Questions and Answers related to the TAC gradebook.
- Why aren't student scores averaging in my gradebook?
- Is there a way to search for a student name quickly in my gradebook?
- Can I copy assignments from one class to another class?
- Can I fill in the same score for every student automatically?
- How can I display only one student's grades in my gradebook at a time?
- Do I have to select a grading scale in my gradebook?
- Will I be able to override a student's grade if I choose to?
- What should the categories in my gradebook total?
- How will a final grade be calculated for a high school class?
- I can't see all of my students in my gradebook in one screen.
- What do I do to make a student exempt from an assignment?
- I can see the class gradebook but why can't I enter scores into my gradebook?
- I'm trying to print my gradebook and the grade columns get cut off.
- How do I print an individual student's assignments and grades?
- How do I get to the gradebook for the next marking period?
- When changing marking periods, TAC says my assessments aren't defined?
- How do I run a single student report?
- How can I move left to right through a student row in my gradebook?
- I want to delete a category but it's not an option in my gradebook.
- My students are reporting that they can't open my attachment posted in HAC.
Why aren't student scores averaging in my gradebook?
There are a few reasons why your gradebook scores may not be
averaging.
1. Scores will not average if the date in the Date Due field is
in the
future. The scores for an assignment will average on the date the
assignment
is set to be due.
2. If you are grading based on percentages, then you must enter
weights for
each category you will be including and using in your gradebook.
If you do
not enter weights for the categories then it will not average. If
you are
using total points then you must check the total points box
displayed on the
category page, otherwise the gradebook assumes you are using
percentages.
3. On the Assessments page for a class, if you changed the weight
for a
particular assignment from 1.00 to 0 then your student averages
will not
calculate because you have set the assignment to be worth
nothing. Leave the
weight on each assignment as 1.00 if you are not trying to make a
particular
assignment in a category worth more than your established
category weights.
4. If you copied categories from one term to the next, the total
points
checkbox does not automatically get selected. Go to the define
assessments
page>then click on the categories tab>click the checkbox at the
top if you
use total points in your gradebook.
Is there a way to search for a student name quickly in my gradebook?
At this point, the only way to search for a student name is to
scroll
through the list. We are filing a request for enhancement with
Pentamation
for them to develop a search within the gradebook so a teacher
could type
the first few letters of a student's name to find the student.
Can I copy assignments from one class to another class?
Yes. You can copy assignments entered in one class to another
class
section. The detailed directions can be found in the full TAC
manual on the
Directions/Handouts section of this website.
Open the class you want to copy from and then click on the copy
button
at the top of the gradebook (scores) then you will see a window
that allows
you to decide which class and information you would like to copy
to the new
class. ONLY click the copy
button ONE TIME! If you click the copy button more than once, it
will copy
multiple times. When the copy button is clicked, the page will
flash and
refresh and that is the clue that the copy happened. We have
asked for a
confirmation to be added to this process that will indicate the
copy was
successful.
Can I fill in the same score for every student automatically?
Yes. It's called default grade. In your gradebook, click on the
Default
grade button and a window will pop open asking what default grade
you
would like to enter. Type in the grade and click ok and that
grade will fill
into any blank score box for a student for that assignment. If
you enter a
default grade and then want to delete those grades, they must be
deleted
manually from the grade column for each student. If a score has
been entered
already for a student, the default grade option will not
overwrite that
manually entered grade.
How can I display only one student's grades in my gradebook at a time?
In the gradebook you must click in the blank area next to the
student's name
(do not click on the student's name because it will open the
student summary
page). This will highlight the row of the individual student and
then click
on the box in the top right of the page that says, "Show
only selected row."
This will display only one student's row of grades at a time.
When you are
finished viewing, you must click on the same box again to return
to the full
view of the gradebook.
Do I have to select a grading scale in my gradebook?
It depends if there is only one grading scale defined for your
building. To
find out if you have multiple grading scales, go to a class, look
at your
scores page and pull down the arrow in the grading scale column.
For any of
the defined grading scales the letter grades will automatically
attach to
the percentage grade that is calculated. A page listing the alpha
grades and
numbers that can be used in the gradebook can be found under the
grading
scales page of this website.
Will I be able to override a student's grade if I choose to?
Yes. Once you have loaded the grades from the gradebook, you can
manually
enter a letter grade in the RC window and that letter grade will
be the
grade that shows on the student report card.
What should the categories in my gradebook total?
When setting up your gradebook, you should set your gradebook
categories to
equal 100%, not 80%. At the high school the 20% for the exam will
already be
preset on the page where you will enter exam scores. Exam scores
are not
entered in the gradebook, they are entered as percentages in the
RC screen.
How will a final grade be calculated for a high school class?
