Gradebook
The teacher Gradebook offers various ways to enter grades, configure the gradebook, add and edit assignment categories, add and edit assignments (customized details, rubrics, resources, standards, and additional settings), as well as generate gradebook reports.
See Gradebook Categories & Assignments for information on adding categories, editing categories, importing assignments, creating new assignments, editing assignments, entering assignment details, resources, rubrics, standards, and more.
See Gradebook: Gradebook Templates for information on how Gradebook templates created by the district can affect the Gradebook for teachers.
See Proficiency Gradebook if your district is using a proficiency based grading system.
In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
In the top left, there are several tabs, which can be clicked to determine what information is displayed on the screen. All displays all assignments and categories (if set up) for all students, while Totals displays average points/percentages per category for each student. See Viewing Assignments in the Gradebook for more information.
Click the Category tab to display all categories in a left panel which contains the ability to edit, add, and import categories. See the following sections for more information: Adding Categories, Editing Categories, Importing Categories, and Deleting Categories.
Click the Assignment tab to display Assignments in the selected Category, as well as all assignment Details, Grades, Rubric, Resources, Standards, and Options. Here you also have the ability to edit assignments, add new assignments to a category, import assignments to a category, and import grades to an assignment. See the following sections for more information: Adding Assignments, Editing Assignments, Deleting Assignments, Importing Assignments, and Importing Grades.
Click the plus sign (+) to add an assignment to the gradebook for a selected category. See Adding Assignments for more information.
Click the Hide/Show arrow to open the Assignments panel.
While viewing the Assignments panel, click the student icon to view a list of students in the course. Click the student to view and enter grades by student. See Entering Grades by Student for more information.
Click the Assignments icon to close the student list and view the Assignments panel again.
To close the Assignments panel, click the Hide/Show arrow.
Hover over the Grade Legend to view all applicable grades and custom grades including grade letters, numbers, percentages, etc.
The Place Invalid Assignments link and pop-up window display when there are assignments without a category present in the Gradebook. See Assignments Unlinked From Categories for more information.
Enter Grades By displays a pull-down of options so you can determine in what method grades are to be entered, such as Points, Perecent, Letter Grade, etc. See Entering Grades, Entering Grades by Student, and/or Viewing and Entering Grades by Assignment for more information.
Click Reports to display reports containing various grade data. See Gradebook Reports for more information.
Click Settings to view and enabled additional options, configure the gradebook, create custom grades, create gradebook groups, select grade colors, and enable Third Party Systems (i.e. Google Classroom). See Gradebook Options and Configuration for more information.
The number of students is listed.
Click the Excel icon in the Export section to download all displayed data to an Excel spreadsheet.
Click the Printer icon to print the displayed data.
Click the Message icon to send messages to students from Communication.
Click Filters to apply filters to the displayed columns.
a. To add more than one filter to a column, click on the green plus sign.
b. To delete an added filter, click on the red minus sign.
c. Select the gray arrow for more filtering options.
See Filters for more information.
If enabled by the district, you can click the clipboard icon to enter notes for individual students. The notes will display on the Student/Parent Portal if enabled on the note. See Adding Student Notes for more information.
The Grade displays the running gradebook grade if enabled for the grading scale used for the course.
The Student ID column displays the student ID, unless this option is turned off in Preferences.
The Assignment Header displays data for the assignment. Hover over the i symbol to display additional assignment information including: Title, Points, date Assigned, date Due, Category, Average, Range, and Description. Click the i symbol to edit the assignment. See Editing Assignments for more information.
If additional features are enabled for this assignment, they will be indicated in the bottom right of the assignment header. A paper icon indicates an Assessment has been added to the assignment (available to districts using the Create Assessments module). An upload icon indicates students may upload documents to the assignment. See Adding Assignments for information on adding assessment to assignments and for information on how to enable student uploads.
