student received on four different assignments linked to the skill W1:

Assignment Score Skill W1 Grade

Assignment 1 70 N

Assignment 2 80 S

Assignment 3 92 E

Assignment 4 98 M

To calculate amarking period skill grade, thismethod finds the average of all assignment scores that are linkedto a particular skill. The individual skill grade for each assessment is ignored in the calculation. The average isthen compared to the cut-off values in the Skill Grade Scale. You can access your Skill Grade Scale by clickingSkillsClassic > Skills: Grade Scales on the navigationmenu.

According to this particular scale, the average for the given scores is 85, which is between 79.5 and 89.5, so it'sassigned a skill grade of S.


The following is a numerical explanation of the Assessment Scoresmethod:

70 + 80 + 92 + 98 = 340

340 / 4 = 85

As previously stated, since 85 exceeds the cut-off value for skill grade S, the student receives amarking periodskill grade of S.

Note: When using the Assessment Scoresmethod, excluding a skill grade from your calculation has noeffect.

The Assessment Skill Grades Using Quality Points Method

With thismethod, you can set quality points in AdminPlus to represent the value of each skill grade. This is theonly option you can use to change the values behind your skill grades. If a grade is excluded, the calculationignores that grade completely.

Grade Quality Points

M 5

E 3.5

S 3

N 2

U 1

INC 0

NA 0

Warning: Only use the followingmethod if the values behind each skill grade are not equidistant.


The Assessment Skill Grades Using Numerical Order Method

Thismethod calculates themarking period skill grade using values that are automatically assigned to eachgrade on the Skill Grade Scale. The lowest non-excluded grade on the scale is assigned a value of 1, and eachvalue above that grade is increased by 1. If a grade is excluded, the calculation ignores that grade completely.

Grade Grade Value Cut-Off Value

M 5 4.5

E 4 3.5

S 3 2.5

N 2 1.5

U 1 0

INC 0 0

NA 0 0

Note: The numerical order is based on the order of grades in the Skill Grade Scales in AdminPlus.

Select a Calculation Method for Overall Marking Period Skill Grade

1. Click Skills Classic on the navigationmenu, and then click Skills: Marking Period Grades.

2. Click Assessment Scores,Assessment Skill Grades Using Quality Points (Includes Overrides),orAssessment Skill Grades Using Numerical Order (Includes Overrides), and then click Save.

Note: After a calculationmethod has been selected, teachers need to log in to TeacherPlus again,and click Recalculate in the Skills/Standards dialog box to have the newmethod take effect.

3. Optional: Select the check box next to Allow teachers to change the default method ofcalculating skill grades to enable teachers to select their own calculationmethod.

4. Optional: Select the check box next toUse Category Weights in methods that use the Mean todisplay category weights.


Select a Method of Skill Grade Calculation

n Click one of the followingmethods in theDefault Method section on the Skills: Marking PeriodGrades screen.

n Mean: Thismethod determines the average grade across all linked assessments in themarkingperiod.

n Mean of Most Recent x Assessments: Thismethod determines the average grade of themost x linked assessments.

n Highest: Thismethod determines the highest grade across all linked assessments in themarkingperiod.

n Highest of Most Recent x Assessments: Thismethod determines the highest grade acrossthemost recent x linked assessments.

n Most Recent: Thismethod determines the grade from themost recent linked assessment.

n Mode: Thismethod determines themost frequently earned grade of all linked assessmentsacross themarking period.

Note: If there's a tie between two different grades, no gradewill populate in the Skill Gradecolumn. This situation requires the teacher's discretion.

n Median: Thismethod determines themiddle grade of all linked assessments across themarkingperiod.

Note: This formula assesses the grades in order from low to high to find the grade in themiddle. If there are an even number of grades, the twomiddle grades will be addedtogether and be divided by 2.

n Power Law: This is a complex calculation that is designed to predict how the student wouldperform on the next linked assessment, based on the student's performances on all previouslycompleted linked assessments.

Note: This calculationmethod places themost weight on the student'smost recentassessment and progressively decreases theweight of each previous assessment. Thiscalculationmethod often leads to moremeaningful depictions of a student's skill progresson narrowly defined skills, such as counting to 10.


59

GradebooksFrom theGradebooksmenu, you can access teachers' gradebooks, controlteachers' access to their gradebooks, andmanage gradebook accounts. Youcan access the gradebook of any teacher with full editing rights. This feature isparticularly useful when helping teachers with potential issues as well as whenoverseeing teachers' progress.

When it's the end of amarking period and grades have been received intoAdminPlus, you can also lock teachers' gradebooks to prevent the teachersfrommaking further changes to the grades.

