PowerTeacher ProQuick Tips for Teachers

Overview of PowerTeacher Pro

Ken O’Connor-15 Fixes for GradingThis image cannot currently be displayed.

PowerTeacher Pro allows grades to be

1. Accurate2. Meaningful3. Consistent4. Supportive of Learning

AccessPowerTeacherProGradebook

You can navigate to PowerTeacher Pro from the PowerSchool start page.

SETTINGS

ClassDescriptionPTPro>Settings>ClassDescription

Thedescriptionisvisibletoparents&students.

Addingaweblinktoyourclassdescriptionoranassignment

• Youcanaddalinktoyourclassdescriptionortoanassignmentdescription.

• Youdothisusinghtmlformatting.Youwillneedbeginningandendingtags:<ahref=““>&</a>toyourwebaddress.

• Example:

Whatitlooksliketoyou

SelectTraditionalorStandardsGradingPTPro>Settings>DisplaySettings

SelectTraditionalorStandardsGradingPTPro>Settings>DisplaySettings

These settings are your preferences for display...You may want to “Hide pre-registered students” so they aren’t in the gradebook this term.

SetStandardsGradeCalculationPTPro>Settings>StandardsGradesCalculations

Highercalculations

The hierarchy of your standards and the specific weighting set at the district level impacts how grades are calculated.

OurGradeScaleCode Meaning Standards-Based Scale Traditional Scale Range Traditional Grade

I Insufficient Evidence N/A N/A (or 0-59) I

E Emerging 1 60-69 D

D Developing 2 70-74 C

DP Developing Plus 2.5 75-79 C+

P Proficient 3 80-89 B

PP Proficient Plus 3.5 90-92 A-

AP Advanced Proficient 4 93-100 A

(ClickthelinkatthetopformoredescriptionoftheBCAscale.)

ASSIGNMENTS

AssignmentCategoriesPTPro>A+Grading>Categories

3BasicCategoriesNeeded:

• Preassessment(notcountedingrades)

• FormativeAssessment(notcountedingrades)

• SummativeAssessment(COUNTSingrades)

*Instandardsbasedgrading,youwouldnotcategorizeassignmentsashomework,quiz,etc.

CreatingNewCategoriesCreate>CategoryYoucancreatenewcategoriesforspecificclasses.ThereareseveralsettingsintheCategoryandAssignmentDefaulttabsthatyouneedtoset.

IntheCategorytab,youset

• Classes

• CategoryName

• CategoryColor

• Description

CreatingNewCategories,continuedCreate>Category

IntheAssignmentDefaultstab,youset

• ScoreType

• Weight/Points

• GradeCalculations

(Besuretoconsiderhowyournewcategoryfitsstandardsbasedandfairgradingpractices.)

Categories,continuedYoucanmakecategoriesyoudon’tuse“inactive.”

A+Grading>Categories>Edit(nexttothecategory)

Choose“Inactive”and“Save”

CreatingAssignments

1. Selecttheclassinthedropdown.

2. ClickCreate&Assignment

AssignmentTab

1. Selecttheclassesforthisassignment

2. Nametheassignment

3. SelectCategory:Preassessment,Formative,orSummativeinBCAclasses.

4. ScoretypeshouldbeLETTERAP-IforBCAclasses.Occasionally,youmayusePercentorPoints.

5. CountinFinalGrade(onlyifsummative)

6. Duedate

CreatingAssignments,continued

StudentsTab

1. TheDefaultisfortheassignmenttogotoallstudents.

2. Youcanclick“Add/Remove”studentsandassignworktofrom1-allstudentsintheclass.Theassignmentwillnotshowupforanyofthestudentswhoarenotselected.DIFFERENTIATION!!!

CreatingAssignments,continued

StandardsTab

1. InBCAclasses,allworkneedstobeassociatedwiththestandards.

2. YoucanscrolltofindstandardsORusethefilterwithkeywordsorcodestofindandselectthestandardsquickly.(RememberImadeyouacolorcodeddocumentwithyourPTPcodesandstandardsallinoneplace.YoucanfindtheminTHISFOLDER.Thischeatsheetshouldhelpyousearchquickly.)

