Standards

The Standards screen is used to set up standards in Focus. Standards can be organized using subject areas, grade levels, strands, and clusters. Standards can be added at any level, depending on how the district wants to organize the standards. Standards are assigned to courses using the Assign Standards to Courses screen.

Focus' import tools have the capability to import standards. Currently, Focus has a set of Florida standards available to be imported. Please contact Focus Support for more information, or if you need assistance importing standards and linking them to courses.

Viewing Standards

1. In the Assessment menu, click Standards.

2. Click a subject area to view any grade levels within it. Depending on district setup, there may be standards directly assigned to subject areas.

3. Click a grade level to view any strands within it. Depending on district setup, there may be standards directly assigned to grade levels.

4. Click a strand to view any clusters within it. Depending on district setup, there may be standards directly assigned to strands.

5. Click a cluster to view any standards within it.

Adding and Organizing Standards

1. To add a new subject area, grade level, strand, or cluster, locate where in the hierarchy to place the item and click the Add a new... link.

2. Enter a Title.

3. Enter a Short Name, if desired.

4. Enter a Sort Order.

5. Click Save.

6. To add a standard, locate the level in the hierarchy to add the standard and click Add a new standard at this level.

7. Enter a Title for the standard.

8. Enter a Short Name, if desired.

9. Enter a Sort Order.

The Sort Order is not required, but is used to determine the order in which standards appear in various areas of Focus, including the Post Standard Grades screen and printed standards-based report cards.

10. Enter a Description of the standard.

11. To hide the standard from report cards and the Post Standard Grades screen, select Hide Standard from Report Cards.

Standards hidden from report cards can still be used by teachers in the Gradebook for assignments.

12. Select the Grading Scale to use to grade this individual standard if it differs from the Standards Grading Scale set on the section.

If this field is left blank, the Standards Grading Scale set on the section will be used to grade the standard. If the Grading Scale set on the standard is not available at the current school, then the Standards Grading Scale set on the section will be used.

13. If the standard will only be used for specific marking periods, select the appropriate marking period check boxes.

If all marking period check boxes are left null (blank), then the standard will be available for all marking periods.

14. Click Save.

Editing a Subject Area, Grade Level, Strand, Cluster, or Standard

1. Locate the item in the hierarchy and click on the title to display the setup fields.

2. Edit the setup fields as needed and click Save.

Deleting a Subject Area, Grade Level, Strand, Cluster, or Standard

Attempting to delete an item that has nested categories and standards will display a confirmation message. Deleting the item will delete all nested categories and standards.

Attempting to delete a standard that is attached to an assignment in a teacher's Gradebook will result in an error message “There are [x] grades linked to this standard. Please delete them before deleting this standard.”

Deleting a standard for which grades have already been posted will result in orphaned grade records. These records cannot be viewed from the interface, nor can be included in report cards. Standards should not be deleted if grades have been posted.

Locate the item in the hierarchy and click the red X on the right side of the screen.