Teacher: Gradebook Basics
This document provides basic guidance for setting up and using the enhanced gradebook. All setup options are completed from within the Gradebook.
Before selecting settings for the gradebook, the decision must be made to combine sections for attendance and/or for the gradebook as well as whether to configure gradebooks separately for each section.
1. In the menu, click Preferences.
The Preferences screen defaults to the Display Options tab.
2. Select the Configure Gradebooks separately for each section check box to require selecting Gradebook Settings for each scheduled section.
3. Select the Combine Sections for taking attendance check box to combine different sections that take place during the same period in order to take attendance by period, as opposed to taking attendance for every section separately even though they take place during the same period. Note: You must have multiple sections in at least one period for this option to display.
4. Select the check box to Combine sections for gradebook to combine multiple different sections into the same gradebook as a way for teachers to enter grades for several sections all at once.
a. Teacher gradebooks can be combined By period or by Custom Groups.
b. If you select Custom Groups, more options will displays starting with Ungrouped Sections. To create a new group of sections, click Add Group.
i. Once a new group has been added, you can edit the title of the group by clicking the provided text box, as shown in the image.
ii. To add sections to the group, drag and drop the desired sections from the Ungrouped Sections box to the created group, in this case the ALG 1 box.
iii. If there are groups that do not contain sections, click the Remove Empty Groups button to delete them. You can also click the red X in the corner of the group to delete it.
iv. To delete all groups, click the Remove All Groups button.
5. Click Save.
Gradebook settings determine what information displays about assignments, how they will appear in the gradebook and whether categories will be assigned weights, to name a few options. If Configure Gradebooks separately for each section was selected in Preferences, these options will need to be selected for each scheduled section.
1. Select a section from the course section pull-down in the Portal header.
2. In the menu, click Gradebook.
3. Click Settings.
4. Click the View Options tab.
The View Options tab allows teachers to customize the view of the gradebook in deciding what columns and options are displayed, such as Gradebook Group, Grading Legend, Grading Cells, and more.
5. Click the Configuration tab.
The Configurations tab enables teachers to customize the settings of the Gradebook, such as Default Due Date, Score Rounding, Assignment Sorting, and more. Note: Some of the configuration settings displayed may be disabled for teachers due to permissions set by the district.
a. Select the New Assignment Method radio button. Options include:
Linked Sections: When Linked Sections is selected, one assignment is created, which may be linked and unlinked to other sections. You can then select the applicable sections from the “Linked Sections” pull-down on the Details tab upon creating a new assignment, which links the assignment to the selected sections. Note: This setting is also dependent on the sections linked to the Category from the Linked Sections pull-down (at the category level not the assignment level).
Copy: When Copy is selected, the assignments are treated as two separate assignments and changes/grades in one section do not affect the other section. I.e. selecting Copy creates an assignment linked to the current section and copies the new assignment into additional selected sections. You can then select the applicable sections from the “Copy to Sections” pull-down on the Details tab upon creating a new assignment, so a copy of the assignment will be added to each of the selected sections; after which, each assignment can be edited individually. Note: This setting is also dependent on the sections linked to the Category from the Linked Sections pull-down (at the category level not the assignment level).
Select Each Time: When Select Each Time is selected, a “Create as Copy in Other Sections” check box is added to the Details tab upon creating a new assignment. You can then select the “Create as Copy in Other Sections” check box on assignments to link the assignment to each selected section. When the check box is selected, the Copy to Sections pull-down displays (explained above). Note: This setting is also dependent on the sections linked to the Category from the Linked Sections pull-down (at the category level not the assignment level).
b. Select the Automatically save all changes to student grades check box to ensure that you do not have to click Save upon entering and saving grades. If you do not want grades automatically saved upon being entered, clear the selected check box. When this setting is enabled, the Save button no longer displays because changes save automatically.
c. Select the Weigh assignment grades by category check box if you want the Gradebook to assign a percentage of the total grade to your categories of assignments. This option can be helpful if, for example, you count overall participation as 10% of a student's grade, etc. Note: Percentage of Total must equal 100%.
d. Select the Add assignments to all sections of your course by default check box if you would like to automatically add new assignments to all sections of the same course. You also have the option to set this manually upon creating each assignment. You should also select the check box if you want a new category created for all other section groups in the same course automatically.
6. Click the Custom Grades tab.
Custom Grades can be created for excluded grade or zero grading systems.
7. Click the Groups tab.
When custom groups are defined, students can be broken into the selected groups, and the gradebook can be filtered to pull a specific group of students.
8. Click the Grade Colors tab.
The Grade Colors tab allows teachers to assign colors to grades to quickly ascertain entered grades.
9. Click the Google Classroom tab.
If your district has enabled Google Classroom, you can link your Google account to Google Classroom via Focus in order to organize classes, classwork, and hangouts (virtual classes).
10. Once settings have been created/enabled, click Apply to apply the changes made to the gradebook.
In order to create assignments, you must first create at least one Gradebook Category. If your district doesn't use categories, you can create one category titled "All Assignments."
1. Select a section from the course section pull-down in the Portal header.
2. In the menu, click Gradebook.
3. Click the Category tab.
4. Click + New Category.
5. Enter a Title for the category.
6. Click the Color radio button to display the color options and to select the color for the Category. This color will show in the column header.
7. Enter the Percent of Final Grade in the text box (will only accept integers) if using weights. Note: This field will only appear if Weight grades by assignment category to use weighted categories was selected in Gradebook Configuration.
8. Enter a value for the number of dropped grades in the Automatically Drop Lowest Grades text box. Using this option will automatically drop the lowest grade(s) of the number of assignments for each class section assigned to this category and marking period. These will appear as gray values in the gradebook.
