In this document, we will cover all the options available to teachers when entering grades in the Gradebook.
Basics of Grade Entry
Select a section from the course pull-down. Go to the Grades menu and select Gradebook. Choose the method to Enter Grades By:
Enter grades by - pull-down options:
- Points - total points earned on the assignment
- Percent - percentage out of 100
- Questions Correct - how many questions correct out of total questions
- Questions Incorrect - how many questions incorrect out of total questions
- Letter Grade - A=100, F=50, and the other letter grades are the “middle” of the grade range based on the grading scale attached to the course
Alert: The selected option when entering grades impacts how grades are computed within gradebook. This does not apply to an individual assignment. This applies to all assignments within the gradebook until a different method is selected.
Click on an empty box under the assignment next to the student that needs a grade entered. Enter the grade into the box based on the Enter Grades By option selected. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to navigate up, down, left and right between the cells. Using the enter key only allows for navigating down the column.
As grades are entered, the gradebook “hides” the students already graded – scroll back up to see those students. The grades will auto save (if enabled within Settings > Configuration).
Enter Individual Student Grades
Grades can be entered for all assignments for individual students from one screen.
Click on the student’s name within the Gradebook or turn on the Filter to locate a specific student by name.
The selected student’s assignments, grade details, averages, and comments are displayed. Grade data can be entered or modified from this screen. This is similar to what the parent/student sees.
Click the [ ] icon to view/grade all assignments from a compact view. Click the Close button to revert to the gradebook view.
Use the arrows by the student’s name to scroll through all students attached to this gradebook section. Click on the All tab in the upper left corner to return to the list of all students.
Attendance Boxes
You will see colored boxes in the gradebook for any assignment that is due or assigned on a day or period when a student has an attendance exception. Hover over the box for more information.
Adding Comments & Late/Exclude Flags
Double click the grade field to to view and add comment, highlight grades, flag assignments as late, and exclude grades from average.
Comments can be entered on a student’s individual assignments. Depending on district setup, these comments may display as a pull-down list or free form text. Note: these comments are visible to parents and students through the student/parent portal.
Select or enter the comment. Comments will auto-save. Use the arrows to switch to the next student.
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.
Select the Late check box to flag the assignment as late. The Late option allows you to flag assignments submitted past the deadline. This designation does not impact the grade but adds a late icon in the Gradebook grid and displays a Late message in the single student view.
Select the Exclude From Average check box to ensure that the grade is not calculated into the student's overall average while still retaining the grade for record purposes. Grades marked as excluded will display a drop arrow in the Gradebook grid and include an Excluded message in the single student view.
The commented grade will display with a thought bubble icon. Hover over the icon to display the comment. Double click on the score to edit the comment.
Custom Grades
Custom grades may be defined by the district to use when assignments should be excluded from the student’s average or count as a zero. Some districts allow teachers to define their own Custom grades for these reasons.
District-defined Custom Grades will display in the Grading Legend inside the gradebook (if enabled in Settings).
If the district allows teachers to create Custom Grades, this must be done via the Settings tab in the Gradebook. The Custom Grades would then display on the Grading Legend (if enabled in Settings).
Extra Credit Assignments
You can add extra credit to your gradebook by creating an assignment worth the total number of extra credit points you wish to offer. You can exclude those students who do not earn extra credit with an *. For students who do earn the extra credit, enter the maximum points into this assignment in the gradebook.
Not Recommended: Alternatively, you can add extra points to an assignment, but this is not recommended as it can result in a student earning more than a 100% average gradebook grade. You can also creating an assignment, the points box may be left blank or assigned a value of zero. Any values entered for the assignment will be automatically calculated as extra credit and display as EC. Again both of these options can result in students earning more than a 100% average.
Transfer Students
When students transfer into one of the classes you are teaching, typically you will have an average grade that student earned in the previous district, school, or course they were enrolled in. The simplest way to handle averaging in the transfer grade is by entering that average percent grade into each assignment that the student has missed up to the point they enrolled in your class. This will start the student with the average grade they transferred in with.
If you do not have an average from their previous class or you do not wish to award the student points from the previous class, you can simply enter the * on each assignment to exclude that assignment from the student’s gradebook average.
Auto-Fill Points
The Auto-Fill Points feature automatically enters a specified grade for an assignment for all students. This feature will only fill cells that are empty and will not overwrite any previously entered grades.
Alert: If the selected assignment has been created for multiple sections, all sections will be checked by default and the score entered in the Auto-fill box will apply to ALL STUDENTS IN ALL OF THOSE SECTIONS. Be sure to UNCHECK sections that should NOT receive the auto-filled grade.
Enter all “outlier” grades first then click on the i next to the assignment title.
Click the Title of the assignment.
Enter the amount of points to be assigned in the blank Auto-Fill Points box.
Click Save.
The cells that were previously left empty will now be filled. Cells already populated with scores will remain the same.
Completion/Checkbox Assignments
Completion or Checkbox assignments are useful for monitoring the completion of ungraded assignments or tasks, such as turning in permission forms.
Create Assignment
Click the + link next to Assignment. Enter a Title for the completion assignment. Check the Completion Only checkbox.
Adjust any other settings and click Save.
Enter Grades
Instead of a cell for letter grades or numbers, a checkbox will appear. Assignments created as a checkbox do not calculate towards the students’ overall gradebook average.
When viewed from the parent/student portal, an X will display if the box for the student has not been checked or a check will display if a student has been assigned a check.
Use Rubric to Grade
Teachers can use the rubric to grade the students rather than manually entering grades. Students will be able to view the rubric and selections the teachers made so that they can reflect and make improvements.
