Grading In RenWeb

Grading In RenWeb
Last Updated: March 24, 2014
Overview

The most visible and critical aspects of grading are printed
Report Cards and Transcripts.

This class will demonstrate all aspects of set up and grade
entry that affect Report Card and Transcript results:

Configuring Setup

Courses

Classes

Report Card Loading, Printing and Formulas

Transcript Loading and Printing

Archiving
2
Setting Up Security Rights

In order for a user to have access to the variety of areas involved
with Grading in RenWeb, he or she must have rights in the Security
screen.

From the Main Menu, click Security.

Type a Group Name to represent the group. For example, Grading
Setup, Printing Report Cards, etc. and type a Description if desired.

Click Save (left) to save the Security Group name.

Select the Security Group to which to add specific rights and on
the Program tab, click in the grid under Modify for the following
rights:
The first group of rights is recommended for administration:

Classes provides the user access to the Course and Class edit
screens.

Courses provides access to the courses screen.
3
Setting Up Security Rights, cont.


Grade Book (All Classes) provides access to all classes
within grade book.

Grade Book Category Setup allows the user to save grade book category
setup.

Grade Book Setup allows the user to save grade book class setup.

System Configuration allows the user access to system level data
configuration items (within RenWeb Setup).

System Functions allows the user to perform system level data
management function (within RenWeb Setup).
The next group of rights is recommended for faculty:

Grade Book provides access to the Grade Book screen.

Grade Book Category Setup (optional) allows the user to save
grade book category setup.

Grade Book Progress Report – Homeroom allows the user to
print progress reports for students in his or her homeroom.

Grade Book Setup (optional) allows the user to save grade
book class setup.
4
Setting Up Security Rights, cont.

Reporting Rights


Report Categories: this gives the user rights to all reports in
the category unless blocked under the reports tab of security.

Academics

Administration

Class

Course

Grade Book
Reports: Users may be given access to specific reports only
by checking the view box beside the report. If this method is
used, it is not necessary to assign rights in the Report
Categories tab.
5
Setting Up Staff Role

In addition to specific security rights, the staff member in
charge of the setup aspects of Grading in RenWeb, her or she
must also have a Role of Staff.

From the Staff screen, select the staff member’s name.

In the Role section, select the option of Staff.

Click Apply to save and stay in the Staff screen or click OK to
save and exit to the previous screen.
6
Defining Year and Term

Identifies the terms a school will be using:

Four 9 week quarters

Six 6 week terms

Two semester terms
7
Understanding Course Levels

Every course receives a grade on the report card: either a
letter (i.e., A, B, C) or a number (i.e., 95, 83, 72).

Grades are referred to as the "earned grade." RenWeb uses
the grade to create a GPA (weighted) and UGPA (unweighted
grade point average) associated with the grade (i.e.,A = 4.0).

Every course must have a course level identifier code to
identify the academic level of the course. In the simplest case,
all courses may be given the same level; therefore, referred to
as STD for standard. In a more complex situation, there may
be several levels such as CP (College Placement), HNR
(Honors) and AP (Advanced Placement).

These codes are used in the GPA translation to calculate
different grade points for each level.
8
Understanding Course Levels, cont.

Course Level defines the following aspects of a grade:

The earned grades that may be recorded for a particular course.

The GPA and UGPA associated with a grade.

Whether or not a grade is passing.

Whether or not the grade be included when calculating overall
averages on report cards, transcripts and honor rolls.

The offset, if any, added to a numeric average used for weighting
purposes due to an advanced level course setup. (This is
normally used in lieu of a weighted GPA).
9
Configuring Course Level

From the Main Menu, click RenWeb Setup.
The RenWeb Setup menu displays.

Click Course Level.
The Edit Course Level screen displays.

Type an abbreviated name of the course level in the Level
field. For example, type STD for standard.

Type the full name of the course level in the Description field.

Select the Honors option if the course level is considered
honors.

Click Save.
The abbreviated name of the course level displays in the
Course Level list.
10

A Letter Grades definition and Number Grades definition
must be set up for each Course Level.
11
Configuring Course Level, cont.

Select the name of the newly added Course Level.

Type letter grade values in the Letter Grades grid.

Requires an exact match. If a teacher enters a B- in the grade
book, but that letter is not defined in the Course Level it will not
be recognized on the Report Card.

If the teacher uses O, S, N or U grades the grades must be added
to the Letter Grades grid.

Add a corresponding GPA and UGPA for each letter grade
added to the grid.

Type a Y in the Pass and Calc columns to indicate if a
grade is considered passing and should be calculated. OR
leave the fields blank to indicate that a grade is not
considered passing or should not be calculated.
12
Configuring Course Level, cont.

Click Save.

Select the name of the newly added Course Level.

Type letter grade values in the Number Grades grid.

Type in the lowest grade a student can earn in order to receive
the GPA.

For example, using the setup pictured previously, in order for a
student to earn a GPA of 3.0 he or she must have a grade in the
range of 80 to 89.

The lowest earned grade on your Number Grades should be a
zero so that the system knows the value of grades earned
below your lowest possible GPA earning grade.
13
Course Credits and Weights

Credits and Weights are used to determine GPA.

The Credits field on the Courses screen works with
Transcript Loading in order to provide the credits earned
and attempted as well as to calculate an accurate GPA for
the transcript record.

Typically Credits are used for high school level courses.

The Weight fields on the Courses screen is used as a factor
for calculation of the Report Card GPA.

For any courses being loaded to the transcript you should
set the Weights = Credits.

For all other courses you should set the Weights = 1
14
Course Credits and Weights, cont.
Credits

GPA Calculation:

Used to calculate the GPA that is used on transcripts.

GPA = The Sum of all (Credits X GPA)/ Sum of all Credits
15
Course Credits and Weights, cont.
Course Credits Settings

If the school awards 1 full credit for a course taken for the entire
year
Transcript Loading
Credits
Final Grade
1
Semester Grade
.5
Term Grade
.25 (for a 4 term year)
16
Course Credits and Weights, cont.
Weight

GPA Calculation

Used to calculate term, semester, and final grade GPA on the
Report Card.

Term GPA = Term Weight X GPA

Year GPA (using 4 terms) = Sum of all (Term Weight X
GPA)/Sum of all Term Weights

Year GPA (using 2 semesters) = Sum of all (Semester Weight X
GPA)/Sum of all Semester Weights
17
Course Credits and Weights, cont.
18
Course Credits and Weights, cont.
Weight Settings:

If your school awards the same number of credits for all courses,
then Term, Semester and Final Weights should all be the same (all
set to 0.5, 1 etc).

If your school awards some courses a 0.25, some a 0.5, and some 1
credit, then the Term, Semester and Final Weights should be set as
equal to the credits.


This permits a calculation of a weighted GPA.

This is used in the Class Rank and Honor Roll.
If your school requires a 'Simple GPA' then all weights
should be set to 1. This means that all courses carry the same value
in the GPA calculation.
Note: See Online Help for examples of elementary and
high school credit and weight configuration.
19
Course Credits and Weights, cont.
20
Configuring Courses

From the Main Menu, click Courses.

Select a course in the Course List.

Select the Course Level accurately reflects the desired
report card recognition values.

Add Report Card section details:

Add Term, Sem. and Final Weight.

Select Include on Report Card if the course should display on
the report card.

Select Calculate on Report card if the course should be
weighed in report card calculations.
21
Configuring Courses, cont.


Add Transcript section details:

Add Credits.

If the course will not be loaded to the transcript, select Do not
load on transcript.

If the course will be loaded to the transcript, determine whether to
load the course grade to the transcript at Term Grade, Semester
Grade or Final Grade.

