Rev. April 2008 - San Jose Unified School District Guide for PW Gradebook.pdfRev. April 2008 . Excelsior Software Pinnacle Web System Teacher Reference Guide for Pinnacle Web Gradebook

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Excelsior Software Pinnacle Web System Teacher Reference Guide for Pinnacle Web Gradebook Application

Teacher Reference Guide for Pinnacle Web Gradebook Application page 2

Copyright (c) 2008 Excelsior Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Permission is hereby granted to customers of Excelsior Software, Inc. to reproduce this document, in its entirety and

without modification, for the sole purpose of training school district personnel. Information in this manual is subject to change without notice. For the latest version of this manual, visit our web site at www.excelsiorsoftware.com

Rev. April 2008



Table of Contents

Starting the Pinnacle Web Gradebook Application and Logging In ......................................5 Pinnacle Web Gradebook Home Page ......................................................................................6

Help.................................................................................................................................................. 7 Attendance

Quick Attendance........................................................................................................................... 8 Attendance Grid ........................................................................................................................... 10 Seating Chart ................................................................................................................................ 12 Grades

Gradebook Grid............................................................................................................................ 14 Student Demographic Information............................................................................................. 18 Defining Assignments ................................................................................................................. 20 Assignment Definition Options .................................................................................................. 23 Narrative..........................................................................................................................................23 Objectives........................................................................................................................................23 Classes............................................................................................................................................24 Entering Scores or Letter Grades in Gradebook Grid.............................................................. 25 Quick Grades ................................................................................................................................ 27

Other Data

Entering Required Assessments................................................................................................ 29 Viewing and Editing Objective Scores....................................................................................... 30 Notes ............................................................................................................................................. 32 Required Notes............................................................................................................................. 34 Recording Discipline Incidents .................................................................................................. 36 Reports ......................................................................................................................................38

Standard Report Parameters ...................................................................................................... 39 Crystal Report Parameters.......................................................................................................... 41 Class Options General............................................................................................................................................42 Narrative..........................................................................................................................................43 Categories .......................................................................................................................................44 Scales..............................................................................................................................................46 Terms ..............................................................................................................................................47 Edit Profile and Change Password .........................................................................................48 Calculation Methods in Pinnacle 7.x.................................................................................................49 Awarding Extra Credit ..............................................................................................................51





Starting the Pinnacle Web Gradebook Application and Logging In

To launch the Pinnacle Web gradebook application, start your Internet Browser (Firefox 2.0, Internet Explorer 6 or 7, or Safari 2.0.4).

• You may be provided with an Internet Address (URL), such as http://www.yourschoolname.org/pinnacleweb, to access or you may click on a link on your school’s web site which will display the Pinnacle Web Log-In Screen.

• Enter the User Name that links you to your course schedule as defined in your school’s student information system. Your password may or may not have been pre-set by your Pinnacle Administrator. If not, click Logon and you will be prompted to create a password of 6 - 25 characters, a combination of letters and numbers.

• Your password will be displayed as black dots so that no one else may see your password as you enter it. After you log in to the application, you will be able to change this password.

• If your school is using Microsoft Active Directory (or LDAP) to manage access and passwords for multilple applications, enter the User Name and password you use for these applications. Managing and changing this password is done outside of the Pinnacle System.



Pinnacle Web Gradebook Home Page The first screen displayed after you log in to the Pinnacle Web gradebook application is the Home Page. From this screen you may access all of the features offered in the application which are listed on the left side of the screen. If you hover your mouse cursor over a feature, it will underline the feature and turn the cursor into a pointing hand which allows you to select that feature. Clicking on any bold title or its associated icon will take you to the feature last accessed under that title. This screen also displays a list of students who have been added to, or dropped from, any of your class rosters within the last ten days. Any student having a birthday in the next ten days will be on the list of Upcoming Birthdays. Below the lists is a place for any announcements, Internet links, suggested resources, or messages from your school administration or your Pinnacle System Administrator. In the upper right corner of this page, as well as most other pages, is notification of which user is currently logged in for this session plus a Logout link to log out of the gradebook application. Please be aware that, when you log out of the application, you will not be prompted to save any changes you have made in the gradebook. Changes are saved to the database as they are entered or when the Save button is pressed (if one is available). Data changes, such as score entry, will be reflected as a yellow background which gradually fades as they are saved to the database. In the lower left corner of the Home Page is the version of Pinnacle Web that you are currently running. Refer to this number when calling for Technical Support.



Help In the upper right corner of each page is a link to the Excelsior Software Help web page which is updated as new versions of the software are released. In order to make this application as user-friendly as possible, all of the features of the Gradebook are explained in short video tutorials. Click on one of the topics listed to display the various tutorials available concerning that topic. Be sure you have the sound turned up on your computer to listen to the narration of the video. These tutorials may be used in sequence as instruction on how to use the application or individually as reference or reminders for particular features. Also included on this page are the latest Teacher Reference Guide, Quick Reference Guide, and Reports Manual which may be downloaded for viewing or printing. In addition, a list of Frequently Asked Questions may provide insight into possibly confusing issues. Since the Help link is accessing a web page on the Internet, the information on this page may change frequently as the product evolves, providing you with the latest information available.



Quick Attendance

The Quick Attendance page is where you may enter daily attendance for students. You may access Quick Attendance from the Home Page, the Attendance Grid, Seating Chart, Reports, the Gradebook Grid, or Quick Grades screens. The attendance codes listed are pre-set to the attendance codes used at your school. Hover your mouse cursor over each code for a complete description. The default attendance date is the current date shown in the date field at the top of the page. Another date may be selected using the left and right arrows next to the date or by clicking on calendar icon and selecting the date. You may also enter the date into the field or enter a “Smart Date” description, such as yesterday, next Monday, last week Thursday, tomorrow, etc. Select the class by using the class tabs at the top of the screen. Select the appropriate attendance code to the right of the student’s name by clicking on it one time. If you make a mistake, click the code again to clear it.



After entering an attendance code, you may enter a comment (up to 45 characters) about a student’s attendance which will appear in the Attendance Manager application. If the attendance secretary also makes a comment for this same student’s attendance for this date, it will override your comment. Once attendance has been entered for a class for a date, a check mark will be displayed on the class tab whenever that date is selected. If no student in this class is absent or tardy for the day, click the All Present button which will add the check mark to the class tab. If your school has an attendance code for Present, clicking the All Present button will mark any student without an absence or tardy code with the Present code. Clicking on the All Present button will not modify any other existing attendance codes. If there is a padlock icon displayed on the class tab, this means that the date has been locked for this class, and no attendance codes may be entered from the gradebook. The attendance codes will also be grayed-out so no attendance can be entered accidentally. When the attendance secretary at your school changes an attendance code or adds a comment through the Attendance Manager application, the code and comment will be displayed to the right of the teacher-entered attendance codes. These codes and comments cannot be changed in the gradebook.



Attendance Grid

The Attendance Grid screen displays all of the student attendance codes entered during the school year for a class. You may access the Attendance Grid from the Home Page, Quick Attendance, Seating Chart, the Gradebook Grid, or Quick Grades screens. The attendance codes are color-coded and preset to the attendance codes used at your school. By default, the current date is the highlighted column within the current week, and the number of other date columns will depend on the display of your computer screen. Use the left and right arrows next to the date field to scroll the display one week at a time to the left or right. Jump to another date range using the calendar icon to select the date. You may also enter the date into the field or enter a “Smart Date” description, such as yesterday, next Monday, last week Thursday, tomorrow, etc. Total attendance entries by marking period or grading interval, grouped by tardy codes and absence codes, are displayed in the column on the right. To change the marking period or grading interval total displayed, click the drop-down list at the top of the column and select a new marking period or grading interval. If you leave the Attendance Grid to view another window, the column will automatically default back to the current marking period.



Attendance codes with a red triangle in the upper right corner of the cell have a comment from the Attendance manager associated with them. Hovering the mouse cursor over the cell will display a pop-up balloon with the comment. Select a class from the class tabs at the top of the screen. The date range will remain the same when you switch to another class. If attendance has been entered for any date for a class, a checkmark will be displayed by the date at the top of the column. If there is a padlock icon at the top of a column, attendance has been locked for that date, and no attendance codes may be entered from the gradebook. To edit or enter any attendance codes, click the date at the top of a column to go to Quick Attendance for that date.



Seating Chart

To create a seating chart and use it to enter daily attendance, access Seating Chart from the Home Page, Quick Attendance, or Attendance Grid screens. For each class, students on the class roster will appear in the drawer on the left under Students. If no picture is available for a student, a place holder silhouette will be displayed. Hover your mouse cursor over a student picture to display a student’s full name. Drag each picture or place holder from the drawer to the selected position on the chart. A darker grid line to the right or bottom indicates a page break when the seating chart is printed. To randomly shuffle student pictures/names within a seating chart, you may click on You may click Save Chart at any time even if you haven’t placed all of the students in the chart. This will take you to a screen from which to enter Attendance (see below). To return to editing the Seating Chart, click the Edit button If there are any students who have not been placed in the Seating Chart, the next time you access the Seating Chart, the Edit screen will be displayed. Once all the students are on the chart, you will need to click the Edit button to modify your Seating Chart. To print a copy of the Seating Chart, click the Print button. r



Once the Seating Chart has been defined and saved, it may be used to take daily attendance. The default attendance date is today’s date, but another date may be selected by using the left and right arrows beside the date field for past or future dates. You may also click the calendar icon to select another date from the calendar displayed, enter the date into the field, or enter a “Smart Date” description, such as yesterday, next Monday, last week Thursday, tomorrow, etc. Click on a student picture or place holder and select the attendance code from the list displayed. If you make a mistake, you may select Clear from the list to remove the code. Any attendance codes which were entered using Quick Attendance or Attendance Manager will be displayed in the upper right corner of a student picture. If the code was modified in Attendance Manager, it cannot be edited in the gradebook. If there is a comment from Attendance Manager associated with an attendance code, it will be displayed by hovering your mouse cursor over the code. Select another class from the class tabs at the top of the screen.