Creating andmanaging accounts involves setting different access permissions,such as full rights, read-only, or attendance only. Depending on whether theaccount is for a teacher or an administrator, you can choosewhich gradebooksthe user has access to as well as control the user's access to managementreports.

This chapter explains these tasks in the following topics:

6.1 View Teacher Gradebooks 60

6.2 Create a User Account 61

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6.1 View Teacher Gradebooks

As the TeacherPlus administrator, you can access the gradebook(s) of any specific teacher with full readingand editing ability. Use caution whenmaking changes to teachers' gradebooks.

1. Click Gradebooks, and then click View Teacher Gradebooks.

2. Click the name of a teacher from the list.

The login page appears, prompting you to enter yourmanager user name and password again.

3. Enter yourmanager user name and password. You do not need to enter the user name and passwordof the teacher you clicked.

After the teacher's gradebook loads, you can view and edit it just as if you were the teacher.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to viewmore than one teacher's gradebook simultaneously.

60 Chapter 6 | Gradebooks

6.2 Create a User Account

At some point, your schoolmay need to have a staff member or supervisor access the gradebook(s) of one ormore teachers, such as in the following example situations:

n A department head needs to view the gradebooks of teachers in his or her department

n A substitute teacher needs access to a teacher's gradebook(s)

n The administration needs access to gradebooks but not to the TeacherPlusManagement Site

Creating user accounts enables you to meet the different needs of these situations without requiring that theteacher disclose his or her user name and password. A user account doesn't need to be active in AdminPlus,and all that is needed to create one is a valid email address. Because user accounts have full access to ateacher's gradebook(s), instruct the users to be cautious when viewing them.

To create a user account, do the following:

2. ClickGradebooks, andthen click CreateUser Accounts.

3. Click Add User.

4. In theAdd UserAccount dialogbox, type an emailfor the username, and enterthe user's firstand last name.Upon enteringthe user's emailaddress, atemporarypassword for theuser appears inManagementSite Password.When the userlogs in for the firsttime using thispassword, he orshewill beprompted tochange it.

5. Select theActivecheck box.

Chapter 6 | Gradebooks 61

6. Click one of the access rights options.

Note: By default, new users have ready-only permission. To give a certain user full rights, youmust select the Full access rights option.


n To give the user access to all teachers' gradebooks, click All.

n To give the user access only to the gradebooks of a certain teacher(s), click Selected, click ,and select the teacher(s).


n To give the user access to the CustomReport Library on theManagement Site, selectGradebooks With Access Rights orAll Gradebooks underManagement Report Rights.

Note: The CustomReport Library is accessed on theManagement Site viaReports >Custom Report Library. Users can perform average search queries for any quarters orgradebooks and generate reports. Formore information on the CustomReport Library, seethe topic "Generate a Grade, Comment, or Narrative Report" on page 72.

n To allow the user to lock any gradebook grades by any teacher via theManagement Site, selectLock/Unlock Gradebooks.

Note: Locking a gradebook usually comes into play at the end of amarking period. Whengrades have been submitted, administrators can choose to lock gradebooks to preventsteachers frommaking any further grade changes. Formore information on lockinggradebooks, see Lock Gradebook Grades.

n To give the user access to the Logs section of theManagement Site, select View Logs.

9. Click Done.

10. Provide the user with the TeacherPlusManagement Site link, so that they can log in to the gradebooksthey have been granted access to.

After completing the setup process, provide the user with the TeacherPlusManagement Site URL, user name,and temporary password. When the user attempts to log in for the first timewith the temporary password, heor shewill be prompted to create a new one. After creating the new password, the user will then need to log inagain.

62 Chapter 6 | Gradebooks

63

LogsThe logs feature is a powerful tool to help you keep track of changes teachershavemade to a variety of areas in their gradebooks. You can keep track of anychangemade to grades, scores, and comments; check if any column categorieshave been changed as well as if columns have been added or deleted; and seewhen teachers have viewed students' IEP.

Being able to track these changes not only gives you insight into how teachersare using their gradebooks, but it can also help you troubleshoot potentialissues. For example, you can seewhen grades were entered, by whom, and ifanyonemade changes to the grades thereafter. Accordingly, if a teacher hasassigned a grade but there's no record of the grade, there could be aconnection issue, preventing data frombeing sent to Rediker Software'sservers.

Creating a log is as simple as choosing the type of log, a date range, andapplicable teacher(s) or section(s). For your convenience, you can save anychange log to Excel.

This chapter shows you how to do the following:

7.1 Create a Gradebook Change Log 64

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7.1 Create a Gradebook Change Log

Using the Log feature of TeacherPlusManagement Site, you can generate spreadsheets to keep track of avariety of changes teachers or admin users havemade to gradebooks, including changes to:

n Assignment and exam scores

n Skill grades

n Marking period grades

n Semester and final grades

n Comments

n Added and deleted assessment columns

n Categories (including creation, deletion, and change of weights)

n IEP views

To create a change log, do the following:

1. Click Logs, and then click a change log option.

2. Click in From Date and To Date to set a date range for the change log.

64 Chapter 7 | Logs


n Click Teachers, and then select which teachers to include in the log.

n If applicable, click Sections, and then select the sections to include in the log.

Note: This option only applies to Score Changes, Skills Grade Changes, Sem/FinalGrade Changes, Comment Changes, and Exam Score Changes.

n If applicable, clickManagement Site Users, and then select the users to include in the changelog.

Note: This option only applies to Category Changes and IEP Views.

4. Optional: Select Show Inactive to be able to select any users who are inactive.

5. Click Save to Excel at the bottom, confirm thewarning, name the file, and save it to your computer.

6. Open the spreadsheet to view all the log changes, based on the criteria you selected in the previoussteps.

Example

The following figure illustrates configuring a score change log.

Chapter 7 | Logs 65

66


67

ReportsGenerating reports is an important part of the administrative process. It canhelp you identify patterns in attendance and grades, enabling you to quicklyfind out howwell students are doing across the school. From theReportsmenu, you can generate reports for attendance, grades, comments, and evennarratives. In addition, you can create combined progress reports for specificstudents, based on templates whose information criteria you specify.

Reports in theManagement Site encompass all courses, teachers, and studentsin the school. Because of this high level of access, the Reports area is onlyaccessible to theGBAdmin user or any user who's been granted access toreports.

This chapter discusses the following reports topics:

8.1 Generate an Attendance Report 68

8.2 Generate a Grade, Comment, or Narrative Report 72

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8.1 Generate an Attendance Report

With the CustomReport Library feature, you can generate attendance reports by students or by classes. Thefeature offers a variety of search query options for the report, such as filtering by attendance or registercodes, sections, courses, marking periods, attendance range, and other similar options. For example, youcould create a report for all students who havemore than three unexcused absences for a particular class orthe entire school, or generate a report of all classes with students who have 30 ormore tardies.

Note: Only the default TeacherPlusManagement Sitemanager account has automatic access to theCustomReport Library, where search query reports can be generated. To give access to this area to otheradmin or special accounts, select the check boxManagement Reports when first adding the user in theUser Account dialog box. To give access to accounts already created, click to edit the account from theCreate User Accounts page (View Gradebooks > Create User Accounts), and select the check boxManagement Reports at the bottomof the dialog box. (Remember to click Done.)

1. Click Reports, and then click Custom Report Library, and then click Add Report.

2. Give the attendance report a name in Report Name.

3. Select one of the following from theQuery On drop-down list:

n Attendance by Student: Generate a list of student attendance records. For example, you cangenerate a list showing all students who havemore than three absences in a single class, or lessthan 10 absences in all classes.

68 Chapter 8 | Reports

n Attendance Totals by Class: Generate a list of class attendance records. For example, you cangenerate a list showing all classes having greater than 30 tardies or less than 15 absences.


n Click Attendance Code, and specify an attendance value to narrow down your search. Forexample, someone looking to generate a report for students withmore than three unexcusedabsences would select Greater than 3 ABSENCE UN.About Attendance Codes: These are the descriptive codes used to provide clarification on thestudent’s absence or tardy. For instance, based on the note provided by the student’s parent,the office will often change the A for Absent to AE for Absence Excused or the T for Tardy to TUfor Tardy Unexcused in AdminPlus.

n Click Register Code, and specify an attendance value to narrow down your search. For instance,someone looking to create a report of students with seven ormore tardies would select Greaterthan or equal to 7 TARDY.

Note: When you select Register Code, you can further refine the search by Excused,Unexcused and/orUndefined codes.

About Register Codes: These are themaster codes which Attendance Codes link to. For instance,the Absence, Absence Excused, and AbsenceUnexcused Attendance Codes typically link to theAbsent Register Code. This provides versatility in reporting, as searching on a Register Codewillreturn results for any Attendance Code that links to it.

5. If you selected Attendance Totals by Class in step 3, click a Section option to search in.

6. If you selected Register Code in step 4, select any of the Include options (Excused,Unexcused,and/orUndefined) to further filter the register codes.

