South Orange & Maplewood

The School District of South Orange & Maplewood PowerTeacher Reference Guide Teachers Reference Guide This document contains general procedures and instruction for teachers to record and access student information relating to attendance, schedules, progress reports, and grades. Data Processing 10/5/2011

Table of Contents Read Me First First thing to do before the grade book goes live... 4 How do I Obtain a PowerTeacher ID and Password... 4 Who Do I Call for Help... 5 Help Desk... 5 Guidance Department... 5 High School Data Processing... 5 Middle School Data Processing... 5 District Office PowerTeacher Support... 5 Training... 5 Accessing PowerTeacher... 6 Windows Computer... 6 Mac Computer... 7 Thin Client... 8 Parent Communication Expectations... 9 Middle Schools Weighting Policy... 9 High School Weighting Policy... 9 PowerTeacher Grading Categories by Department... 10 English Language Arts Grade Categories... 10 World Languages... 10 Science... 11 Social Studies... 11 Math... 11 Grade Scale Alphabetic / Number Scale... 12 Report Card and Progress Reporting Procedures... 13 Description of the Teachers Grade Book and the Students Official Transcript... 13 General Procedure for Entering in Report Card Information before the Due Date... 13 Procedures to change / enter Report Card Information After the Due Date... 14 General Procedure for Entering Grades in the Grade Book for Students Who Dropped My Class... 14 General Procedure for Entering Grades for Students Who Were Added My Class... 14 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 1

Logging into PowerTeacher... 15 Changing Your Password... 16 Logging Out of PowerTeacher... 17 Understanding the PowerTeacher Screen... 18 PowerTeacher Navigation Bar... 18 The Current Classes Menu Bar... 19 How to Take Attendance... 20 Attendance Codes... 21 Circle When It Turns Green It Showed Attendance Was Taken... 22 Student Information Reports... 22 Available Student Reports... 23 Cumulative Grade Information... 23 Demographics... 23 Graduation Progress... 23 Meeting Attendance... 24 Net Access Summary... 24 Quick Lookup... 24 Recommendations... 24 Schedule... 24 Student Photo... 24 Submit Log Entry... 25 Teacher Comments... 25 Term Grades... 25 Class Reports... 26 Available Class Reports... 27 Verify Grades Grade Verification... 27 Charts Assignment/Student Charts... 28 How Do I View The Daily Bulletin?... 28 How Do I View The Staff Directory?... 29 How Do I Change My Default Screen?... 29 Reports... 30 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 2

Available Reports... 32 Class Attendance Audit... 32 Labels... 32 Class Roster Grid Sheet... 32 Student List Address/Phone... 32 Student List Parents/Guardians... 33 Student List Demographics HR/ID/DOB/Phone... 33 Recommendations... 33 Attendance Report... 34 How Do I Access The Gradebook... 35 Navigating through the Grade Book... 36 How to weight each quarter, mid term, final exam, and final grade... 37 How Do I Enter in Comments for the Progress Reports... 39 How Do I Enter in Comments in Assignments... 41 How Do I clear Comments... 42 MASS DELETING COMMENTS FOR ALL STUDENTS IN SELECTED CLASS... 42 How Do I Enter Student Grades?... 43 How Do I Override a Grade?... 45 Non standard Grades and When to Use Them... 46 ADDING/COPYING ASSIGNMENTS... 47 Creating a new assignment... 48 COPYING ASSIGNMENTS... 51 How do I make sure my grade book matches my students official transcript / report card... 54 What do I do if my grade book does not match my students transcript / report card... 54 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 3