An “A” displays on the assignment under the Click to edit “i” when a Learnosity Assessment is linked to an assignment from the Details tab. Note: Learnosity can be enabled by the district’s Account Executive. For more information, see Create Assessments.
Assignments from third parties display with the associated icon in the header or display with a generic icon (if applicable).
A down arrow indicator displays in the assignment header for assignments that have been flagged as “Exclude from Average” on the Options tab of assignments.
A down arrow indicator displays next to assignments when the grade has been dropped.
The Gradebook also displays the overall class average and class average by assignment at the bottom of each assignment column.
Click the modal icon to open the applicable data, in this instance, student's grades in all categories, in a new pop-up window. Here you can view and edit applicable fields just as you can in the Gradebook but from a different point of view.
a. Click the left and right arrows to navigate to the previous or next student. Click Close to close the pop-up modal. Note: If one of the arrows appears to be inactive it's because you at the beginning or the end of the list and can't go any further.
Click the Student name to open Student Info. Note: If you click a student's Alert Icon, Student Info will open in a new browser tab to the applicable tab/category that houses the Alert Icon.
Click the student icon and down arrow to view and navigate to additional student screens including Demographics, Schedule, Grades or Course History, Absences, Add Referral, Test History, SSS, Enrollment, Requests, Standard Grades, Activities, Referrals, and Grad Reqs.
The unlinked assignments pop-up window displays assignments that haven’t been linked to a category or assignments that were linked to a category that has been deleted. From the pop-up window, you can select the correct category in which to place the assignment. Upon saving the changes, the pop-up window closes and opens the Gradebook as usual.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
2. If there are unlinked assignments in your Gradebook, the unlinked assignments pop-up window displays automatically.
While the pop-up window displays automatically, unlinked assignments can also be accessed by clicking the Place Invalid Assignments link. The link displays until assignments have been placed into a category or deleted.
3. To place an unlinked assignment, select the correct Category from the corresponding pull-down.
4. To place the unlinked assignment(s) in a new category, click + Add a New Category.
a. Follow the steps described in Adding Categories.
b. Select the newly added category from the Category pull-down for the applicable assignments.
5. You also have the option to delete unlinked assignments. Click the delete button (red minus sign) to delete the assignment from the Gradebook instead of placing the assignment in a category.
a. Click Confirm to delete the assignment.
6. Click Save.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
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.
Entering the number of Questions Correct or Questions Incorrect will translate to the correct number of points if the assignment is set up with a specified number of Questions entered on the Details tab of an assignment.
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.
A = 100
B-D = Average value, such as 85 for B.
F = 58 or 59.
Note: These numbers depend on grading scales set up by the district via Grades > Grading Scales & Comments.
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.
If your district is utilizing the system preference Restrict percent of extra credit, you will be limited to the percentage over the points assigned when granting extra credit on assignments. If you try to enter a value that exceeds the limit set, a pop-up displays alerting you that you have exceeded the maximum amount of extra credit. The value will then default to the maximum amount of credit allowed.
If your district has enabled the Minimum Percentage for Gradebook Grades setting via Setup > System Preferences > School Preferences/Default School Preferences > Grading tab, a gradebook grade percentage minimum, such as 50 percent will limit the percentages factored into students grades. If enabled, you can enter grades below the minimum percentage which will be visible to all users; however, the minimum percentage set by the district, in this case 50%, will be applied to students' overall grade average, as indicated by the green up arrow and information bubble.
If a grade is dropped due to the drop lowest setting on a category, that grade is not eligible to be raised (dropping happens first). Raised grades show with an arrow up in the gradebook grid, so you know they will count extra.
4. Double click the grade field to to view and add comment and highlight grades.
a. Enter a comment pertaining to the grade, and 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.
5. 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.
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.
The bottom row displays averages per assignment.
6. 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.
Click the blue arrows to navigate to the previous or next student in the course. If only one arrow is available that's because you are either at the beginning or the end of the list of students.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
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 (Adding Student Notes).
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.
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.
