SchoolDESX Knowledgebase

The SchoolDESX class Grade Book is used to record Student Grades for any desired Class Grade Activity. The Grade Book will calculate summary and top level grades for any User-defined grading period. Grading scales are used to derive numeric values from letter grades and vice versa so the User is free to choose the method of input. A number of different Grade Activity options control how the activity is treated when the summary grades are automatically calculated.

After the Grade Book has been set up, SchoolDESX can accept grade/score entries for each Student enrolled in the selected Class. Grade entries can be entered as Letter grades, Point grades, or Percent grades and these different grade types can be mixed even on the same Class grading form.The most commonly used method is the Points grade/score, as this is simply a numeric entry equaling the number of points the Student received for the Grade Activity. This score is directly related to the Maximum Points value that was entered with the Grade Activity when it was setup, therefore the calculated Percent Score is simply the Maximum Points possible divided by the Points entered.

A grade/score can also be entered as a Letter Grade. The Letter Grade value is evaluated against the Grade Scale chosen for this Class in order to calculate a Percent Score for the Grade Activity. To create and select a Grade Scale, see the "Creating a Grade Scale" section. Keep in mind that a User may also directly enter a Percent Score, therefore bypassing any calculation for determining the percent score. It is important when entering a Percent Score that the User immediately follows the numeric value entered with the percent sign "%".

Another point to make before entering grades/scores for Students, is that Group Activities are displayed with a "shaded" background signifying that directly inputting grades/scores is prohibited, though an Override Calculation option is available as discussed in the "Grade Book Options Menu" section. As each grade/score is entered, the Student's Group Grades are recalculated showing the overall effect.

To grade/score a Student for a Grade Activity, simply:

1.Select the "Grades" Activity under the Class heading on the Pencil Tray

2.As with all Services, in this case the Class, a Locate Class dialog will appear asking you to locate a Class record that was previously entered using fields that are specific to Class records. Fill in the appropriate information and choose "OK".

3.If more than one record matches your inquiry, a Select list will appear for selecting the desired Class record.

4.The Class Grades form (i.e. Grade Book) for the desired Class will appear. If the Class requested is not set to "Use the SD Grade Book" on the Class Information form's General page, then no Class Grade Activities will appear as there is nothing that a User can do from this form. If the "Use the SD Grade Book" option is selected and Grade Activities have been added to the Grade Activities page of the Class Information form, then the User will be able to input the Student's grades/scores for those Activities.

5.Find the desired Grade Activity along the column header row and click the mouse once in the field below that header and next to the Student name for which to score.

6.Begin to enter the grade/score for the desired Grade Activity using Points, Letters, or Percentages

7.Using the up & down arrow buttons on the keyboard will allow the User to move from Student to Student while keeping focus on the same Grade Activity.

8.To move to another Grade Activity, simply use the right & left arrow buttons on the keyboard or click the mouse into another field in the Grade Book.

9.Once all the grades/scores are in, select "Save" in the bottom corner of the form.