home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
CD ROM Paradise Collection 4
/
CD ROM Paradise Collection 4 1995 Nov.iso
/
misc
/
gsh40b.zip
/
MANUAL.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1995-02-19
|
109KB
|
2,539 lines
GRADESHEET 4.0
Grade management for the professional educator
Cypher Mountain Systems
35 Pinesbridge Rd
Yorktown Hts, NY 10598
Copyright (C) 1992,1994,1995. All rights reserved.
GRADESHEET is a trademark of Cypher Mountain Systems.
NOTICE:
THE GRADESHEET PROGRAM AND ALL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS ARE COPYRIGHT
1992,1994,1995 BY CYPHER MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WORLDWIDE. YOU MAY NOT ALTER THE GRADESHEET PROGRAM, DOCUMENTATION,
OR SUPPORTING FILES. YOU MAY USE AND DISTRIBUTE THE PROGRAM AND
FILES ONLY AS ALLOWED IN THE SHAREWARE AGREEMENT. `GRADESHEET' AND
`CYPHER MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS' ARE TRADEMARKS OF CYPHER MOUNTAIN
SYSTEMS.
THIS PRODUCT IS DISTRIBUTED "AS IS". ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO
THIS SOFTWARE, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. THE
PERSON USING THE GRADESHEET PROGRAM BEARS ALL RISKS AS TO THE
QUALITY, SUITABILITY, DESIGN, AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE.
SUCH RISKS INCLUDE (BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO) LOSS OF DATA AND DAMAGE
TO FILE STRUCTURES ON DISK DRIVES. CYPHER MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS, AND
OWNERS AND EMPLOYEES OF CYPHER MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS, WILL NOT BE LIABLE
FOR ANY DAMAGE WHATSOEVER RESULTING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FROM THE
USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF CYPHER MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT WILL CYPHER
MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS' LIABILITY EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID FOR THE
LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE.
- i -
SHAREWARE LICENSE
This program is distributed as Shareware. It is not free.
Use of the GRADESHEET program for any amount of time
constitutes acceptance of the following agreement; if you
do not like the agreement then don't use the program. This
usage agreement applies to individuals and organizations.
USE: You may install and use this program in your computing
environment for 30 days. At the end of 30 days you must
either obtain a license to continue using the program, or
remove the program from your computing environment and stop
using the program. Continued use of the program after 30
days without obtaining a license is strictly prohibited and
constitutes a copyright violation. Any and all laws
governing theft of software may be applied to the use of
this software. Organizations that can be shown to have
implimented this software for over 30 days without a license
will be prosecuted.
LICENSING: You may obtain an individual license for using
GRADESHEET by sending $35 check / money order to: Cypher
Mountain Systems, 35 Pinesbridge Rd, Yorktown Hts, NY 10598.
A registration form is included in the supporting files for
your convenience. Group discounts, site licenses, and
customized versions of the software are available. Call
(914)-243-0656 for further information.
DISTRIBUTION: As an individual user, you are encouraged to
share the GRADESHEET program and supporting files with
others that may be interested, so long as: (1) you do not
share your GSH.REG file which contains your name and user
id number, (2) the other party is aware that the program is
shareware and must be licensed for continued legal use, and
(3) no fee is charged.
Distributors & Librarians may distribute the GRADESHEET
package and/or make it available to the public only under
the following conditions: (1) the package is offered as
shareware and consumers/users are clearly notified that the
package is shareware, (2) the package is not altered in any
way and is distributed in entirety, including all
documentation and support files (we can provide you with a
complete package free of charge) and (3) only a nominal
processing fee is charged for distribution, such fee must
be in line with industry norms for the distribution of
shareware.
- ii -
REGISTERATION BENEFITS:
Please Register! It's easy, the expense is modest, you will
support improvements in the software, and it will entitle
you to the following benefits:
1) A user id number and instructions to prevent the `beg
screens' and "please register" messages from appearing in
the program.
2) Your registration number will work on all future DOS
shareware releases of the GRADESHEET program.
3) Prompt notification of all upgrades and improvements. You
may download a new release from a variety of Services and
BBS's, or obtain a new release directly from us for a $5.00
shipping and handling fee.
4) Technical support. Requests for technical support can be
made 24 hours a day on our answering machine at
(914)-243-0656.
5) As a registered user, your suggestions will play an
important role in the future of the GRADESHEET program.
- iii -
Table of Contents
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I. INTRODUCTION .....................................pgs 1 - 2
II. A SHORT TOUR .....................................pgs 2 - 6
III. FEATURES .........................................pgs 6 -26
IV. REFERENCE ........................................pgs 23-38
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Legal Notices ............................................ i
Shareware License ........................................ ii
Registration Benefits ....................................iii
I. INTRODUCTION ............................................... 1
A. Capacity and System requirements .......................... 1
B. Registering GRADESHEET .................................... 1
C. Getting help .............................................. 2
II. A SHORT TOUR .............................................. 2
III. FEATURES ................................................. 5
A. Starting GSH .............................................. 5
B. File loading, file saving, and quitting ................... 6
1. Backup your data! ........................................ 6
2. File loading ............................................. 6
3. Starting a new file ...................................... 6
4. Importing data with GSIMPORT ............................. 6
5. Password Protection ...................................... 7
6. Quitting GSH ............................................. 7
C. Getting to know GRADESHEET ................................ 7
1. GRADESHEET layouts ....................................... 7
2. Student data boxes ....................................... 8
3. Deciding final grades .................................... 8
D. Data management ........................................... 9
1. Adding students .......................................... 9
2. Deleting a student ...................................... 10
3. Sorting and exchanging name/id .......................... 10
4. Pop up adder ............................................ 11
5. Entering Scores ......................................... 11
E. Statistics ............................................... 12
1. Letter Grades ........................................... 12
2. Types of averages ....................................... 13
a) Maximum scores ......................................... 14
b) Total Points ........................................... 14
c) Normalized Total Points ............................... 15
d) Dropping scores in the total points methods ............ 15
e) Weighted Average ....................................... 16
f) Grade Point Average .................................... 17
3. X's, XX's, *'s, H's, L's, E's and err's ................. 18
- iv -
4. Computing averages ..................................... 19
5. Distributions ........................................... 19
6. Dropping scores ......................................... 20
7. Z-scores ................................................ 21
F. Printing ................................................. 21
1. Printer Options ......................................... 21
2. Routing the output ...................................... 22
3. Basic printing .......................................... 22
4. Custom printing ......................................... 23
G. Note editor .............................................. 23
1. Viewing, editing and deleting student notes ............. 23
2. Editing the class note .................................. 24
3. Printing Notes .......................................... 24
IV. REFERENCE ................................................ 25
A. Reference: Data structures ............................... 25
B. Reference: The Menus ..................................... 26
1. File Menu ............................................... 26
2. Layout Menu ............................................. 27
3. Roster Menu ............................................. 28
4. Stats Menu .............................................. 29
5. Print Menu .............................................. 29
6. Edit Menu ............................................... 30
7. Horizontal Scroll ...................................... 30
C. Reference: The Dialog Boxes .............................. 30
1. Load File Pick List ..................................... 30
2. Student Data Box ........................................ 31
3. Add Students Dialog Box ................................. 31
4. Averaging Method Dialog Box ............................. 32
5. Enter Scores Dialog Boxes ............................... 33
6. Select Score Columns Dialog Box ......................... 34
7. Custom Print Dialog Box ................................. 34
8. Print Options Dialog Box ................................ 34
9. Printer Output Dialog Box ............................... 35
D. Technical Reference: File Structures ..................... 35
1. Files created by gsh .................................... 35
2. Fixing damaged files .................................... 36
- v -
I. INTRODUCTION
Welcome! The GRADESHEET program combines elements from
spreadsheets, databases, statistical packages, and information
managers to create an integrated environment for processing
student grades. The program is geared towards instructors in
Universities, Colleges, and High schools using the lecture
format of instruction.
The "Short Tour" section is designed to give you a quick walk
through of the program and some of it's properties. The
"Features" section gives a more in depth conceptual treatment
of the program. The "Reference" section contains explanations
of every menu choice and every dialog box in the program. The
"Technical Reference" section contains file format information
for the use of adepts to directly manipulate data or salvage
damaged files.
A.Capacity and System requirements
GRADESHEET runs best on a 386 or better machine with at least
500k of free regular memory, 500k or more XMS or EMS memory,
and a hard disk.
