Teacher: Gradebook Assignments
Gradebook assignments can include electronic posts, rubrics, resources, standards, and much more.
Before creating assignments in the gradebook, at least one category must have been created first or an error message will display. Assignments can be linked or copied to other sections, provided the selected category exists in the other sections.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. 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.
3. Click the pencil icon to add an assignment image.
4. Enter the Assignment Title in the text box.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Select the assignment Category from the pull-down.
9. 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.
10. 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.
If both settings, Allow Student Uploads and Don't Allow Late Submissions, are enabled from the Options tab, students will not be able to upload documents after the Due Date and Time.
If your district is using the Create Assessments module, and an Assessment is attached to the assignment, the Assessment will not be available on the Student Portal after the Due Date and Time.
11. 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 crossed out eye icon displays in the assignment header on the All tab to indicate that Parents and students cannot see this assignment until [Publish Date]
When viewing grades for an individual student, the crossed out eye icon displays in red stating Parents and students will not see this assignment. The rows for these assignments are dimmed, but you can still enter grades and comments, as needed.
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.
12. Select the Marking Period for which the assignment will take place.
If you are using block scheduling, the marking period pull-down displays with the progress periods instead of the parent quarters.
13. To add the assignment to additional sections, select the sections from the Linked Sections pull-down.
When Linked Sections is selected as the New Assignment Method via Settings > Configuration tab, 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 , 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).
If Add All Assignments to Each Section of Your Course by Default is selected via Settings > Gradebook Configuration, sections with the same course number are automatically selected, as long as the Category has been created in the other sections.
14. 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.
15. 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.
When Select Each Time is selected as the New Assignment Method via Settings > Configuration tab, a "Create as Copy in Other Sections" check box is added to the Details tab. 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).
16. 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.
17. Click + New Assessment to create a test or assignment within Focus.
18. 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).
19. If Google Classroom is enabled, select the Google Classroom Assignment from the pull-down to sync/add the assignment with Google Classroom.
20. If tests have been created via Grades > Create Tests, you can link those tests to the assignment from the Assign Test pull-down.
a. If a test is assigned, you can enter a Test Login PIN that students will need to enter in order to access the test.
21. 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.
22. When all data has been entered, click the Save button to officially add the assignment.
When Unsaved Changes is displayed, you must click Save before navigating away from the screen to ensure entering information is not lost.
1. Click the Details tab.
2. Click + New Post to add a post to the assignment to provide additional information on the assignment viewable by students/parents on the Grades (Assignments) screen.
3. Enter a Post Title in the provided text box.
4. Enter Post Content in the provided text box.
5. If you want to specify profiles that should have access to the assignment post, select the appropriate profiles from the Visible To pull-down.
6. Select the Send Notifications check box to send a notification to the Community App if your district us using the mobile app (when adding a post).
7. Click Post to post the content to the assignment. Click Cancel to remove the post.
Once posted, posts are viewable by students/parents on the Grades (Assignments) screen.
8. Once posted, click Edit to open the post and edit content as needed.
9. Click + New Post to add another post.
10. If students or other users have added a comment on your post, click the [1] Comments link to view them.
Students and other users can add comments if you enable comments on the Options tab of the assignment.
a. Click Comment to add your own comment.
b. Click Reply to reply to the comment made by the student/user.
c. Select the Hidden check box to hide the comment from other students. Clear the selected check box, to make the comment visible to others.
d. Click Hide Comments to hide the comments made from the Details tab.
You want to start a dialogue with your students about a topic in class. Create a post for your students to comment on.
Rubrics can be created in the gradebook for use with one, or many assignments. Teachers can create a new rubric, clone an existing rubric, or add an existing rubric to the selected assignment. Once created, rubrics can be used to grade assignments. Standards can be add to rubrics, which can then be used to grade assignments.
1. Click the Rubric tab.
2. To create a new rubric, click New +.
3. Enter a Title for the New Rubric in the provided text box.
4. Select the Weighted Criteria check box to enter a Percent of Grade for each established criterion. A percentage can be assigned for each criterion and must equal 100%.
5. Select the This Assignment Only check box to ensure this rubric is only applied to the selected assignment.
6. Select the Use Standards check box to select Standards as the Criteria to set up the rubric.
7. Enter the rubric Criteria in the provided text box.
If Use Standards is enabled, select the Standard from the pull-down in the Criteria column.
8. Enter a Title and a Score, such as A and 95.
9. If Weighted Criteria is enabled, enter a Percent of Grade to assign a percentage of the total grade. Note: Percentage of Total must equal 100%.
If the Percent of Grade for all criteria does not add up to 100%, an error message displays.
