In addition to entering traditional grades in the gradebook, teachers can allow and grade student uploads, grade assignments by rubric, and mass add grades.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. Along the top of the screen, select how you want grades to be entered from the Enter Grades By pull-down. Options include Points, Percent, Questions Correct, Questions Incorrect, or Letter Grade.
a. To see how these options affect grade entry, here's an example where the assignment has 10 questions and is worth 100 points and the student missed two questions. If you select Points, enter the number of points the student earned. Since the student earned 80 points, enter 80 in the points text box. The letter grade and percentage (if applicable) are automatically calculated.
b. If you select Percent, enter the percent of questions answered correctly. Since the student answered 80% of the questions correctly, enter 80 in the points text box.
c. If you select Questions Correct, enter the number of questions the student answered correctly. Since the student correctly answered eight questions, enter 8 in the points text box. The 8 automatically calculates to a percentage out of 100.
d. If you select Questions Incorrect, enter the number of questions the student answered incorrectly. Since the student missed two questions, enter 2 in the points text box.
e. If you select Letter Grade, enter the letter grade. Since the student received an 80, enter the letter B. Note: Depending on the set up of letter grades and the corresponding percentages, the percentage calculated may vary. In the example shown, 85 is the corresponding percentage to the letter B.
3. Start entering grades by entering the percent, letter grade, etc. into the provided grade text box.
If starting at the top and working your way through down through the entire list of students, you can press the down arrow key to move to the next student and continue entering grades. To navigate through the gradebook, you can also use the Enter key, the up, left, down, and right arrow keys.
4. Once grades are entered, click Save. When Unsaved Changes is displayed, you must click Save before navigating away from the screen to ensure entered information is not lost.
5. Click the four arrow icon for an expanded view of assignments for the selected student.
a. Enter all applicable grades. Then, click Close.
b. Once back on the main screen, click Save to apply changes made in the expanded pop-up window.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. In order to enter grades one student at a time, click the Student name to open assignments and grades for the student.
You can also access students from the left panel. Click the Hide/Show arrow to display the Assignments panel, then click the student icon.
From the Students panel, click the applicable student.
Click the Hide/Show arrow again to close the Students panel.
The student's Current Grade in Class is displayed underneath the student's name along with any notes added.
If you have enabled "Weight assignments grades by category" via Settings > Configuration and set up the "Percent of Final Grade" in the Edit Category pop-up window, the Percent of Grade and the student's Score display for each category.
3. Select how you want grades to be entered from the Enter Grades By pull-down. Options include Points, Percent, Questions Correct, Questions Incorrect, or Letter Grade.
4. Enter a grade in the Points Earned column. Note: 18 was entered as a grade because the Enter Grades By has been set to Points.
5. You also have the option to add Comments. Clicking the Comments fields will open a new text box where information can be noted in various formats. Enter your comments, then click anywhere on the screen to close the pop-up window. Note: The Comments field may display as a pull-down; this is dependent upon district settings.
Select the Highlight check box to bold the grade in the gradebook indicating that a comment has been added. The highlight feature is also helpful if you want to highlight a grade that needs additional attention.
Hover over the comment bubble with the mouse to view the comment made. The comment bubble displays while on the All tab and on the Category tab.
6. When all grades and comments have been entered, click Save. When Unsaved Changes is displayed, you must click Save before navigating away from the screen to ensure entered information is not lost.
Once saved, comments on assignments are visible to parents and students.
7. Click the four arrow icon for an expanded view of the assignment row.
a. Enter an applicable Comment, and Points Earned. Then, click Close.
b. Once back on the main screen, click Save to apply changes made in the expanded pop-up window.
- Click on a student name to open their individual gradebook data.
- Modify two of their gradebook grades.
- Go back to the Gradebook Screen for all students.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. Click the Category or Assignment tab, then click the correct category displayed in the panel (if the category is not already selected).
3. Click the assignment displayed under the category.
You can also click the i on the assignment while on the All tab to display assignment details.
4. Click the Grades tab.
5. Select how you want grades to be entered from the Enter Grades By pull-down. Options include Points, Percent, Questions Correct, Questions Incorrect, or Letter Grade.
6. Enter a grade in the assignment title column. Note: 89 is entered as a grade because the Enter Grades By is set to Percent.
7. When all grades and comments have been entered, click Save. When Unsaved Changes is displayed, you must click Save before navigating away from the screen to ensure entered information is not lost.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2a. From the All tab, double click the grade field to to view and add comment and highlight grades.
2b. From the All tab, click the Student name to open assignments and grades for the student.
2c. From the Category or Assignment tab, select the assignment, then click the Grades tab.
3. You also have the option to add Comments. Clicking the Comments fields will open a new text box where information can be noted in various formats. Enter your comments, then click anywhere on the screen to close the pop-up window. Note: The Comments field may display as a pull-down; this is dependent upon district settings.
4. Select the Highlight check box to bold the grade in the gradebook indicating that a comment has been added. The highlight feature is also helpful if you want to highlight a grade that needs additional attention.