Select Do not calculate on transcript if the course grade has
been loaded to the transcript, but you do not want the GPA
configuration to include the course grade.
Click Save.
22
Establishing Class Meeting Terms

It is important to
accurately
reflect the terms
in which a class
meets.
23
Questions & Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
24
Integrating the Grade Book

How does the grade book fit in?

It is totally independent of report card.

It does not implement Course Level.

Grades are based on Grade Book Setup.

The grade book is a tool for determining the term grade.
25
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.
Administrative Setup of the Grade Book

From the Main Menu, click RenWeb Setup.

Click Grade Book Setup.

Select a Course Level for which to complete Grade Book Setup.

Enter the desired Grade Book Setup parameters.
See the following slides for an explanation Grade Book Setup
parameters.
Note: Administration can set up the Grade Book parameters
for all classes in the school. By removing Grade Book
Setup Security Right from the Faculty group, administration
may then “lock down” the Grade Book Setup so it is not
changed by faculty. More information on saving to multiple
classes may be found on page 37.
26
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.
27
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.

Add Grade Book Categories for all teachers in a similar course
level if no categories have already been created by teachers. This
is typically done at the beginning of the year before teachers begin
working in their grade books.

Click Add Category.

Type a Title. This should be a short abbreviation.

Type a Description.

Type a Weight, if applicable (based on Grade Calculation Method).

Select the Terms in which the class meets.

Click Save and Exit.
28
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.

Letter Grade Criteria grid determines the letter grade earned.

This grade criteria can be set up independently for each class or
globally assigned to classes.

While not directly tied to course level each letter grade should tie
to a letter grade in the course level screen.

Click into the cells on the grid and type the Letter and
corresponding Average.
29
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.

Select the Grade Calculation Method:

Points: All assignments have a maximum point value, and
the student earns points for each assignment. The grade is
determined by adding all the points earned and dividing by
possible points.
30
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.

Weighted Percentage:
The weighted percent
method sets the grade
book to calculate the final
grade in two steps. First,
the category average is
determined by calculating
the average of all weighted
assignments within a
category. Second, the term
average is determined by
averaging the weighted
categories.
31
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.


Mixed: The categories have
weights, but the assignments are
not weighted. The category
average is calculated by adding
all points earned and dividing by
the possible points within the
category. Next, the term average
is calculated by performing a
weighted average on the
category averages.
The grade book determines a number grade based on 100
point scale.

As a final step it can convert that numeric average into a letter
grade.
32
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.
User Preferences

Treat Incomplete as 0: Checking this box causes the grade
book to consider any Incomplete grade or Missing grade as a
zero during calculation. This is important for parents and
students to understand the impact of incomplete work while
viewing the ParentsWeb.

Web Progress Report Enabled: This drop-down menu sets
the type of progress report that parents and students will be
able to view on the ParentsWeb (Full Details, Category
Averages, and Term Averages).

Cap Category or Term Grades: When checked, the
possible percentage for the category or term is not allowed
to exceed 100%.
33
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.

Show Points Earned: This function displays the total points
earned and is most helpful when calculating the grade book
using the Point System.

Student Sorting: This drop-down menu offers several
options for sorting students within the grade book.

Assignment Sorting: This drop-down menu offers several
options for sorting the display of assignments in the grade
book.
34
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.
Understanding Decimal Places

Most people assume going into more decimal places is
more accurate.

The school needs to set a policy of how many decimal
places the “official” average will be.

The teacher’s grade book should be to the same number of
decimal places as the official school position.
35
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.


The Double Rounding Problem

For example, if the grade book Average is 89.45 which gets
rounded to 89.5 if the teacher chooses 1 decimal place.

The report card gets loaded to 0 decimal places because that
is the official school position and the average becomes a 90.

Note that a 89.45 is rounded to a 90.

This can cause the letter grade in the grade book not to line up
with what the appropriate letter should be in the report card.
The Solution is to use the same number of decimal places
throughout. Most schools choose to have an official stance
of 0 decimal places because that is what they display on the
report card.
36
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.

