Part Two of the Introduction to PowerSchool's PowerTeacher Gradebook, for Teachers.

2. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 What are we doing today?
In part one of the PowerTeacher Gradebook class, you learned how to set up
final grade calculations, create categories and assignments, and enter
assignment scores. In part two, explore the tools to complete your final
grades at the end of the term, and then analyze student performance based
on the results. In this class, you'll practice the following tasks:
 Verify and submit final grades
 Analyze student and classroom performance
 Customize the gradebook using super-user tools
 Run gradebook reports

3. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Working With Final Grades
Final grades are updated automatically throughout the term as you enter
assignment scores in the gradebook. When the term comes to a close,
however, you may have additional tasks to perform before submitting grades
for report cards to make sure your final grades are accurate, such as
entering citizenship or standards grades and overriding individual scores. If
you make any changes to scores, recalculate final scores to ensure that your
updates were applied, and then communicate to your PowerSchool
administrator that grades are complete.

4. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Final Grades Mode
On the Scoresheet tab, select the Final Grades mode to review and modify
students' final grades, citizenship grades, and standards final grades. Click
the arrow on the Citizenship or Standards column headings to view the
reporting term, grade scale, and related grades for that column.
Final Grades mode is the only place in the gradebook where you can enter
values for citizenship. To enter a citizenship grade, right-click or control-
click any cell in the Citizenship column and choose a grade, or use the Score
Inspector to assign a grade. You can also use the Clear Scores and Fill Scores
shortcuts to update citizenship for all students at once. Use the same steps
to enter or change standards final grades.
Category totals also appear in Final Grades mode. Use category totals to
assess how students performed in one assignment category versus another.

5. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Recalculating Final Grades
Although final grades in PowerTeacher Gradebook are calculated
automatically, you can force a recalculation, if necessary. Use the
recalculate tool after making significant changes in the gradebook, such as
adding multiple assignment scores for students who transferred from another
class, or modifying the custom grade scale for a special group of students.
Also, recalculate grades when your PowerSchool administrator changes a
setting that affects the gradebook, such as standards grade scales. As a best
practice, recalculate grades at the end of each term. Be aware that when
you use this tool, grades are recalculated for all students, both active and
dropped.
To use the recalculate tool, choose Recalculate Final Scores from the Tools
menu. If you added or edited score codes in the gradebook preferences,
check Update Teacher Score Codes.
 Overriding a Final Grade Manually
Occasionally, you may need to modify a student's final grade in a course
based on effort, participation, or other performance factors. Right-click or
control-click a final grade on the scoresheet to open the Score Inspector.
Select Manual Override and enter updated values in the Percent and Grade
fields. A red exclamation point appears in the Final Grade column for the
modified grade.

6. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Submitting Final Grades
When your final grades are correct, communicate your completion status so
that the PowerSchool administrator can store grades for the term. On the
scoresheet, click the progress bar, which reads "[Term] In Progress."
Select Final Grades Complete and enter a comment, if necessary. If the due
date for final grades is near and your grades are not complete, enter a
comment without selecting the check box to communicate that your grades
are in progress.

7. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Analyzing Student and Classroom Performance
Use the scoresheet after the end of the term to analyze student
performance. The various modes of the scoresheet provide helpful
information during parent-teacher conferences to explain why a student
earned a particular grade.
 Summary Statistics
To review overall performance statistics for a student or class, access the
summary statistics tool in any scoresheet mode. At the bottom of the
scoresheet, click Summary.
The following statistics appear for the Assignments and Final Grades modes:
 Mean – The mathematical average of the scores
 Median – The middle of the scores (half of the scores are above this
number and half are below)
 Mode – The most common score achieved

8. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Summary Statistics
The following additional statistics appear for the Student View mode:
 Weighted Mean – The average of the selected student's or all of the
students' standards scores based on the average of total weighted points
 Highest – The selected student's highest assignment and standard score, or
the average of the highest scores earned by all of the students in the class
 Most Recent – The selected student's most recent assignment and standard
score(s), or the average of the most recent score(s) earned by all of the
students in the class
 Times Assessed – The number of assignment scores used in the calculation
These statistical values are indicators of how well your students did on a
specific assignment or in class overall. If any of the values are low, it may
mean that students need additional practice on the skills and concepts
you're assessing, or you may need to revise the assignment.

9. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Category Totals
Totals for each assignment category are located at the far right of the Final
Grades mode of the Scoresheet tab. The number in parentheses at the top of
a totals column indicates the number of assignments in the category. To view
a different score type for the category, right-click or control-click the
category heading and choose Points, Percentage, or Letter Grade. Use
category totals to analyze the difficulty of one category type versus another.
For example, if students received significantly lower scores on assignments
in the Homework category than in the Tests category, you might revisit the
homework assignments and analyze the difficulty.

10. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Student View
A helpful tool to use during parent-teacher conferences is the Student View
mode on the scoresheet. The benefit of Student View mode is the ability to
view a lot of information (assignment scores, attendance totals, standards
grades, and final grades for multiple terms) at once for a single student.
To view information for a single student in Student View mode, use the
Student Groups filter. First, expand the Active group in the Students Group
pane and select one student. To select the next student, click the right-
facing arrow under the student's name in the Student View pane.
Also, use Student View mode to analyze performance of the whole class.
Instead of selecting one student using the Student Groups filter, select the
Active group to view student averages.

11. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Student View
Use the following buttons in the Student Averages area above the list of
assignments to filter the contents on the Student View pane:
• Asmts – Click to view all assignments for
the reporting term
• Terms – Click to view scores for previous
reporting terms for this class
• Cmnts – Click to view comments
associated with standards

12. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two

13. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Using PowerTeacher Super-User Tools
Super users are teachers who know how to streamline their workflows in
their gradebooks. To become a super user, configure the gradebook
appearance to make gradebook tabs and panes easier to work with. Use
zoom to change the font size, resize panes, and edit the appearance of class
names. Use quick entry keys and spell check to speed up data entry in the
gradebook. Also, customize the class name and description. Finally, use alert
icons to keep track of student birthdays, newly added students, and dropped
students.

14. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Using PowerTeacher Super-User Tools
Configuring the Appearance of the Gradebook
By default, the text size in PowerTeacher Gradebook is set to 100%. To
increase the size of the text in the scoresheet, open the View menu. Then,
select Zoom and choose a percentage. Conversely, you can use the zoom
controls to decrease the size of the text.
Move panes when you want to hide certain panes, or when you want to
expand the visible area. Use the arrows at the top of a pane to expand or
collapse the pane. To resize the width of a pane, use the pane's vertical
separation line.
The New Window tool comes in handy when you want to view or work with
more than one class at a time. For example, you want to view your 1st-
period and 2nd-period classes at the same time to compare students' scores.
To open a new window, open the Window menu and select New Window. To
view a different class, such as your 2nd-period section, select the class in
the Classes pane. Close the window as you would close any other web page.
When you close the new window, the original window remains open; your
session is not terminated.

15. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Using PowerTeacher Super-User Tools
Quick Entry Keys
Use quick entry keys to speed up data entry. In part one of the
PowerTeacher Gradebook class, you learned quick entry keys for
the scoresheet, such as entering a period (.) to mark an assignment
as collected or EX to mark an assignment as exempt.
In addition, use quick entry keys such as the standard cut, copy,
paste, and save shortcuts that are available in other software
applications. The following table provides a complete list of the
quick entry keys:
Action Keyboard Shortcut
Cut text COMMAND (Mac) or CTRL
(Windows) + X
Copy text COMMAND (Mac) or CTRL
(Windows) + C
Enter single day
attendance
CTRL + Shift + A
Lock gradebook COMMAND (Mac) or CTRL
(Windows) + L
Open Assignments
window
CTRL + Shift + 2
Open gradebook online
help
COMMAND + ? (Mac) or
F1 (Windows)
Open new gradebook
window
COMMAND (Mac) or CTRL
(Windows) + N
Open Score Inspector CTRL + Shift + I
Open Scoresheet
window
CTRL + Shift + 1
Open Students window CTRL + Shift + 3
Paste text COMMAND (Mac) or CTRL
(Windows) + V
Quit PowerTeacher
Gradebook
COMMAND + Q (Mac) or
ALT + 4 (Windows)
Revert changes (discard
unsaved changes to
scoresheet)
COMMAND (Mac) or CTRL
(Windows) + R
Save COMMAND (Mac) or CTRL
(Windows) + S

16. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Using PowerTeacher Super-User Tools
Preferences
Use section and spell check preferences to further customize your
gradebook. From the PowerTeacher Gradebook menu, choose Preferences.
On the Section tab, configure the appearance of the Classes pane. Select the
identifier (the number that appears before the class name) and select
whether to display the course name as defined by the district or to create a
custom display name. To learn how to create a custom class name, see the
Personalizing Class Information section.

17. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Using PowerTeacher Super-User Tools
Preferences
In Preferences, click the Spell Check tab to enable spell check as you type.
Add words specific to the class subject or remove unnecessary words. The
dictionary is specific to your gradebook and is not shared with other
teachers. Misspelled words, such as those you may enter in the Description
field on the Class Content tab, are underlined with a red line. Check the
spelling of a word by pressing and holding Control
while clicking the word on a Mac, or right-clicking
the word on a PC. A list of possible replacements
appears, as well as dictionary options.

18. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Using PowerTeacher Super-User Tools
Personalizing Class Information
To view basic information about a class, click the gradebook's Class Content
tab and select the Class Info mode. Enter a custom class name in the Custom
Display Name field (optional). To display custom class names in the Classes
pane, use the section preferences.
Enter text in the Description field
to communicate your class rules
and your expectations of students,
or to give an overview of the
course. The information you enter
in the Description field appears in
the PowerSchool Student and Parent
Portals.

19. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Using PowerTeacher Super-User Tools
Teacher Notifications
Use Teacher Notifications to monitor activity in the gradebook, such as when
students are added or dropped and when an administrator signs in. When the
Notifications icon displays a number, you have unread messages. To open the
Teacher Notifications dialog, click the Notifications icon in the upper-right
corner of the gradebook window. Select Added or Dropped to view a list of
students enrolling in and exiting from your classes. Click Login to view a log
of when administrators accessed the gradebook. The PowerTeacher
administrator can launch and view any part of your gradebook, but cannot
make any modifications.
The notifications dialog also contains a list of student birthdays. Use the
menu above the list of dates to select whether to display birthday
information for just the selected class or for all of your classes. The
Birthdays window shows the current month automatically; scroll to view the
previous months or coming months. Each student with a birthday this week is
highlighted and has a candle next to his or her name. Save the list on your
computer or print the list. To print a list of student birthdays,
click Birthdays, then click Print at the bottom of the Teacher Notifications
window.

20. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Using PowerTeacher Super-User Tools
Teacher Notifications

21. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Investigating Reports
The gradebook contains several reports that you can view onscreen or print.
Personalize each report by entering a custom title or by including a top note,
bottom note, or signature line.

22. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Investigating Reports
Attendance Grid
Use this report to print a student/date grid template for taking attendance
offline for field trips or for taking notes during student presentations
Choose to leave the column headers blank by checking No Dates and
choosing a number of days so that you can enter your own dates; or, select
the current week's days or a custom date range
The only output option for the report is PDF

23. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Investigating Reports
Category Total Report
Use this report to summarize category totals by section or by student
See a visual comparison of category totals and analyze how students perform
on tests versus homework (or compare other categories)

24. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Investigating Reports
Final Grade and Comment Verification
Use this report to view or print students' final grades and teacher comments
by term
Choose to include all types of grades: final grades, citizenship grades, and
standards grades
Include a signature line that you can use to indicate that your grades are
verified and turned in to the office

25. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Investigating Reports
Individual Student Report
Use this report to view or print a
summary of the class activity per
student
Present a summary of student work to
parents at conferences or to a principal
during a review, or use the report as a
midterm update for students and
parents
Choose whether to abbreviate
assignments and categories, and select
what information to include
Print the report for a few students or
a group

26. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Investigating Reports
Missing Assignment Report
Use this report to view or print
a list of assignments that are
missing per assignment or per
student
Use to help students and
parents keep up with classwork,
target students who need extra
help, or gauge which
assignments present the most
challenges to students

27. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Investigating Reports
Scoresheet
Use this report to view or print a copy of the PowerTeacher Gradebook
scoresheet
Configure the report as needed to
include all categories or selected
categories, final grades, and
assignments
Narrow the data down to a specific date
range

28. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Investigating Reports
Student Multi-Section Report
Use this report to view or print grades from all of a student's sections
Choose whether to include final grades, assignment scores, score comments,
and a category summary for all of a student's classes that you teach

29. PowerTeacher Gradebook, Part Two
 Investigating Reports
Student Roster
Use this report to view or print demographic information by class
Use the report, for example, to keep track
of money collected for classroom field
trips, or as an emergency contact list
Customize the six blank columns on the
Criteria tab, and the report remembers
the information you entered last
Use the report preview to arrange the
columns in any order

30. Next course: