Topic outline

  • PowerTeacher Pro Gradebook

    Gradebook Set-Up Information for Teachers (2020-21)

    Curriculum & Instruction guidelines as they relate to student grades (this includes teaching within a REMOTE LEARNING environment)

    • Teachers in grades 6-12 should enter a minimum of ONE grade per week based on student evidence of learning. 
    • Teachers should NEVER use any grade weighting functions (either on individual assignments OR on any grade categories).  This is an important alignment issue to insure that ALL student subject grades are calculated the same way to allow both students and parents to take greater ownership of student grade monitoring. 
    • Follow equitable grading practices, including "No Zeros" (eg. the minimum score for all assignments, including missing work, should be 50% of total point value).      
    • Although all gradebooks (6-12) will be using a total points system, teachers should make an effort to ensure that the natural distribution of points within their assignments are not too heavily weighted on one category (e.g. test, labs, projects…etc.).  Please remember that district guidelines regarding point distribution within assignment categories for grades 6-12 is...
      • Assessments (total of ALL tests, quizzes...etc.)= No more than 40% of total points.  No single test (eg. FINAL EXAM) should be worth more than 20% of the student's final grade.
      • Synchronous (ie. "in-class") work= No more than 40% (respectively) of total points
      • Asynchronous work (ie. "outside of class" with no teacher or peer support)= No more than 20% of  total points (please note that this does not apply to students working in a Distance Learning environment such as Sunnyside Online Success Academy.
    • All assignments in the GRADE 6-12 gradebooks should be entered within the SEMESTER GRADE container as student grades for all core courses should always be based on an 18 week (semester) total.  
    • Standards Based grades in K-5 should be entered within the QUARTER GRADE container.
    • For students transferring into a teacher class within 10 days or less of the end of the grading period, an effort should be made to obtain relevant grade information from the student's PRIOR teacher of record.  In cases where this is not possible (eg. a student transfer from outside the district), teachers should select the INC grade option to reflect student performance.
    • Once traditional grades (6-12) are stored at the end of each term and sent out via the report card, these grades are “locked” within the historical grade record.  If a completed term grade needs to be updated or revised AFTER report cards have been printed, you will need to work with your front office clerk to have the grade updated in the historical record.
    • Please NOTE:  Standards based grades (K-5) are NOT locked by the historic grade record and do NOT need to be stored by the central office prior to printing report cards.

    By reviewing the sections below, you will be able to explore all of the functionality of the new system.  Remember, you can also get answers on using your Gradebook at any time by clicking on the "?" icon in the top-right corner of the page.  

  • Traditional Gradebook Overview

  • Standards Based Grading

  • PowerTeacher Dashboard

    The PowerTeacher Dashboard is your starting point for all PowerSchool functions in the classroom.

    http://powerschool.susd12.org/teachers

    The Online Dashboard is the place for your to...

    • Take Daily Attendance
    • Access Student Demographic Information
    • Print Reports
    • Access Parent Contact Information
    • Create Seating Charts
    • Submit Discipline Log-Entries

  • Accessing and Setting Up the Gradebook

    The following information is related to accessing and setting-up the NEW PowerTeacher Pro gradebook.  For a review of the CURRENT teacher dashboard functions (taking attendance, running reports...etc), click on this link to the PowerTeacher Tutorial Page.

     

  • Working With Assignments

    Please review the information in this file for getting started setting up your Grade Categories and Assignments in your P.T. Pro Gradebook.

  • Parent Messages (BrightArrow)

    The BrightArrow messaging system allows teachers to send notifications to Parents and/or Students directly from their PowerTeacherPro gradebook.  You can even filter messages to alert parents when students are failing your course or when they have missed an important assignment.

    You can click on this link to learn more about Parent Messaging via PowerTeacher Gradebook. 

  • Working with Grades and Final Scores

    Teachers should enter NO LESS than three assignments for students per week.  Final grades are updated automatically throughout the term as you enter assignment scores in the gradebook.  This folder contains information about how to enter and finalize grades for your students.

  • Analyzing Student & Class Performance

    Use the gradebook to analyze student performance at any time during the school year.  Analyze performance throughout the term to ensure that students are mastering the skills and standards that you are teaching.  You can also review how student in an entire class are performing using the directions posted in this folder.