GRADESHEET will handle up to 300 scores for hundreds of
students. The number of students is limited by your system
resources. An average machine, as above, should be able to
handle over 600 students.
GRADESHEET is compatible with Windows and OS/2. Set the
program description to allow EMS or XMS access.
B.Registering GRADESHEET
Registering GRADESHEET is easy, the expense is modest, and
you will support this software effort. A registration fee of
$35 may be mailed to Cypher Mountain Systems, 35 Pinesbridge
Rd, Yorktown Hts, NY 10598. A registration form is included
in the package.
We will send you a code based on your registration name.
Running the Register routine on the File menu (ALT-F R) and
entering your name and code will register the product.
GRADESHEET will create a small file, GSH.REG, containing your
name and code. When the program starts, it looks for this
file. If found (and everything checks out) the program will
no longer pop up registration reminder screens.
- 1 -
You may share this program with others, but don't share your
GSH.REG file. Otherwise your name will be displayed on their
screen every time they run the program.
C.Getting help
A request for technical support can be made 24hrs a day by
calling the GSH helpline (914)-243-0656.
II. A SHORT TOUR
If you are exploring GRADESHEET and get stuck, remember that
the ESC key almost always does something and almost never
hurts anything. You can exit the GRADESHEET program without
saving the data by choosing the "Exit" entry from the "File"
menu: you can do this while the highlight is in the data area
with the key sequence ALT-F X RETURN.
Start GRADESHEET by executing the GSH.EXE file (if you are
using a laptop, you may want to add "/lt" as a command line
parameter). The opening screen will contain a box with three
buttons: LOAD, NEW, and ABOUT. Use the arrow keys to move the
highlight from button to button. Choose the LOAD button by
highlighting it and pressing return. You will promptly get a
list of the directories of your disk and GRADESHEET data files
with a .GSH extension. Move the highlight up and down this
list with the arrow keys. You may load data files by selecting
them; that is, highlight the desired item and press return.
You may move up the directory structure by selecting the "..\"
entry, and move down the directory structure by selecting the
desired directory. Find the SAMPLE.GSH file and load it by
highlighting the entry and pressing return.
The GRADESHEET screen has several elements: a top line menu, a
data area, a bottom line message area, and several dialog
boxes that appear during various operations.
After loading, the data area should contain some fictitious
student information arranged in one of two layout modes.
Pressing the F3 and F4 keys will switch you between the two
layout modes; F4 initiates the spreadsheet layout and F3
initiates the roster layout.
Make sure you are in the spreadsheet layout by pressing the F4
key. You should see a spreadsheet-like arrangement of student
- 2 -
names and scores. Move the highlight vertically and
horizontally by using the arrow keys. You can move up and down
the list a page at a time using the PgUp and PgDn keys. Flip
through banks of six scores by using the Ctrl-PgUp and
Ctrl-PgDn keys.
To edit a field, move the highlight to the target field and
press SPACE. This brings up a small box around the data field,
in which you may edit the data. When you are finished, hit
ENTER to save your edits or press ESC to discard your edits
and restore the data.
You can activate the top line menu by pressing the F10 or ESC
key. You can toggle back and forth between the data area and
the menu by pressing the ESC key successively. Navigate around
the menus with the arrow keys and select items with the ENTER
key. Each of the pulldown menus can be activated by holding
down the ALT key and pressing the highlighted menu letter. For
example, with the cursor in the data area, press ALT-F to
activate the file menu and then S to save the data file to
disk. You could have accomplished the same task by pressing
F10 F S or ESC F S. Since you should save your data file
often, this task also has a special "hot key" combination,
ALT-S, and that's the easiest and fastest way to save your
data to disk. This hot key combination, and several others,
appear on the menus as reminders. Exploring the menu system
is a good way to get to know GRADESHEET.
Remember that you toggle the cursor between the menus and the
data area using the ESC key, and make sure the cursor is in
the data area before using hot keys and keys that navigate the
spreadsheet.
In the spreadsheet layout, student scores are stored in
columns. Use the SHIFT-> key to scroll up through the columns
or the SHIFT-< key to scroll down through the columns. Use
Ctrl-PgDn and Ctrl-PgDn to page through the columns six at a
time.
Compute the average of the scores by using the ALT-C hot key
or use the Stats menu (ALT-t C). If you update the scores, you
must compute the average again to update the average. An
asterisk will appear in the lower right hand corner of the
screen to indicate when a recalculation of the average is
needed.
You can sort the students alphabetically (ALT-A or ALT-o A),
- 3 -
rank them by average (ALT-R or ALT-o R), sort them by a score
(ALT-o S), or group them by section (ALT-o G).
Switch the layout to the roster format by pressing the F3 key.
Moving the highlight to a student and pressing ENTER or F2
brings up a student data box with all the information for that
student. You may move through the fields, edit the fields, and
even page through the students with the NEXT and PREV buttons.
Going to the next or previous students will automatically save
your edits on the current student. Selecting the CANCEL button
will throw out the edits on the last student only. Save your
edits and close the window with the DONE button (or quickly
with CTRL-ENTER). The student data box can be activated with
the F2 key from either the roster or the spreadsheet layouts.
Several tasks are streamlined in the GRADESHEET package. Most
notably entering student names and entering scores. To enter a
number of students at once, select the "Add new students" item
from the roster menu (ALT-o n). You will then get a dialog box
with a scrolling list that has columns for name, id number,
and section number. Entering the first name and pressing
return moves the cursor to the id number column, entering a
number and pressing return moves the cursor to the section
number, entering a section and pressing return moves the
cursor to the name field of the second entry. Selecting the
ACCEPT button (ESC ENTER or quickly with CTRL-ENTER) will
enter the new students into the roster. Up to 50 students at a
time may be entered in this way.
Entering scores always seems an arduous task-- usually because
it is performed when one is tired from grading. The "Enter
scores" utility on the Stats menu (ALT-t E) will make the
process easier. After Selecting this item from the Stats menu,
you will be prompted to select Numerical or Letter scores.
Select either and you will get a dialog box asking the title
and date of the score, whether the score is eligible to be
dropped (see the section on dropping scores), the total points
for the score (for numerical data), the weight the score is to
have in the average (see the section on averaging), what
column you want to enter the scores into, and whether or not
you want to use a couple of quick entry features. For letter
grades, you can use the quick keys feature by setting "Quick:"
to "Yes" and this will map the number keys on the numeric
keypad to letters instead of numbers. For numeric scores, you
can make an adder pop up automatically when proceeding to the
next student; this allows you to sum up and enter test scores
in one operation. See the section on Entering Scores for more
details on these time-saving features.
- 4 -
GRADESHEET strives to accommodate a number of grading styles,
which means offering a variety of methods for averaging
scores, setting letter grades, and dropping scores. Much of
this is managed through the "Averaging Methods" dialog box
accessible from the "Stats" menu or with the hot-key ALT-M.
This dialog box allows you to manipulate a number of items
relating to the scores entered in the data set; including
Title, Date, Points, Weight, Type (letter or numeric), and
whether the score can be dropped. If you use the enter scores
facility, this information will have been entered when each
score is entered. You can also set the type of average you
want to compute from the "Averaging Methods" dialog box. The
choices are: Total Points, Normalized Total Points, Weighted
Average, and Grade Point Average. See the section on
statistics for more information on averaging methods. For
setting numeric equivalents of letter grades, use the "Letter
grades" facility on the "Stats" menu.
You are encouraged to explore GRADESHEET with the sample data
set before creating your own data set. Browsing the pull-down
menu system is a good way to familiarize yourself with the
capabilities of the program. Remember to save your data often
by pressing ALT-S (or Alt-F S). Save your data and exit the
program by using the ALT-Q key combination (or Alt-F Q).
Student grade data is valuable data; make a habit of regularly
backing up your data files. A printed copy is the best backup.
III. FEATURES
A.Starting GSH
The syntax for starting GRADESHEET is as follows:
GSH [-bw][-lt] [filename[.gsh]]
All command line parameters are optional and irrespective of
order. The -bw (or /bw) flag will force black and white
colors and -lt (or /lt) will force laptop colors. You may
also specify a data filename for GRADESHEET to load on
startup.
- 5 -
B.File loading, file saving, and quitting
1.Backup your data!
