You can add score columns to a class gradebook to record scores and information for each of your assignments. Score columns can be customized, re-used, and managed from the class gradebook interface. To learn more, see the following topics:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Score Columns
- Add a Score Column
- Copy a Score Column to Another Gradebook
- Remove Score Columns
- Hide or Unhide Score Columns
- Hide or Unhide All Other Students
- Score Column Privacy, Locking, and Visibility
- Score Column Commands
- Sort Score Columns
- Customize Header Rows
Score Columns
Score columns are at the center of your gradebook's functionality. You can add score columns to a class gradebook to record scores and information for each of your assignments. Score columns can be customized, re-used, and managed from the class gradebook interface. You can organize your score columns from the gradebook settings.
Score Column Management
You can add a score column for each assignment and customize the assignment column's name and details. Score columns are only used for assignments. Assignment score columns contain the following fields:
Name | This field should contain a descriptive title for the assignment. It's the only field that's always displayed in the Column Header. The name can be up to 100 characters. |
Description | This is the only optional field. It can contain a detailed description of the assignment. The description can be up to 1000 characters. |
Category | Assignment categories are customized and created in the TeacherPlus Gradebook Management site. If they haven't been customized, the default categories are Quiz, Homework, and Test. You can only create and/or edit categories if teachers have the proper permissions in the TeacherPlus Gradebook Management site. |
Maximum Possible Points | This field should contain the maximum point value for an assignment. Assignment category weights can also affect the overall value of an assignment. You can only edit category weights if teachers have the proper permissions in TeacherPlus Gradebook Management site. |
Date | This field should contain the date a test or a quiz was administered or the date a homework assignment is due. |
Marking Period | This field is automatically set to the marking period displayed in the gradebook. |
Score Column Organization
To organize the score columns in your gradebooks, you can sort score columns by name, by date, or by category and date. Once you've selected sort criteria, you can choose to sort in ascending or descending order. This feature can help you organize your score columns in a way that suits your workflow, making it easier to scan your gradebook to locate specific score columns. For more information on sorting columns, see Sort Score Columns.
Score Column Headers
To further customize or organize your score columns, you can display information such as name, description, and possible points in the column header. You can also display statistics, such as mean, median, and variance. This allows you to view the information that is important to you at a glance. You can also hide this information at any time by minimizing the column header. When minimized, the column header only displays the column name and possible points. For more information, see Customize Header Rows.
Score Column Privacy, Locking, and Visibility
In your gradebooks, you have a number of options for managing how you or your students can interact with score columns. You can set columns to public or private, locked or unlocked, and even (temporarily) to hidden. For more information, see Score Column Privacy, Locking, and Visibility.
Add a Score Column
When adding an assignment or test, there are a variety of options you can specify, such as assignment type, maximum possible points, and whether or not the assignment counts in averages.
Add a New Assignment Score Column
- At the upper-left corner of the Gradebook Toolbar, click Add Column.
The Add Column dialog box appears.
- Optional: Click Link Skills/Standards to associate skills/standards with the assignment.
- Choose where to add the assignment by selecting one of the Add To options.
- Add a name and description, select a category, enter the number of points, and set the date for the assignment.
- Do any of the following:
- Select Lock Column to prevent any changes to the column.
- Select Add to PlusPortals as Homework to add the assignment for students in PlusPortals.
- Select Count in Averages to count the assignment in the averages.
- Select Shared (Public) Column to share the assignment and its score with parents.
Note: Assignments that count in averages should be made public so that parents can see the assignments that are affecting their child's average.
- Click Create Column.
Tip: To edit an existing assignment, double-click anywhere in the score column header or right-click anywhere in the header and click Edit Column Name & Details. You can edit any of the fields you set while creating the score column.
Add a Score Column from a Previous Year
- At the upper-left corner of the Gradebook Toolbar, click Add Column.
The Add Column dialog box appears. - At the upper-left corner of the Add Column dialog box, click Add Columns From Previous Year.
- Click the year from the Which Year drop-down list.
- Click the marking period from the Which MP drop-down list.
- Click the gradebook from the Which Gradebook drop-down list.
- Select the check box next to the desired score column.
- Do one of the following:
- Click Use TODAY to start the assignment today.
- Click Use Same Date But Current Year to start and end the assignment on the same day in the current year.
- Click Start With a Selected Date and Keep Same Intervals to assign a different start day with the same duration.
- At the upper-right corner of the Add Columns From Previous Year dialog box, click Next.
Copy a Score Column to Another Gradebook
If you teach several sections of the same course, it's very likely all sections share many of the same assignments. You can easily copy an assignment to all of your other gradebooks or just a selected few, saving you time and the monotony of having to create the same assignment over and over again. You can also choose to copy an assignment with or without any of the scores it currently has.
- Double-click the Name of the score column (for example, "Chapter 5 Homework").
- In the Edit Column dialog box, click
. - In the Copy Column dialog box, next to Copy Column To, do one of the following:
- Click Current Gradebook Only: Without Scores to copy the column to the open gradebook without the existing assignment scores.
- Click Current Gradebook Only: With Score to copy the column to the open gradebook with the existing assignment scores.
- Click All Gradebooks of the Current Course to copy the column to all gradebooks of the open course.
- Click All Gradebooks to copy the column to all gradebooks.
- Click Selected Gradebooks, click
, select the check box(es) next to the gradebook(s) to which you want to copy this column, and click Save.
- In the Copy Column dialog box, next to Date Settings, do either of the following:
- Click Use Today to use today's date for the score column.
- Click Use Same Date to use the original date that was set for the score column.
- At the upper-right corner of the Copy Column dialog box, click Copy.
Remove Score Columns
When removing columns, you can remove one specified column or multiple columns at a time.
Remove a Score Column
Warning: Deleting a score column deletes all the data contained in that column.
- Right-click the name of the score column.
- Click Delete Current Column, and then click Yes.
Remove Multiple Score Columns
- On the side navigation menu, click Tools > Remove Columns.
- Select which column(s) to delete, and then click OK.
Hide or Unhide Score Columns
You can hide multiple columns at a time to focus on one or more score columns in your gradebook. If you use this feature along with the Hide or Unhide All Other Students feature, you can focus on one score column for one student at a time. This is useful when you want to show the grade of a particular assignment to a student. For more information on hiding or unhiding all other students, see Hide or Unhide All Other Students.
Hide a Score Column
- Right-click any cell in a score column.
- Click Temporary Hide Current Column from the shortcut menu.
Unhide a Score Column
- Right-click any cell in a score column.
- Do either of the following:
- Click Unhide All Score Columns.
- Click Unhide Selected Score Columns, and click the desired column from the shortcut menu.
Hide or Unhide All Other Students
There are times when you may want to focus on a specific student's grades without seeing the grades of other students in your visual field. You can choose to hide all other students temporarily and then show them again at any time using the Hide/Unhide feature.
Hide All Other Students
- Right-click the name of the student whose grades you want to keep visible.
- Click Show Only [Last Name], [First Name] (Hide all others) on the shortcut menu.
Unhide All Other Students
- Right-click a student's name.
- Click Show All Students on the shortcut menu.
Score Column Privacy, Locking, and Visibility
In your gradebooks, there are a number of options for managing how you and your students can interact with score columns. You can set columns to public or private, locked or unlocked, and even (temporarily) to hidden.
Figure 1: [A] = Number of Public (Shared) columns, hidden assignment score columns, and assignment score columns counted in averages. [B] = Privacy and locking buttons. [C] = Hide students or columns.
Public or Private
You can toggle columns as public or private by clicking the sharing icons 
and
.
Public columns 
are shared on PlusPortals and count in students' averages. You should make columns public once you finish grading them.
Private columns 
aren't shared on PlusPortals and don't count in students' averages. This is useful for assignments you haven't finished grading. Although it isn't recommended, you can create public columns that aren't counted in averages as well as private columns that are counted in averages; however, this requires that you edit the column. If a column is public but not counted in averages or private but counted in averages, the averages will appear incorrect.
Example
Scenario 1: A student has test scores of 90 and 100. These scores are both shared with the student, but the 90 score isn't counted in averages. The student sees scores of 90 and 100 resulting in an average of 100. If she doesn't know that the 90 score isn't counted in averages, this result appears incorrect, as she expects to see an average of 95.
Scenario 2: A student has test scores of 90 and 100. These scores are both counted in averages, but the 90 score isn't shared with the student. The student sees a score of 100 resulting in an average of 95. If he doesn't know that there are scores that haven't been shared with him yet, this result appears incorrect, as he expects to see an average of 100.
You can see how many shared columns you have and how many columns aren’t counted in averages at the top-left corner of your gradebook. To see which columns are included in each category, just click the number.
Locked or Unlocked
You can toggle columns as locked or unlocked by clicking the locking icons 
and 
. Locked columns 
can't be edited.