If you want to enter/edit grades or add comments student by student, click the blue arrows to navigate through the list of students. Click the left arrow to navigate towards the beginning of the list; click the right arrow to navigate towards the end of the list.
You can also navigate in between students from the Students panel displayed by clicking the Hide/Show arrow.
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 the blue arrows to navigate to the previous or next assignment assigned to the student. If only one arrow is available, that's because you are either at the beginning or the end of the list of assignments.
Click the Assignment link to open assignment details. See Adding Assignments and/or Editing Assignments for more information.
8. To exit the student gradebook and navigate back to the main Gradebook screen, click the All tab.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
2. Click the All tab to display all assignments in all categories for all students.
3. Click the Totals tab to see average points/percentages per category for each student, as well as the Total Points, and the student's Weighted Grade.
4. Click the Category tab to view assignments by category.
a. The Assignments panel opens and displays all categories. The first category is selected and displays all linked assignments. To display assignments from a different category, click the category in the panel.
The number in parentheses for the selected category displays the number of assignments in the category. For example, the Participation (3) category contains three assignments.
b. The screen displays all students and all assignments linked to the selected category. The category displays all assignments in the Assignments panel and in separate columns where grades can be entered on the main screen.
The number in parentheses next to the assignment title displays the number of points. For example, Quick Write - Outdoors (50) is worth 50 points.
c. Click the blue arrows to navigate to the previous or next category. You can click the category in the Assignments panel.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
2. Click the Category or Assignment tab, then click the correct category displayed in the panel (if the category is not already selected).
The number in parentheses for the selected category displays the number of assignments in the category. For example, the Participation (3) category contains three assignments.
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. 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.
8. 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.
If you want to add comments student by student, click the blue arrows to navigate through the list of students. Click the left arrow to navigate towards the beginning of the list; click the right arrow to navigate towards the end of the list.
9. Click the four arrow icon for an expanded view of the row.
a. Enter an applicable Comment, and the grade. Then, click Close.
b. Once back on the main screen, click Save to apply changes made in the expanded pop-up window.
Click the blue arrows to navigate to the previous or next student in the course. If only one arrow is available that's because you are either at the beginning or the end of the list of students.
10. To exit the student gradebook and navigate back to the main Gradebook screen, click the All tab.
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.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
2. To import grades directly from the gardebook, click on the i in the right corner of the listed assignment.
Hover over the i for assignment information, such as Title, total Points, Assigned date, etc., as shown in the image below.
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. Click Cancel to close the pop-up window without importing 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.
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.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
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.
If you want to add comments student by student, click the blue arrows to navigate through the list of students. Click the left arrow to navigate towards the beginning of the list; click the right arrow to navigate towards the end of the list.
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.
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.
6. Once the note is added, the clipboard icon displays with writing. Click the icon again to review and/or edit the student note.
The district's Account Executive must first enable Student Uploads; then, you can Allow Student Uploads for applicale assignments from the Options tab of Assignments.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
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.
3. Hover over the Student Files field with the computer mouse for uploading options.
4. To scan the document from your scanner, click Scan.
5. To upload a file from your computer, click Upload.
6. Click Take Photo to take a photo your computer camera.
7. Once uploaded, you can view the title, Size, and Date and time.
a. Click the uploaded file to open the file.
b. Click the download icon to download the file to your computer.
c. Click the delete button to delete the file.
The district's Account Executive must first enable Student Uploads; then, you can Allow Student Uploads for applicale assignments from the Options tab of Assignments.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
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.
Hover over the uploaded assignment name to view the uploaded Date.
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.
A rubric must be created and assigned to an assignment before you can grade an assignment with a rubric. See Adding a Rubric for more information.
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.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
2. Click the Category or Assignment tab, then click the correct category displayed in the panel (if the category is not already selected).
The number in parentheses for the selected category displays the number of assignments in the category. For example, the Participation (3) category contains three assignments.
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. Select the grade for each criteria from the provided pull-down in each column, as created in the Rubric.