Student grade information is too important to lose. I
recommend making regular backups of all of your data, and
getting a printed copy every time significant information is
added, such as exam scores. For backup purposes, files with
extension .GSH contain the main data, and files with
extension .GSN contain the note data. Files with extensions
.BKH and .BKN are backups of the data and note files
respectively. Files in the form SAVExxxx.xxx are files that
GRADESHEET creates if it has to save data and shut down-
usally in response to a memory error or lack of memory.
2.File loading
If you don't specify a filename on the command line, you
will be asked to load a file or start a new file (see the
"Quick Tour section). You may load a file at any time from
the file menu (ALT-F L). You current data will automatically
be saved before another file is loaded.
3.Starting a new file
You can create a new data file when starting GRADESHEET or
at anytime by using the file menu (ALT-F N). You will be
prompted for a file name and a maximum number of scores.
Accepting the default of 30 scores is recommended, as you
can always increase the maximum number of scores later.
When starting a new file and entering numerous student names
you will probably want to use the "Add new students" feature
on the Roster menu (ALT-o N).
4.Importing data with GSIMPORT
The GRADESHEET package includes the GSIMPORT program which
can read plain text files containing student names, id's,
and section numbers, arrainged in columns, and import them
to a GRADESHEET file (call the registrar!). The data can be
imported to a new file or appended to an existing file. The
GSIMPORT progam will guide you through the procedure, and
help is available by pressing the F1 key.
- 6 -
5.Password Protection
The "Password protection" facility on the File menu will
allow you to set a password for the file. This will encrypt
all student score information and all student notes. This is
a good idea if you are keeping your files on a network or a
open-access computer.
WARNING: Encrypted data is necessarily more fragile and
susceptable to data and hard disk errors.
6.Quitting GSH
To save your data and quit GRADESHEET, use the hot key
combination ALT-Q or use the menu (ALT-F Q). To exit
GRADESHEET without saving your data you must use the file
menu (ALT-F X); you will be asked if that is what you really
want to do.
C.Getting to know GRADESHEET
1.GRADESHEET layouts
GRADESHEET has two different layout modes for the data area,
roster mode and spreadsheet mode. You can switch between the
modes using the F3 and F4 keys or the menu (ALT-L C).
Roster mode only shows name/id and section numbers and is
appropriate for having on your computer screen when visible
to students.
The spreadsheet layout puts a bunch of information on the
screen in a spreadsheet-like format, and is appropriate for
when you are working with the grade information, such as
entering scores or deciding grades. In this mode, the
spreadsheet columns from left to right are: line number,
average, grade, note flag, name/id, section number, and then
six columns for the first six scores. The CTRL-ARROW keys
are handy for navigating the spreadsheet, and you can page
between banks of six scores by using CTRL-PgUp and
CTRL-PgDn. You can swap names and id numbers by using ALT-X.
- 7 -
2.Student data boxes
A "student data box" is a facility that places all of the
data for one student on the screen. It displays the students
name, id, section, average, grade. A scrolling list displays
scores and score information. The box contains buttons for
next/previous student, view/edit note, undoing the last
edit, and DONE. Hilights near the note button indicates if a
note is associated with the student. You can activate the
student data box from either layout by highlighting the
student's name and pressing F2; you can activate the box
from the roster layout by simple pressing return.
The student data box allows you to easily view and edit data
for a student. Going to the next or previous student, or
exiting the data box will save the student data.
3.Deciding final grades
First, make sure that everything is up to date. If you are
dropping scores, make sure that dropable scores are
correctly marked in the "Averaging Method" dialog box
(ALT-M) and that the proper drops have been made. If you
have entered or adjusted scores since the last time you
dropped, you will need to go through the dropping procedure
again (see the section on dropping scores).
Compute a fresh average with ALT-C (or computed a selected
average fom the stats menu ALT-t o). If an error occured in
computing a student's average, an "err" will appear in the
average column. Check these students' scores to see if they
are entered properly. Students that have been flagged with a
"*" in a score field will have a "*" in the average column.
Once you have checked drops, fixed errors, and computed a
fresh average, you'll probably want to rank students
(ALT-R). This yields a list of your highest to lowest
scoring students. You can now go through the process of
deciding and entering grades in the Grd column.
This process is accommodated by a "carry-down" feature. If
you have entered a grade in the grade column you can carry
the same grade down to the next row by simply hitting return
(if the next field down is empty).
For example, suppose the grade column is completely empty
and you have just computed the average (ALT-C) and ranked
- 8 -
the students by their averages (ALT-R). Place the highlight
in the grade column (the one marked Grd) on the first line
that has a correct average. You will probably want to give
this student an "A", so press the "A" key and one will
appear in the grade column. You may want to give the next
student an "A" also. Just press return and the "A" will
automatically be carried down from the above entry. Continue
pressing ENTER until you get to the first student to receive
a "B". Press the B key and a "B" will replace the "A" in the
grade column. Pressing ENTER will carry the "B" down as far
as you want.
This carry-down feature makes entering grades easy, and
conforms well to the process most teachers use to make grade
decisions. The carry-down feature WILL NOT write over a
field that already contains a grade.
D.Data management
1.Adding students
You can insert a single student into the list or add several
students at a time. To insert one student, choose the
"Insert student" item from the List menu (ALT-o I). This
will insert a blank data line into the data area after the
row that currently has the highlight. You may edit data in
this new row as you normally would. For example if you were
adding a late student you would insert a blank row (ALT-o
I), fill in the name of the new student, exchange the
name/id (ALT-X), fill in the id number, and then perhaps
place an "X" in the first score column to excuse the student
from the quiz she missed. You could place the highlight in
the new blank row and press F2 to add the desired
information in the student data box.
When starting up a class, you will want to add many
students' names, id numbers, and sections at once. This is
facilitated with the "Add new students" feature from the
Roster menu (ALT-o n). This will create a dialog box on
screen with a name column, id number column, and section
column. Place the highlight in the first entry of the name
column. Type in the name of the first student and press
ENTER, the highlight will move to the id number column, and
you can type in the id number. Pressing ENTER again will
move the highlight to the Section Number column and pressing
ENTER a third time will place the highlight in the second
entry of the name column and you may proceed with the second
- 9 -
entry. When you are finished, Press the ACCEPT button (ESC
ENTER or CTRL-ENTER) to add in the names and exit the
routine. Up to 50 names can be entered at once.
2.Deleting a student
You may delete only a single student at a time. Place the
highlight in the row you wish to delete and choose the
"Delete student" item from the Roster menu (ALT-o D). You
will be asked before the row is actually deleted.
3.Sorting and exchanging name/id
The Roster menu contains the four ways you can sort the data
records: Alphabetical, Rank by average, Sort by Score, and
Group by Section.
The alphabetical sort will sort the data alphabetically by
name or id number, whichever is currently visible in the
name field. The alphabetical sort is initiated by the hot
key ALT-A or by the menus (ALT-o A).
Rank by average will sort the data records in the numerical
order of the average column, high scores first. Any "err"s
in the average column will be put first and any "*"s will be
put last. The Rank by average sort is initiated by the hot
key ALT-R or by the menu (ALT-o R).
The Sort by Score feature will sort the data records by the
score column that the highlight is currently in (if the
highlight is not in a score column, the program will beep
and do nothing). The data is sorted with high scores first
and low scores last, with erroneous values and *'s placed at
the bottom of the list. To initiate a sort by score, place
the highlight on the score column that you want to use and
choose the "Sort by Score" item from the List menu (ALT-o
S).
You may also arrange the entries grouped by section using
the Group by Section entry in the List menu (ALT-o G).
You can exchange between student names and id numbers with
the ALT-X hot key or use the Roster menu (ALT-o x). The sort
procedures are based on the name or the id, whichever is
currently displayed.
- 10 -
4.Pop up adder
One nice feature for late night grade entry is the pop-up
quick adder. Make sure Num-Lock on your keyboard is on,
place the highlight in a blank score field, and press the
grey "+" key on the numeric keypad, You will see a tall box
appear on the screen. You may enter a number and press "+"
(or "-" for subtraction) to move the highlight to the next
line for another number. After entering a column of numbers,
you can move up and down the list with the arrow keys and
make corrections. When you are done press ENTER and the
numbers will be summed at the bottom of the list. Press
ENTER again and the quick adder will disappear and the sum
will be entered in the blank score field. This makes
entering a stack of unadded test scores a breeze.