This is useful for assignments you've finished grading or aren't currently grading. Locking completed columns can prevent accidental changes. Unlocked columns 
can be edited.
Temporarily Hidden
With score column commands, you can temporarily hide score columns from your gradebook, hide all but one student from score columns, or both. For example, when discussing grades with a student or their parents, you can hide any score columns you haven't finished grading as well as every other student in the columns you leave visible. Using this method, you can show a student your gradebook with only their grades in it. Once you're done, you can display all score columns and students again.
You can see how many columns are currently hidden at the top-left corner of your screen. To see which columns are hidden, click the number.
Score Column Commands
Using score column commands, you can set columns to public or private, locked or unlocked, and even to hidden (temporarily).
Score Column Commands | |
A | Lock a column: Click Locked columns can't be edited. This is useful for assignments you've finished grading. Locking completed columns can prevent accidental changes. |
B | Make a column private: Click |
C | Hide all other students: Right-click the row of the student whose grades you want to keep visible, and then click Show Only[LastName],[FirstName](Hide allothers). Display all students: Right-click a student's row, and then click Show All Students. |
D | Hide a score column: Right-click any cell in the score column you want to hide, and then click Temporarily Hide Current Column. Display score columns: Right-click any cell in a score column, and then do either of the following:
Note: If you've hidden every score column and can't access the Unhide [All / Selected] Score Columns options, click Reload to restore all score columns. |
to change the lock setting to 
. Click again to revert the column to unlocked.
to change the column visibility setting to 
. Click again to revert the column to public. Private columns aren't shared on PlusPortals and don't count in students' averages. This is useful for assignments you haven't finished grading.
Sort Score Columns
When it's that time of the semester or quarter when you have created many assignments, hiding and organizing certain score columns can save you time. You can not only focus solely on the assignment columns you need but also choose how you want to view them.
To sort score columns, do the following:
- On the side navigation menu, click Settings, and then click the Sort Columns tab.
- On the Sort Columns tab, select how you want to view your score columns by doing either of the following:
- In the Sort Columns group box, click by Name, by Date, or first by Category, then by Date within each category.
- In the Sort Order group box, click Ascending or Descending.
- At the upper-right corner of the Sort Columns tab, click Sort Now.
Customize Header Rows
Header rows display information about your score columns. This feature includes basic information, such as Name, Description, and Possible Points, as well as more in-depth statistics, such as Mean, Median, and Variance. You can select as many header rows as you'd like. Only the Name row is required. However, we do recommend that you include a minimum of Name, Date, and Possible Points in the header. With the Date row, you can see when a test or a quiz was administered or the date a homework assignment is due. With the Possible Points row , you can compare the point values of your assignments.
If you prefer a detailed header but have large classes that are difficult to view with limited screen space, you can temporarily hide header rows with a single click. When you hide header rows, only the Name and Possible Points rows remain visible. In addition, you can customize how the statistics rows handle withdrawn students. These students can be included or excluded from the data set, depending on your preference or school policy.
Select Header Rows
To customize score column header rows, do the following:
- On the side navigation menu, click Settings, and then click the Header Rows tab.
or
Right-click a score column header row, and then click Select Header Rows.
- Select which header rows to display, and then click OK.
Note: The Name row is mandatory. It's always the first column header row. Default rows are in black font, and additional rows are in green font. You can select any number of rows. If you choose to display statistical information, click Tools>Recalculate Statistics upon entering new scores to ensure your statistical data is always up to date.
Temporarily Hide Header Rows
If you need to maximize screen space to fit all of the students in your gradebook, you can hide the header rows. This leaves only the Name and Possible Points rows visible.
To temporarily hide score column header rows, next to the class name on the score column header, click 
.
When you want to return to the normal view, click 
.
Include Withdrawn Students in Column Statistics
Column statistics (such as Mean, Median, Standard Deviation, and Variance) exclude withdrawn students' scores from their data sets. If you want to include data from withdrawn students in these statistics, you need to enable that option in the View Settings tab.
To include withdrawn students in column statistics, do the following:
- On the side-navigation menu, click Settings, and then click the Header Rows tab.
- Under Withdrawn Students, select the Include withdrawn students for column statistics check box, and then click OK.
Clear this check box to exclude withdrawn students from column statistics.
Note: If you decide to include withdrawn students in column statistics, you should also include withdrawn students in your gradebook. For more information, see Show Inactive Students in Your Gradebook.