Gradebook Grid

The Gradebook Grid screen displays all of the assignments and scores for a class in one marking period. You may access the Gradebook Grid from the Home Page, Quick Grades, Options, Seating Chart, Reports, Quick Attendance, or the Attendance Grid screens. Use the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom to move left and right through the assignments and the vertical scroll bar on the right to move up and down the class list. The column on the left lists the students in the class, and hovering your mouse cursor over a student name will display a “business card” of basic demographic information about the student. The Result Column on the right displays information about various calculated grades. To change the calculated grade being displayed, click the column heading and select the type of grade from the drop-down list. When you leave this class and come back to it, this column will default back to displaying the marking period grades.



Above the Result Column heading is a drop-down arrow which offers choices of Show/Hide Points, Show/Hide Graph, Finalize Grades, and Export Grades. If the Method of Grading for the displayed calculated grade is Total Points, selecting Show Points will display an additional result column of the earned points out of the maximum points possible for the displayed calculated grade. Selecting Hide Points will hide the points column from view. Selecting Show Graph will display a “sparkline” graph of the scores which comprise the calculated grade in the Result Column with the failing grades showing in red and the passing grades in green. Selecting Hide Graph will hide the graph from view. Finalize Grades gives teachers the opportunity to indicate that the grades for a marking period are complete and ready for reporting and protects those grades from inadvertent changes. This is an optional feature unless it is required by the school district for grade reporting. Check one or more marking periods for which to finalize grades and click Save. The Gradebook Grid for the selected marking period(s) will be grayed out and a window will be displayed indicating that the grades for this marking period have been finalized. (If previous marking period grades have already been finalized, they will remain checked and finalized.) If any grades need to be modified, click on change the status to “un-finalize” the grades, make the changes, and repeat the finalize grades process.



Export Grades allows teachers to export the Gradebook Grid of student names, student id’s, assignment descriptions, assignment scores, category descriptions, category scores, and the overall marking period grade to a .csv (Comma Separated Values) file which may be opened in a spreadsheet application (such as Microsoft Excel). The name of the file will default to the class name with a csv extension. Select Open to display the information in the spreadsheet and select Save to save the file to a location for future use. Please note: the spreadsheet data cannot be imported back into the Gradebook application. At the top of each assignment column is the description, due date, and maximum value of the assignment. For long assignment descriptions, hover your mouse cursor over the description to display the entire description in a pop-up window. If the assignment is linked to a category which has been color-coded, it will be reflected in the column header as well as the result column header if that category is displayed. The currently-selected assignment will always show as light blue when your mouse cursor is over it.

Description

Date Due Maximum Value



If a comment has been associated with a student’s score in the Quick Grades screen, a small red triangle will appear in the upper right corner of the grade cell. You may view the comment by hovering your mouse cursor over the grade cell. Above the column listing the class roster of student names is a drop-down arrow which offers the option to Show Single Student. Click in any grade cell for a particular student and only that student’s grades will be displayed on the screen. This is a very useful feature for parent and student conferences when you want to respect the privacy of the other students in the class. To display all student scores once again, select Show Multiple Students from the drop-down option.



Student Demographic Information

On the Gradebook Grid, Quick Grades, Attendance Grid, and Quick Attendance screens, hovering your mouse cursor over a student name will display a pop-up window with a business card of basic demographic information about the student. On the Gradebook Grid screen, double-clicking on a student name displays a window with more demographic fields, custom fields, and the student’s schedule. If a field is shown as an empty box, teachers may enter or edit information for the field and this will be displayed as student demographic information for all of the student’s classes. A teacher in any of the student’s classes may enter or edit the information and the last information entered will be what is displayed for this student in all classes. If an e-mail address is highlighted in blue, clicking on it will bring up your e-mail system with a blank outgoing message to that address.



Click on the Custom tab to add another demographic item for all of the students in this class. Click on Add Demographic Item… Enter a description of the item after Description: If you would like to pre-populate the field with information which applies to all or most of the students, enter the data into the Default Value field. Click the Save button to save this new demographic field for all students in this class. Enter the data for the new demographic field for each student. Use the drop-down list of students or the left and right arrows to select another student’s name. To see the current schedule for a student, click on the Schedule tab. The student’s schedule will be listed by the period of the day in which the class is taught. If teacher e-mail addresses are included as data in the database, clicking on a teacher’s name will bring up your e-mail system with that teacher’s e-mail address in the To: field. Use the drop-down list of students or the left and right arrows to select another student’s name. To print a copy of a student’s schedule, click the Print icon



Defining Assignments

Define a new assignment through the Gradebook Grid screen. Select the class from the classes tab. Scroll to the far right using the horizontal scroll bar and select the column header New… which will always be the rightmost column in the grid. Enter a Description for the assignment as you would like it to appear on parent and student reports. If there is more than one Grading Scale available in the drop-down list, select the one appropriate for this assignment. If you have only one in the list, you may skip this step. If you have defined Categories for this class (in Class Options), these will be displayed from a drop-down list next to Category. Select the appropriate category for this assignment.