5.Entering Scores
Using a computer to manage grades offers tremendous
advantages in organization and ease. The flip side of
computer-ease is that all that data has to be entered into
the computer first. This usually being done after your mind
has turned to putty from grading 100+ exams. Fix yourself a
nice cup of tea first.
GRADESHEET tries to minimize the labor involved. One nice
feature is the "Enter scores" facility on the Stats menu
(ALT-t E). Selecting this item will present you with a
sequence of decisions to tell the program what kind of data
you are entering and a scrolling list of student names with
a field to the left of each name for you to enter the score.
This minimizes eye fatigue and makes the entry process go as
fast as possible.
The first choice from the menu is whether you are entering
numeric or letter score data. You will then get a dialog box
where you can enter a title for the score (such as "Quiz
#1"), a date for the score (the program will enter today's
date as a guess-- as if you get your grading done in the
same day as the exam!), whether the score is eligible to be
dropped, a weight for the score, and total points for
numeric data. (Note that the weight is only used in the
weighted and grade point average methods.)
You will then have the option of turning on or off certain
features designed to ease data entry. For letter scores, you
- 11 -
can set "Quick:" to "Yes" and the keys on the numeric keypad
(on the right of most popular keyboards) will be translated
to letters. Pressing 1 or 7 produces an A; 2 or 8 produces a
B; 3 or 9 produces a C; 4 produces a D; 5 produces an F; and
6 produces an * (It makes sense-- look at the keypad). Using
these remapped number keys and the + and - keys on the
numeric keypad makes entering letter grades a cinch. Make
sure NumLock is set to ON before using this feature, or it
just won't work.
For numeric scores, you can set the pop-up adder (discussed
in the previous section) to automatic. This is for use when
you have a unadded tests. For example, suppose you have a
stack of calculus tests that have been corrected with points
awarded for each of the questions. You have to take each
student's exam, add up all the points on the exam and enter
that total for the students score. Setting the pop-up adder
to "Auto" will cause the adder to pop up automatically each
time you move down the score entry list to the next student.
This helps to develop a rhythm when performing this chore.
Try it first on the sample data and see if you like it. The
other option is to set the pop-up adder to "Grey +" and it
will only pop up only if you press the grey + key on the
numeric keypad, as is usual for score fields.
Setting the "Sort" field to "Yes" will alphebetize the list
before proceding to entering the scores.
E.Statistics
1.Letter Grades
GRADESHEET accepts the entry of standard letter grades of
A,B,C,D, modifiable by + and -, and a single failing grade
F. The program handles these grades by converting them to
numeric equivalents. You can change the default numeric
equivalents on the "Letter grades" facility on the Stat
Menu. You can specify that a given column is to contain
letter scores by the enter scores procedure discussed
earlier or by setting the entry in the Type column of the
"Averaging Methods" dialog box (ALT-M or ALT-t M) to "Let".
If you are only using letter grades in your course, then it
is recommended that you use the Grade Point Average method.
All of the averaging methods rely on accurate information as
to the top number of points on a given score. The top letter
- 12 -
grade can be taken as "A" or "A+", and you can choose either
one on the "Letter Grades" dialog box from the Stats menu
(ALT-t L). You should select "A" as the total points if you
have no intentions of giving out A+'s, or if you consider A
to be the top grade with an A+ as going beyond that.
Otherwise you can take A+ as being the maximum grade. If you
only have letter grades and use the recommended Grade Point
Average method then the choice of A or A+ will make no
difference in calculating the average, but will have a small
effect on the Normalized distribution. When using a
different averaging method, the choice of A or A+ as the top
score will determine the scale on which letter grades will
be interpreted.
Be aware that GRADESHEET reads data entries left to right,
so that "A+?!" is interpreted as "A+" whereas "?!A+" is
interpreted as an error.
GRADESHEET currently has no facility for converting from
numeric scores back to letter grades. The philosophy here is
that the only time one needs to convert from a numeric
average to a letter grade is for generating a report, such
as a final report. This process is rarely done by formula,
and almost always involves some element of human judgment.
GRADESHEET works to facilitate the judgment process. To
assign grades it is recommended that you compute a fresh
average (ALT-C) and rank the students by average (ALT-R);
the students are then ordered from highest to lowest average
and letter grades can be assigned in the Grd column. This
process, along with the graphic distribution facility,
carry-down grades in the Grd column, and the Z-Scores
conversion facility, provides a sound and easy way to
organize important data so that a clear grade evaluation can
be made. See the section on "Deciding final grades" for more
details on the procedure.
2.Types of averages
An average is a conglomeration of a number of data points
into a single value that is to somehow express the overall
bias of the data. There are lots of ways to perform this
conglomeration, and each way of averaging has to be examined
carefully with regard to suitability for your purposes and
how excused and dropped scores are to be handled.
GRADESHEET provides four types of averaging methods that are
most popular with instructors. They are Total Points,
- 13 -
Normalized Total Points, Weighted Average, and Grade Point
Average. Each is explained below with considerations for
excused and dropped scores. The different averaging methods
are selected from the "Averaging Methods" facility on the
Stats menu (ALT-M or ALT-t M). It is a good idea to read and
reread the following sections that explain the averaging
method you intend to use, and then check the method with a
few sample data points and a calculator to make sure the
average is being done the way you think it is being done.
a)Maximum scores
For numeric data, the maximum allowable score is entered in
the Points column of the "Averaging Method" dialog box. For
letter grades it is taken as the numeric equivalent of of
"A" or "A+" depending on your choices in the "Letter
Grades" dialog box (ALT-t L).
In all methods, this information is used to normalize
distributions and excuse scores, and some methods use this
information more extensively. It is important that it be
accurate.
b)Total Points
The total points method is the simplest, and computes the
average by adding the scores for the student. To
illustrate, suppose we had four scores for each student:
S1, S2, S3, and S4, from four separate exams. Suppose that
the maximum allowable points on each score were MAX1, MAX2,
MAX3, and MAX4 respectively. That is, if the first three
scores were from 100-point exams and the fourth score was
from a 200-point final, we would have MAX1=MAX2=MAX3=100
and MAX4=200.
The average would then be computed as:
S1 + S2 + S3 + S4
This method uses the maximum allowable scores for excusing
and dropping scores. For example, suppose that the third
score is excused (by an X or XX). Then GRADESHEET will
compute the average as follows:
- 14 -
S1 + S2 + S4
( -------------------- ) (MAX1 + MAX2 + MAX3 + MAX4)
MAX1 + MAX2 + MAX4
This will put the student with an excused score on the same
scale as other students, and reflects the fraction of
points awarded over points available to that particular
student.
Although this averaging method is not particularly suited
for letter grades, it will compute the average by
converting any letter grade to its numeric equivalent.
Dropped scores for this method are discussed in a
subsequent section. This method does not use weights and
will disregard any entries in the "Weight" column of the
"Average Method" dialog box.
c)Normalized Total Points
This method is the same as the total points method except
that averages are expressed in percentages. A basic average
will be computed as:
S1 + S2 + S3 + S4
( --------------------------- ) x 100
MAX1 + MAX2 + MAX3 + MAX4
If the third score is excused (by an X or XX). Then the
normalized total points average is computed as follows:
S1 + S2 + S4
( -------------------- ) x 100
MAX1 + MAX2 + MAX4
In this method scores are distributed from 0 to 100,
whereas in the previous method it was distributed from 0 to
MAX1+MAX2+MAX3+MAX4.
d)Dropping scores in the total points methods
Both the Total Points and the Normalized Total Points
methods rely on a calculation of the total possible points
available to students. Dropping scores will change this
total possible points. For example, if the first three
scores were from 100-point exams and the fourth score was
- 15 -
from a 200-point final, and you wanted to drop the lowest
of the first three scores then the total allowable points
would be 2 x 100 + 200 = 400 points. Scores in the Total
points method will be distributed from 0 to 400, and scores
in the Normalized Total Points are obtained by dividing by
400 (not 500). This will generally work the way you want it
to for excused scores and for normalizing the distribution.
It can get messed up, however, if the scores that you are
dropping have different point values. For instance,
dropping the lowest of last two scores will generate
essentially meaningless data since one is a 200 point score
and the other is a 100 point score. To avoid this, ensure
that the scores eligible for dropping have the same point
value. That is, everything with a "Yes" in the "Drop"
column of the "Averaging Methods" dialog box should have
the same point value. If this is not practicable, you will
need to use the weighted average method to accommodate
dropping the scores in a meaningful manner.
e)Weighted Average
The weighted average method uses weights assigned to each
score to calculate the average. You must insure accurate
information in both the Points and Weight columns in the
"Averaging Method" dialog box (ALT-M).
As before, suppose we had four scores for each student: S1,
S2, S3, and S4 and the maximum allowable points on each
score were MAX1, MAX2, MAX3, and MAX4 respectively. Suppose
we had assigned weights WT1, WT2, WT3, and WT4 to the four
score respectively. That is, if you want each of the first
three score to count 20% and the last score to count 40%
then you would set WT1=WT2=WT3=.2 and WT4=.4. You could
equivalently have set WT1=WT2=WT3=20 and WT4=40 or even
WT1=WT2=WT3=1 and WT4=2 as the sum of the weights does not
matter; only their relative sizes are significant.
The students weighted average would then be computed as:
S1 S2 S3 S4
WT1 ---- + WT2 ---- + WT3 ---- + WT4 ----
MAX1 MAX2 MAX3 MAX4
-------------------------------------------------
WT1 + WT2 + WT3 + WT4
- 16 -
The average is put into percentage form by multiplying the
above result by 100.
Suppose now that the third score is excused or dropped
(either by an X, XX, H or L). Then GRADESHEET will average
around this score by computing the average as follows:
S1 S2 S4
WT1 ---- + WT2 ---- + WT4 ----
MAX1 MAX2 MAX4
-------------------------------------
WT1 + WT2 + WT4
This fraction is then expressed in percentage form.
This method produces averages on a scale of 0 to 100,
regardless of whether numeric, letter, or both types of
scores are used.
f)Grade Point Average
The Grade Point Average method is specifically tailored to
letter scores. If S1, S2, S3, and S4 are all letter scores
with assigned weights WT1, WT2, WT3, and WT4 respectively
then the grade point average is calculated as
(WT1)(S1) + (WT2)(S2) + (WT3)(S3) + (WT4)(S4)
-----------------------------------------------
WT1 + WT2 + WT3 + WT4
and if S3 was excused or dropped then the average is
calculated as
(WT1)(S1) + (WT2)(S2) + (WT4)(S4)
----------------------------------
WT1 + WT2 + WT4
Here the letter grades are converted to their numeric
equivalents before the average is computed.
This is how one should think of the Grade Point Average for
letter scores. In actuality, this method is identical to
the Weighted Average method except that the scores are not
normalized to a 0-100% scale. Instead they will be
normalized to a scale from 0 to the top score; this top
score being either the numeric equivalent of "A" or "A+"
depending on your choices in the "Letter Grades" dialog box
- 17 -
(ALT-t L). For example, if "A" has a numeric equivalent of
4.0, and you select "Total Points" to be based on "A", then
this method will produce averages in the range of 0 to 4.0.
This averaging method works if the columns contain numeric,
letter, or both types of scores.
3.X's, XX's, *'s, H's, L's, E's and err's
An entry in the average column contains either a numerical
average, a "*", or an "err". A "*" in the average column
means that one of the score fields was flagged in that it
contains an "*", you probably put it there to remind
yourself of something. If for some reason the program can't
compute the average for a line and that line contains no
"*", then an "err" will be displayed in the average column.
The score columns can contain 5 characters of any text data.
Usually these fields will contain either numerical or letter
score entries, or will be blank. Some letters have special
meaning in the score fields and they are X, *, H, L, and E.
An "X" in a score field means that that student is excused
from that score; his or her average will be computed around
that score and will not include it (averaging methods are
explained in a prior section). A single "X" means that this
excused score will not be chosen by the Drop low scores
command, and two x's, "XX", means that this score may be
chosen by the Drop low scores command.
A "*" in a score field means that the average will not to be
computed for this line. Instead, a "*" will be entered into
the average column the next time averages are computed. This
is useful for reminding yourself about something or for
flagging a student. For example, if a student missed an exam
and you don't know why, a "*" may be preferable to a blank
(giving an "err" in the average column), a zero, or an X.
GRADESHEET can amend scores by dropping the lowest score,
dropping the highest and lowest scores, and dropping the
next lowest scores. You access this feature through the
Stats menu under "Drop scores" (ALT-t r). When a low score
is dropped an "L=" appears before it and it will not be
included in the average (it will be excused in the weighted
- 18 -
average method and ignored in the total points method).
Similarly when a high score is dropped an "H=" will appear
before it and it will not be included in the average.
The score field is six characters wide, but the leftmost
character is reserved for special symbols. If you attempt to
write in the leftmost column with anything other than an X,
*, H or L, the program will beep and replace the leftmost
character with an "E". An "err" will appear in the average
column the next time you average.
4.Computing averages
To compute the average of scores use the hot key ALT-C or
the Stats menu (ALT-t C). When this command is issued,
GRADESHEET looks at all the score columns (both visible and
off-screen ones) and uses every score column that has any
entry in it. Thus if some column contains a single entry and
a bunch of blanks you will generate a lot of "err"'s in the
Aver column. The program then computes the average based on
information supplied in the "Averaging Method" dialog box
(ALT-M), the "Letter Grades" dialog box (if appropriate),
and the scores entered in the data set. See the prior
section on types of averages for details on how averages are
computed.
Sometimes you may want to compute the average of a select
group of scores. You can do this through the "Average of..."
entry in the Stats pull-down menu (ALT-t o). The selected
average routine will create an "Select Score Columns" dialog
box on the screen with a list of scores. Initially there
will be check-marks next to any score that has something
entered in its column. You can navigate this list using the
arrow keys and toggle the selection of scores with the SPACE
BAR. The ENTER key will both toggle the entry and move down
one line. When you are done, make sure that there is a check
mark next to each score you want to include in the average
and no others. Then select the Accept button (ESC ENTER or
CTRL-ENTER).
5.Distributions
The distribution routine will give basic statistics
including median, mean, and standard deviation for the
average column or for any score column. A graphical
distribution of scores is also given. This routine will
- 19 -
normalize all statistics and all numeric scores to a scale
of 0-100. You may want to compute a fresh average (ALT-C)
before viewing distributions.
You initiate the distribution feature by the hot key ALT-D
or from the Stats menu (ALT-t D). The distribution screen
has four buttons. The "Next" and "Prev" buttons allow you to
page forward or backward through the score columns (the
average score column is right before the first score and
right after the last one). The "Print" button allows you to
print the current distribution, and the "Exit" button to
quit the routine and return to the data area. the first time
you choose the print button, you will be asked where you
want the output to go. The options are covered in the
section "Routing printer output" section below.
The total number of scores, the number of errors (score
entries that either could not be interpreted or are off the
scale), and the number of scores displayed are also
reported.
If the distribution does not appear right, or there seems to
be too many erroneous scores, check to make sure that the
information is correct in the "Averaging Method" dialog box
(ALT-M); accurate maximum scores must be entered even if
using the total points method. If you are dropping scores,
you may want to check that scores are properly dropped.
6.Dropping scores
Various means of dropping scores are available through "Drop
scores" facility on the Stats menu (ALT-t r). The options
are to "Drop low scores", "Drop next lowest", "Drop high and
low", and "Un-drop all".
"Drop low scores" will first unmark any previous drops and
then for each student will search the eligible scores for
the lowest value and mark it with an "L=". The eligible
scores are taken as any score that contains a "Yes" in the
"Drop" column of the "Averaging Methods" dialog box. A score
marked with an "L=" is then excused from any subsequent
average.
Excused scores marked with a single "X" will not be taken as
low scores, but scores marked with two x's, "XX" may be
taken as low scores.
- 20 -
"Drop next lowest" functions the same as "Drop low scores"
except that it does not clear the previous marks first. This
enables you to throw out the two lowest scores, for
instance.
"Drop high and low" functions similarly, but marks the
highest score with an "H=" and the lowest with and "L=".
Neither the high or low score will be included in subsequent
averages.
The "Un-drop all" command will remove all "H="'s and "L="'s
from all the data. Thus a subsequent average will include
all scores.
You can override the computer's amendments by deleting H's
and L's and putting them wherever you want; such edits will
be removed by the "Un-drop all" command.
