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TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1 CHAPTER 1 -- INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 What is GRADE GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Copyright and Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 User Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Starting GRADE GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 How to Use this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 CHAPTER 2 -- TUTORIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Starting GRADE GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Choose a Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Choose a Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Enter Some New Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Enter Some Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Enter Some Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Display the Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 List Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Accessing Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 A Statistical Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 A Roster Listing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 CHAPTER 3 -- BASICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Menu System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Keyboard Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Mouse Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Grade Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 NONE Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Averages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Selected Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Grade Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 PART 2 CHAPTER 4 -- FILE MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Reading the FILE MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Changing the Default Drive and Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Choosing a Class File and Using Command Line Parameters . . . . . 40 Going on to the MAIN MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Going on to the DEFAULT MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Combining Two Class Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Recovering from a Back-up File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Copying Class Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Archiving Class Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Changing Between Color and Monochrome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 CHAPTER 5 -- MAIN MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Entering New Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Entering New Grades and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Reading Grades from Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Reviewing None Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Generating New Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Establishing New Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Dropping Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Dropping, Adjusting, Copying, and Deleting Grades . . . . . . . . 65 Dropping Lowest Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Adjusting Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Copying Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Deleting Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Dropping Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Displaying and Changing Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Displaying and Changing Grades and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Displaying and Changing Grade Weights, Limits, and Labels . . . . 79 Displaying and Changing Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Statistical Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Roster Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Writing Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Special Codes for Letter Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Selecting Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Grade Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Changing the Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 CHAPTER 6 -- DEFAULT MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Defaults for Drives, Directories, Back-ups, and Mouse . . . . . . 110 Defaults for Grade Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Input Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Output Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Keyboard Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Color Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Saving and Reading Default Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 CHAPTER 7 -- TECHNICAL CONCERNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Memory Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Input/Output Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Running Under WINDOWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Running On a Computer Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 LICENSE ORDER FORMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 CHAPTER 4 -- FILE MENU >>>Reading the FILE MENU The first menu you see while running GRADE GUIDE is the FILE MENU. GRADE GUIDE stores information about each of your classes in a separate disk file called a class file. You can use the FILE MENU to choose which class file you want GRADE GUIDE to process. The FILE MENU supplies several functions for manipulating class files such as combining two class files into one, replacing a class file with a back-up version of the file, copying part or all of a class file, and archiving old class files. Also, from the FILE MENU you can choose to go to the MAIN MENU and the DEFAULT MENU. At the MAIN MENU you can find selections for performing all of the gradebook features of GRADE GUIDE. At the DEFAULT MENU you can find selections for tailoring GRADE GUIDE to your special needs. The FILE MENU looks like the following (unless your computer is using a monochrome adaptor card in which case menu choice I will be missing.) ........................................................................... : FILE MENU : : : : A: choose drive/directory : A F: recover from a backup file : : B: choose class : G: copy the class file : : C: go on to the MAIN MENU H: make/recover an archive file : : D: go on to the DEFAULT MENU I: change display to monochrome : : E: combine two class files <Esc>: to exit GRADE GUIDE <F1>: help : : : :Class Files in Directory : \ : :.........................................................................: This menu has nine choices labeled by letters A, B, C, ...I and two other choices labeled by <Esc> and <F1>. The <Esc> key can be used from any point in GRADE GUIDE to mean "end the current activity." When viewing the FILE MENU, pressing the <Esc> key allows you to quit using the GRADE GUIDE program and return to DOS. The <F1> key also can be used to access the help facility from any point in GRADE GUIDE. (See "Help" in the chapter "BASICS.") The choices marked by the 9 letters are each discussed in the sections that follow. >>>Changing the Default Drive and Directory Pressing the letter A at the FILE MENU allows you to choose which disk drive you want GRADE GUIDE to search for the class files you want to use. If you always store your class