With the 'what-if' grade calculator feature, parents and students can virtually adjust scores on pre-existing or future assignments and can even create new assignments teachers have not yet added to the gradebook. This makes it easier than ever to ask "what if?" and experiment with scenarios and outcomes, mapping out what your final grade might be in advance.


Enabling 'what-if' mode


The 'What If' feature is on by default for parent and student logins. It is not available for a class when any of these is true:

  • The school checked Hide the What If option in the Aeries Mobile Portal app in Portal Options.
  • The school checked Only Show Check Marks for Assignment Scores to Parents and Students in Portal Options.
  • The teacher's gradebook hides both the final mark and the overall score from parents and students.

In these cases the pencil icon is greyed out. Tapping it shows "Your school has temporarily disabled this feature" or "Your teacher has disabled this feature".


To turn it off, go to School Info > Portal Management > Portal Options, Gradebook tab, and check Hide the What If option in the Aeries Mobile Portal app. The setting is per school. The POP table stores a 'true' value under the name 'HideAppWhatIf' when the option is checked (What If hidden). When the option is unchecked (POP displays as 'false'), parents and students can use What If.


To use the feature, first tap Grades on the bottom bar, then tap a class. Tap the pencil icon to turn on 'what-if' mode. A blue banner that says "What-if?" edit mode is on! appears near the top of the screen.


Tap the banner (or its ? icon) for a short explanation of 'what-if' mode, then tap Continue.



Nothing you change in 'what-if' mode is saved. Your scores in Aeries and in the teacher's gradebook stay the same, and only assignments the teacher has made visible to parents and students are listed.


Virtually editing assignment scores


In a class, select an assignment category to view assignments (or tap "Overall" at the bottom to view all). With 'what-if' mode enabled, tapping an assignment brings up the 'what-if' menu.


Tap "Edit" to begin virtually editing the score of the assignment. If the assignment has a maximum score, you can drag the slider or type the score. If not, type the score. Tap Reset to go back to the real score.


As you change the value, either by the slider or numeric input field, it will automatically update the grade fixed to the top of the screen.


Edited assignments show a blue pencil icon to denote that they have been virtually edited.



Assignments that cannot be virtually edited are shown with a red line through the pencil icon. This includes assignments the teacher marked N/A and assignments whose score the teacher hid.



Virtually dropping an assignment


When you tap an assignment while in 'what-if' mode, you'll also see an option to 'drop' the assignment. This enables you to virtually remove a particular assignment, making it as though it was never entered into the gradebook. This is useful for experimenting hypothetical scenarios where a particular assignment never happened, and how that would affect your grade in a particular class.


Dropped assignments have a red trash can icon to denote the fact that they have been virtually dropped. They can be recovered by tapping on the assignment and tapping "Recover".



Adding a new virtual assignment

At the top of the list of assignments, tap the row labeled + Add "what-if" assignment… to add a virtual assignment. Enter a name, category and score, and tap Add.


NOTE: Dropping a virtual 'what-if' assignment that you created is permanent and you cannot recover it, unlike a real assignment that has been virtually dropped.