When all the parameters have been defined for your classes
in the selected Course Level, click the larger Save button
below the parameters.

To save to multiple classes, select the classes in the Save
Multiple Classes list. Use the Shift key or Ctrl key on your
computer’s keyboard in order to select multiple classes.

Select which options to copy to the selected classes:

Grade Book Category (Gbk Category)

Grade Book Letter Grades (Gbk Letter Grades)

Grade Book Calculation Method (Gbk Calc. Method)

Grade Book User Preferences (Gbk Preferences)

Click Save below the Save Multiple Classes list.

Click Exit.
37
Questions & Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
38
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.
Faculty Grade Book Setup

From the Main Menu, click Grade Book.

Select the Class for which to specify Grade Book Setup.

Click Set Up.
The Class Setup screen displays, allowing the teacher to
configure his or her class setup.

Click Save to keep the Grade Book Setup changes.
39
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.
Adding Categories

From the Faculty Grade Book screen, click Add below
Category.
The Add/Edit/Delete Category screen displays.

Type the Title, Description and Weight.

Click Save and Exit to return to the Faculty Grade Book
screen.
40
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.
Adding Assignments

From the Faculty Grade Book screen, click Add below
Assignment.
The Add/Edit/Delete Assignment screen displays.

Select the Category in which to add the assignment.

Type a Title Abbreviation. This should be short, 3 to 5 letters.

Type a Description. This may be longer and more explanatory
than the title.

Choose the Date Assigned and the Date Due from the
drop-down menus.

If desired, type the Weight.
41
Integrating the Grade Book, cont.

Type the Maximum
Points.

Click Save and Exit to
return to the Faculty
Grade Book screen.
42
Faculty Loads Grades to Report Card

Allows for the Displayed grade and Average grade fields of
the report card to be automatically populated based on the
grade book term ending grade.

All other components of the grade are automatically
determined by the Course Level.

The grade book does not automatically load to the transcript
and report card. Therefore if changes are made to the
grade book after it has been loaded, grades must be
reloaded to transcripts and report cards.
43
Faculty Loads Grades to Report Card, cont.

If a teacher is responsible to load grade book grades to the
report card:

From the Main Menu, click Grade Book.
The Faculty Grade Book screen displays.

Select a Class.

Click Report Card.
The Report Card screen displays.

Click Load Grades from Grade Book.
The Grade Book Load screen displays.

Select the Term from which to load the grade book grades.

Select the Grade Type as a Number or Letter.
44
Faculty Loads Grades to Report Card, cont.

Type the number of Decimal Places that
reflects the official stance of the school.

Click OK to load.

If student is missing or has a non-calc
grade as a term grade then system will
ask if you want to calculate anyway or skip
the calculation.
45
Administration Loads Grades to Report Card

If administration is responsible to load
grade book grades to the report card:

From the Main Menu, click RenWeb
Setup.
The RenWeb Setup menu displays.

Click Database Tasks.
The Database Tasks menu displays.

Select Report Card Automatic Load
and click Run.
The Report Card Automatic Load
screen displays.

Select the Term for which to load grade
book grades to the report card.
46
Administration Loads Grades to Report Card, cont.

Select the Action to
complete.

Select the Grade Type
of Number or Letter.

Use the arrow buttons to
move classes from the
Classes list to the Event
Log.
47
Entering Report Card Grades
48
Entering Report Card Grades, cont.
Report card grades can be entered at a variety of times.


Term Grades

Enter manually in the Report Card screen.
OR

Use the Load Grades from Grade Book button on the Report Card
screen.
Exam Grades


Must manually type into the Report Card screen.
Semester and Final Grades

Manually type into the Report Card screen.
OR

Use the Calculate Grades button on the Report Card
screen for the system to configure the grades based on
the Report Card Formula.
49
Internal Report Card Grades

While schools choose different methods to display report
card grades, the internal grades have the same structure for
all schools.