The overall grade of the assignment will update automatically once grades for the rubric criteria are saved.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. Click the four arrow modal icon for an expanded view of the row.
a. Enter an applicable Comment, and grades. Then, click Close.
b. Once back on the main screen, click Save to apply changes made in the expanded pop-up window.
Click the blue arrows to navigate to the previous or next student in the course. If only one arrow is available that's because you are either at the beginning or the end of the list of students.
10. To exit the student gradebook and navigate back to the main Gradebook screen, click the All tab.
If assessments have been assigned, taken and submitted, you can review the student's submission from the Gradebook. See Adding Details for more information.
For tests created in the Focus Assessment System, see Viewing Submitted Tests and Scoring Ungraded Questions for more information. For Learnosity assessments, see Evaluating the Results of an Assessment for additional help.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. You can access submitted assessments from the Gradebook by clicking the grade link. Once the test is taken and submitted, the link displays as the grade number and/or letter.
The assessment opens in a pop-up window. From here you can view the points earned for each question, the questions, the selected answer, and the correct answer. The information displayed in the assessment pop-up window varies depending on the assessment set up by you or the district.
3. To change the points awarded, click the text box and enter the appropriate number of points.
4. Click the Comment text box and enter a comment for the student. These are available for each question, depending on the set up of the assessment.
5. When complete, click Submit to update the student's grade and save the Comments added.
Once students have completed assessments, built in reports can be run for additional information, such as the District Reports and Classroom Reports.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
2a. From the All tab, click on the i in the right corner of the listed assignment.
2b. Click the Category or Assignment tab, then click the correct category displayed in the panel (if the category is not already selected).
a. Click the assignment displayed under the category.
3. Click the Reports tab.
4. See Viewing Assessment Reports and Reports Overview for detailed information about the reports.
The settings displays on the various tabs will vary for each district and maybe even school since administrative users can disable select settings for teachers.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
Selecting Gradebook navigates to the main Gradebook screen where there are various options available.
2. Click Settings to open the following tabs and enable settings or configure the gradebook: View Options, Configuration, Custom Grades, Groups, Grade Colors, and Google Classroom.
3. Once settings have been created/enabled, click Apply to apply the changes made to the gradebook.
If you try to navigate away from the Settings window without applying changes, a pop-up window displays giving your the option to Apply unsaved settings changes. Click Apply to apply changes or click Close to close the pop-up window without saving changes.
4. Click Close if changes have been applied or no changes have been made and you'd like to close the Settings window.
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.
1. Click the View Options tab.
2. Select the Include Inactive Students check box to display inactive students along with active students. This option is helpful if needing to input grades for students who have already been withdrawal from your class.
Hover over the icon with the mouse to display the following message “This student isn’t actively scheduled in this class” indicating the student is inactive. Note: The row for inactive students is also dimmed as an added indicator. Grades and comments can still be entered, as needed.
3. Select the Alert Icons check box to display Alert Icons assigned to students, such as 504, ELL, Immigrant Student, etc.
4. Select the Grading Legend check box to display a Grade Legend on the gradebook. Once enabled, hover over Grade Legend to display more information about each grade.
5. Select the Grading Cells check boxes for Points, Percentage, and Letter to determine which columns display on the gradebook for grades.
When "Letter Grades Only" is enabled, the system uses the GPA points average of category assignments to determine the Category Average, aligning this calculation with the method used for Class Average.
Hover over the question mark (?) icons for helpful information about each setting.
Select the check boxes in the Optional Columns section to determine which additional columns display in the gradebook.
6. Select the Grade Level check box to display students' grade levels on the gradebook.
7. Select the Gradebook Average check box to display the Grade column in the Gradebook and display the running Gradebook grade on the Parent/Student portal. If the Gradebook Average setting is not enabled, the Grade column will not display in the teacher gradebook nor will it display for students and parents.