Hover over the comment bubble with the mouse to view the comment made. The comment bubble displays while on the All tab and on the Category tab.
Custom Grades can be created for excluded grade or zero grading systems.
You can add custom grades that are also on a grading scale provided the grade is not marked incomplete on the grading scale, the grade has no associated GPA value, and the grade is not attached to any sections.
1. Click Settings, then click the Custom Grades tab.
2. To create a new Custom Grade, use the last line in the table. The blank text boxes indicate where new information can be entered.
3. Enter the Grade, a Display Name, and select a Type from the pull-down. Once all information has been entered, press Enter to save the grade.
4. Click Apply to officially save the custom grade.
Custom Grades should not be the same letter grades as the letter grades used in the Grading Scale Setup by administrative users, which you would use as letter grades in the Gradebook.
5. Select Letter Grade from the Enter Grades by pull-down and locate the student and assignment.
6. Enter the Custom Grade in the applicable grade text box.
7. Click Save. When Unsaved Changes is displayed, you must click Save before navigating away from the screen to ensure entered information is not lost.
Depending on the custom grade that is entered, the grade will be excluded from the student’s average or will be assigned a zero for the assignment and the overall grade will be recalculated.
There are two methods for entering grades for extra credit.
Method One:
Entering a point value higher than the total points for the assignment will award extra credit to the student and the percent will display over 100. For example, in the screenshot the assignment is worth 100 points and the teacher awarded more than 100 points.
Method Two:
When creating an assignment, the points box may be left blank or assigned a value of zero. Any values entered for the assignment will be automatically calculated as extra credit and display as EC.
The Auto-Fill Points feature automatically enters a specified grade for an assignment for all students. This feature will only fill cells that are empty and will not overwrite any previously entered grades.
If the selected assignment has been created for multiple sections, all sections will be checked by default and the score entered in the Auto-fill box will apply to ALL STUDENTS IN ALL OF THOSE SECTIONS. Be sure to UNCHECK sections that should NOT receive the auto-filled grade.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. From the All tab, click the i for the assignment that needs to be edited.
You can also access an assignment using the following steps: Click the Category tab, then click the applicable category in the Assignments panel. Next, click the assignment title in the category to view and edit the assignment.
3. From the Details tab, select the type of grade that should be auto-filled from the pull-down, such as Points, Percent, Letter Grade, etc. Then enter the applicable information, such as points, or letter grade in the Autofill text box.
If you select Completion Only for Points, you can select the Complete check box in which a check mark will autofill for the students.
4. Once all edits have been performed, click Save to apply changes.
The cells that were previously left empty will now be filled. Cells already populated with scores will remain the same.
- Add an assignment to a selected section called “My Second Assignment.”
- Enter the outlier grades for the assignment.
- Use the auto-fill feature to populate the remaining grades.
Scores can be imported into the gradebook using a CSV file. First, create the assignment. Then, prepare a CSV file that includes a column for Student IDs (student_id) or Local IDs (custom_53) and a column for student scores/grades. The scores can be entered as points or as percentages.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. To import grades directly from the gardebook, click on the i in the right corner of the listed assignment.
3. Click Import Grades to upload and import grades.
Importing grades must be done by section; importing cannot take place for multiple sections at once.
4. In the pop-up window, search for and select the CSV file. Click Open.
5. Select the type of score values included in the file from the Grading Method pull-down, such as Points, Percent, etc.
6. Select which column in the file contains the student IDs by selecting Student ID from the pull-down in the applicable column. The student IDs must match what is in Focus or the import will not work.
7. Select Score from the pull-down in the applicable column.
8. If there is a header in the file which contains column names or other data, select the Header check box to ensure that Focus doesn't import the information located in the header.
9. Click Submit to import the grades.
10. Once uploaded, the scores are imported to the Gradebook and will be listed for the selected assignment. Click the Grades tab to view the imported grades.
Completion assignments are useful for monitoring the completion of ungraded assignments or tasks, such as turning in permission forms.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. Click + (blue plus sign) to add an assignment.
3. Enter all assignment info on the Details tab.
4. Select the Completion Only check box to establish the assignment as completion based in which you would enter a check mark when the assignment is completed by the student, as opposed to entering a grade. This feature can be used for permission forms or an assignment draft that won't be graded.
5. Click Save.
6. On the All tab, locate the student and the applicable assignment; in this case, Farm Field Trip Permission.
7a. Select the completion check box.
7b. Open the assignment and navigate to the Details tab. If you select Completion Only for Points, you can select the Complete check box in which a check mark will autofill for the students.
8. Click Save.
When viewed from the Parent/Student portal, a check will display if a student has been assigned a check. An X will display if the completion check box has not been selected.
- Add a completion assignment titled “Permission Slip."
- Mark the assignment as completed for several students.
Teachers can use the rubric to grade the students rather than manually entering grades. Students will be able to view the rubric and selections the teachers made so that they can reflect and make improvements.