10. Enter a Description for the Title and Score in the applicable column for the identified Criteria.
If a Standard was selected as Criteria, the Description automatically populates in the first column.
11. Add as many titles, scores, and descriptions, as needed. To add more scores than displayed, click + Score.
12. To add addition criteria, click + Criterion.
13. To delete criterion or scores, click the corresponding red X next to the applicable information.
14. Click Save to save the rubric for use. Click Cancel to close the pop-up window without saving the rubric.
15. Once saved, the rubric displays on the Rubric tab where it can be edited or cloned and deleted. Click Save to apply the rubric.
1. Click the Rubric tab.
2. Select the rubric in question from the pull-down.
3. Once selected, click Edit.
If a rubric is in use and has already been applied for grading, only descriptions in the rubric can be edited and the rubric cannot be deleted.
4. Click the applicable text boxes and make necessary changes. If using standards, click the pull-down to change the selection.
5. Add criteria and scores as needed by clicking + Criterion and/or + Score.
6. Click the corresponding red Xs to delete content.
7. Click Save to apply changes. Click Cancel to discard changes and close the window.
8. Click Delete to delete the rubric.
9. From the Rubric tab, click Save to apply changes.
1. Click the Rubric tab.
2. To apply a different rubric to the assignment, select the rubric from the pull-down. Once selected, you can copy the rubric.
3. Once selected, click Clone.
4. Make any necessary changes to the copied rubric. See the section on Adding a Rubric for detailed information about each function.
5. Click Save to save the copied rubric as a new rubric. Click Cancel to discard the copy.
6. From the Rubric tab, click Save to apply changes.
You want to set clear and concise guidelines for an upcoming project or assignment. Create a rubric for an existing assignment.
1. Click the Resources tab to add different resources to the assignment, such as documents, links, calendar events, and more.
2. Click Create Resource.
3. In the resource pop-up, enter a Title in the provided text box.
4. Select whether the resource provided is a Link, Folder, File, or Calendar Event from the pull-down.
5. Depending on the type of resource selected, the follow steps will vary. See the appropriate step for each type of resource.
a. If you selected Link, enter the Web Address in the provided text box.
b. If you selected Folder, you will upload multiple resources to the Folder, such as a file or link; therefore, nothing will be uploaded here.
i. Click on the created Folder to add resources.
ii. Click Create Resource to add links, files, calendar events, or additional folders to the folder.
c. If you selected File, click No File to browse your computer and select the document to be uploaded as a resource.
i. Once the file is uploaded, the file displays along with two additional icons. Click the cloud to download the file. Click the red X to delete the file and upload a new one.
d. Select Calendar Event from the pull-down.
i. Click Sign in with Google to link the Calendar Event in your web page to a calendar event in your Google Calendar.
ii. Your Google Calendar(s) associated with your Google Classroom now display in the Calendar pull-down. Select the applicable Calendar from the pull-down.
iii. Select the days the event should repeat from the Repeat every pull-down.
iv. Enter or edit the dates and times the event should be active in the corresponding text boxes.
v. Select the Link directly to Google Hangouts check box so the event gets created with a Google Hangouts meeting. If the check box is left cleared, the calendar event will be saved in the associated calendar without going to Google Hangouts.
6. You have the option to share uploaded Resources with other teachers by selecting the Shareable to other teachers check box. Selecting the check box allows other teachers to search for and share the same resource on their web pages via Assessment > Resource Browser. The same is accessible for administrative profiles via Grades > Resource Browser.
If you do not have permission to access the Resource Browser enabled by the district via Users > Profiles, the Shareable to other teachers option does not display.
7. To display an image for the resource link, folder, or file, click Select Image.
a. You can select from the existing System Images or upload an image. Click Choose a file or drag it it here to browse for an image on your computer. You can also drag and drop the image into the Your Images section.
8. Once all selections have been made, click the Save button to post the resource to the assignment. Click Cancel to return to the Resource tab without adding a resource.
9. Click the resource to open the link, file, or folder. To edit the resource, click the blue pencil located in the lower right corner of each resource.
10. You can also click the four arrowed icon in the right corner of each resource to rearrange the order of the icons. For example, if you wanted the Essay Outline resource first, click the four arrowed icon and drag the icon to the left.
11. To add more resources, click Create Resource.
Resources added display for students and parents on the Grades (Assignments) screen on the Resources tab.
Add additional resources to an existing assignment.
1. Click the Standards tab.
The section selected must have at least one standard linked to its course for this tab to be available in assignments. Standards are assigned to courses by the district from Assessment > Assign Standards to Courses.
All attached standards display at the top of the screen.
All Available Course Standards display at the bottom.
2. Click + Add to attach a standard to the assignment.
3. To filter for specific standards, enter key words in the Filter field.
a. Click the X to remove the Filter.