A class final average/grade will be calculated at 20% exam and
80% class
average. On the backside of eschoolplus, the course exam is
already set to
average at 20%. You will enter the percentage of the final exam
in the Exam
column of the RC window. Do not enter the Exam grade in the
gradebook, as it
will not average into the final grade correctly.
I can't see all of my students in my gradebook in one screen.
There are two things that can be done to show more students on
the screen.
1. Change the computer's screen resolution to 1024x768 or higher.
This
setting will shrink the window contents and allow for more
students to
appear on the screen eliminating the need to scroll up and down
so much.
2. Use the F11 key on the keyboard to hide the browser frame
thereby
displaying more of the screen contents.
What do I do to make a student exempt from an assignment?
The letter X exempts students from an assignment in the gradebook.
I can see the class gradebook but why can't I enter scores into my gradebook?
Make sure your Number Lock key is on when entering scores from
your numeric
pad on your keyboard.
I'm trying to print my gradebook and the grade columns get cut off.
The following is a work-around for this problem. (This problem
has been
corrected in TAC.)
You must first upgrade Internet Explorer from version 6 to
version 7. You
can place this request on your building problem log and a
technician will
complete the update for you.
After your browser has been updated to version 7 then follow
these
directions to print the scorebook so the columns are intact.
1. Go to the scores page of a class.
2. click on printable button
3. Make choices about what you want to be able to see on the page
4. Go to the file menu>print preview
5. When print preview screen displays...you'll see at the top of
the window
some drop down menus. For the first window choose--"1 page
view"
For the second choice, select "Only the selected Frame"
For the third choice, select "shrink to fit"
Then click the printer icon to print. The columns should print
correctly on
the printed pages.
How do I print an individual student's assignments and grades?
1. Go to the score page of a class.
2. Click next to the student's name(not on the link or the
summary page will
open) to highlight the student's row of scores.
3. On the upper right of the gradebook window, look for
"show only selected
row" and check the box next to it.
4. In the scorebook below all other student information will be
hidden and
only the student you highlighted will be visible.
5. Click on the button at the top of the window, "student
detail."
6. The student detail window will display asking for selections
to be made
regarding the information to be included in the student report.
7. Select all desired information then click the RUN button. A
PDF will open
to be printed. Depending on your computer configuration, you may
be prompted
to open the report in order to print it.
8. To show all students again on the score page, be sure to
UNcheck
the "show only selected row" box.
How do I get to the gradebook for the next marking period?
On the My Classes page, the RC run number listed at the top of
the page must
be changed to the correct marking period. Teachers will need to
manually
change the RC run number when going into TAC until the report
card run is
completed. After that process is finished by the office staff
they will set
the new marking period to be the default and the correct marking
period will
automatically display in the gradebook.
When changing marking periods, TAC says my assessments aren't defined?
Click on the Assessments button and then you can enter a new
assignment for
that marking period. You can also change the RC run pull down
menu to
reflect the next RC run period.
RC run 1=Trimester 1, RC run 2=Trimester 2, RC run3=Trimester 3
How do I run a single student report?
The step-by-step directions are located in the Handouts section
of this site
titled, Student Detail Report. This handout will give directions
to
generate reports for the entire class as well as individual
students.
How can I move left to right through a student row in my gradebook?
To move left to right through a student row in the gradebook, use
the TAB
key.
I want to delete a category but it's not an option in my gradebook.
If you have used that category for an assignment and there are
scores
entered in the gradebook for that assignment, you cannot delete
the
category. That is a safeguard so that you don't accidentally
delete student
scores. To change an assignment to a new category, you would have
to select
the new category on the category tab, then enter a new assignment
using that
new category then enter the student scores for the new
assignment. Next, you
would manually delete each student's score from the former
assignment
column, then you'll be able to delete the assignment, then you
can de-select
the category.
My students are reporting that they can't open my attachment posted in HAC.
There are a few possible reasons why this is happening.
1. If the student trying to download the attachment does not have
the
program on their computer that the teacher used to create it,
then the
student will not be able to open it.
2. If the students trying to download the attachment does not
have a
compatible version of the program on their computer that the
teacher used to
create it, then the student will not be able to open it. For
example, if the
teacher created a document in MS Word 2003 and the student had
Word 95 on
their computer, the file could not be opened.
In order to overcome this issue, teachers should save files as a
pdf
document prior to uploading to HAC so that it could be opened by
anyone with
the free Adobe Acrobat Reader program. A pdf file will also
ensure that the
formatting of the document will remain intact when opened. If
teachers need
to learn how to create pdfs, contact Jennifer Earl or place the
request on
the school problem log.
The above two issues have been checked and there is still a
problem opening
attachments, run the Windows updates at
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
and yes through all of the prompts and/or update your browser to
Internet
Explorer 7.