If your district has opted to hide the running average from the Gradebook upon setting up Grading Scales & Comments, the Gradebook Average setting will not display.
8. Select the Semester Average check box to display a column that displays a semester average grade.
9. Select the Full Year Average check box to to display a column that displays a full year average grade.
10. Select the Student Number check box to add a column where you can enter a special number/code for each student. This helps when printing the grades to post since students can identify their grade using the special assigned codes as opposed to using their names.
11. Select the Gradebook Group check box to display the Group column where students can be assigned to created Groups. Gradebook groups are created on the Groups tab of Settings.
12. Select the check boxes in the Assignment Column Headings section to determine what information displays in the header for each assignment, such as Due Date, Assigned Date, Points & Questions, and the Assignment Icon (image added to the assignment from the Details tab).
13. Click Apply to apply changes made to View Options.
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.
When you enable Configure Gradebooks separately for each section via Preferences > Display Options tab, settings applied on the Configuration tab will only affect the current section.
All Gradebook Configuration settings are school year specific, and will roll over, except when Gradebooks are configured separately for each section. If you configure Gradebooks separately for each section, the district or school’s default Gradebook Configuration settings will be applied to any new course for which you are scheduled; at which point, you can update the configuration settings.
When you change a Gradebook Configuration setting, the setting will only be changed for that school year and not all years.
1. Click the Configuration tab.
2. Enter Default Assignment Points to populate the Points field automatically when adding a new Gradebook assignment.
3. In creating a new assignment, select the Default Due Date of Today or Tomorrow. Note: The selection made here will populate in the Due Date field of assignments, but the date can be edited for any assignment as needed.
If a set Due Date is set outside of calendar days, a warning pop-up will display. However, the assignment and due date can be saved regardless.
4. Select how scores containing decimals should be rounded in the Score Rounding section. Scores can be rounded Up, Down, or rounded Normally.
Hover over the question mark (?) icons for helpful information about each setting.
5. Select a Gradebook Method from the following options:
Default: Select Default to have a separate Gradebook for each marking period (e.g. quarter 1, quarter 2, quarter 3, quarter 4).
Full Year: Select Full Year to have one running Gradebook for the full year. This is often used if students are allowed to turn in assignments at their own pace over the course of the year, such as in adult education.
Semester: Select Semester to have one running Gradebook for each semester. Quarter 1 grades will factor into the Quarter 2 average.
If you are using a default quarter gradebook, students see assignments from the marking period selected. If you are using a full year or semester gradebook, students will also see assignments from other quarters in the current semester or year upon viewing the Grades (Assignments) screen.
6. 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).
7. Select an Assignment Sorting; options are as follows: Newest First, Newest Last, Assigned Date, Due Date, Publish Date, Category, or Alphabetical, which allows you to determine how the assignments are ordered in the gradebook. Note: Newest Last displays closest to the "paper gradebook."
8. 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.
If the internet connection is lost while entering grades and changes are supposed to save automatically when this setting is enabled, a warning message displays altering you that grades cannot be saved.
9. 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%.
10. 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.
11. Select the Hide assigned and due date on student portal check box to ensure assigned dates and due dates for assignments do not display on the Student/Parent Portals.
12. Select the Show all assignments on student portal check box to ensure students/parents can see all gradebook assignments in the Portal regardless of publish date, including those where the publish date is null.
13. Select the Show gradebook average to three decimal places on student detail to display the “Current Grade in Class” as the average rounded by gradebook setting and the average rounded to three decimal places in parentheses, such as “93% A (92.500%)" in the student view of the Gradebook.
14. Select the Display Assignment Class Average on grades (Assignments) Screen to Parents/Students check box to display a "Class Average" column to the left of the Comments Column on the Grades (Assignment) screen, showing the class average for the assignment to display for parents and students via the applicable portals.
15. Click Apply to apply changes made to the gradebook.
Custom Grades can be created for excluded grade or zero grading systems.