Use the calendar icons to select the Date Assigned and Date Due. You may also enter the date into the field or “Smart Date” descriptions, such as yesterday, next Friday, tomorrow, etc. The default dates are today’s date for the date assigned and the next school day as the date due. Enter the Maximum Value for this assignment. The Weight of the assignment is the number of times this score should count in the grade calculation (1 counts once, 0 doesn’t count, 2 counts twice, etc.). You may use decimal values for the assignment weight. If you check the Extra Credit box, it will indicate that the scores for this assignment are extra credit and will not be considered a missing assignment if no score is entered. Please refer to page 50 Awarding Extra Credit for an explanation of the four methods of awarding extra credit. If enabled in the Pinnacle Toolbox, the optional designations for Formative or Summative assignments are available for teacher reference only and do not affect grade calculations. When you have finished defining the assignment, click the Save button to display the assignment column in the Gradebook Grid. If you would prefer to save this assignment and define another one with the same settings, click the Save & New button. To abandon this assignment without saving it, just click the Close button.



To edit an existing assignment, click the column heading of the assignment one time. Make your changes and click the Save button. Click the Close button. To delete an assignment, click the column heading of the assignment one time. Click the Delete button. You will see the following message: This will be your only opportunity to undelete this assignment. If you navigate to any other window, the assignment will be permanently deleted.



Assignment Definition Options

Three optional tabs, Narrative, Objectives, and Classes, are available when defining a new assignment only. Do not Close a new assignment definition until you have set all the options desired. Narrative Tab Every assignment may be linked to a narrative which may be used in printed reports and on the Pinnacle Internet Viewer. This may include a detailed description of the assignment, suggested resources, or an Internet link for more information. Objectives Tab The objectives (or standards, outcomes, etc.) which may be linked to assignments in this course are defined and linked to the course number in the Objectives Manager application. If there are no objectives linked to this course, the Objectives tab will not be displayed. The evaluation scale and calculation method are set centrally in Objectives Manager. The objectives which are available for this course are listed at the bottom of the window. Hover your mouse cursor over the description for more detail about the objective. To link one or more objectives to an assignment, select the objectives by checking the boxes and clicking the Add button which will move the objectives to the top window. You may also drag selected objective(s) to the Selected Objectives window with your mouse.



To unlink one or more objectives, select the check boxes in the top window and click Remove or drag the selected objective(s) to the Available Objectives window. Classes Tab Once an assignment has been defined but before it is saved, you may create the same assignment in one or more of your other classes. The current class will be grayed out since it already will get the new assignment. Click on the Classes tab and check which class or classes should get this assignment and then click the Save button. This option is available only for New assignments during the definition process. If you inadvertently save an assignment that you had intended to create in multiple classes, you have three options:

1. You may delete the assignment and define it once again, this time using the Classes tab before you save it;

2. You may define the assignment in one of the other classes and use the Classes tab for any remaining classes needing the assignment;

3. Or you may define the assignment in each of the other classes.



Entering Scores or Letter Grades In Gradebook Grid

Scores or letter grades may be entered for a defined assignment through Quick Grades or in the Gradebook Grid. To enter scores or letter grades in the Gradebook Grid, you must be in the Assignments view. Once an assignment has been defined and saved, you may enter a student’s score into the assignment column as either a letter grade or a numeric value. If a letter grade is entered (upper or lower case), the equivalent percentage value of the letter grade will be calculated and displayed in the cell to the right when you press Enter or Return. The background of the grade cell will briefly turn yellow which will gradually fade away. This indicates that the score has been saved in the database. You may also enter an X to exempt a student from an assignment or a Z for overdue assignments which have not been turned in but will calculate as a zero until they are completed. If a numeric value is entered, the equivalent letter grade will appear in the grade column on the left when you press Enter or Return. To duplicate a score down the assignment column, enter the score and press Enter or Return. Then press the asterisk (*) key to duplicate the score. Hold the asterisk (*) key down to fill the column with the same score.



When a student is marked Absent (not Tardy) on the due date of an assignment, a colored-coded attendance flag with the attendance code will be displayed in the student’s grade cell. This is provided as information for the teacher only and does not affect any calculated grade. Please note: assignments must be defined before the due date in order for the attendance flags to be displayed. To override a student’s calculated grade, click once on the calculated grade in the Result Column on the right. Select either to override the grade and enter a new letter or numeric grade, or select an override code from the drop-down list displayed. Click Save to save the overridden grade to the database. The student’s calculated grade will be displayed in Bold print to indicate it has been overridden. To return the grade to the calculated grade, click on the grade in the Result Column and select Calculate Normally and Save.