Remember to reprocess your dropped scores every time you add
new scores to the data. Also, be aware that dropping scores
with different point values can seriously affect a total
points average; see the section on types of averages.
7.Z-scores
A Z-score is a score that has been normalized to have mean 0
and standard deviation 1; any numeric data set can be
normalized in this manner. You can convert the average score
column to Z-scores from the Stats menu (ALT t Z). Be aware
that the "Normalized Distribution" utility (ALT-D) will not
work well with Z-scores since the two methods of
normalization are incompatible.
F.Printing
1.Printer Options
You can select options for printer output in the "Print
Options" dialog box activated from the Print menu (ALT-P O).
You may choose to send output to LPT1 or LPT2 (the default
is LPT1), and whether you are using a dot matrix (IBM/Epson
compatible) or an HP-compatible laser or DeskJet printer.
You can compressed font, and whether to use IBM graphics
characters in your output. Using graphics characters will
print out distributions like they appear on screen. If you
are uncertain whether your printer supports graphic
characters, try setting this option to "Yes" and printing
- 21 -
out a distribution. If it looks horrible, set it back to
"No" and the distributions will print out on standard ascii
characters.
You can also select whether to print headers, or to print an
information page with score titles, dates, points and
weights.
2.Routing the output
There are several print routines in GRADESHEET for printing
student information, distributions, and notes. Each of these
routines will first ask were you want the print output sent.
Your choices are to send it directly to the printer or send
it to a file (or cancel).
Sending it to the printer will attempt to send the data to
LPT1 or LPT2, whichever is selected in the "Printer Options"
dialog box. If you want to send the output to a file, you
will be asked for a filename. If the file already exists you
will given the options of overwriting the file, appending to
the end of the file, or canceling the operation. Once the
data is printed to a file, you can load it into your
favorite word processor and modify it for printing.
3.Basic printing
There are three basic printing routines for the data set,
"Print Gradesheet", "Print Roster Grid", and "Print
Student".
The Print Gradesheet routine will attempt to print out data
in a usable form. The data will be sorted in the order it
currently appears on the screen and either the name or id
number will be printed, whichever is currently visible. All
scores that are not blank will be printed. The output will
look pretty much as it currently appears on the screen,
except that all off-screen scores will also be printed.
The Print Roster routine will simply print a list of names
in a grid suitable for attendance records.
The Print Student routine prints out all information for a
single student, suitable for a report to be given to the
student. The Print All Students routine will print out this
information for each student in the file. You will be
- 22 -
prompted whether to also print the student notes, and if you
want to save paper. If the information fits, it will be
printed two on a page to conserve paper.
4.Custom printing
Teachers are a finicky lot, and each one probably has
different preferences on how data should be printed out. The
"Custom print" routine allows you to choose what data to
print and in what order it should be printed. Even this will
not satisfy all, but in combination with printing to a file
and using your word processor it makes a powerful tool for
printing the data in exactly the form you want.
Initiate the custom print routine from the Print menu (ALT-P
C). This creates a box on the screen containing titles for
all the basic data elements, such as name, id number, row
number, and scores. There are also entries for selecting new
lines and tabs. Navigate around these titles with the arrow
keys and select them in the order that you want them printed
with the space bar. When finished you select the Accept
button or press CTRL-ENTER. Use the CLEAR button to clear
your choices and start again.
For example, suppose that for each student you wanted the
student name followed by the average on one line and then
scores 1, 2, and 3 on the next line. (First make sure your
average is up to date.) Use the arrow keys to move the
highlight to the "Name" title and press spacebar. A number
<1> should appear next to the "Name" title. Now move the
highlight to the "Average" title and press spacebar, a <2>
should appear next to the average title. Now move the
highlight to the "Newline" title and press spacebar, a <3>
should appear next to the "Newline" title. Selecting scores
1, 2, and 3 in a similar manner should make a <4>, <5>, and
<6> appear next to the scores in the order you select.
Pressing CTRL-ENTER concludes the selection and asks where
you want the output sent. Sending it to a file allows you to
further customize your output with your word processor.
G.Note editor
1.Viewing, editing and deleting student notes
You can attach a note to a student containing up to 8k
(8,192 characters) of text. To do so, place the highlight in
- 23 -
the row containing the student you wish to annotate and
press the hot key ALT-N or use the menus (ALT-E N) to pop up
a Note Box. The note box will indicate the student's name,
and will insert the current date into the text area. You may
then enter text into the text area (the text will be
automatically wrapped.
When finished you can select the ACCEPT button (ESC ENTER)
or press CTRL-ENTER. The note will be saved to the disk and
an "*" will appear in the note column to the left of the
students name to remind you that a note has been entered for
that student. To update the note, place the highlight in the
row and press ALT-N (or use the menus) and the Note Box will
appear containing the previous text appended by the current
date. You can then add or edit text, and exit the same as
before. You can also delete the note by selecting the DELETE
button (you will be asked before the note is actually
deleted).
To view a note without editing it, place the highlight in a
row with a "*" to the left of the name field, and press the
hot key ALT-V or use the menus (ALT-E V or ESC E V or F10 E
V). A View Box will pop up allowing you to view the note,
and you can scroll through the note with the up and down
arrows or PgUp and PgDn as necessary. You exit the View box
by pressing the ESC key.
2.Editing the class note
In addition to student notes, you may keep a larger note for
general things about the class: reminders, test dates,
rooms, whatever. You can open the class note with the hot
key SHIFT-ALT-N or use the menus (ALT-E C). A larger Note
Box will pop up into which you can enter text. When finished
you can save the note and exit by pressing CTRL-ENTER or
selecting the DONE button (ESC ENTER).
3.Printing Notes
You can obtain a printout of all your notes from the Print
menu. The class note will be printed first followed by
student notes on individual pages. You will be asked where
to send the output. If you only want certain notes you can
print to the editor and delete what you don't want.
- 24 -
IV. REFERENCE
A.Reference: Data structures
One of the main functions of GRADESHEET is the management of
data structures. Understanding these structures will help
understand the program and how it works.
The most significant data structure is the student records.
Each record consists of a name, id number, section, average,
grade, note flag, and scores. The name and id number are text
data fields that may be up to 25 characters long. The grade
and section are also text and can be 2 characters long. The
average field is not accessible to the user, but is a text
field 6 characters long. The note flag is a single text
character that is either a "*" to indicate that there is a
note associated with that data record or a blank if there is
none.
The number of score fields is set when creating a file or by
the "Scores per student" facility on the "File" menu. Each
score field are each 6 characters long, with the leftmost
character being reserved for the program's use in marking
fields (any attempt to write in the leftmost character will
cause the program to beep and replace the leftmost character
with an "E"). These fields are text fields, but are unique in
that the program must be able to read and interpret the
contents as a number (like 78.24), a letter grade (like A,
B-, F), and excused score (X or XX), a dropped score (with an
"H=" or a "L=") or a flagged score (with an "*"). Whether the
program attempts to interpret the scores as a number or
letter depends on if the column is marked to hold numeric or
letter scores in the "Averaging Method" dialog box. If the
program cannot interpret the contents of a score field then
it will place an "err" in the Ave column when computing an
average. Be aware that GRADESHEET reads the contents of score
fields from left to right, so "A+?" and "56.2?" will be
interpreted as A+ and 56.2, but "?A+" and "?56.2" will
generate errors.
The next most significant structure is the score information
structure. This structure contains one record for each score.
Each record contains fields for the title, date, type, drop
eligibility, points and weight for one score. The title and
date are text fields of length 12 and 8 respectively and can
hold any text you want. The type is either "Num" for numeric
scores and "Let" for letter scores. The drop eligibility is
either "Yes" or "No" depending on whether you want to make
- 25 -
the score eligible to be dropped by the "Drop Scores"
utilities. The Points and Weight are numeric fields that
accept numbers such as 250.0, 0.1, etc. The points field is
ignored if the type is set to "Let". This data structure can
be edited by using the "Averaging Method" dialog box.
Adjunct to the score information structure is the letter
grade equivalents structure. This contains numeric
equivalents for the letter scores of A+ down to F. These can
be set using the "Letter Grades" dialog box.
Two other important pieces of information maintained by
GRADESHEET are the averaging type and the top letter grade.
The averaging type can be set to either Total Points,
Normalized Total Points, Weighted Average, and Grade Point
Average in the "Averaging Method" dialog box. The top letter
grade can be set to "A" or "A+" in the "Letter Scores" dialog
box, and this will determine the scale on which letter grades
are to be interpreted.
