Overview
Gradebook Grading periods allow individual marking periods to be stand-alone grading periods within a semester rather than grading periods with a running average for the entire semester in a teacher's gradebook.
The desired amount of grading periods for the semester can be added and can include a separate grading period specifically for a final exam or final assignment. Each grading period can be assigned a specific weight for the semester. Each grading period is then averaged together to get the semester average and grade. Teacher gradebooks can also be linked to grading periods rather than to a regular semester or gradebook term.
Security ↑
Table | Permission | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Grading Periods (GPD) | Read Read, Insert, Update and Delete | View Grading Periods page Full permissions are needed to Add, Update or Delete Grading Period records. |
Configurations ↑
School Options
The School Options page has a new option that will need to be turned on in order to use Grading Periods. To turn on Grading Periods select the Edit button at the top of the School Options page or select the Change button at the bottom of the School Options page. The School Options page will enter edit mode. Place a check mark in the Use Grading Periods Instead of Terms in Gradebook option. In order to maintain Gradebook data integrity once this option is turned on and Grading Periods have been defined this option cannot be changed. Likewise, if Gradebook Terms (GBR) are already in use in your school the Gradebook Grading Periods option cannot be turned on. Click the Save button.
Once the School Options page is saved the check mark will display as Yes under the Use Grading Periods Instead of Terms in Gradebook option.
Adding Grading Periods
Grading periods are managed in the Grading Periods page which can be found under Grade Reporting -> Configurations -> Grading Periods in the navigation menu.
The Grading Periods page will display all semester/terms added in the Terms page in Aeries. Grading periods are added to each semester/term.
To add a grading period, select the Add Grading Period button.
The Add Grading Period form will open where settings for individual grading periods are defined.
Grading Period: Add the name of your grading period such as 1stMark, 2ndMark, 3rdMark etc.. The name must be unique within each term.
Description: Enter a description for your grading period. Adding a description is required.
Start Date and End Date: Enter the start date and the end date for your grading period. Dates for grading periods can overlap within a term but are limited by the semester/term dates defined in the Terms page.
GRD Grading Mark: The GRD Grading mark is the Mark that will be used by the GRD grading period. The names listed are based off of the headings entered on the Multiple Mark Headings and Descriptions page.
- Grading Mark - Not used in Secondary Grades: - If this option is selected in the GRD Grading Mark drop-down, the Grading Period will not be used with secondary grades.
- Grading Snapshots - Selecting Grading Snapshot from the dropdown identifies this Grading Period record as a Grading Snapshot. Please see Grading Snapshots - Overview and Configuration article for more information.
- Show in Portal - The Show in Portal option will display when the Grading Snapshot option is selected. Note: Support for this option will be available in the near future.
SBG Grading Mark: The SBG Grading mark is the Mark that will be used by the SBG grading periods.
- SBG Grading Mark - Not used in SBG: If this option is selected in the SBG Grading Mark drop-down, the Grading Period will not be used with elementary SBG grades.
Note: Using both SBG and GRD in the same school is turned on by an option in the School Options page. More information on using both SBG and GRD in the same school can be found in the Using Both Standards Based Grades and Grade Reporting in a School documentation.
Is Calculated: If enabled "Is Calculated" will allow you to define percentages for grading periods. This field should be selected in the last overall grading period where all previously added grading periods will be listed. This ensures that any grading period that will be weighted is assigned a weight and that the total equals 100 for the term/semester.
Is Final Assignment: If checked will indicate that the grading period is for the Final Assignment/Final Exam. Only gradebook assignments during that grading period start and end date marked as a final exam/assignment will be included in this Grading Period.
Apply to Gradebook: If checked the grading periods will be available in teacher grade books.
Color Code: Allows you to designate a color code for assignments within grading periods.
Grading Calculation Section: If "Is Calculated" is enabled, weight percentages can be entered for each grading period. The total of weighted grading periods must equal 100. Additionally, the source for each weighting period can come from either the teacher's gradebook (GBK) or the grading period (GRD).
In the example below four grading periods have been added for the first semester. All grading periods will apply to teacher grade books. The fourth grading period is specifically for a student's final assignment or final exam.
Grading Calculation
The grading calculation will allow you to define weighted percentages for each grading period. To define grading percentages, an overall grading period will need to be defined. Select the Add Grading Period button to add an additional grading period. Place a check mark in the Is Calculated check box and Apply to Gradebook check box.
In the Grading Calculation section of the overall grading period record enter the percentage weights for each grading period and select the source for each weight - either GBK or GRD. The Grading Calculation section will display all available grading periods that fall within the Term dates. Thus, a weight can be selected for a grading period created in either 1st quarter or 2nd quarter in the Fall Term Grading Calculation section. Note: not all grading periods need to be weighted, however, the percentage weights must total 100. Select the Save button to save the record.
The grading periods along with the defined weights for each grading period are displayed for the semester/term. The 2PRG - Second Progress and 3qtr - Third Quarter grading periods will be weighted based on the student's score in GRD for that period.
Using Grading Periods with Gradebook
When Grading Periods are enabled and applied to gradebooks, the grading periods will guide the structure of teacher's gradebooks based on the settings entered on the Grading Periods page. The teacher's gradebook will be displayed based on grading period dates. Assignments that are scheduled within a grading period will be visible in that specific gradebook. If an overall grading period is used which spans the dates of the term and includes all grading periods, assignments from all gradebooks will be listed in the Overall Gradebook and color coded by grading period. Other areas affected include adding gradebooks, student score calculations and reports.