Quick Grades

The Quick Grades screen is the place to enter or edit scores or letter grades for one defined assignment at a time. It is also where a comment about a score may be added for student and parent reports. You may access Quick Grades from the Home Page, the Gradebook Grid, Reports, Options, Quick Attendance, or the Attendance Grid screens. Select the assignment from the drop-down list at the top of the screen or use the left and right arrows to move up and down the list of assignments. An assessment may be entered as a letter grade by entering it from the keyboard or by choosing one from the drop-down list under Grade. The equivalent percentage value of the letter grade will be calculated and displayed in the cell to the right. In addition to the letter grades available from the Grading Scale linked to the assignment, you may also select an X grade which means the student is exempt from this assignment or a Z grade which means the student has not turned in the assignment, but it is overdue and will be calculated as a zero until it is completed.



A score may also be entered as a numeric value into the numeric cell, and the equivalent letter grade will appear in the grade column on the left. Press Enter or Return to move down to the next student or press the Tab key to go to the right to the Comments field. If you wish, enter a comment about a student’s score. To change to another class, select the class by clicking on one of the class tabs at the top of the screen. To change to another marking period for a class, select the marking period by clicking on one of the marking period tabs at the bottom of the screen.



Entering Required Assessments

To enter values for Required Assessments (which are non-calculated items on report cards, such as comment codes or conduct), you must be in the Required Assessments view in the Gradebook Grid window. The columns displayed are determined by your school’s student information system and have been pre-set in the Pinnacle System. Click in a grade cell and press the Space Bar to display the values allowed to be entered in this column. Either select one of the values from the list or enter them from your keyboard. Press Enter or Return to go to the next student in the student list. Use the asterisk key (*) to duplicate the value down the column. To return to viewing assignment scores, change the view to Assignments.



Viewing and Editing Objective Scores

For assignments linked to objectives, the scores for those objectives will be calculated based on the student assignment scores. The calculation method and evaluation scale used is set centrally in the Objectives Manager application. To view these scores, change to the Objective view at the desired level. The terms for each level of Objective, as well as the term for objective, may be set to terms which are more meaningful for your school district. The columns reflect all of the objectives which are linked to this particular course. Hover your mouse cursor over a column heading for a complete description of the objective. If there is an A, L, or M next to an objective score, this indicates that Averaging, Learning Trend, or Mode was used as the calculation method to arrive at this value. If you would like to override a calculated value or enter a score directly, click in the grade cell and enter the value. Since an overridden grade is not calculated using the calculation method defined by the Objectives Manager, there will be no A, L, or M beside the score. To remove an override and return to the calculated value based on the student assignment scores linked to this objective, click in the grade cell and press the Delete or Backspace key.



A pop-up graph of the scores linked to the objective will be displayed when you hover your mouse cursor over an objective. If Learning Trend is the evaluation method for this objective, a Learning Trend line graph will also be shown. This same graph is included in the Student Standards Report (see Reports). To return to viewing assignment scores, change the view to Assignments.



Notes

An unlimited number of free-form comments can be documented by a teacher for each student in each marking period. These comments may be displayed on reports for parents and students, or they may be kept private for teacher-use only. To enter a comment you must be in the Gradebook Grid screen. Click on the sheet of paper icon to the right of a student’s name and click the Notes tab at the top of the window. Each marking period is listed with the student’s marking period grade and total absences and tardies for the marking period. Click the plus sign (+) to the left of the marking period to display all of the notes for that marking period. To enter a new note, click New in the upper right corner of the window. Enter a title for the note which will help identify the note but will not be displayed on any reports. Enter a date for the note in the date field or select the date by clicking on the calendar icon. When the note is saved, it will be placed in the appropriate marking period based on this date. Enter the note in the large field as you would like it to appear on a report. Notice the formatting tools at the top for things like copy/paste, bold, and underline. If this note is for a teacher’s private use only and not to be displayed on student reports, check the Private box. Click Save to save the note for this student.



To edit an existing note, click the pencil icon in the lower right corner of the note. To print out just one note, click the printer icon and select your printer setup. To delete a note, click the trash can icon. The following message will be displayed: This is your only chance to undelete the note. If you navigate to any other window or screen, the note will be permanently deleted. Select another student from the drop-down list of students or use the left and right arrows to move up and down the list.



