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?
- 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 Assignments 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
assignments 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 TAC Manual and Directions 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. IPR grades cannot be
overrided in the IPR window. The teacher must edit scores in the score book in
order to reflect the desired grade that is loaded on the IPR page.
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 RCwindow. 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.
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 TAC Manaul and 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.