These data structures, along with some additional
information, are kept in data files demarked with the ".gsh"
extension.
In addition to these data structures and the data file,
GRADESHEET maintains a text file containing the class note
and all the student notes. Each student note in the file is
tagged with an internal reference number and the first few
characters of the student name field as it appeared when the
note was created; this portion of the name is kept with the
note to facilitate salvage of a damaged note file should that
ever become necessary (knock on wood). The note file is
demarked with a ".gsn" extension.
B.Reference: The Menus
1.File Menu
New File: Saves the current file a New File Entry Box for
you to enter a the name of a new data file to be created.
Load File: Saves the current file and produces a Load File
Pick List for you to choose another data file to load.
Save File: Saves the current data file to disk.
- 26 -
Save as...: Renames the current data file and saves it to
disk.
Write names to..: Writes the names, ids, and section numbers
to a new GRADESHEET file. Useful for beginning a new term.
Scores per student: Displays the current maximum number of
scores per student and allows you to set a new value.
Allowable choices are 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 300. You can
not set the limit lower than the current number of scores
stored in the gradesheet.
Key reference: Displays a reference screen of functions and
keys.
About GRADESHEET: Displays a screen identifying the source
of the GRADESHEET program and instructions on how to
register.
Register: Allows registered users to enter their license
name and number, thereby eliminating the registration
reminder screens.
Password Protection: Allows you to set a password for the
file. This will encrypt all student score data and notes.
Save and Quit: Saves the current data file and exits the
program.
Exit: Exits the GRADESHEET program. You will be asked if you
really want to exit without saving.
2.Layout Menu
Change Layout: Toggles between a list-oriented layout style
and a spreadsheet-oriented layout style.
Save as default layout: Makes the current layout the default
layout. This layout will be used the next time this data
file is loaded.
Student Data: Initiates the "Student Data" box-- a facility
for editing the entries in a student record
Go to score: Allows you to go to a score column by entering
the column number. The entered column becomes the new
leftmost column.
- 27 -
Move column: Moves the data from an occupied column to an
unoccupied column. You will be prompted for the source and
destination column numbers.
Copy column: Copies the data from an occupied column to an
unoccupied column. You will be prompted for the source and
destination column numbers.
Copy Ave: Copies the data from the average column to an
unoccupied column.
Delete column: Deletes all the data in a column.
3.Roster Menu
Add new students: Initiates the "Add Students" dialog box--
a facility for adding up to 50 new names, ids, and section
numbers to the data file.
Add one student: Adds a single new student to the data file.
Will insert a single blank data record above the currently
active record.
Delete student: Deletes the currently active student record
from the data set. The record containing the highlight will
be removed and all lower records will be moved up. You will
be shown the name, id number, and section of the student and
asked if you really want to delete this student.
Alphabetize: Sorts the data set in alphabetically order
using the name/id column.
Rank by average: Sorts the data records from highest to
lowest entry in the average column. "err"'s and "*"'s will
be placed at the top of the list.
Sort by score: Sorts the data records from highest to lowest
entry in the score column that currently contains the
highlight. Uniterpretable entries will be placed at the
bottom of the list. Only accessible from the spreadsheet
layout.
Group by section: Groups the records according to section,
then alphabetize on the name/id field.
Exchange name/id: Toggles between displaying the name or id
number in the name/id column.
- 28 -
4.Stats Menu
Enter scores: Initiates the "Enter Scores" dialog box-- a
facility for entering a column of scores.
Averaging Method: Initiates the "Averaging Method" dialog
box-- a facility for managing information associated to
scores such as title, date, points and weight, and for
choosing the type of average to be computed.
Letter grades: Initiates the "Letter Grades" dialog box-- a
facility for setting numeric equivalents to letter grades
and choosing the top letter grade.
Compute Average: Computes the average of the data set
according to the options specified in the "Averaging Method"
dialog box and "Letter Grades" dialog box. The average will
be placed in the "Ave" column of the spreadsheet layout.
Average of.. : Allows you to select a subset of the current
scores and computes the average over that subset.
Distributions: Displays a graphical distribution of the
scores, allowing you to page through the score columns and
print the distributions.
Z-scores: Normalizes the average column to have mean zero
and variance one.
Drop scores: Allows you to drop the lowest, next lowest, or
highest & lowest from the set of scores marked for dropping
in the "Averaging Methods" dialog box. Also allows you to
un-drop all previously dropped scores.
5.Print Menu
Print Gradesheet: Prints the data set much as it appears on
the screen, except that all off-screen score columns that
contain any data will also be printed.
Print Roster Grid: Prints a list of all names in a grid
format suitable for attendance records.
Print Notes: Prints all notes that are associated with this
data set. This includes the class note and all notes on
students.
- 29 -
Custom print: Initiates the "Print Custom" dialog box--
letting you choose which data elements are printed and in
which order.
Printer Options: Allows you to select printer options,
including port number, graphics characters, condensed mode,
and headers.
6.Edit Menu
Edit note: Produces a pop-up note pad to edit the note
associated with the currently active student recorded. If no
note is associated with the current student record, one will
be created.
Class note: Produces a pop-up note pad to edit the note
associated with this data file. For keeping text information
specific to this class but not specific to any particular
student.
View note: Produces a pop-up viewer to examine the note
associated with the currently active student record. Will
beep and do nothing if no such note is available.
7.Horizontal Scroll
<<: Pages down the score columns six at a time.
<: Scrolls down the score columns one at a time.
>: Scrolls up the score columns one at a time.
>>: Pages up the score columns one at a time.
C.Reference: The Dialog Boxes
1.Load File Pick List
The "Load File" pick list is a scrollable list containing
three types of entries:
"..\", meaning the parent directory of the current DOS
directory.
- 30 -
CAPITALIZED entries followed by a "\", such as "ENG101\"
indicating the subdirectories of the current DOS directory.
Uncapitalized filename entries such as "sample.gsh" that end
with the ".gsh" extension.
You choose entries in this list by moving the highlight to
the desired entry with the arrow keys and pressing ENTER.
You can use this list to navigate the directory structure of
a disk and load a file. You can move up the directory
structure by choosing the "..\" entry, and you can move into
a subdirectory by choosing the desired directory. Moving to
a new directory will produce a similar list for that
directory. If you select a filename, such as "sample.gsh",
GRADESHEET will attempt to load that file and the "Load
File" pick list will disappear. You may press ESC at any
time to cancel the operation and return control to the
previous screen.
2.Student Data Box
The "Student Data" box allows access to all data elements in
a student record and can be activated from either layout
style with the F2 key. The box contains fields for name, id
number, section, average, and grade. A scrolling list
displays scores and score information. You can navigate
around the fields using TAB, SHIFT-TAB, ARROWS, CTRL-ARROWS,
and ESC. You may edit all fields except the Average and the
score information other than the students own scores.
You can save the edits for the current student and move to
the next/previous student by selecting the Next/Prev buttons
(or using PgUp/PgDn keys when not in the score list).
Selecting the Undo button will discard the edits for the
current student and reload the students data.
Selecting the Done button, or pressing CTRL-ENTER, will save
the edits and close the box. Pressing ESC twice will always
bring the highlight to the DONE button.
3.Add Students Dialog Box
The "Add Students" dialog box allows you to add up to 50
students at a time. The dialog box has a scrolling list
containing columns for name, id number, and section number.
- 31 -
The ENTER key will move the highlight to the right or to the
beginning of the next line.
After entering a list of names, you can add them to the data
set by selecting the Accept button (ESC ENTER or
CTRL-ENTER). Cancel the operation by selecting the Cancel
button at any time-- you will be asked first if that is what
you really want to do.
4.Averaging Method Dialog Box
The "Averaging Method" dialog box contains a scrolling list
with one line for each score. Each line contains fields for
Title, Date, Type, Drop, Points, and Weight. The Title and
Date fields can contain any text you wish. The "Type" field
is an option field and must be either "Let" or "Num" for
letter or numeric scores. Pressing SPACE-BAR with the
highlight in the "Type" column pops up a menu containing the
two choices, you can pick one by using the arrow keys and
ENTER. The "Drop" field is also an option field must be
either "Yes" or "No", and you may similarly choose by
pressing SPACE-BAR and selecting a menu choice.