Required Notes

Free-form anecdotal comments may be recorded by teachers and printed on student progress reports and report cards from the Pinnacle system. These comments are stored in specially created fields in the Pinnacle database, and the reports are customized to access these fields. To enter a Required Notes comment, you must be in the Gradebook Grid screen. Click on the sheet of paper icon to the right of a student’s name and select the Required Notes tab. (The term “Required Notes” may be modified by the Pinnacle Administrator to something more descriptive for your school, such as Rpt Card Notes or Report Comments, etc., and this term will be displayed on the tab.) Click the pencil icon in the lower right corner of the note, and enter the note in the large field as you would like it to appear on a student progress report or report card. Notice the formatting tools at the top for things like copy/paste, bold, italics, and underline. Click the Save button to save the required note for the student. To edit an existing required note, click the pencil icon in the lower right corner of the note and make your changes. To print out just one note, click the printer icon and select your printer setup. To print all of the Required Notes, click the Print button . Required Notes cannot be deleted from the gradebook. However, you can delete the text within a required note by highlighting the text and pressing the Delete or Backspace key.



To copy text from one student’s note to another, edit the note, highlight the text, and click the Copy icon to put the text on a clipboard. Select another student from the drop-down list of students. Click the pencil icon to edit the note and click the Paste icon to paste the text into the note for this student. Click the Save button to save the note for this student or Cancel to abandon any changes. You may also highlight the text on a saved note and press Ctrl-C (Apple-C on Macintosh) to place the text on a clipboard. Select another student from the drop-down list of students, click the pencil icon to edit the note, and press Ctrl-V (Apple-V on Macintosh) to paste the text. Again, click the Save button to save the note for this student or Cancel to abandon any changes.



Recording Discipline Incidents

Teachers may keep a record of student discipline incidents in the gradebook and mark whether or not they should be referred to a school administrator through the Principal Viewer application. To enter a discipline incident record, you must be in the Gradebook Grid screen. Click the gray flag icon to the right of a student’s name or, if you are already in the window after entering a note or required note, you may just click the Discipline tab in that window. Each marking period is listed with the student’s marking period grade and total absences and tardies for the marking period. Click the plus sign (+) to the left of the marking period to display all of the discipline incidents for that marking period. Click the minus sign (-) to collapse the marking period and hide the discipline incidents for that marking period. To enter a new discipline incident, click the New button . Enter a title for the incident which will help identify the incident but will not be displayed on any reports. Enter a date for the incident in the date field or select the date by clicking on the calendar icon or by entering the date or a “Smart Date” of yesterday, last Friday, etc. into the field. When the incident is saved, it will be placed in the appropriate marking period based on this date.



Select a category for the incident type, action taken, and location from the drop-down lists provided. These categories have been defined in the Principal Viewer application. Enter an explanatory note in the large field as you would like it to appear on a report. Notice the formatting tools at the top for things like copy/paste, bold, italics, and underline. Check the box by Notify Administrator to make this incident available for viewing in the Principal Viewer application. Click Save to save the incident for this student. To edit an existing record, click the pencil icon in the lower right corner. To print out just one incident, click the printer icon and select your printer setup. To delete an incident, click the trash can icon. The following message will be displayed: This is your only chance to undelete the incident. If you navigate to any other window or screen, the incident will be permanently deleted. To copy the text of an incident from one student to another, edit the incident, highlight the text, and click the Copy icon to put the text on a clipboard. Select another student from the drop-down list of students. Click the pencil icon to edit the note and click the Paste icon to paste the text into the incident description for this student. You will need to enter a title, select a date and categories for type, action taken, and location, and click the Save button to save the incident for this student or Cancel to abandon any changes.



Reports

There are a number of reports available from the Pinnacle Web gradebook application on class and student grades, attendance, notes, discipline, objectives, demographics, and schedules. All of these Reports may be accessed from the Home Page, the Gradebook Grid, the Attendance Grid, Options, Seating Chart, Quick Grades, or Quick Attendance screens. The initial screen for My Reports is a list of recently requested Crystal Reports which may be repeatedly previewed or printed or updated with current information before previewing or printing. It may also be regarded as an In Box for large requested Crystal Reports since you may log out or exit the application and when you return, your report will be waiting for you. To request a report, click New Report on the Home Page or click the New button on the My Reports page. Reports which have been marked as Favorites will be displayed by default. All reports may be categorized by the type of reports which is customizable by the Pinnacle Administrator. Defaults may include Attendance, Demographics, Discipline, Grading, Notes, Objectives, and Other. To view the reports in each category, expand the list by clicking the plus sign (+) to the left of the category title. Any of these reports may be designated as a Favorite by clicking the star icon next to the report. Clicking the star again will remove the designation.



Standard Report Parameters Hover your mouse cursor over the thumbnail icon of a report to preview a larger graphic of the report. Click on the report title or the preview graphic to display the parameters for the report. Select the class to be included in the report. Select the students to be included in the report.

• Active will include only those students who are currently active in the class. • All will include active students as well as students who have dropped or withdrawn from

the class. • Passing will display a criteria selection list from which to choose a letter grade for the

minimum passing grade.

• Failing will also display a criteria selection list from which to choose the highest failing letter grade.