A rubric must be created and assigned to an assignment before you can grade an assignment with a rubric.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. While viewing the assignment, click the text box as if entering a grade to view the rubric.
3. The pop-up window defaults to the List view where scores can be selected to generate a grade. Click Table to view the entire rubric in table form.
Click List to navigate back to the list view in order to use the rubric to generate a grade.
4. Show Descriptions is selected by default which displays the criteria description. Clear the selected check box to hide the descriptions.
5. Use the radio buttons to select the applicable score for each criteria.
As scores are selected in the rubric, the grade automatically calculates.
Click the white arrows to navigate to the next student in the rubric pop-up window.
Manually Enter Grades by Group
1. From the All tab, click the Group header to organize the class by group.
2. Manually enter the grades for each group accordingly and click Save.
Assignments by Group
1. Upon editing or creating an assignment, from the Options tab, select the Assign to Individual Students Only check box.
2. In the Assigned Students field, click the Groups icon, and select the applicable group.
3. Click Add.
4. Click Save.
5. Enter grades for the students in the selected group. The grade text field will not display for students who haven't been assigned to the group and assignment.
Teachers can allows students to upload assignments as a word document, PDF, or PowerPoint directly to the gradebook.
1. Upon creating or editing assignments, from the Options tab, select the Allow Student Uploads check box.
2. If you select the Allow Student Uploads check box, you can select the Don't Allow Late Submissions check box to ensure students are not able to upload files for an assignment after the Due Date and Time (if applicable) has passed.
3. Click Save.
An upload icon indicates students may upload documents to the assignment.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. You can access uploaded assignments from the Gradebook by clicking the grade link. In this case, no grade has been entered, so the links displays as NG. If a grade has already been entered, the link displays as the grade number or letter.
You can also access the student uploads by clicking the Student name link.
The uploaded assignments display in the Student Files column.
3. Click the arrow/cloud to download the assignment to your computer.
4. To open the assignment and make suggestions or markings, etc., click the assignment name. Clicking the grade link opens the assignment screen automatically.
5. From the assignment screen, click the pencil icon to enter Drawing annotation mode, which allows you to draw on the student's assignment.
a. Use the mouse to draw on the assignment. Once the marking is made, you can click Save to finalize the drawing or click Delete to remove the marking.
b. You can also click the undo button to remove the marking before click Save. If you click Cancel to exit Draw annotation mode before saving any markings, all markings will be removed.
c. Once all markings have been made, click Done to exit Draw annotation mode.
6. Click the comment icon to enter Point annotation mode, which allows you to make comments on the assignment.
a. To add a comment, click anywhere on the assignment. Enter the comment in the provided text box.
b. Click Post to post the comment or click Cancel to close the text box without saving the comment.
c. Once posted, click the trash icon to delete the comment. Then, click Delete or click Cancel to keep the comment.
d. You can make another comment or create a reply to your original comment. Then, click Post to save the comment or click Cancel to discard the comment.
e. Once all comment have been made, click Close to exit Point annotation mode.
7. Click the Print icon to print the assignment.
a. When ready, click Print. Click the X to close the pop-up window without printing the assignment.
8. Click the Download icon to save the assignment to your computer.
9. Enter a grade in the provided text box. If you are using a rubric, the grade calculates automatically.
If you have created a rubric for the assignment, the rubric displays here on a Rubric List tab, which is available to use for grading the assignment. See Grading Assignments Using a Rubric and Adding a Rubric.
10. Click the Rubric List from the right panel to use the assigned rubric to grade the assignment.
Click Rubric Table to view the entire rubric in table form.
Show Descriptions is selected by default which displays the criteria description. Clear the selected check box to hide the descriptions.
11. Use the radio buttons to select the applicable score for each criteria.
As scores are selected in the rubric, the grade automatically calculates.
12. To add general comments, click the Comment tab and enter the Comment in the provided text box.
To expand the comment section, click the double arrows. To expand the assignment and hide the comments, click the four arrows.
Click the white arrows to navigate to other assignments uploaded by the student.
13. Hover over the bottom of the screen with your mouse to make the tools bar display.
a. Click the magnifying glass to search the document.
b. Click the minus sign to zoom out or click the plus sign to zoom in.
c. Click the up arrow to go to the previous page or click the down arrow to go to the next page.
You can also click the page number text box and type the desired page number to quickly navigate to that page.
d. Click the four arrows icon to enter fullscreen. Click the icon again to exit fullscreen.
14. Click the X to close the assignment.
Your district must Enable Gradebook Student Notes via Setup > System Preferences in order for this feature to be available.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. Click the clipboard icon to enter notes for individual students.
3. Enter the note in the provided text box. Then, select the Visible to Students and Parents check box to display the note on the Grades (Assignments) screen of the Student/Parent Portal.
4. Click anywhere on the screen to exit the notes pop-up window.
5. When all student notes have been added, click Save. When Unsaved Changes is displayed, you must click Save before navigating away from the screen to ensure entered information is not lost.
6. Once the note is added, the clipboard icon displays with writing. Click the icon again to review and/or edit the student note.