Read Me First First Thing to do Before the Grade Book Goes Live Before the grade book goes live it is important to make sure the weighting categories and the term weights are setup properly. Please follow the items on the checklist provided below. Create your grading categories (See How to enter assignment categories in the table of contents) Setup the weights for each quarter, mid term exam, and final exam (See How to weight quarters, mid term exam, final exam, and final grade in the table of contents) How do I Obtain a PowerTeacher ID and Password The Data Processing and Technology Departments will not create PowerTeacher ID s if requested by a teacher. This policy is in place for security reasons. If you require a PowerTeacher ID please report to your building principal s office and request a PowerTeacher ID. The building principal will request the PowerTeacher ID on your behalf. Requests are generally processed within one school day. Your PowerTeacher ID and Password will be sent to you via your school district s e mail account. Once you receive your ID and password, please log into the PowerTeacher system as soon as possible and change your password. If your user ID and/or password does not work, please contact Deborah DeLorenzo ddeloren@somsd.k12.nj.us or Manjit Basra mbasra@somsd.k12.nj.us. The e mail should include your full name, assigned building(s), description of the problem including any error messages displayed on the computer screen, and a phone number. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 4

Who Do I Call for Help Help Desk The help desk typically resolves computer and network connectivity issues. The help desk can be reached via e mail at helpdesk@somsd.k12.nj.us, or phone, extension 1912. The help desk will attempt to resolve your problem over the phone or by remotely connecting to your computer. If the help desk cannot resolve your issue, they will direct you to the appropriate person. Guidance Department If a student is not scheduled properly (scheduled to be in 2 places at the same time, etc.), please direct the student to guidance department immediately. The guidance department will make the necessary changes in PowerTeacher. If these issues are not corrected, the student will not display properly in teachers class rosters and both attendance and grades cannot be properly recorded. High School Data Processing The high school data processing department typically answers questions regarding general high school procedures regarding grading and attendance. Marquitta Whaley may be reached via e mail, mwhaley@somsd.k12.nj.us or phone, extension 1046 and Christine Hopkins may be reached via e mail chopkins@somsd.k12.nj.us or phone, extension 1047. Middle School Data Processing The middle school data processing department typically answers questions regarding general middle school procedures regarding grading and attendance. Lisa Weber may be reached via e mail, lweber@somsd.k12.nj.us or phone, extension 2010. District Office PowerTeacher Support District office staff generally resolves problems relating to technical problems with PowerTeacher. Please contact Deborah DeLorenzo ddeloren@somsd.k12.nj.us or Manjit Basra mbasra@somsd.k12.nj.us. The e mail should include your full name, assigned building(s), description of the problem including any error messages displayed on the computer screen, and a phone number. Training If you require training or have general questions on how to use the PowerTeacher program, please contact your buildings assigned Technology Trainer. If you do not know how to contact your buildings Technology Trainer please contact Roseann Voorhees via e mail, rvoorhee@somsd.k12.nj.us or phone, extension 1142. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 5

Accessing PowerTeacher Windows Computer PowerTeacher may be accessed from any computer running Microsoft Windows provided it is connected to the internet and using Internet Explorer version 8 or higher. Other web browsers may work; however, the district s technical support staff officially supports Internet Explorer. We reserve the right to adapt this policy based upon sudden changes that may develop in the industry. PowerTeacher may be accessed by logging into a district or home computer running Microsoft Windows and launching Internet Explorer. If you require assistance to log into the computer or launching Internet Explorer, please contact the help desk or your buildings technology trainer. Please note, our technical and training staff will not be able to provide support for non district equipment. Access from nondistrict equipment is provided as a convenience. Once Internet Explore appears simply navigate to the following URL: https://powerschool.somsd.k12.nj.us/teachers Your screen should appear similar to this: South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 6

Mac Computer Unfortunately, Apple stopped providing support for JAVA. JAVA is a third party product that is required to execute the PowerTeacher Grade Book. District employees using a Mac at work may access PowerTeacher through the district s application portal. If you are out of the district https://charlie.somsd.k12.nj.us *This URL does not work if you are in district. If you are in district http://nfuse.somsd.org *This URL does not work if you are out of the district. After navigating to the appropriate URL, you should see the login page to the district s Citrix / thin client services screen. Please enter in your district s network User ID and Password. Once logged in, an application menu will appear. Click on the folder Mac Users. Once Inside the folder, click on the PowerTeacher icon. Once Internet Explorer appears, Enter the URL to access PowerTeacher (Refer to Accessing PowerTeacher, Windows Computer to proceed). Although it is not our policy to provide technical support for non district computers, PowerTeacher may be accessed from home using a computer with internet access and configured with internet explorer version 8 or higher or through the district s application portal. To access PowerTeacher via the district s application portal, first download and install the Citrix client. The client is free and may be downloaded from the Citrix website, http://www.citrix.com. Once the Citrix client is downloaded and installed, open up a web browser and navigate to the district s application portal. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 7

Please note our technical support staff does not support non district owned equipment. The district does not take any responsibility for any damage caused by the installation of the Citrix client. Use at your own risk. If you are using district owned equipment and cannot navigate to the application portal website or cannot log into the application portal, or are prompted to download a client, please contact the help desk. Technical support is limited to district equipment. Thin Client PowerTeacher requires Internet Explorer version 8 or higher to run properly. Many of our thin clients do not have enough memory on them to load the newer version of Internet Explorer. If the thin client computer is not equipped with the Internet Explorer 8 or higher, PowerTeacher still may be accessed via the application portal. To access PowerTeacher via the thin client portal, launch Internet Explorer. Once Internet Explorer appears, navigate to the URL http://nfuse.somsd.org. After navigating to the appropriate URL, you should see the login page to the district s Citrix / thin client services screen. Please enter in your district s network User ID and Password. Once logged in, an application menu will appear. Click on the folder Mac Users. Once Inside the folder, click on the PowerTeacher icon. Once Internet Explorer appears, Enter the URL to access PowerTeacher (Refer to Accessing PowerTeacher, Windows Computer to proceed). If you cannot navigate to the application portal or are prompted to download a client, please contact the help desk. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 8

Parent Communication Expectations There is a general expectation that teachers will communicate with parents on an ongoing basis. Communication expectations include but are not limited to: Teachers will respond to e mails and phone calls within 2 school days. Teachers will post the results of assignments in PowerTeacher within 15 days (Not School Days) of the assignments due date. Teachers will post the results of a quiz or test within 15 days (Not School Days) of the date the quiz or test was administered. Concerns or clarifications regarding these expectations should be discussed with your principal and supervisor. Middle Schools Weighting Policy All courses in grades 6 8 that administer a common mid term and final exam will weigh the mid term and final exam as 5% toward the final grade. Each quarter will count 22.5% toward the final grade. Please contact your supervisor for additional weighting information. High School Weighting Policy All courses that administer a common mid term and common final exams will weight each quarter at 20%, the mid term exam at 10% and the final exam at 10%. Please contact your supervisor for additional weighting information. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 9

PowerTeacher Grading Categories by Department School and District Administration recognize the importance of using common language and definitions to communicate key information to parents regarding the performance of their child. All teachers in each department may only use the following Category names in the grade book. Teachers may assign any name to individual assignments. English Language Arts Grade Categories Essays Writing Assignments Quizzes Class work Homework Tests Research Projects Projects Group Work Presentations Journals Class Participation Reading Checks Vocabulary Quizzes Reading Conferences Writing Conferences Grade Level Common Assessments Formative Assessments Summative Assessments Production Performances World Languages Quizzes Tests Projects Class work / Participation Writing Assignments / Compositions Homework South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 10

Science Tests Quizzes Homework Labs Projects Participation Social Studies Tests Math Quizzes Projects Homework Document Based Questions Essays Research Project Class work / Participation Presentations Quizzes Tests Homework Class Work / Participation South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 11

Grade Scale Alphabetic / Number Scale Alphabetic Scale Number Scale A+ 97 100 A 93 96 A 90 92 B+ 87 89 B 83 86 B 80 82 C+ 77 79 C 73 76 C 70 72 D+ 67 69 D 63 66 D 60 62 F Below 60 E (59%) High School Only Marking period failure because of cuts NC Course failure because of excessive absences South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 12

Report Card and Progress Reporting Procedures Description of the Teachers Grade Book and the Students Official Transcript During the course of the school year, teachers record student performance information. This information must be recorded in the PowerTeacher electronic grade book. The grade book is the teachers official record. This is different from the students official school report card/transcript. During pre determined dates during the year, a snapshot of student performance is copied into the students permanent academic record or onto the students official school report card/transcript. This process takes place at the end of each marking term (end of quarter, end of semester, and end of the year). It is critical that student records are completed by the designated due dates to ensure the correct data is copied to the report cards/transcripts. Additionally, it is critical the correct procedures are followed to update student records after these deadlines have passed. General Procedure for Entering in Report Card Information before the Due Date 1. Teachers finish recording grades and making corrections at the end of each marking period. Every school year, a memo is issued in September detailing the dates of each marking period and the deadline for entering and correcting grades. 2. Immediately after the deadline, data processing produces a report listing the information that will appear on the report cards / transcripts. Copies of these reports will be sent to teachers, principals, and supervisors for reference. 3. All report cards and transcripts are produced from the official record not the teacher s grade book. It is extremely important that any grade changes made after this deadline follow the grade change procedure. Grades for previous terms / years should not be changed in the teachers grade book until official notice is provided by data processing that the historical student record was updated. Failure to follow this procedure will result in the information displayed in your grade book and in the parent portal not matching the school report card/transcripts. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 13

Procedures to change / enter Report Card Information After the Due Date Once the term ends and the grades are stored in the official report card / transcript the following procedure must be followed to update student grades. 1. Complete and sign a student grade change form. 2. Forward the grade change form to: a. CHS forwards the grade change form to your supervisor. b. Middle Schools forward the grade change form to the guidance counselors. 3. The supervisor/guidance counselor must review and approve the change request. 4. The supervisor/guidance counselor will forward the form to data processing. 5. Data processing with record the new quarterly or final grade on the official report card / transcript. 6. Data processing will send a copy of the grade change form back to: a. CHS forwards the grade change form to the teacher. b. Middle Schools forward the grade change form to the guidance counselor and teacher. 7. Once the teacher receives the grade change form back, the teacher may update the grade book to reflect the changes. General Procedure for Entering Grades in the Grade Book for Students Who Dropped My Class Once a student drops the class, the teacher is not required to assign a quarterly or final grade. Quarterly and final grades are only provided to students if they are actively enrolled in your class at the end of the marking period (See instructions below). Students should receive grades only when actively participating in the class. High School Only: There are certain circumstances when a student may receive a withdraw pass (WP) from the guidance counselor or a withdraw fail (WF) from the guidance counselor. This is the only time a grade should be assigned to a student who dropped the class. General Procedure for Entering Grades for Students Who Were Added My Class Students who are enrolled in a class after the start of the school year must receive a quarterly or final grade from the class they are actively enrolled. It is the responsibility of the receiving teacher to contact the student s previous teacher to collect assessment information. The teacher can view the students schedule in PowerTeacher. Dropped courses will appear in Red. If you cannot determine the student s prior teacher, please contact the guidance office. The receiving teacher should use their judgment and student performance information to assign remaining quarterly grades and a final grade. Please talk to your building principal and supervisor for guidance. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 14

Loggingg into PowerTeacher Navigate to the following URL: https://powerschool.somsd.k12.nj.us/teachers Your screen should appear similar to this: Enter your PowerTeacher Usernamee and Password. Click on the Sign In button. Once logged in the following screen will appear: South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacherr Teachers Guide Page 15

Please verify that your name appears in the upper right hand corner of the screen. If your name is not displayed you may not be logged into the correct account. If this happens please log out and contact District Support. If your PowerTeacher user ID and Password does not work, please contact District Support. If you do not have a PowerTeacher user ID and password, please go to your building principal s office and request an ID and password. After logging in to Powerteacher for the 1 st time, you have to change your password. Please refrain from using: Date of Birth, Phone Numbers, Pet names, Spouse names, and Bank numbers. See below on how to change your password. Changing Your Password 1. Click on the word Personalize located in the navigation bar on the left hand side of the screen 2. Then: click on the words Change Password 3. Then: type in your old password 4. Then: Type in your new password 5. Then: Type in your new password again SEE FOLLOWING 2 SCREENSHOTS South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 16

Logging Out of PowerTeacher To log out of PowerTeacher, click on the words Sign Out next to the word Help located top right on the PowerTeacher screen. This will bring you back to the Sign in Screen. It is important that you do not use the X on the top right of the web browser OR File, Exit from the browser menu. This may cause problems when you log back into PowerTeacher. SEE FOLLOWING SCREENSHOT South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 17

Understanding the PowerTeacher Screen To get back to the Start Page, click on PowerTeacher from any page SEE FOLLOWING SCREENSHOT ID Bar Click to go back to start page Navigation Bar Current Classes Menu Bar PowerTeacher Navigation Bar Start Page Click to view your current classes, take attendance, student information, print class reports, grade verification report, assignment chart/student chart Daily Bulletin Click to view the daily bulletin Staff Directory Click to view the staff directory Meals NOT CURRENTLY USED Personalize Change your password Gradebook Enter Grades Reports Run class reports, attendance reports Recommendations View only Attendance Report South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 18

The Current Classes Menu Bar Period/Day Course Attendance Indicator Student Reports Click to take Attendance Not Used Class Reports Period/Day Indicate the period and days of the week the class meets Course Indicates the name of the course Chair (Click to take Attendance) Click the chair to begin taking class attendance Attendance Indicator Circle turns green once attendance is recorded for the class Student Reports Presents a number of reports to run for an individual student Class Reports Presents a number of reports to run for the entire class South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 19

How to Take Attendance 1. Click on Chair 2. The date defaults to the current date. Make sure the date is set for the day you are entering attendance. 3. Select the attendance code (TE, TU, etc.) from the drop down list. When you click in the box next to the students name the chosen attendance code will pop in the box. 4. Click on the box next to the student you wish to mark with the selected attendance code. 5. Click submit when finished. 6. If all students are present you must go to this screen and click submit. This will signal PowerTeacher that attendance was recorded and all students are present. Clicking submit will bring you back to the start page. 7. The attendance indicator on the current classes menu will turn green once you click the submit button 8. If a student is present the box will remain empty. *Note each students year to date absences and tardies appear on the right side of the screen. If students are accumulating a large number of absences or tardies, this is a signal to talk to the student and contact the students parent or guardian, guidance counselor, and/or Dean s Office. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 20

Attendance Codes Following is a list of the attendance codes with their descriptions Attendance Code AC1 (High School Only) AC2 (High School Only) AC3 (High School Only) AC4 (High School Only) AC5 (High School Only) AC6 (High School Only) AC7 (High School Only) AC8 (High School Only) ACT ANA AU (Middle and Elementary Schools Only) AUX AV CUT (High School Only) ED FT HI ISF ISH MED (High School Only) SUS SUH TE TU T10 (High School Only) ILL (High School Only) EXC EXL UNV HAV HAU R Description Sport 1:00pm Sport 1:15pm Sport 1:30pm Sport 1:45pm Sport 2:00pm Sport 2:15pm Sport 2:30pm Sport 2:45pm Activity Absent Never Attended Absent Unverified Absent Unexcused Absent Verified Truant Early Dismissal Field Trip Home Instruction In School Suspension Full Day In School Suspension Half Day Nurse Med Suspended Full Day Suspended Half Day Tardy Exc Tardy UnEx Tardy More Than 10 Min. Used when student sent home sick during school Excused Student in an office and misses class Excluded Administration Only Unverified Half Day Verified Half Day Unexcused Excused Religious/Child Work Day South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 21

Circle When It Turns Green It Showed Attendance Was Taken If the attendance indicator is not green, attendance was not recorded for the class. There are several attendance reports that should be reviewed on a periodic basis. Please refer to the Class Reports and Student Reports section of the manual to find a list of available attendance reports. Student Information Reports 1. Click on the Backpack Icon 2. Click a class under Change Class: 3. The student list for that class will appear on top 1 3 2 4. Click on a Student 5. The student s schedule will appear 6. Click the down arrow next to the Select screens to list more reports for that student South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 22

4 5 6 Available Student Reports Below is a quick glance of the 13 student information reports available Cumulative Grade Information Demographics Demographics Graduation Progress South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 23

Meeting Attendance Net Access Summary Quick Lookup Recommendations Schedule Student Photo South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 24

Submit Log Entry Teacher Comments Term Grades South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 25

Class Reports 1 The reports available by clicking on the printer icon as shown above, or clicking on the word reports on the navigation bar are the same. Accessing reports by clicking on the printer icon will produce reports for students that are enrolled in that class only. Accessing reports using the option on the navigation bar will produce reports for all of your students across all of your classes. 1. Click on the Printer Icon 2. To view reports click on the down arrow next to which report would you like to print? 2 3. Submit to start report It will bring you into the Report Queue My Jobs 4. When report is finished the Status will change from Running to Completed View South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 26

3 4 Available Class Reports Please refer to the Reports section for detailed information on the reports available. Verify Grades Grade Verification South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 27

Charts Assignment/Student Charts How Do I View The Daily Bulletin? From the Navigation Bar, click the Daily Bulletin If there are any bulletins posted for the day they will be displayed South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 28

How Do I View The Staff Directory? From the Navigation Bar, click the Staff Directory How Do I Change My Default Screen? 1. From the Navigation Bar, click on the word Personalize 2. Then: click on the words Default Student Screen 3. Then: from drop down choose desired screen 4. Then: Submit SEE FOLLOWING 2 SCREENSHOTS 1 2 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 29

4 3 Reports 1. From the Navigation Bar, click on the word Reports 2. To view more reports click on the down arrow next to the report would you like to print? 3. Submit to start report It will bring you into the Report Queue My Jobs 4. When report is finished the Status will change from Running to Completed View SEE FOLLOWING 2 SCREENSHOTS 2 1 3 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 30

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Available Reports Class Attendance Audit Produces a student attendance report Labels Prints mailing labels Class Roster Grid Sheet Creates a grid that may be used for miscellaneous record keeping Student List Address/Phone Produces a student contact list South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 32

Student List Parents/Guardians Produces a list of parent / guardian contact information Student List Demographics HR/ID/DOB/Phone Produces a list of each students homeroom assignment Recommendations Produces a list of student course recommendations. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 33

Attendance Report 1. From the Navigation Bar, click on the words Attendance Report 2. Choose the desired Attendance Code 3. Choose the Period Attendance you want to view 4. Choose the Date you want to see 5. Check Hide Meeting or Hide Daily Attendance 6. Submit Results will show below the Submit button SEE FOLLOWING SCREENSHOT 2 4 5 6 3 1 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 34

How Do I Access The Gradebook 1. From the Navigation Bar, click on the word Gradebook 2. Then: at the bottom of the screen click on Launch PowerTeacher Gradebook o IT WILL TAKE A MINUTE OR 2 TO LAUNCH 1 2 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 35

Navigating through the Grade Book 1. Choose School Year, Quarter, Term 2. Click on the class you wish to work with 3. Student names change when class is selected 4. Reporting Term: choose term 5. Assignments: create Class Assignments 6. Student Info: Shows demographic information about student. Can create more columns if desired 7. Grade Setup: Set up grades 8. Class Content:???? 9. Reports: 9 different reports to choose from. Description of each report next to name of report 10. Final Grades: Shows Final Grades 11. Student View : Shows Assignments, Terms, and Comments for one student at a time 12. Assignments with grades 13. Edit Categories and publish to Parent Portal 1 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2 4 4 3 12 13 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 36