When a rubric is attached to an assignment, an icon will display in the header. For more details on how to setup a rubric, see our Gradebook Assignment article here.
List View:
Click to enter the student grade. A pop-up will display with the rubric options. Select the appropriate option for each criterion. Select the arrows at the top of the pop-up to continue to the next student. Continue this process until all grades are entered.
The grade will auto populate. The teacher can overwrite the grade if necessary. The grade will also auto save (if enabled). Show Descriptions can be unchecked if the descriptions are not necessary.
Table view
Click to enter the student grade. A pop-up will display with the rubric options. While in List view, click Table at the bottom of the pop-up (see above screenshot).
Click directly on the rubric to select the appropriate option for each criterion. Select the arrows at the top of the pop-up to continue to the next student. Continue this process until all grades are entered.
The grade will auto populate. The grade will also auto save (if enabled). Click List to switch back to the List view. Show Descriptions can be disabled if the descriptions are unnecessary.
Group Grades
Gradebook groups can be used to assign grades. Gradebook Groups will need to be setup and enabled within gradebook Settings.
Option 1 - Manually enter for each group
Click the Group header to organize the class by group. Manually enter the grades for each group accordingly. The grades will auto save (if enabled).
Option 2 - Group only assignment
When creating the assignment, select the Options tab at the top. Deselect Assigned to All Students. Select the appropriate Assigned Group(s). Click Save.
Autofill Group Grade
Click the Details tab. Click anywhere in the assignment details box to display the Autofill box. Fill in the Autofill to apply the same grade to all students in the group.
Click Save.
Manually Enter Group Grade
Click All in the upper left corner to return to the gradebook. Manually enter the grades for the students. The grades will auto save (if enabled).
Upload Student Assignments
When creating and/or editing an assignment, teachers can permit students to upload their
assignments into Focus.
Setup
Go to the Grades menu and select Gradebook. Choose a section from the course section dropdown in the portal header. Click the + link next to Assignment. Fill in the Title, Points and any other assignment information as needed. Click the Options tab. Select the Allow student uploads check box to allow students to upload their assignments through the Student Portal.
When the Allow student uploads box is selected, a second check box will appear. Select Don’t allow late submissions to prevent students from uploading assignments after the due date/time has passed.
Warning: If a student logs in to the Student Portal after the Due Date and Time has passed and Don’t Allow Late Submissions has been selected, the student will not see the option to upload the assignment on the Assignments and Grades screen.
Click Save.
The assignment will be added to the Gradebook. Assignments that are created with Allow student uploads enabled will display with an upload symbol in the assignment header.
Students will be able to access the assignment and download the file from the Student Portal, as well as upload their assignment if Allow student uploads has been enabled.
View and Annotate Student Files
Teachers can view and download student files directly from the Gradebook.
Go to the Grades menu and select the Gradebook. Select a section from the course section dropdown. Locate the assignment containing uploaded student files. The grade for students who have uploaded a file to the assignment will display with a blue hyperlink. If there isn’t a blue hyperlink, that indicates that the student hasn’t submitted anything. Click the blue hyperlink for a student. The uploaded file is displayed in a pop-up box.
Use the annotation tools to make notes and comments on the uploaded file. Click the to draw on the document and annotate freely. Click Save below the drawing to commit the individual annotation. Click Done at the top to conclude the draw tool.
Click the to enter a comment for the student. Click on the document where the comment applies. Type the comment in the text box. Click Post. Click Close at the top to conclude the comment tool.
Click the to print the student’s assignment file. Click the
to download the student’s assignment file.
Enter a Score for the assignment. The score will automatically reflect in the Gradebook for this assignment. Enter a comment for the assignment (if applicable).
Click the arrow at the top-right corner of the screen to navigate to the next available student upload.
Info: If the arrow is not present in one or both directions, then no additional files have been uploaded by students before and/or after the current student.
Click the X in the corner to return to gradebook.
Enter Notes for Students
Dependent upon district setup, teachers may have the option to enter a note that is specific to the student, e.g. student needs additional time on assignments:
Go to the Grades menu and select the Gradebook. Select a section from the course section dropdown. Click on the clipboard icon next to the student name.
Enter the note in the blank field. Check Visible to Student and Parents. If checked, the student and parents will be able to view the notes. If unchecked, only the teacher will be able to view the notes. Click OK to save the note.
The blank clipboard icon now appears with lines
. This indicates that there is a note entered for this student. This is only visible to the individual teacher and does not display for other teachers who have this student.
Alert: Private comments will not be seen on the parent and student portal screen, however any comment entered is public record and may be requested by the parent.
Import CSV Files for Grades
Scores can be imported into the gradebook from a CSV file. Prepare and save a CSV file with a column of student IDs and a column of scores.
Warning: Be sure there are NO blank scores. If there are blank scores, this process will result in an error and the teacher won’t be able to continue.
Create the assignment. Click Save. Click on the i in the assignment header.
Click Import Grades at the top of the Edit an Assignment window.
Info: If the assignment exists for multiple sections, CHECK which section the file applies to by selecting/deselecting the checkboxes for the sections.
Select the file from the computer. A pop-up will display with the selected file information.
Select the type of score values included in the file, Points or Percent. Select which column in the file contains the student IDs from the Student ID Column pull-down. The student IDs must match what is in Focus or the import will not work. Select which column in the file contains the scores from the Score Column pull-down.
Click Submit when finished.
The scores are uploaded into the assignment in the Gradebook.