  • Gradebook Reports

    The gradebook contains reports that you can view onscreen or print.  You can personalize each report by entering a custom title or margin note.  You can learn more about the Gradebook Reporting by exploring the folder below.

  • Frequently Asked Questions

    • What do I need to do in order to transition to the new PowerTeacher Pro gradebook?

    Nothing.  The transition has already been made behind the scenes for you.  All you need to do is launch your new gradebook from your PowerTeacher dashboard to get started.

    • Why is my PowerTeacher Pro link missing on my dashboard homepage?

    It's possible that the new version of the gradebook has not yet been activated for your particular course and section.  This can be corrected by sending a ticket to http://helpdesk.susd12.org and having the new gradebook activated. 

    • Can I use the PowerTeacher Mobile app with PowerTeacher Pro?

    No. The PowerTeacher Mobile app can only be used in conjunction with PowerTeacher Gradebook. PowerTeacher Pro is designed to work with all mobile devices supporting a screen resolution of at least 1024x768. Smaller resolutions are supported but may not provide the optimal user experience.

    • Can I copy my class assignments from one term to the next?

    Yes.  To copy and existing assignment, click on the Duplicate button within the edit assignment box and then select the correct term for the newly created assignment.  Once the assignment has been duplicated, you can quickly replicate it to multiple sections by using the Select Classes menu.

    • What if I would like to copy my assignments from last school year to my current gradebook?

    Unfortunately, PowerTeacher Pro does not currently support migrating assignments between years.  If you would like to copy your assignments from 2015-16 to the current school year, send a ticket in to http://helpdesk.susd12.org making sure to indicate specifically which of your current sections/periods you would like to transfer assignments from.   You will be notified as soon as your gradebook sections have been reactived.  Once you have received this notification, you can follow the directions linked here to migrate your assignments to the current yearPlease remember that you will need to migrate your assignments BEFORE the first progress period.  On Friday, August 26th all gradebook sections will be converted back to the new PowerTeacher Pro in advance of the first progress report.

    • Why can't I see scroll bars in PowerTeacher Pro when I'm on a Mac?

    This is a feature of the operating system that is easily adjusted. Change the system preferences on your Mac to always display scrollbars. Go to  Apple Menu > System Preferences > General, and then set the Show scroll bars setting toAlways

    • Can I create my own teacher defined score codes, or custom grade scales?

    No, the PowerTeacher Pro gradebook only allows new grade codes and grade scales to be set at the administrative level.  If you feel that your particular course or section requires a new code, please submit your request through your Instructional Team Lead or Instructional Site Coach.  

    • Can I create my own custom student groups with the new PowerTeacher Pro gradebook?

    No, all student group sections are linked directly to rosters created in PowerSchool.  If you require a custom student group for tracking purposes, you will need to submit your request through your Instructional Team Lead or Instructional Site Coach.  Once they have the request, they can submit this information to http://helpdesk.susd12.org to have the custom student group created.

    • I'm a Specialist Teacher (grades K-5).  Why can't I see the names of my student's core subject teachers on my gradebook dashboard?

    Core subject teachers are displayed under the section name in PowerSchool.  To enable, click on Settings and under Display and Sorting change your display from Period/Day to Section Number.  If you do not see teacher names listed within your section numbers, check with your school clerk or front office registrar to make sure that the section names are listed correctly in PowerSchool.

    • Whenever the co-teacher in my section makes a change to an assignment, all of my student grades for that assignment disappear.  Should this be happening?

    When a co-teacher with editing rights in the gradebook modifies or changes and existing assignment, the gradebook treats this as a NEW assignment entry and will purge any existing entries (since grades can not be assigned to two different teachers within the grade table).  For this reason, we recommend that sites avoid rostering co-teachers with editing rights whenever possible.  If you must have co-teachers rostered to the same section, please make sure that ONLY the teacher of record changes or alters the title, due date, category...etc. of the assignment.  FYI:  This does not apply to entering SCORES for student assignments, only altering the assignment information itself.

    Click this link to access the PowerSchool Product Enhancement Status Page to learn what features and functions are coming soon.