• Select will display a list of the class roster from which to check a student’s name to select them to be included in the report.



Select the Grading Term to be included in the report. Click Preview to display a preview of the report on your screen. To send the report to a printer, click Print.



Crystal Report Parameters The parameter settings are similar to Standard Reports but may include additional parameters specific for certain reports. However, because the process for producing Crystal Reports is different, a Run Report button is provided instead of Preview and Print. After setting the parameters, click Run Report to display the My Reports window which will list requested Crystal Reports, a preview graphic, the time or date of the last update, and the report status. When the processing is completed for a report, the status will change from Pending to Ready. Click either the report title or the preview graphic to view the report. To print the same report with the same data again, click the report title or preview graphic. If you want the report with the same parameters that were selected when the report was initially requested, check the box to the left of the report title to select it. Click Update to get the latest data for the same parameters before printing the report. To remove a report from the list, check the box to the left of the report title to select it and click the Delete button.

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For a detailed description of the reports available in the Pinnacle Web gradebook application, please refer to the Pinnacle Web Reports Manual which is available by clicking Help within the application.

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Class Options Some of the options set for the gradebook application are set at a school or school district level and cannot be changed by a teacher in the gradebook. However, some options may be set by individual teachers which will apply solely to their own classes. You may access these Options from the Home Page, the Gradebook Grid, the Attendance Grid, Options, Seating Chart, Quick Grades, or Quick Attendance screens. Five tabs are available at the top of the screen, General, Narrative, Categories, Scales, and Terms. The default tab is General. In this window, you may modify the title of the class which will modify the data in the Pinnacle database. If your school reports are printed from this database, this class title will appear in those reports. The class title will also be listed in the Internet Viewer for parents and students to use when selecting class reports. For classes which are not currently active, you may select Yes after Hide from tabs and those classes will no longer appear as class tabs for selection. If you have made any changes, be sure and click the Save button to save your changes to the database. If you wish to make a class appear as a class tab again, click the General tab and use the drop-down list of classes to select the class and click No after Hide from tabs. Click the Save button to save your changes.



The second tab under Class Options is Narrative. This option provides teachers with a place to enter information about each of their classes, such as a class syllabus, textbooks, expectations, grading schemes, prerequisites, objectives, class rules, etc. Currently, this information is available only in the gradebook for teacher use, but future plans call for making this data available through reports and the Internet Viewer. Select a class using the drop-down list, enter the information, and click Save to save the information for each class.



The third tab under Class Options is Categories. This is where teachers may identify and color-code groups for assignments as well as weight the value of each group in the calculation of the marking period grade. First, answer Yes or No whether you want to categorize your assignments or not. If yes, answer Yes or No to whether you want to weight your categories or not. Weighting categories represents the portion of the marking period grade each category will comprise. Enter a description of each category and select a color from the color palette which will then identify each assignment linked to that category. It is recommended that you choose lighter colors for displaying assignment descriptions over the color. If categories are not weighted, the grouping will not affect the calculation of the marking period grade, but grades for each category may be displayed in the Result Column of the gradebook. If categories are defined and weighted, every assignment must be linked to one of the categories to be included in the calculation of the marking period grade. If you answered Yes to weighting your categories, enter the relative weight for each category in the column under Weight. The total weights will be displayed at the bottom of the column. If these weights total 100, you may regard the weights as representing a percentage of the marking period grade. However, keep in mind that until there are assignments linked to a category, that category essentially ‘doesn’t exist’ and does not count in the total category weights. If the Method of Grading for the marking period grade is Total Points, weighting categories will, by definition, change this method to a weighted Average of the category grades to calculate the marking period grade. Each category grade will be calculated from the total points earned divided by the total points possible for the category.



Be sure to click Save when you are finished to save your category definitions. This will define the same categories for all marking periods of the school year in the current class. If you do not click Save, your category definitions will be lost. If you want to delete a category, click Delete to the right of the category name. You will be able to un-delete it by clicking Restore before you Save your settings. The Close button will close this window without saving any changes. You will need to define categories for each class individually, so use the drop-down list of classes or the left and right arrows to go to your other classes. Be sure to Save your category definitions. If you later decide not to group your assignments into categories or not to weight your categories, you may select No to the question, “Would you like to weight your categories?” and/or “Would you like to categorize your assignments?” to hide the category weights and/or definitions, and the grades will be recalculated automatically. Changing your answer to Yes will restore those options so they will not have to be re-entered.