CreatingAssignments,continued

StandardsTab-ShowSelectedStandards

YouwillwanttodoublechecktheShowSelectedStandardstabofassignmentsbecausethisiscriticaltogradescalculations.

AutoCalculateAssignmentStandardsScoreswilldosomeconvertingforyou&savesometime.

Iftheassignmentisapreassessmentoraformativeassessmentorthestudentcannotearnproficientorbetteronit,youneedtomakesure“CountinGrade”isunchecked.Youwillstillrecordthework,butstudentsarepenalizedforpoorperformanceearlyinthelearning.

CreatingAssignments,continued

PublishTab

1. Yourselectiondetermineswhenparentsandstudentscanseeit.

CreatingAssignments,continued

Don’tforgetto !!!!

GradingAssignmentsClickA+Grading andchoose

~AssignmentListtolookatoneassignmentatatime

OR

~ScoreSheettolookataspreadsheetofallstudents&allassignments(looksliketheregulargradebook).Idonotthinkyoucanenterstandardsgradesthisway,sotheotherchoiceisoptimalforBCA.

GradingAssignments,continuedWhen you select an assignment, you see the information for the assignment and get a link to EDIT the assignment if needed.

Below this field, you get a list of all the students assigned the work.

GradingAssignments,continuedNext to those names, you have columns for the assignment (green) and the standard(s). If you enter info. in the box under “score,” that would be grade the overall assignment. If you clicked “Auto Calculate assignment standard scores,” entering the SCORE will auto-populate standards. BE cautious with this though because you don’t want to fall into a trap of not actually scoring standards according to the rubrics.

You also get this gadget that shows you your options for scoring (from the grade scale), other special codes you can enter, and the comment bubble so you can leave a note. Lots of functionality at the click of a button!

Whole Class Progress

Score Sheet View

CheckingWholeClassStandardsProgress

A+Grading>GradesStandards

You will see all students and all standards in a grid, with the current grade under S1.We need to work with students to understand that this grade is only calculated based on the work they have done so far. They may have a long way to go toward all required standards.

CheckingWholeClassTraditionalProgress

A+Grading>GradesTradition

You will see all students in a grid that includes current grade and then a summary of attendance and missing, late, incomplete work. These codes are part of scoring and you can use them however you feel works best for you. (In BCA classes the grade scale is AP-I, so you won’t see the A-F scale here either.)

Progress“Charm”isawesome!Theinformationisveryhelpful!

Progress>StandardsYoucanseeataglancehowyourclassisperformingoneachstandard.Youcanclicktheseprogressbarstoseethestudents’individualprogress.Youcanalsoclicktheassignmentbuttontoseewhichassignmentsaretiedtoeachstandard.SOCOOLandinformative!Thiscouldhelpyoumakedifferentiatedgroupsinclass.

Progress>TraditionalYoucanseeataglancehowyourclassisperformingasanoverallgrade.Youcanclicktheseprogressbarstoseethestudents’individualgrades.ThisscreensummarizesMissing,Late,&Incompletework.

Individual Progress & Information

Students “Charm”Assignments takes you to the selected

student’s assignments list.

Comment Log shows you comments you have made for the selected student.

Demographics gets you contact & other demographic info. for the selected student.

Quick Lookup Standards & Traditional show you other classes. These views are also what Parents and Students see, so that is good for us to look at to make sure it makes sense to others.

Students>Standards ProgressYou will see the student’s progress by standard. (If you only have formative grades for a standard, you won’t see a grade in the S1 column.)

If you click the assignments in a standard, you will get an awesome graph (see the next slide) to help you see the student’s progress over time.

You can see that this student started with Insufficient Evidence and has now moved up to proficient. There is more info on this screen (next slide).

You can see the assignments tied to the standard, including those that did not count in the grade (preassessment, formative assessment.)

Professional Judgment Indicator

You may see this icon when the software detects an oddity in a student’s performance. It might be that a student’s performance has dropped OR that their most recent scores are not indicative of their progress throughout the term.

This helps you remember that grading is more than calculations. Your professional judgment is important in the process of grading.

Entering Comments

Parent/Student ViewsSTANDARDS

Parent/Student ViewsTRADITIONAL

PowerTeacher Pro User Guide

Click here for a detailed PDF.