The "Points" field is a numeric field containing the maximum
points allowed for this score. If the Type is set to letter
then the Points is automatically set to the point value of
"A" or "A+" depending on your choice in the "Letter Grades"
dialog box: any edits to the Points field of a letter-type
score will be discarded. The Points data is used for
computing averages and normalizing scores for the
distribution.
The Weight field is a numeric field containing the relative
weight the score is to carry in an average. The weights can
be any numbers. The Total Points and Normalized Total Points
methods of averaging will disregard any weight assignments
made to the scores.
Beneath the scrolling list, the dialog box contains a field
to select the type of average to be computed. You can move
the cursor out of the scrolling list to this field by
pressing the ESC key. Once the highlight is in the "Average
Type:" field you can press SPACE-BAR to pop-up a list of
choices. Use the arrow keys and ENTER to select a choice.
See the section on averages for information on types of
averages.
- 32 -
Pressing the Accept button (ESC ENTER or CTRL-ENTER) will
implement your choices and edits. Pressing the Cancel button
will throw out your choices and edits.
5.Enter Scores Dialog Boxes
There are two dialog boxes for entering information relating
to the new column of scores, one for numerical scores and
one for letter scores. The two function similarly in that
you move the highlight with the arrow keys and edit entries
either by direct edits or by pressing SPACE-BAR and choosing
from a list of options. After these options are completed, a
score entry dialog box opens to accept the entry of the
scores.
The letter scores information dialog box contains text
fields "Title" and "Date" which will accept any text you
wish to use to identify the score column, a numeric field
for the weight the score is to have in the Weighted or Grade
Point averaging methods, and a "Sort" option field for
alphabetically presorting the list before entering the
scores. The letter scores also has a "Quick-keys" option
field that can map the number keys on the numeric keypad to
the letters A,B,C,D and F for quick entry (see the section
on entering scores).
The numeric scores information dialog box is similar and
contains text fields for Title and Date which will accept
any text you wish to use to identify the score column, a
numeric field for the total possible points for the score, a
numeric field for the weight the score is to have in the
Weighted or Grade Point averaging methods, and the presort
option. The numeric scores also has an "Auto-adder" option
field that can make the Pop-up adder appear automatically
while entering scores to facilitate adding up and entering
exam scores in one step (see the section on entering
scores).
After the initial information dialog boxes, the "Enter
Scores" dialog box will appear with a scrolling list of
names or ids in the same order as they currently appear in
the roster/spreadsheet layout. To the left of each name will
be a text field to hold the entry of the scores.
When all scores are entered, select the Accept button (ESC
ENTER or quickly with CTRL-ENTER) to add the scores and
score information to the data set. Selecting the Cancel
- 33 -
button will cancel the whole operation-- you will first be
asked if that is really what you want to do.
6.Select Score Columns Dialog Box
The select scores dialog box enables you to choose a
subgroup of score columns from those that currently hold
information. The box presents a scrolling list of records
each containing the title, date, and column number of a
score column. Initially all scores have a check mark to the
left indicating that all are selected. You can toggle the
check marks on/off with the SPACE-BAR and both toggle and
move down a line with the ENTER key. After ensuring that the
subgroup of scores you wish to select are marked with
checks, select the Accept button (ESC ENTER or quickly with
CTRL-ENTER). Select the Cancel button to abort the
operation.
7.Custom Print Dialog Box
The "Custom Print" dialog box contains a field for every
element in a student data record, and some fields for Tab,
New Line, and New Page. These fields can be navigated with
the arrow and tab keys and selected with the ENTER or
SPACE-BAR keys. Select the fields in the order you want them
printed. Sequential numbers will appear next to the selected
fields. When you have selected the fields you want, select
the Print button to initiate printing. Selecting the Cancel
button will cancel the operation. The Clear button will
clear your selections and allow you to start over. This
facility will remember your last selections, thus preserving
a favorite printing style.
8.Print Options Dialog Box
The "Print Options" dialog box contains option fields to
select the port for printer output, whether IBM-graphics
printing can be used, to select condensed mode printing,
select the printing of a cover page containing score
information, and the printing of headers. Placing the
highlight in any field and pressing SPACE-BAR will pop up a
list of options. Select an option with the arrow keys and
press ENTER. The options for printer output are LPT1 (the
default) and LPT2, all other options are either Yes or No.
- 34 -
9.Printer Output Dialog Box
The "Printer Output" dialog box lets you choose where to
send the printer output. Navigate the options with the arrow
keys and make a selection with the ENTER key. The options
are: Printer, which will send the output directly to the
printer; File, which will send the output to a file; and
Cancel which will cancel the print operation.
D.Technical Reference: File Structures
1.Files created by gsh
Four data files are maintained for each GRADESHEET data set
managed by the program. For the sample data supplied with
the program, the four files are the main data file
SAMPLE.GSH, a backup of that file called SAMPLE.BKH, the
note filename called SAMPLE.GSN, and the backup of the note
file called SAMPLE.BKN.
The data files are intentionally stored in a very simple
format, this makes translating data to/from GRADESHEET an
easier task. You could make a copy of the SAMPLE.GSH file
and load it into a word processor and easily format the
information for printing or merging or whatever (make sure
you make a copy first- DO NOT edit the actual data file
since GRADESHEET expects to find certain things at certain
places and may become addled if it's not there). The data
file begins with the version number, then various parameter
information such as type of average, layout, and other
information items. The next two sections contain letter
grade information and score information. This is is followed
by the student data with one data record per line (a
non-wrapped line). Any line in the data file that begins
with a "#" is a comment and is ignored by the GRADESHEET
program.
The note files also have a simple format. The note file
begins with the class note. Subsequent notes are separated
by a star symbol (hex 0x0f) followed by a three character
digit to uniquely identify the note, followed by the first 6
characters of the original student name the note was written
for, followed by the actual text of the note. Deleted notes
are never actually deleted, but are kept in the file and
marked with a "0": you can easily retrieve them with a word
processor.
- 35 -
2.Fixing damaged files
Hey, it happens. Usually for no discernible reason.
Sometimes because of a virus. Always at a bad time. Remember
the stars, and the earth, and the galaxies upon galaxies
extending on and on into space and how insignificant all of
this will be in 5,000 years. Tell EVERYONE to WAIT and STOP
BUGGING YOU, fix a nice cup of tea, work on recovering what
you can from the disk, reconstruct what you can from what
other sources you have, and let go of the rest.
If you are not comfortable with DOS, or don't have a good
text editor or disk utility, you will need to get some help.
Finish your tea first, and get ONE competent person to help
you. The last thing you need right now is a ad-haste
committee crowding around your computer pushing buttons.
There are four steps to reconstructing a damaged file. (1)
gather as much of the file as possible, (2) print out any
note information (3) create a new GRADESHEET file set to 300
scores per student and (4) insert the recovered data.
(1) Retrieve as many pieces of the data file as you can with
a disk utility and store them on a safe disk. Use a utility
such as chkdsk, scandisk, Norton Utilities, Mace Utilities,
or PC Tools.
(2) For the note files, print out what pieces you can find,
tag them together with scotch tape and put them in your desk
drawer. You can type them back in later if you want. Each
note is preceded by the first few letters of the name column
as it appeared when the note was made so you can kinda
figure out which note goes to which student.
(3) After you have retrieved as many pieces of the file as
you can and fixed your hard disk, start GRADESHEET and
create a new file, making sure to set the scores per student
to 300 (or to the maximum scores you had in the damaged
file, but since too big is fine, just set it to 300).
(4) Exit GRADESHEET, start your editor, and load the new
file you created and all the pieces of the damaged file you
collected. In the damaged pieces, look for complete lines
containing student data or score information. Cut and paste
these complete lines into the GRADESHEET file. Lines
containing score information (title, date, wt, etc) should
- 36 -
be pasted in between the "#Score information" and "END"
lines. Lines containing student data (name, id, etc) should
be pasted in between the "#Student data" and "END" lines.
Any incomplete lines should just be printed out or written
down, to be entered through the GRADESHEET program later.
Heaven willing, the program should be able to read the
reconstructed file. You may have to fix the score
information (ALT-M), the letter grades information (ALT-t
L), and enter in any incomplete data lines by hand.
If this isn't working, you may have to just find the pieces
and print them out- GRADESHEET information is stored in a
simple text format for just such a purpose.
- 37 -