Create Grade Categories that Support Standards-Based Grading
In order to handle courses/subjects with standards-based scoring in SchoolFront we configure rubrics for the skills / standards / competencies being measured.
The rubric makes it so that, instead of entering a single score for each assessment/coursework in the course/subject, the teacher can enter a score in for each of the skills/standards/competencies.
We assume that the skills/standards/competencies measured at each grade level (1) are standardized in your school so that all students at the same level are measured against the same set of standards, and (2) that the standards measured change/evolve as the student progresses in grade-level.
Applicable System Roles
System users with the following roles can do this:
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Login to SchoolFrontSM as a teacher.
2. Select Grade Categories from the left navigation menu.
3. Choose the course from the list at the top of the screen, then select the marking period for which you would like to define grade categories from the drop-down menu.
4. Click the New Grade Category link.
Note: If you have defined grade categories for this course for a previous marking period and wish to reuse the same grade categories, click the Click Here link at the bottom of the Grade Category Management page.
5. A form for defining the details of your new grade category will open below the Grade Category Management list.
6. Fill in the details for your new grade category including:
► Title - This is the name of the grade category. Examples include: Tests, Quizzes, Projects, Homework, Participation
► Grade Percentage - This is the percentage of the student's grade that will be calculated using this particular grade category. When you are done defining grade categories for a course, the total of all percentages should equal %100 so that %100 of the student's final grade is defined.
► Drop Lowest Grade - If you would like to drop the lowest grade in the grade category, check this box. For example, if you want the system to ignore students' lowest homework grades when calculating their final average, create a grade category for homework and check this box.
► Weighted Coursework - If you would like to weight the different assignments you issue in this grade category, check this box.
► Display Order - This is the order in which the category will display in your Grade Category Management list for the course--If there are only a few grade categories in the list, this won't make much difference because they'll all be easy to view, but if you create many categories for a single course, the list will require you to scroll to see all of the categories, so you may want to move your most important categories to the top of the list.
► Background Color - In the gradebook section of SchoolFrontSM, coursework will be color-coded by grade category for easy identification. This is the color that will display for all coursework you create in this grade category. Choose the color and then click the Done button.
► Rubric - Choose a rubric from the drop-down menu.
Note: If there is no rubric available, contact an administrator at your school for help.
7. Click the Save button.