PowerSchool PDBCHS

August 2011

Schedule

• Goals and Consistent Updates• Categories• Comments• Backup and Save

Goals

• Increase parent/ student/teacher communication.

• Increase parent/student engagement.

• Increase graduation rates.

Final Report Card

• Mark (percent) and comment

• Mr Thiesen is interested in changing Junior highs to a letter based (A, B, C, F) system for the 2012-2013 year. Still many hurdles to overcome (tech, regulation, course awards).

Consistent updates

• Send a progress report home once per month. At the end of a unit or end of the month is your choice.

• Including a running percent (final grade) is your choice.

CATEGORIES

PowerSchool Categories

• Two main options:– General Learner Outcomes/Units– Assignments, Quizzes, ExamsIt’s your choice!!

• Keep formative in a separate category if you report it.

• Mr. Theisen’s suggestion :Growth as a learner

Categories: General Learner Outcomes/Units

Pros:• Easy progress reports, just print GLO/Units will

be summarized at the bottom• Easy to see mark for each outcomeCons:• Weightings must be calculated for each

assignment• Can be difficult to see if there is a pattern

between quizzes vs assignments

Categories: Assignments / Quizzes / Final Exam

Pros: • Easier weightings without calculations• Easier to see trends between assignments vs

quizzes

Cons:• Does not organize by the general learner

outcomes / units

Categories: Growth as a Learner

• Need suggestions from Mr. Thiesen– Create specific “assignments” that reflect this• Homework completion• On time for class• Participation in class discussion, etc

Assignment Shortcuts

• Late - “Lt” or “*” (shift-8) it will change to which indicates a late assignment. Does not go away when you enter a mark.

• Missing – “Mi” or “/”, it will change to which indicates a missing assignment. It goes away when you enter a mark.

Assignment Shortcuts

• Collected – “.” Enter a period, it will change to a check mark for collected.

• Exempt - enter“Ex”, it will change to Ex which is not included in the final mark.

Assignment Shortcuts1. Right click on square.

2. Click Fill Scores3. Fill in as it is to the right to

put in a collected check mark in all of the squares.

4. You can also do comments this way.

COMMENTS

Comments

Read the Peter Pan flight school Progress reports.

Each group must describe:The Good; the Bad; and the Ugly

Comment principles

• Feedback is more valuable than marks for student achievement and improvement.

• Specific feedback is best.

• Don’t overwhelm parents and students with too much reading.

Adding Comments

1. Right click on assignment square.

2. Enter comment and click “Ok”.

• The comment will show up beside the mark on the progress report.

REPORTS

Progress ReportOptions:Remove abbreviations for

assignments and categories.

• Final grades – is the final grade percent at the top of the report.

• Assignments – the list of all of the assignments that have been marked. Without this it prints the category summary.

Progress ReportOptions:• Comments – the list of

assignment comments at the right side of the page. Doesn’t work if you don’t have the assignments listed.

• Categories – the categories summary at the bottom of the page.

• Date Ranges – If you use Assignments / Quizzes / Final Exam change the dates to print off a unit or chapter specific progress report.

Progress ReportUnder the layout tab.• Report Title – The default is “Individual Student Report”. More

descriptive is “Sept. to Dec. French Progress Report” or “Language Arts Unit 1 Report”.

• Top Note – a comment that shows up on all of the reports at the top. Should be information relevant to the report. “Science 10 Chemistry unit teaches students the basics of atomic structure, stoichiometry and chemical equations.

Caution: These stay the same even if you change courses. Double check before printing.

Progress ReportBottom Note – a comment that shows up at the bottom of all of

the reports. “Please sign and return this report by Oct. 5th 2011.”

Signature Line – gives parents a place to sign the report if you

want the reports signed and returned.Name:_________ Signature: ____________ Date:_________

BACKUP AND SAVE

Backup and Save• Once you have run the report you might want to keep a copy. Instead of printing an extra copy of every progress report save a copy on your computer.

• Once you have run the report it will open in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click File - > Save As

• If something goes wrong with PowerSchool and it looses all of your marks (Absolute disaster) you will now have a backup on your computer or at home.

Summary

• Goals and Consistent Updates• Categories• Comments• Backup and Save

QUESTIONS & GUESSES