When you save a custom excluded grade on an extra credit assignment [ex. X or *], the grade displays as "-1.” Note: Assignments can be set up as extra credit from the Details tab when zero is entered in the Points text box or when the Points field is left blank.
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 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 created cannot be an existing grade defined in Grading Scales & Comments.
Click the delete button (red minus sign) to remove a custom grade. Click Apply to apply changes.
Click the text boxes to edit the text of existing custom grades and click the pull-down to change the selection when applicable. Click Apply to apply changes.
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.
A down arrow indicator displays next to assignments when the grade has been dropped.
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.
1. Click the Groups tab.
2. In the last row, enter the Name of the group in the provided text box. When complete, press Enter to save the data.
3. Click Apply to save the group.
4. Click the View Options tab and select the Gradebook Group check box to display the Group on the gradebook.
The group names can be edited at any time by clicking on the underlined Name.
Click the delete button (red minus sign) to delete a student group. Click Apply to save changes.
The Grade Colors tab allows teachers to assign colors to grades to quickly ascertain entered grades.
1. Click the Grade Colors tab.
2. Click a color for the grade to assign a color to a grade. For example, to make all grade letter Fs stand out, you can select the color red.
3. Click Apply to apply grade colors to the gradebook.
All F grades now display in red.
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).
1. Click the Google Classroom tab.
2. To link a new account, click Sign in with Google Classroom to link the account.
Teachers must create a Google Classroom course prior to attempting to link the Focus Gradebook with a Google Classroom course or an error message will display and no available courses can be selected.
3. Follow the prompts to sign in to your Google account.
Grant all applicable permissions by clicking Allow.
Confirm your choice by reviewing all permissions, then click Allow.
Once an account is linked, click the unlink icon to sign out of the Google account and unlink the account.
If the section selected in the course pull-down at the top of the screen will be synced to a Google Classroom course, begin with Selecting Google Classroom Class from the pull-down explained with more in Sync a Google Classroom Course to the Gradebook in Focus. If the section selected in the course pull-down will not be linked to a Google Classroom course, then close the pop-up window by clicking the X in the top corner and follow the steps below from the beginning.
Only the marking period or progress period selected from the pull-down in the top right is synced.
4. Select the Google Course from the pull-down to link a google course to the section, which will be synced with the Focus gradebook. Note that only Google Classroom courses that have been previously set up with your email address will display in the pull-down.
5. Click Apply to apply Google Classroom.
There are several options that can be utilized to invite students to join your Google Classroom.
1. When the Focus gradebook is synced with the Google Classroom account by clicking Google Classroom, any student who has not been previously invited to the Google Classroom and who has an email address stored in Focus will receive an email invitation to join the teacher’s Google Classroom. To join the Google Classroom, students will access their email and click the link to join the classroom.
Click the envelope icon to send invitations to students who haven’t joined yet and do not currently have a pending invitation.
2. Through Google Classroom, you can manually invite students by logging into the Google Classroom account, selecting the People tab, and selecting the + sign icon under the Students section. The teacher can then enter in the email address for the student and the student will receive an email invitation to join the Google Classroom.
3. You can invite students to the Google Classroom by providing students with a unique code to their Google Classroom course. The code can be found in multiple places in Google Classroom, such as the Students page and on the front page of the Google Classroom course.
From the student’s Google Classroom account, they will click the plus sign to join a Google Classroom and enter the code provided.
1. Follow the steps described in Adding Assignments.
2. Select the assignment or Create New Assignment from the Google Classroom Assignment pull-down to add the assignment to the Google Classroom for the respective section(s).
3. Determine if the assignment should be added to multiple sections by making the appropriate selections from the Linked Sections pull-down. If a Google Classroom Assignment has been selected from the pull-down and multiple sections are selected, ensure that a Google Classroom has been set up for each section. The assignment will be added for each section in Focus as well as in the linked Google Classrooms.
The options displayed here concerning linking sections depends on the New Assignment Method setting enabled via Settings > Configuration tab.