The fourth tab under Class Options is Scales. The grading scales displayed have been linked to certain courses through System Options by a Gradebook Manager and cannot be modified within the gradebook application. To view the breakpoints of a scale, click view to see the scale of letter grades and their equivalent numeric value. The Type of scale will determine how the scale is applied to a raw score entered for an assignment. If Percentage is selected, the score will be converted to a percentage based on the maximum value of the assignment before the scale is applied. When a calculated score, based on this scale, is displayed in the Result Column, a % sign will also be displayed. If Rubric is selected, the scale will be applied to the actual score and there will be no % sign. The Rounding option, which defines the number of decimal places for numeric values calculated in the gradebook, sets the precision of the grading scale. Teachers may create new grading scales for a class. However, depending on the settings in the template linked to a class, they may not be able to link calculated grades to this scale, only assignment scores. To create a new scale for this class only, click on New scale. Enter a Description of the scale, select the Type, choose the Rounding option, and enter the letters and the minimum numeric value for each letter. Click the Save button. To view the scale(s) for another class, select from the drop-down list of classes at the top of the screen.



The fifth tab under Class Options is Terms. The defaults for these definitions are set in the class template linked to this class by the Gradebook Manager. Depending on the settings made by the Gradebook Manager, teachers may or may not be able to modify these settings. To view the settings at each level of calculated grade, click edit . If a closed padlock appears to the right of a setting, this means the setting has been locked by the Gradebook Manager and it cannot be modified in the gradebook. If the Grading Method setting is unlocked , refer to Calculation Methods in Pinnacle 7.x for a definition of what options are available. While viewing each level of grade, the calendar icons ( ) represent the level of grade being viewed. The grading scale, grading method, weight, and rounding will apply to calculating this level of grade from the levels below it.



Edit Profile and Change Password

Another feature under Options is Edit Profile. This applies to information about the teacher who has logged into the gradebook, some of which is set in the school student information system or Pinnacle Toolbox and some which the teacher may enter or modify. The two tabs for Edit Profile are General and Password and the default tab is General. The fields with a padlock icon cannot be modified through the gradebook. If you change any information in the unlocked fields, click the Save button to save these changes to the database. You may change your password for accessing the gradebook application from the Home Page by selecting the Change Password feature under Options or from the Edit Profile window with the Password tab. Enter your current password, your new password, and then enter the new password again to confirm. Your password will be displayed as black dots so that no one else may view your password as you enter it. Click the Change button to save your new password (which will be encrypted) in the database.



Calculation Methods in Pinnacle 7.x In Pinnacle 7.x, there are three ways of mathematically combining scores which are included with the Gradebook application: Total Points, Average Score, and Average Percentage. At this point, there is no way to add any additional grading methods, but then again, most grading scenarios can be realized with a combination of these methods at the various levels of calculated grades.

Total Points

Total of scores divided by total of maximum possible for that level (A+B+C+D) / (A1+B1+C1+D1)

(Percentage Scores)

(90+75+75+60+50) / (100+100+100+100+100) = 350 / 500 = 70%

(Raw Scores) (9+9+3+120+5) / (10+12+4+200+10) = 146 / 236 = 61.86%

Average Score

Total of scores divided by number of scores (A+B+C+D) / 4

(Percentage Scores)

(90+75+75+60+50) / 4 = 350 / 5 = 70%

(Raw Scores) (9+9+3+120+5) / 5 = 146 / 5 = 29.2%

(Rubric Scores) (1+2+3+3+4) / 5 = 13 / 5 = 2.6 = 3 (rounded to whole number)



Average Percentage

Each score divided by maximum possible, then averaged together

((A/A1) + (B/B1) + (C/C1) + (D/D1)) / 4

(Raw Scores) ((9/10) + (9/12) + (3/4) + (120/200) + (5/10)) / 5 = (90+75+75+60+50) / 5 = 70%



Awarding Extra Credit

Method 1: Award more points for an assignment, even more than the max value. Do not check the

Extra Credit box when defining the assignment. Method 2: If the Method of Grading for the marking period is Total Points, check the Extra Credit

box when defining an assignment and the points awarded to a student will be added to the points earned without increasing the points possible.

Method 3: If the Method of Grading for the marking period is Average Score, check the Extra

Credit box and the points awarded to a student will be spread across all scores without increasing the points possible. The assignment scores will not reflect the extra credit points but this is how the category grade (or marking period grade if there are no categories) will be calculated.

Method 4: If the Method of Grading for the marking period is Average Percent, check the Extra

Credit box and the points awarded to a student will be spread across all scores (after they have been converted to percent scores) without increasing the points possible. Again, this is for calculating the category grade (or marking period grade if there are no categories), so assignment scores will not reflect the extra credit.

For Methods 2-4, it is suggested that a special grading scale be defined so that the letter grade of extra credit scores is not displayed as an F or the lowest letter value of the grading scale. Teachers may create a grading scale for assignments under Options/Scales, or the scale could be provided in the class templates created by the Gradebook Manager. The following scales represent possible scales for Extra Credit assignments.

Please note that there is a period (.) entered in this field.

Documents

Rev. April 2008 - San Jose Unified School District Guide for PW Gradebook.pdfRev. April 2008 . Excelsior Software Pinnacle Web System Teacher Reference Guide for Pinnacle Web Gradebook