Improvements to Support Standards Based Education

1. Improvements to Support Standards Based Education Deanna Leeders Product Architect March 10, 2008

2. Improvement #1 A new grade book configuration utility will allow an administrator to automatically configure the grading scale setup for every grade book whose courses are tied to the report card. This utility can also be configured to run nightly. • Less setup for teachers • Ensures consistent grade book setup for administrators

3. Grade Book Configuration Utility A new option will be available for Standards-based report cards. When the user clicks the icon a new utility will pop up.

4. Grade Book Configuration Utility This new utility will automatically configure the grading scale setup for all grade books whose courses are tied to this report card. The administrator will have the option to over write any teacher customizations or to preserve them.

5. Nightly Configuration Standards based report cards can be set up to automatically run the Grade Book Configuration Utility nightly. This would have the same results as choosing the second option on the Grade Book Configuration Utility screen. (It will only run if the report card is active and compiled.)

6. Improvement #2 A new “Progress by Student” Page would allow teachers to view and update all marks for a student. It would also allow teachers to easily record individual progress for a student instead of creating a class assignment. • Easier tracking of individual progress • A grading period option of “All” will allow a teacher to view year to date progress.

7. Progress by Student (Full Page Version Showing One Assessment) This version will display when the “Progress by Student” link is clicked on the Dashboard or Home Page and one assessment is selected. It will list all assignments and individual progress for the selected assessment. Three blank rows will display so that the teacher can easily add individual progress. The student’s current mark will display at the top. A link to the Standards Based Grid will open the grid for the current class and grading period.

8. Progress by Student (Full Page Version Showing All Assessments) This version will display when the “Progress by Student” link is clicked on the Dashboard or Home Page and all assessments are selected. It will list all assignments and individual progress broken by assessment. Three blank rows will display for each assessment so that the teacher can easily add individual progress. The student’s current mark will display at the top of each assessment section.

9. Progress By Student(Secondary Version) This version will display for any class which is not using grading scale option 2. Individual progress could be used to record extra credit, etc. Teachers would have one page to update all progress for a student. Assignment Date, Description, Type, Weight, and Points Possible are protected for class assignments because it is not unique to the student.

10. Improvement #3 Teachers can choose a calculation method for each assessment. This will also be set up on the report card. • Initial options are Last Achieved, Highest Achieved, Average, and None

11. Report Card Setup The “Calc Mark?” column is replaced by a “Default Calculation” column. This will define the method for deriving the mark. Options are: Average, Highest Achieved, Last Achieved, and None.

12. Teacher Grading Scale Setup The “Default Calculation” from the report card has been added to the teacher’s setup. The teacher can change the value to Average, Highest Achieved, Last Achieved, or None.

13. Teacher Grading Scale Setup The calculation can also be set for individual students.

14. Improvement #4 A new Standards Based Grid would show all student progress for each assessment and provide easy access to each student’s marks. • Shows each students current level of mastery • Shows the number of times assessed for each student • Displays by report card assessment

15. Report Card Assessments Standards Based Grid Student’s Current Progress based on the chosen calculation # of Marks Included in the Student’s Progress

16. Standards Based Grid Click on a mark to see the marks for that assessment Click on a student to see marks for all assessments

17. Progress by Student (Popup Version Showing One Assessment) This version displays when a student’s mark is clicked on the standards based grid. It will list all assignments and individual progress for the selected assessment. Three blank rows will display so that the teacher can easily add individual progress. The student’s current mark will display at the top with the calculation method.

18. Progress by Student(Popup Version Showing All Assessments) This version displays when a student’s name is clicked on the standards based grid. It will list all assignments and individual progress broken by assessment. Three blank rows will display for each assessment so that the teacher can easily add individual progress. The student’s current mark will display at the top of each assessment section.

19. Improvement #5 Add a default mark for each assessment. If the teacher is entering report card marks and clicks the “=“ button and a student has no mark for an assessment, the default mark will be saved instead of a blank.

20. Report Card Setup A new “Default Mark” column will allow a default mark to be set. (This is optional.) If the teacher is entering marks and clicks the “=“ button and a student has no mark for an assessment, the default mark will be saved instead of a blank.

21. Additional Thoughts • Grading periods could be cumulative to show student progression throughout the year. • Individual Progress Items would not list on the dashboard, assignment mark page, grade book grid page, and Class Progress Report. In every other way, they will be listed as regular assignments. (Parent Access, Student Progress Reports, etc.) • Assignments created from the transfer student tool should be treated as individual progress. • Class assignments will display with the student progress, however, the date, description, assignment type, points possible, and weight can not be edited on this page because it would affect the entire class. • “Average” labels will be replaced with the name of the calculation that was used. (Parent Access, Student Progress Report, etc.) • If we add a sequence number on regular assignments, can this replace floating assignments? • Should grade books be locked for a grading period once the report card entry window closes?