Teacher: Gradebook Categories
The Focus Gradebook requires at least one category be created before assignments can be added. The categories can be weighted or unweighted and can even be color coded.
Prior to incorporating assignments, it's imperative to establish a Gradebook Category. Categories can be generated within the gradebook, regardless of whether they will be weighted. If the option for weighted categories has been chosen, the combined weights must equal 100%. Otherwise, an error message will appear in both the Gradebook and on the Assignments screen.
The selection to weight grades should be made before the start of the school year or prior to assigning grades and assignments. Otherwise, it may lead to discrepancies in grades.
To configure each gradebook separately, follow these steps:
- Choose the relevant section from the course section pull-down in the Portal header.
- In the menu, click Gradebook.
- Click Settings in the gradebook.
- Click the Configuration tab in the Settings window.
- Select the Weight assignment grades by category check box to utilize weighted categories.
- Click Apply to save the changes.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. Click the Category tab.
3. Click + New Category.
4. Enter a Title for the category.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
More than one assignment needs to be added to a category to utilize the Automatically Drop Lowest Grade option. Focus will not drop the only assignment in a category. Note: If you enter 2, as in automatically drop the lowest 2 grades, and there are only 2 assignments, neither of the assignment grades will be dropped. It is recommended that you utilize this option at the end of the term to ensure students do not receive a false grade throughout the term. If the option is changed, the grade will also change.
8. 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.
The marking period short name displays when the section is not full year.
(Inactive) displays at the end of the section name when the marking period selected is not within the current quarter / semester / year.
(Not Graded) displays at the end of the section name when the section is not graded.
Select the sections from the Linked Sections pull-down to share a category among all applicable sections, as opposed to creating a category for each section, especially when the same assignments will be assigned to multiple sections.
9. 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.
10. Click Save to create the category. Click Cancel to close the pop-up window without adding the category.
Once the category is created, it displays in the Assignments panel with options to edit the category, add assignments, and import assignments.
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.
Create two weighted or unweighted Categories in the section(s) of your choice and link to multiple sections.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. Click the Category tab.
3. Click the category in the Assignments panel that needs to be edited.
4. Click Edit.
5. Make all necessary edits and click Save.
6. Depending on the edits made, you may have to select the periods and marking periods to which changes should be applied. Note: The current/selected period and marking period are grayed out/inactive because they cannot be cleared. Changes apply here because it is where the changes were made.
Click Save to apply changes. Click Cancel to return to the Edit Category pop-up window.
When editing a category, changing the title or marking periods fields will not automatically effect all periods. You will get a prompt when saving to select the sections that should be impacted in addition to the marking periods. Note: The marking periods reflected in the pull-down now reflect the marking periods selected for the current section group, which can be different from the marking periods for other section groups.
For detailed information about each setting, see the section above called Creating New Categories.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. Click the Category tab.
3. Click the category in the Assignments panel that needs to be deleted.
4. Click Edit.
5. Click Delete.
When you click the Delete button on a category, the category is checked for assignments, instead of grades. If the category currently has an assignment in the current section, a message displays telling you to remove the assignments first.
When a category does not have any assignments in the current section, a delete confirmation pop-up displays all section groups linked to the category. Any section groups that contain assignments will show the amount of assignments, which cannot be selected for deletion.
Deleting a category allows you to delete from the current section/marking period (or receive an error if you cannot due to an existing assignment), but you can choose specific marking periods within each section from which to delete the category. Select the applicable sections/marking periods by selecting the check boxes. Then, click Delete.
6. All linked sections are selected by default when deleting a category. However, you can clear the check boxes for specific sections if you do not want to delet the category from all sections.
7. Click Delete to remove the category from select sections. Click Cancel to keep the category in all sections.
Click to edit an assignment category created during the last activity.
Change the color and click Save.
Apply the change to all sections and marking periods.
Delete an assignment category from all sections and marking periods.
The Import a Category feature allows teachers to import and use a Category already created for another section, previous marking period, or previous school year in Focus.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. Click the Category tab.
3. Click Import Category.
4. Select the school Year from the first pull-down.
5. Select the Section from which you'd like to import the category.
6. Select the marking period from the Quarter pull-down.
7. Select the categorie(s) that you want to import from the Category pull-down.
8. Select Additional Linked Sections from the provided pull-down to import the category to other sections as well.
9. Click Import to import the category and category information. Click Cancel to close the pop-up window without importing the category.
Once imported, you will see the Category and attached assignments display in the Assignments panel.
The Assignments linked to the category imported are automatically updated for the current school year; therefore, the Assigned Date, Due Date, and Publish Date are automatically updated based on the date of importation.