9. From the Linked Sections pull-down, select the sections that should be assigned to this category. Note: If you are planning to add assignments to more than one section, the category will need to be added to those sections as well.
10. From the Linked Marking Period pull-down, select the periods that should be assigned to this category. Note: The current marking period and future marking periods default to selected (the current marking period cannot be cleared). Marking periods can be added or removed from the pull-down.
11. Click Save.
If Weight Grades by Assignment Category is enabled, there will be an error message at the bottom of the screen until the categories add to 100% on this screen. This warning will also display in the Gradebook.
If Canvas or Google Classroom is used for Grade Passback, the categories created in the Focus Gradebook must match exactly to the categories in Canvas or Google Classroom.
1. Select a section from the course section pull-down in the Portal header.
2. In the menu, click Gradebook.
3. Click + (blue plus sign) to add an assignment.
You can also add assignments directly to categories. Click the Category tab.
Click the applicable category, then click + New Assignment.
The assignment screen defaults to the Details tab.
4. Click the pencil icon to add an assignment image.
5. Enter the Assignment Title in the text box.
6. Enter the number of Points possible in the text box. If this is left blank, then the assignment will be taken out of 0 points and will count as extra credit.
If you entered a value for Default Assignment Points in Gradebook Configuration, the points box will automatically be populated with a value.
7. 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.
8. Enter the number of Questions in the text box. This is not required and is typically used when entering scores based upon questions correct/incorrect.
9. Select the assignment Category from the pull-down.
10. Enter an Assigned Date to determine the date the assignment will be assigned to students.
a. Select the Time check box next to the Assigned Date to determine the exact time the assignment will be assigned on the entered date. If a time isn't entered, the assignment will be assigned at midnight of the assigned date entered.
11. Enter the Due Date to determine when the assignment is due by the students.
a. Select the Time check box next to the Due Date to determine the exact time the assignment is due on the entered date. If a time isn't entered, the assignment will be due at midnight of the due date entered.
12. Enter a Publish Date to determine when the assignment is visible to parents and students in the Parent/Student Portal. Note: The assignment will not be visible to parents/students until the Publish Date has passed. The Publish Date also determines when links for attached assessments displays.
a. Select the Time check box next to the Publish Date to determine the exact time the assignment will be published on the entered date. If a time isn't entered, the assignment will be published at midnight of the publish date entered.
13. Select the Marking Period for which the assignment will take place.
14. To add the assignment to additional sections, select the sections from the Linked Sections pull-down.
15. Select the applicable sections from the Copy to Sections pull-down to add a copy of the assignment to each of the selected sections; afterwards, each assignment can be edited individually.
16. Select the Create as Copy in Other check box to link the assignment to each selected section. When the check box is selected, the Copy to Sections pull-down displays from which you can select to add a copy of the assignment to each of the selected sections.
17. To Autofill a grade for all students, 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.
18. Click + New Assessment to create a test or assignment within Focus.
19. Click Import Assessment to import an existing assessment created via Create Assessments (assessments created by the district or teachers can be imported with the applicable permissions).
20. Enter a Description of the assignment (optional), which will be available when viewing assignment details, such as hovering over the informative i on assignment headers.
21. When all data has been entered, click the Save button to officially add the assignment.
When creating new assignments, the Options tab allows additional selections such as selecting specific students or Student Groups to receive the assignment as well as allowing students to upload files to the gradebook, etc.
1. Click the Options tab.
2. Select the Assign to Individual Students Only check box to select the students who should be assigned the assignment in the selected section(s). Selecting the check box activates the Assigned Students pull-down for a more specified selection of students. If the Assign to Individual Students Only check box is left cleared, the assignment will be assigned to all students in the section and linked sections (determined from the Details tab).
a. Select the Assigned Students from the pull-down to determine the students for whom the assignment should be assigned. You can select the applicable students in addition to or in place of Assigned Groups.
b. Click the Assign Groups icon to select the group of students to which the assignment should be assigned. The groups displayed here are created via Settings > Groups tab. Students can then be assigned from the gradebook using the Group pull-down. Note: The Group column only displays when first enabled via Settings > View Options > Optional Columns: Gradebook Group.
i. Select the check box(es) to assign the assignment to the aplicable group(s). Then, click Add. Click Cancel to close the Assign Groups window without adding a student group.
ii. Once the students from the selected group have been added, their names display in the Assigned Students pull-down. From here, you can edit the selections made, if needed.
3. Select an assignment from the Requires Completion of pull-down if students must complete a particular assignment prior to completing the assignment. Students will not be able to upload a document until the assignment selected in this pull-down has been given a grade, if allowing students to upload a document to this assignment. Note: This pull-down will not appear until there is at least one assignment in the gradebook per marking period.
4. Select the check box to Allow Student Uploads for students. Once enabled, students can upload a word document, PDF, or PowerPoint directly to the gradebook for assignments due.
5. Click Save to apply the settings to the assignment.
1. Select a section from the course section pull-down in the Portal header.
2. In the menu, click Gradebook.
3. Click the Category or Assignment tab, then click the correct category displayed in the panel (if the category is not already selected).
4. Click the assignment displayed under the category.
5. Click the Grades tab.
6. 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.
7. Enter a grade in the assignment title column. Note: 89 is entered as a grade because the Enter Grades By is set to Percent.
8. 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.
9. 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.
The ability to click Save is dependent upon the Automatically save all changes to student grades setting via Settings > Configuration. If this setting is enabled, you will not have to Save data. Data will save automatically.