Components of a Grade

Displayed Grade

This is a required field.

Text field so it can be either a letter or number.

This is usually the component of a grade that is “displayed” on the
report card.
Note: Based on the Course setup, Average, GPA, UGPA, Passing
and Calc are all used to calculate:

Term and semester average calculation on report card

Transcript

Honor Roll
50
Internal Report Card Grades, cont.




Average

Must be a number.

Based on a 100 point scale.
GPA

Must be a number.

It is a school defined scale – usually 5.0.
UGPA (Unweighted GPA)

Must be a number.

It is a school defined scale – usually 4.0.
Passing


Type a Y for Yes or leave blank for No.
Calc

Type a Y for Yes or leave blank for No.
51
52
Questions & Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
53
Printing Report Cards

The printed report card brings together all appropriate data
relative to a student into one report.

Demographic

Attendance

Class Grades

Skill Sets Grades

Comments

Honor Roll or Ranking Results

Calculated Fields

Term Averages

Semester Averages

Final Grade
54
Printing Report Cards, cont.

RenWeb has standard report cards and can also customize
report cards to meet your school’s unique needs. The
Report Card Catalog provides examples of report cards
RenWeb has created for schools.

From the Main Menu, click Report Manager.

Select the Category of Products & Services.

Select the Report entitled 2013 – 2014 Report Card Catalog.

Click Print.
The Report Card Catalog displays in an Internet browser
window.
55
Printing Report Cards, cont.

From the Main Menu, click Report Manager.

Select the Category of Academics.

Select the Report Title of Report Card.

Click Print.
The Report Card screen displays.

Use the Filter to populate the Student List.

Use the > (arrow) buttons to move students to the Print List.

Select the transcript Template to use.

Select the Term for which to print the report card.

Click Print.
The Report Card displays in an Internet browser window.
56
Archiving Report Cards

From the Main Menu, click Report Manager.

Select the Category of Academics.

Select the Report Title of Report Card.

Click Print.
The Report Card screen displays.

Use the Filter to populate the Student List.

Select students and click the > (arrow) button to move
students to the Print List.

Select the Report Card Template to use.

Select the Terms for which to archive the Report Card.
57
Archiving Report Cards, cont.

Click Archive.
The Archive Selection menu displays.

Click Create Archive to create archives for the selected
students.

Click Print Archive to print archived report cards for the
selected students.

Click Cancel to exit to the Report Card screen.
58
Setting up a Report Card Formula

From the Main Menu, click RenWeb Setup.

Click Course Level.

Click Report Card Formula.

Select the course level for which to set up the report card
formula.

Establish the parameters and click Save.

To save to multiple classes, highlight the classes and click
Save at the bottom right of the screen.
Note: It is ok to use the same Report Card Formula for
courses even if some have exams and some do not. If
student is missing exam grade the system will automatically
not include it in the calculation.
59
Setting up a Report Card Formula, cont.
60
Setting Up Report Card Formula, cont.


Most people think of averaging in terms of a simple average:

Adding up all the term averages and dividing by the number of
terms.

(90 + 80 + 70)/3 = 80
The Report Card Formula utilizes a weighted average:

Multiplying each term average by its weight, adding the results
together, and dividing by the combined weight of all terms.

(90 *40 + 80*40 + 70*20 ) / 100 = 82
61
Setting Up Report Card Formula, cont.

Weighted averaging is what is typically used in all academic
calculations.

If all the weights are the same then simple average and
weighted average will bear the same result.

Weighting provides relative importance of grades.

In the Report Card Formula, the weights do not have to add
up to 100.
62
Determining Semester Grades

Manually Entered


Semester Grades must be manually entered if the school uses
letter grading and the teacher does not supply the average
component.
Automatic

The average component must be set up in Course Level
setup in order to calculate.

The Calc Grade component must be Y.