7. Optional: To includewithdrawn students in the report, select Include results for withdrawnstudents.

Chapter 8 | Reports 69


n Filter the report by section by selecting Section Filter, and selecting which sections to use.

n Filter the report by course by selecting Course Filter, and then selecting a course filter option.

Note: TheHomerooms filter option applies only to the homerooms created using theHOMEROOM demographic field. If your school has created homerooms as courses instead,you need to use theCourses option. Similarly, the Study Halls option applies only to thestudy halls created using the Study Hall feature of the Schedulingmodule. If your schoolhas created Study Halls as courses instead, you need to use theCourses option.

n Filter the report by attendance date range ormarking period by selectingAttendance DateRange Filter, and selecting the date range ormarking period(s).

9. Select which demographic fields to include in the report by selecting the fields in theAvailable Fields

area, and then clicking to transfer the fields to the Selected Fields area.



n Click Save to store the report in theCustom Report Library.

n Click Save and Run to generate the report and also to save it to theCustom Report Library.A dialog box appears with the generated report.

11. Once the report appears, choose between theDetailed or Summary option at the upper-left cornerof the report.TheDetailed option shows individual records for each instance of an absence or tardy per student.The Summary option displays the total count of absences or tardies per student.

12. Optional: Save the report as an Excel spreadsheet by clicking Save to Excel at the bottomof thereport.


8.2 Generate a Grade, Comment, or Narrative Report

Administrators can perform grade search queries across all teacher gradebooks andmarking periods to searchfor specific average and progress information. With this feature, you can quickly identify howwell studentsare doing across any courses or subjects. You can perform search queries on grades, scores, skill grades,averages, comments, and narratives. Teachers have a similar feature, restricted to the classes theyteach. For information on generating an attendance report, see the topic "Generate an Attendance Report"on page 68.

The following are a few examples of themany types of queries you can perform:

n Find all students who havemore than 3 absences in a single class, or less than 10 absences in all classes

n Find all students failing a particular subject or just the courses taught by a particular teacher for anymarking period.

n Find any studentsmeeting a specific average criteria for any marking period or gradebook.

n Search for all students withmissing work for a particularmarking period.

n Search for all students with a specific conduct comment for any marking period.

Note: Only the default TeacherPlusManagement Sitemanager account has automatic access to theCustomReport Library, where search query reports can be generated. To give access to this area to otheradmin or special accounts, select the check boxManagement Reports when first adding the user in theUser Account dialog box. To give access to accounts already created, click to edit the account from theCreate User Accounts page (View Gradebooks > Create User Accounts), and select the check boxManagement Reports at the bottomof the dialog box. (Remember to click Done.)

To generate a grade search query report, do the following:

1. Click Reports, and then click Custom Report Library, and then click Add Report.

2. Enter aReport Name, and then click a query type from theQuery On drop-down list.

3. Select the check box corresponding to eachmarking period(s) or semester(s) to be included in thesearch.


4. If your search query is based on comments, select the check box for the desired comment column.

5. If you're generating a narrative report, select to includeBlank orNot blank narrative in the Includestudents having narratives that are area.

6. In the Include student having grades/scores/skill grades/comments area, specify the grade orcomment requirement for the search as well as theminimumormaximumnumber of students whomeet the criteria.

Note: If you're searching for students withmissing work or no scores, select Equal to from theScore(s) drop-down list, and leave the value blank.


n Select the Section Filter check box, and then select the section(s) and teacher(s) relevant to thereport.

n Select theCourse Filter check box, and then select to include all courses or specific courses onthe report. In addition, select one of theCourse Priority andWhich Course Levels? options(for example, all major AP courses only).

n If you selected to query on Scores in step 2, select theColumn: Category Filter check box, andspecify the assignment score column types to be included. You can also select theColumn:Data Range Filter check box, and specify a data range for the score columns.

8. Optional: Scroll down, and select the demographic fields to be included in the report by clicking the field

(s) in theAvailable Fields area and clicking to transfer the fields(s) to the Selected Fields area.

9. Click Save and Run to run the query and generate the report.

Tip: When the report is generated, you can include students who havewithdrawn from courses byselecting the Include Withdrawn check box.

Note: After you save a search query report, it's stored in the CustomReport Library, where youcan see a list of all the reports you've created and saved. Use the icons beside a report to edit,delete, or run the report.


Example

The following figures illustrate query settings based on the specified report goal:

n Find any students withmissing homework for the secondmarking period in November.

n Find all students with good effort and good conduct comments.


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Documents

TeacherPlus Management Site User Guide