4. Once added, click Remove to remove a standard from the assignment, if applicable.
Add standards to an existing assignment (if available).
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.
When students of a custom group are updated, you must re-assign the group to ensure all students in that group are assigned the assignment.
If students have not been assigned an assignment, the grade field displays as grayed out and is inactive, which prohibits you from entering grades and comments.
3. Select the Use Text To Speech check box to enable the text to speech feature for assessments where questions will be read aloud to students.
a. When the Use Text To Speech check box is selected, you must then select the Students who need Text To Speech from the corresponding pull-down. The pull-down defaults to All Students but select students can be selected as needed.
These options display if Learnosity is enabled on your site and a Assessment has been linked from the Details tab.
4. 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.
5. 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.
The district's Account Executive must first enable Student Uploads; therefore, if this setting does not display, your district has not elected to enable the Allow Student Uploads setting via Setup > Site Administration.
Assignments can have only one of the following: Learnosity assessment, FAS test, or the Allow Student Uploads setting enabled. You will be prevented from allowing student uploads if an assessment or test are linked to the assignment, and prevents adding an FAS test if an assessment is present, preventing more than one of these from being selected (attaching Learnosity unlinks any existing tests, and prevents student uploads).
6. 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.
7. Select the Exclude from Average check box to ensure the assignment doesn't count for or against the students averages, such as a practice test.
A down arrow indicator displays in the assignment header in the Gradebook for assignments that have been flagged as Exclude from Average.
8. Select the Hide from Excluded check box to create an exclusive assignment for a student or group of students. Students with an asterisk (*) will not see the assignment on the student or parent portal. This is helpful when a transfer student comes into the class or make-up work has been assigned.
9. Select the Allow Comments check box to allow students to post comments on assignments. If enabled, students and staff may add their own comments to posts. Staff may view all comments, and their comments will be immediately viewable by all.
10. Select the Comments Require Moderation check box to view comments made by students before making the comments viewable. Note: This option will only appear if Allow Comments is selected. If enabled, student comments are not visible to other students, until moderated by a staff member. Staff may view all comments, and their comments will be immediately viewable by all.
11. Select the Students can reply to other students check box to allow students to reply to student comments. If not selected, students will only be allowed to reply to staff comments. Note: This option will only display if Allow Comments is selected.
The Import an Assignment feature allows teachers to import and use an assignment 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 the category from the Assignments panel to which assignments are to be imported.
4. Click Import Assignment.
5. Select the school Year from the first pull-down.
6. Select the Section from which you'd like to import the category.
7. Select the marking period from the Quarter pull-down.
8. Select the Assignment(s) from the pull-down.
9. Select Additional Linked Sections from the provided pull-down to import the assignment to other sections as well.
10. Click Import to import the assignment(s). Click Cancel to close the pop-up window without importing assignment(s).
Once imported, you will see the assignment(s) display in the left panel in the selected category of the selected section(s).
The Due Date, Publish Date and Assigned Date copy from each assignment. The dates are copied, but the year is adjusted to either the first or second calendar year of the current school year. Publish Date defaults to tomorrow. When a section uses weighted progress periods, the initial Due Date used will always be within the top right progress period or the last progress period of the top right quarter.
12. Click Save to apply the settings to the assignment.
When Unsaved Changes is displayed, you must click Save before navigating away from the screen to ensure entering information is not lost.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. From the All tab, click the i for the assignment that needs to be edited.
Hover over the i symbol to display additional assignment information including: Title, Points, date Assigned, date Due, Category, Average, Range, and Description.
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. Make all necessary edits using the corresponding tab: Details, Rubric, Resources, Standards, and Options.
4. Once all edits have been performed, click Save to apply changes.
When Unsaved Changes is displayed, you must click Save before navigating away from the screen to ensure entering information is not lost.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. From the All tab, click the i for the assignment that needs to be edited.
Hover over the i symbol to display additional assignment information including: Title, Points, date Assigned, date Due, Category, Average, Range, and Description.
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.
The assignment screen defaults to the Details tab. If you need to edit the assignment Rubric, Resources, Standards, or Options, click the corresponding tabs.
3. To delete the assignment, click Delete located in the upper right corner of the screen.
4a. If you try to delete an assignment that contains student grades, a pop-up displays altering you that the assignments has been graded. Select the check boxes to delete the assignment from the section regardless of the grades.
4b. If the assignment is linked to multiple sections, the assignment will be deleted from all listed sections unless the check box for the section is cleared.
5. Click Delete to remove the assignment from the selected sections/periods. Click Cancel to close the window without deleting the assignment.
If you need to restore an assignment that has been deleted, go to Gradebook Reports > Deleted Assignments.