PowerTeacher Gradebook 101

PowerTeacher Guidebook for Chatham County Schools

PowerSchool is a student information system under the HomeBase umbrella.  It is used to manage data about students.  It is not used for instruction.  

PowerTeacher is a teacher's portal that contains student information including Classes, Attendance and the Gradebook. 

The following is the official Guidebook for our district.  Keep in mind that the website to login best is http://my.ncedcloud.org/ (not the link on page 2). 

From NCDPI: We received the following information from a PowerSchool consultant, but for the time being it appears that the GradeBook desktop app no longer works. A new version is being discussed.  Gradebook should be launched from inside PowerTeacher.

Finding Your Gradebook

Gradebook Overview

Follow this link to a video from CCS Tech department.

Launching the Gradebook

Tools -> Preferences
You can set individual preferences, including:

Spell Check
Email Signature
Personal Comment Bank (see below)
Column Displays
Student sorting and display

Categories and Weights

Setting up the Categories and Grades Video Tutorial

Examples of assignment categories: homework, test, quiz, journal entry, or custom

• Use + - buttons to add or delete.  
• Give name, abbreviation, points, formatting, publishing details
• check the box if included in Final Grade (note you may not want to do this - see below
  under Reports)
  
  

Grade Setup Tab

Grade Setup => Calculations
Use -> beside term to open calculation options
Choose Term Weights or Category Weights (note: if you choose category weights, click Add Categories to set them up for weighting)
Enter weights for Terms or Categories
Save
Use Copy to copy final setup for term or entire class (Use copy as much as possible)

Percentages and Weights are assigned at the Teacher level of the Gradebook, not the District/Admin level.

Setting up Categories and Weights Video Tutorial

The percentages from Dr. Batten's email last year were:

High Schools will use:
             Semesters:                                    Year Long:
T1 = 26.67%      T4 = 26.67%                      S1 = 40%
T2 = 26.67%      T5 = 26.67%                      S2 = 40%
T3 = 26.67%       T6 = 26.67%                     X3 = 20%
X1 = 20%             X2 = 20 %

Assignments

Creating an Assignment Video Tutorial

You can copy assignments to the Gradebook any time during the semester or year, or from previous terms and years, etc.  
When you add assignments, choose to make the assignment information available to parents/guardians and students immediately.

1. From the Assignment pane, below the Assignment list click +
   
2. Enter a name, abbreviation, number of points possible and due date
3. Choose a Category and Score type
4. Check Include in Final Grade, unless the assignment is a draft or non-graded activity
5. Add a description so parents and students can view what is required for this assignment
6. Click the Publish Tab
7. Choose to publish assignments immediately, on a specific date, or a number of days before it is due
8. Check Publish Scores to show scores in the ParentPortal or PowerSchool Student portal
9. Click the Standards tab if you choose to associate standards with this assignment and class, then Save
   
   

Scores

Click the S at the top of the Scoresheet to show the standards for evaluation>
Locate an assignment.
Add scores for all students.
Save (if you forget, a pop-up will remind you)

Tip: Right-Click within a cell for more options. 

At the end of each Term, the grade sources are changed from gradebook to historical.  
Teachers do not have access to historical grades.  
All changes to historical grades require approval and must be changed at a higher level than Teacher allows in Gradebook. 

Advanced Features Video Tutorial for adding student grades quickly

Comments

Enter Comments for students

Save custom Comments in the Comment Bank if you use the same ones frequently

Other Tabs

Student Info Tab

This screen displays basic demographic information.

Columns are adjustable.
Click -> beside a student for the Info Panel.
Click on a phone number (Info Panel) to enlarge.
Use the trackpad or arrow keys to navigate.

Class Content Tab

This provides details about the selected Course. 
Description, Expectations, Links to Content and Resources, etc.

Visible from the Quick Lookup screens for:
Admin Users
Parents/Guardians
Students

Reports in Gradebook

Verifying End-of-Terms Grades Video Tutorial

Before the Data Manager can print report cards, the term grades must be verified. 

The video above demonstrates how to check the Term.
J-M does not use citizenship grades, so ignore that part. 

Individual Student Reports Video Tutorial

When looking at Ms. Brooks' progress reports, the categories at the bottom appear confusing.
If your students don't need the Category summary, you can remove it from your report.

Go into Reports

Choose Individual Student Report

Choose Criteria

Find the Include: section and uncheck Categories

You may want to keep them, but we noted on Ms. Brooks' reports that it added up the number of assessments under "Test" and the 300 points were going to be confusing for her students.

Issues

Trouble Launching the Gradebook? Video Tutorial

Trouble Finding Missing Assignments? Video Tutorial