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Here is where you create and grade assignments, see a listing of all your assignments, set up grading options for all your classes and submit grades to administration.

Creating an Assignment

In the left navigation bar, select the term and class you want to create an assignment for. Press the Add Assignment button in the top left orange rectangle. In the Add: Assignment screen, fill in the following information:

1. Name: Enter the name of the assignment. Keep the name at 17 characters or less to fit the grid of the gradebook screen.
2. Assignment Type: Select the assignment type (for example Homework or Test.) You can add or delete Assignment Types under Setup | Assignments | Assignment Types.
3. Date: Enter the date of the assignment. Note that the date is used to put an assignment into the proper subterm (or term) for calculation of grades. So make sure the date is correct.
4. Grade method: Select the Grade method for the assignment (Points, Letter Pass/Fail and more). If you don't see your preferred grade method here, create a new grade method by going to Setup | Grading | Grade Types.
5. Points: If you selected Points as the Grade method, enter the number of points here. Otherwise leave it blank.
6. Assignment Weight: For all Grade methods except Points, enter the Assignment Weight here. For comparison, a 10 point assignment is considered to have a 1.0 Assignment Weight. So if you have an assignment graded with a percent and want to have it worth the equivalent of 20 points, enter 2.0 here.
7. Add a file attachment: To upload one or more file attachments up to 3 MB each, check the box. Files are selected and uploaded in a follow-on screen after you click "Save". Files would be visible and available for download from your gradebook and also by students and parents.
8. Allow student upload: To allow students to upload one or more file attachments up to 3 MB each, check the box. An upload link will appear in the students' web view where students would select and upload files. The upload link would only appear next to this particular assignment. Uploaded files from students can be viewed in the "By Assignments" tab and the "By Students" tab.
9. Description: Enter an optional description of the assignment here.

Grading an Assignment

In the left navigation bar, select the term and class you want. To the right you will see a gradebook-like grid. Press the blue Grade button below the assignment you want to grade (press the blue right arrow to grade the assignment in the "By Assignment" screen). Below the assignment will appear empty boxes in a column. Enter grades in the column and press Save. If you want to mark the assignment as Excused, enter an "E". Such an assignment will be excused from grade calculations and will not punish the grade. If you want to mark an assignment as Missing, enter a "M". This will give a student a "0" and will adversely affect their grade.

Navigation hint: Use the tab key to navigate down the column of grade-entry fields. Click enter on the keyboard once you're done entering grades. This will press Save. No mouse needed here!

 

By Assignment Tab

 

Here is where you can grade assignments individually. You can add comments to individual assignments. Comments are posted for students and parents. Also, you can download assignments uploaded by your students. Finally, you can create new assignments by clicking "Add Assignment" in the upper left.

 

By Student Tab

 

Here is where you can see all the grades a student has for each assignment in a class. Also, you can add comments to individual assignments, which are posted for students and parents. Finally, you can download assignments uploaded by your students.

 

Assignments Tab

 

Here is where you can see a list of assignments for each class. Each assignment also shows its description and any uploaded files associated with it. You can also create assignments by clicking "Add Assignment" in the upper left. Finally, you can grade assignments by clicking on the blue arrow.

 

Final Grades by Student Screen

 

Here is where you see the final grades that are calculated for all the terms or subterms for an individual student. You can override those grades and enter comments. Also, you can enter grades for additional skills that are associated with a class.

 

Final Grades by Class Screen

 

Here is where you see the final grades that are calculated for terms or subterms. You can override those grades and enter comments. Also, you can enter grades for additional skills that are associated with a class. Finally, you can Lock the grades.

Seeing the Overall Calculated Grade

To see the final grade that is calculated for a term or subterm, first select the name of the term or subtem in the selector pulldown (in the top left orange rectangle). Then click on the name of the class in the left navigation column.

Overriding Grades and Entering Comments

If you would like to give a student a grade different than that calculated by the software, you can override the calculated grade. Just click on the name of the class in the left navigation column. Then go to the override grade column. Enter the required grade and press Save. If you like, enter a comment in the Comment column. The comment will then appear on the student's report card.

If you override the calculated grade with a non-calculated grade such as W (withdrawn) for a particular subterm, that particular subtem will be skipped when calculating an overall term grade. For example, if a student gets 90% for First Quarter and 100% for Second Quarter (and each quarter is weighted 50/50 in calculating a semester grade) then normally the student would get 95% for the semester grade. However, if the First Quarter grade is overridden with the uncalculated grade of W (withdrawn), then a student would get 100% for the semester because the First Quarter would then be skipped in calculating the semester grade.

Entering Grades for Additional Skills

If the class had additional skills (the additional skills are added in the Classes screen in ThinkWave Administrator), the skills will appear underneath each student's name in the Finalize & Submit screen. Since grades for additional skills are not calculated, but always assigned, this is the only screen in which to assign the grades. Use the Override Column to assign the grades and comments. Grades for additional skills will also appear in the report card.

Locking Grades

You can lock a class (in a specific term) by clicking Lock Grades. This will lock the final grades and comments for a class (although you can still add and grade assignments, the final grade still won't change.) The administrator will get the indication that the class has been locked. If you need to unlock the class, ask the administrator to Unlock the class in their Final Grades screen.

Grading Options Tab

Here is where you set the grading options for your classes.

Grading Options for: Individual Classes

This is where you set the grading options for your Terms, Subterms and Classes. Click on the name of the class in the left navigation bar. Then, to set up your options, work from the top, left to right. First set the first column: Step One: How Grade is Determined for the Term. The possible settings are:

• Average Subterm: This selection appears for top-level terms only (like Semester), not subterms (like Quarter or Final Exam). This choice means that the Term grade would be an average of the Subterms. For example if you want First Semester to be calculated from First Quarter - 40%, Second Quarter - 40% and Final Quarter - 20%, chose Average Subterm (the 40% 40% 20% would be set to the right, under Calculation options).
• Pure Points: If you want the Term grade to be determined by points, make this selection. This will not average any Subterms, it will just sum all the points in all the Subterms together without considerating for which Subterm the assignments are in.
• Flexible Grading Options (percent, letter, custom grade types): If you want to use flexible grading options, select this option. You can mix a variety of grading types, but note that the Term will not be an average of Subterms, but an average of all assignment across the Terms, albeit with assignments with flexible grading types.
• Manually Assign Grade: The grade is manually assigned in the Finalize & Submit screen. You can still create and grade assignments, but you will need to assign the overall grade manually.

If you want the settings for one term to apply to other terms, check the box for the appropriate term next to "Also apply this setting to:"

Next, set the second column: Step Two: Calculation Options for the Term. The possible settings are:

• For top-level Terms (like Semester): If you have selected "Average Subterms" in the first column, the second column (Step two: Calculation options) will have the options to set the relative percentages for the Subterms. Click "edit" and set the relative percentages for the subterms (for example: First Quarter 40%, Secong Quarter 40%, Final Exam 20%).
• For lower-level terms (like Quarter or Final Exam): If you would like to use Assignment-type weighting, check the box. Then set the relative percentages. For example, you can set Homework at 30%, Quizzes at 20%, Term Paper at 30% and Tests at 20%. If you want the setting for one subterm to apply to other subterms, check the box for the appropriate term next to "Also apply to:"

Videos (silent)

All About Grading

Final Grade Types

Customized Grades for Assignments

Combine Terms

Finalizing Grades, Locking, and Unlocking

Add Assignments

Grade Assignments

Letter, Percent, or Customized Grades

Grade by Assignment Type

Add Assignment Type