How to weight each quarter, mid term, final exam, and final grade REMEMBER: THE WEIGHTING HAS TO EQUAL 100 ****SEE YOUR SUPERVISOR FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT WEIGHTS**** 1. Choose the class you want to change the weights 2. Click on Grade Setup 3. Double Click F1 from Reporting Term 4. Select Term Weights 5. Choose Term from the Name column 6. Change the weight in the weight column 7. When Finished click on SAVE 2 1 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 37

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How Do I Enter in Comments for the Progress Reports Right click on the grade and choose Show Score Inspector (do not put anything in the citizenship column) MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO TYPE IN FREE FORM COMMENTS. THE COMMENTS ARE USED TO GENERATE HONOR ROLL REPORTS. Click on Right click your mouse here to bring up the side menu Show Score Inspector 1. Click on the Comment tab from the screen that pops up 2. Arrow down and choose up to 3 comments from the Category that reads PR a. It is mandatory that Teachers select 1 comment that begins with the word IS and up to 2 additional supporting comments. This is to ensure that parents receive information on their child s achievement. 3. Make sure Separate using [spaces] is visible 4. Double click the comments and they will pop in the comment box. 5. When finished, click Close 6. Make sure you click SAVE on the main page or you will lose your comments. 7. Click the Quarter in Progress bar and select Grades have been completed when you are finished entering comments for all of your students. The bar will turn green. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 39

1 3 4 2 5 For the next student, click the down arrow and repeat directions. (student will be highlighted on the student s list) A little will appear next to the grade when comments are added MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO TYPE IN FREE FORM COMMENTS. THE COMMENTS ARE USED TO GENERATE HONOR ROLL REPORTS. IF HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS WISH TO TYPE IN A FREE FORM COMMENTS PLEASE DO NOT EXCEED 5 WORDS. AND MAKE SURE EACH COMMENT ENDS WITH A PERIOD**** South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 40

How Do I Enter in Comments in Assignments Right click on Assignment next to student s name Click on Show Score Inspector 1. Click on the Comment tab from the screen that pops up 2. Arrow down and choose up to 1 comment from Category 3. Make sure Separate using [spaces] is visible 4. Double click the comments and they will pop in the comment box. 5. When finished, click Close 1 4 2 3 5 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 41

How Do I clear Comments MASS DELETING COMMENTS FOR ALL STUDENTS IN SELECTED CLASS 2. Click on Fill Scores 1. Right click your mouse here to bring up the side menu 1. Click the Replace All button 2. Check the Comment Box 3. Delete any comments in the Comment box (highlight comments and hit delete) 4. OK 2 3 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 42

How Do I Enter Student Grades? 1. First select the class you wish to work with 2. When you click on a class it will become highlighted and the names of the students taking the class will appear in the center of the screen. 1 2 3. Next select the term you wish to record grades MAKE SURE THE CORRECT TERM IS SELECTED. IF GRADES ARE INPUTTED IN THE WRONG TERM, THEY HAVE TO BE MANUALLY INPUTTED AGAIN INTO THE CORRECT TERM. Click on the down arrow located to the right of the words Reporting Term: Select the term from the pull down list 3 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 43

4. Make sure the tab scoresheet is selected 5. Next double click in the space to the right of the student s name. 6. A pop up window will appear. 4 5 6 7. In the pop up window check the manual override box 8. Enter in the percent, grade, and comments 9. You may select comments from a list by clicking on the comment tab 10. You may move to the next or previous student by clicking on the up and down arrows 11. Click close to close the pop up window 12. MAKE SURE YOU HIT SAVE WHEN FINISHED Make sure you Save before you close the gradebook Make sure you Save before you close the gradebook Managing Your Personal PowerTeacher Settings Changing your password 10 7 8 Selecting the Default Screen to View 9 11 12 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 44