The automatic averaging will use the Report Card Formula.
63
Questions & Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
64
Understanding Transcripts

Why should you load grades to a transcript?

Elementary – Permanent record cards

HS – Official Transcript

Provides Cumulative Averaging

Weighted Average

Uses Credits as a Weighting Factor
65
Understanding Transcripts, cont.


How do grades get on to transcript?

Manually: If the school enters transfer credits or summer
school grades.

Automatically: If the grades are entered via the report card.
When are transcript records loaded to the transcript?

School decision

Choose One


Term (rare)

Semester (2 per year)

Final Grade (1 per year)
Determined in the Courses screen.
66
Manually Entering a Transcript Record

From the Student screen, select the Transcript tab.

Double-click a blank grid row.

Fill out all appropriate information.

Click Save.
Note: Be careful not to modify a transcript record created by
a report card.

The transcript and report card will not line up.

The modification will be overwritten the next time a teacher
saves a grade into the report card.
67
Manually Entering a Transcript Record, cont.
68
Automatically Entering a Transcript Record

Occurs whenever a grade is saved into the report card.

All grade components and transcript fields are automatically
loaded.

At times Course Level setup is modified mid-year.
Additionally, it is possible that a course may have not been
properly set up in the Courses screen. If any information is
changed in these areas, RenWeb must be told to update the
transcript record to reflect the new settings:

Course Level setup

Course Setup

Grade Book
69
Updating the Transcript

Fix Report Card Grade Routine: Simulates the saving of a
grade in the report card, looks up appropriate grade
components and re-saves to the report card and transcript
records.

From the Main Menu, click RenWeb Setup.
The RenWeb Setup menu displays.

Click Database Tasks.
The Database Tasks menu displays.

Select Fix Report Card Grades and click Run.

Select the student name from the list and arrow it over to the
right.

Click Fix.
70
Printing Transcripts

RenWeb has standard transcripts and can also customize
transcripts to meet your school’s unique needs. The
Transcript Catalog provides examples of transcripts
RenWeb has created for schools.

From the Main Menu, click Report Manager.

Select the Category of Products & Services.

Select the Report entitled 2013 – 2014 Transcript Catalog.

Click Print.
71
Printing Transcripts, cont.

From the Main Menu, click Report Manager.

Select the Category of Academics.

Select the Report Title of Transcripts.

Click Print.
The Transcripts screen displays.

Use the Filter to populate the Student List.

Select students and click the > (arrow) buttons to move
students to the Transcripts list.

Select the transcript Template to use.

Select the Grade Levels to Include.
72
Printing Transcripts, cont.

Select from the display options:

Show GPA

Show Rank

Show Attendance

Show Community Service

Show Standardized Tests

If desired, type a note to display on all printed transcripts and
click Save Notes.

Click Print.
The Transcript displays in an Internet browser window.
73
Archiving Transcripts

From the Main Menu, click Report Manager.

Select the Category of Academics.

Select the Report Title of Transcripts.

Click Print.
The Transcripts screen displays.

Use the Filter to populate the Student List.

Select students and click the > (arrow) button to move
students to the Transcripts list.

Select the transcript Template to use.

Select the Grade Levels to include.

Select the items to include on the Transcript.
74
Archiving Transcripts, cont.

Click Archive.
The Archive Selection menu displays.

Click Create Archive to create archives for the selected
students.

Click Print Archive to print archived transcripts for the
selected students.

Click Cancel to exit to the Transcripts screen.
75
Accessing Archived Items

From the Main Menu, click Students.
The Edit Student screen displays.

Select the student for whom to access archived items.

Click Portfolio.
The Portfolio screen displays.

Double-click the item to view or print.
The Portfolio Options menu displays.

Click Download(View) to see the document.
The document is downloaded to the Download folder in
your RW User Files folder.
The document opens in an Internet browser window.
76
Accessing Archived Items, cont.
77
Questions & Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
78