4. Click Save.
The assignment will be added to the Focus Gradebook and the Google Classroom. If set up, students will receive an email notification each time that an assignment is added to the gradebook.
Once students have submitted their assignments via Google Classroom, you will be able to access the assignment and grade the assignment from their Google Classroom account.
1. Log in to the Google Classroom.
2. Click the Grades tab.
When a student turns in an assignment, the score box for the student and assignment will display with a green underline. This will indicate that the assignment is ready to be graded.
3. Click in the score box.
4. Click View Submission.
You can view the assignment and have the ability to enter the grade for the assignment and make comments for the student.
5. Click Return.
Assignments must be returned to students in Google Classroom prior to syncing the grades into Focus or the assignment grades will not carry over into Focus.
The student’s assignment grade will be populated for the assignment on the Grades tab within Google Classroom. The student can also access their grade for the assignment through their Google Classroom account.
After grades have been entered and returned to students in Google Classroom, you can sync the Focus Gradebook with their Google Classroom account to import the grades from Google Classroom into Focus.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. Click Google Classroom to sync.
The screen will refresh and any grades that have been imported from Google Classroom will display in the Gradebook.
Assignment grades can be modified as needed.
Changes in Focus will not be synced back to the Google Classroom gradebook.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. From the All tab, click the i symbol to edit the assignment.
Hover over the i symbol to display additional assignment information including: Title, Points, date Assigned, date Due, Category, Average, Range, and Description.
3. Click the Details tab, if on another tab.
4. Click anywhere on the screen to edit data.
5. Clear the selection made from the Google Classroom Assignment pull-down so the field is blank.
6. Click Save.
There are several considerations that should be noted when utilizing the Google Classroom integration within Focus.
1. Assignments Display for the Full Year: Google classroom does not run on marking periods, so all assignments for the entirety of the school year will display in the Google Classroom even though the Focus Gradebook will display the assignments for the current marking period.
2. Withdrawn Students: If a student is dropped from a section in Focus, the student is not automatically removed from the Google Classroom. This will be a manual process to remove the student from the teacher’s Google Classroom.
3. Assignment Information Synced From Focus to Google Classroom: If the assignment is added in Focus, only the points, category, title, due date and published date display in Google Classroom.
4. Deleting Assignments: When you create an assignment in Focus it immediately appears in the Google Classroom. If you delete the assignment in Focus and sync to Google Classroom, it does not delete the assignment in Google Classroom. The assignments need to be deleted manually in each program.
5. Comments on Assignments: Comments are entered separately in Focus and in Google Classroom and will not transfer between the two systems.
6. Publish Date: The Publish Date must be prior to the Due Date in Google Classroom; therefore, teachers are unable to use the publish date to delay displaying assignments that were already due/have been graded.
7. Numeric Grades: Google Classroom only supports numeric grades; therefore, any teacher using a gradebook with letter grades only will not be able to utilize this functionality.
8. Weighted Categories: For teachers utilizing weighted categories, category weights will need to set up separately in Google Classroom and in Focus. Note that the weights cannot vary from marking period to marking period in Google Classroom.
9. Checkbox Assignments, Extra Credit, Hide From Excluded & Exclude From Average: The following features utilized in the Focus Gradebook cannot be accomplished in Google Classroom: checkbox assignments, extra credit, hide from excluded and exclude from average. It is recommended that if an assignment such as an extra credit assignment is added in Focus, then teachers can deselect Google Classroom from the Third Party Systems drop-down to add the assignment exclusively to the Focus Gradebook.
10. Parents: Parents do not currently have any profile permissions to view or access to their child’s Google Classroom or to be able to access the Google Classroom from the Focus Parent Portal.
1. In the menu, click Gradebook.
2. From the Gradebook screen, click Reports.
3. From the reports pop-up window, click the report name to generate the report.
For detailed information about each report, see Gradebook Reports.
4. Click the X to close the Report pop-up window.