How Do I Override a Grade? 1. Right click your mouse here to bring up the side menu 2. Click on Show Score Inspector 1. Check the Manual Override 2. Type in the Percent box 3. Type in the Grade Box 4. Click on Close 1 2 3 4 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 45

Non standard Grades and When to Use Them There are times when a student should receive a non standard grade. Use the chart below to determine the code to use. Grade E IP I M NC WP WF Comments Used in the high school only. If a student has 2 or more cuts in the quarter the student will automatically fail the class for the quarter. Override the system and enter in an E for the grade and 59% for the numeric value. Additionally add a comment explaining what the students actually grade point average is for the quarter. E grades should never be given for a final grade, only a quarterly grade. Montrose Students Only Use IP to indicate the student is in progress of completing the course work for the marking period. An Incomplete may be given as a grade if a student has a valid reason for not completing work within the marking period. If a student is out for a medical reason an M may be assigned. Course failure for excessive (18 or more) absences. Withdraw Pass Withdraw Fail South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 46

ADDING/COPYING ASSIGNMENTS IMPORTANT ****Make sure you choose the CORRECT CLASS and the CORRECT TERM. If you enter information into the wrong class and term it will have to be re entered manually to be fixed. The technology department does not have access to these files!**** CHOOSE CORRECT CLASS CHOOSE CORRECT TERM South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 47

Creating a new assignment 1. Click on Assignments tab 2. Click on the Plus Sign 1 2 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 48

3. Name the New Assignment Quarter 1 Final Grades (for Quarter 2 you would use Quarter Final Grades, etc); 4. Choose Category: from the drop down arrow, choose Test 5. Points Possible: type in 100 6. Date Due type in MO/DD/YEAR 7. Include in Final Grade: Make sure the box is checked 8. SAVE 3 4 5 6 7 8 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 49

When you hit SAVE the new assignment will pop into the Assignments window Assignment you just created shows here South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 50

COPYING ASSIGNMENTS 1. Click on the Assignments tab 2. Right click your mouse on the Assignment you want to copy 3. Choose Copy Assignments from the menu 1 3 2 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 51

This will bring up the Copy Assignments box (which will show you all the assignments you created). The assignment you chose to copy will be checked 4. Click Next This is the Copy Assignments box This is the assignment you chose to copy 4 South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 52

NOW CHOOSE THE CLASSES TO COPY YOUR ASSIGNMENT 5. Check the boxes on the classes you want the Assignment to copy 6. Click OK when finished 5 6 Result: Assignments will show in the classes Here is the assignment you copied Class you chose to copy an assignment South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 53

How do I make sure my grade book matches my students official transcript / report card In PowerTeacher click Verify Grades next to the class you wish to check. A report will appear listed the students in the class. The report will show the students Official or Stored Grade / Grade Book Grade for each marking period. The grades should be identical. If the grades are not identical part of the record will be highlighted in yellow. Any student records highlighted in yellow have a discrepancy between the stored grade and your grade book. These entries need to be fixed immediately. Please see the next section below on how to fix the grade discrepancies. What do I do if my grade book does not match my students transcript / report card First determine which grade is correct. If the transcript / report card grade is correct and your grade book is wrong you can launch the grade book and make the required corrections. If the transcript/report card grade is incorrect 1. Complete and sign a student grade change form. 2. Forward the grade change form to your supervisor. 3. The supervisor must review and approve the change request. 4. The supervisor will forward the form to data processing. 5. Data processing with record the new quarterly or final grade on the official report card / transcript. 6. Data processing will send a copy of the grade change form back to the teacher. 7. Once the teacher receives the grade change form back, the teacher may update the grade book to reflect the changes. South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 54

South Orange & Maplewood School District PowerTeacher Teachers Guide Page 55