FairProspects Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 I am looking for a grading software where I can weight or assign points values to tests, quizzes, essays, etc. enter the grades, and have the software calculate an end of trimester grade for me. I'm a secondary teacher and my school uses Skyward, but I think Schoology is similar. Is there anything like this available for homeschoolers? I know how to create transcripts with final grades, but I'm really looking for something that will do the math on different point value assignments for me. I realize many homeschoolers work much more informally, but I'd actually like to grade if I can find something that is convenient enough. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 I used Gradekeeper for a long time when I taught community college. It is super simple, but works better with some school platforms than others for parent access. I think there is a free trial. https://www.gradekeeper.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 Homeschoolskedtrack.com has that option. When you set up courses in it there is the option at the bottom of the screen to assign different % values to quizzes, tests, field work, exams, workbook, and so on. As you set up each assignment you can click the drop down button to give it a category and then grade after. It's free, too. It takes a bit to be comfortable with it, but we've used the program successfully for about 8 years now and it's not bad. I like that the kids can be given their own log-in to see the work scheduled for the day/week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSprout Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 I should add that since I just have one kiddo at home and am not teaching any co-op classes this year, I switched to a regular paper grade book, using it differently than I would for a class. Basically each column is a day and the rows are subjects/ categories. It's the Creative Teaching Press layout. I use the left side "Name column" to list a subject in each block, giving me lines for each category in a subject (homework, quizzes, etc), making it easy to weight at the end of each quarter (a 2-page spread), but it also gives me room to comment in each of the weekly blocks about special projects and whatnot that I could never figure out how to record in a digital grade book. I use the right side "name column" for a reading record of free reads, I track attendance below the date row across the top, and use the assignment descriptions row across the top for a record of field trips and community service hours. Each 2-page spread is sort of a complete dashboard of each quarter. I'm using a digital print out, but a regular spiral-bound record book could last you 4-5 years this way. I do a narrative report card where I record commentary and letter grades. I like this set up because I have both a quantifiable and narrative records what we are doing each week concisely and painlessly. I keep it in the same binder with whatever lesson plans and printables I need to have handy. HTH- good luck finding a system that works for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 5 hours ago, MamaSprout said: I used Gradekeeper for a long time when I taught community college. It is super simple, but works better with some school platforms than others for parent access. I think there is a free trial. https://www.gradekeeper.com/ Ditto Gradekeeper.com-- I used it with my own girls and now with my homeschool classes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 Couldn't you easily do this in an Excel worksheet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted July 6, 2018 Author Share Posted July 6, 2018 4 hours ago, jdahlquist said: Couldn't you easily do this in an Excel worksheet? Possibly, but... 1. I suck at Excel. 2. That sounds like a lot of effort in programming cells to me. I'm either busy or lazy, lol, and I want something to weight everything for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.W Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 I never got that complicated with my grading, but I think Scholaric does that. It's not a fancy planner, but I've used it for years and have been happy with it. The owner is pretty quick to respond to emails, so you could ask him more detailed questions. www.scholaric.com http://blog.scholaric.com/scholaric-grading-formulas Scholaric has several grading formulas for calculating grades Point weighted - a lesson is weighted by the number of points possible declared when entering its grade (or 100 if entering a strict percentage). Equal weighted - a lesson is weighted equal to every other lesson in the course or subject. Time weighted - a lesson is weighted by the amount of time declared. Group-point weighted - a grade is calculated from a set of weighted lesson groups, which themselves will be graded by a point-weighted formula. Group-equal weighted - a grade is calculated from a set of weighted lesson groups, which themselves will be graded by an equal-weighted formula. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillStanding Posted July 7, 2018 Share Posted July 7, 2018 https://www.igradeplus.com/ https://www.thinkwave.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwhdman Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 On 7/5/2018 at 5:51 AM, HomeAgain said: Homeschoolskedtrack.com has that option. When you set up courses in it there is the option at the bottom of the screen to assign different % values to quizzes, tests, field work, exams, workbook, and so on. As you set up each assignment you can click the drop down button to give it a category and then grade after. It's free, too. It takes a bit to be comfortable with it, but we've used the program successfully for about 8 years now and it's not bad. I like that the kids can be given their own log-in to see the work scheduled for the day/week. I also like homeschoolskedtrack. I have used it for 6 years now. Once you have entered everything that is needed for the school year, it is easy to enter grades, print year-end reports showing all of the assignments, report cards, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 On 7/5/2018 at 9:32 PM, FairProspects said: Possibly, but... 1. I suck at Excel. 2. That sounds like a lot of effort in programming cells to me. I'm either busy or lazy, lol, and I want something to weight everything for me. I find the effort that I have to put into putting in the weights for my cells is less than trying to put them into a grading program and gives me a lot more flexibility. If you are trying to do different assignments where some are 10 points and others are weighted twice as much (20 points), all you would need to do is put each score in its column and then do an autosum of all of the columns and divide by the total number of points possible to get a percentage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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