files on the same disk and in the same directory that you store the "GRADEGID.EXE" and "GRADEGID.OVR" files, you never need to use Option A. After selecting Option A, just type the letter of the disk drive you want. GRADE GUIDE then asks you for the directory of the newly chosen drive. If you press the <Enter> key or the <Esc> key, GRADE GUIDE will use the current default directory for that disk drive. Otherwise, you can enter the name of another directory or, by using the cursor keys, change the name of the current directory. GRADE GUIDE uses the standard DOS rules for naming directories. (That is, directory names that begin with "\" are full GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 39 path names, whereas directory names that do not begin with "\" refer to subdirectories of the current default directory.) Once your new drive and directory names have been accepted, GRADE GUIDE lists all the classes available on the new drive and directory. (Note that GRADE GUIDE can be set so it automatically chooses a particular drive or directory for you. See "Defaults for Drives, Directories, and Back-up" in the chapter "DEFAULT MENU.") Suppose, for example, you have just finished using a class file on floppy drive B. If you change the floppy disk that is in drive B, you can use Option A to update the "Class Files in Directory" list to reflect the contents of the new disk. Press the letter A to change the default disk drive to drive B (even though the default drive was B already.) This will update the list of files. You also can use Option A to change directories on the current disk. >>>Choosing a Class File and Using Command Line Parameters GRADE GUIDE stores information about each of your classes in a separate class file. When you press the letter B at the FILE MENU, you may either enter the name of a previously created class file or the name of a new class file you would like to create. Your class name may be from one to eight characters long and may include letters, digits, or even some special characters (hyphen, underscore, exclamation point, and so forth). You may not use a period or a space in the name. The name you select is displayed on the screen next to the "B: choose class" option. If there are already some class names listed on the screen, you may select (or edit) one of those names by using the cursor control keys. When you select Option B, a highlighted cursor appears at the beginning of the list of class names. Pressing cursor control keys (<up>, <down>, <^left> or <Back-Tab>, <^right> or <Tab>, <PgUp>, or <PgDn>) moves that cursor to class names in the list of classes. When the cursor moves to a class name, that name appears on the screen next to the "B: choose class" option. Pressing the <Enter> key or the <Esc> key selects the name. If you are entering a new class name, and the new class name is similar to the name of a class already in the list of classes, you can move the cursor to the old name and edit that name. For example, if one of the names in the list of class names is MATH-145 and you want to enter the name MATH-146, move the cursor to MATH-145, press the <End> key, the <Backspace> key, and the 6. Then press the <Enter> key or <Esc> key to select the new name. There is one other way to select a disk drive, a directory, or a class file. When you begin using GRADE GUIDE by typing "gradegid", you may include a command line parameter. The parameter can be typed after the "gradegid" command but on the same line as that command. With the parameter you can tell GRADE GUIDE what your choices are for disk drive, directory, or class. The parameter may be in any one of the following seven forms: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 40 ...................................................... : PARAMETER EXAMPLE : :....................................................: : drive: GRADEGID B: : : directory\ GRADEGID \GRADES\ : : class GRADEGID MATH-001 : : drive:class GRADEGID B:MATH-001 : : directory\class GRADEGID \GRADES\MATH-001 : : drive:directory\ GRADEGID B:\GRADES\ : : drive:directory\class GRADEGID B:\GRADES\MATH-001 : :....................................................: This feature is convenient to use if you like to run GRADE GUIDE from a batch procedure. Note that choosing a class file with this option does not cause the program to proceed to the MAIN MENU where the class file can be processed. You must choose Option C to continue to the MAIN MENU. The file that GRADE GUIDE creates for your class has a file name that is the same as your class name with a file type of "GRD". Thus, the information that you store concerning the class "MATH-001" is stored in the file "MATH-001.GRD". Whenever GRADE GUIDE updates a file to save changes you have made to the stored information, the old version of the file is kept as a backup and is given the file extension "BAK". Thus, the backup file for MATH-001 is called "MATH-001.BAK". Using Option A, you can choose to have GRADE GUIDE store and read class files in any directory on any disk drive that your computer has. If you no longer need to have a particular class on file, you may simply delete the "GRD" and "BAK" files for that class by using the DOS ERASE or DEL commands. For example: ERASE MATH-001.GRD. On the other hand, many teachers find it useful to save their old class files for possible future reference. You might copy the class file to another disk before deleting it or store the file in a special archived format. GRADE GUIDE provides facilities for copying and archiving your class files. (See "Copying Class Files" and "Archiving Class Files" later in this chapter.) As in any work done on computers, it is always a good idea to keep extra copies of your class files on backup disks in case you encounter physical problems with the floppy or fixed disk where your class files are stored. >>>Going on to the MAIN MENU Pressing the letter C at the FILE MENU causes GRADE GUIDE to proceed to the MAIN MENU where you can choose to perform many functions with the class file that you have selected with Option B. (For information about MAIN MENU features, see the chapter "MAIN MENU.") If the program cannot find a "GRD" file for the class you have chosen in the directory of the currently chosen disk drive, it asks you if the class is a new class. If it is a new class, respond Y, and GRADE GUIDE creates a new file for your new class. Otherwise, answer N and check to see that you have spelled the name of the class correctly and have chosen the correct directory, disk drive, and diskette. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 41 GRADE GUIDE protects your class files by encrypting them. That is, it writes them in a format that cannot be read easily by programs other than GRADE GUIDE. (See "Passwords" in the chapter "BASICS.") If you are creating a new class, GRADE GUIDE will ask you for a password for that file. If you do not want to protect the file with a password, just press the <Enter> key to assign the blank password. If you do want to protect the file with a password, think of a word that you will find easy to remember but others would not be able to guess. Then type the password and press the <Enter> key. GRADE GUIDE will ask you to verify the password. Type the password again ending with the <Enter> key. Whenever GRADE GUIDE reads a class file that has been assigned a password, it asks you to enter the password. ......................................................................... : DO NOT FORGET YOUR PASSWORD! GRADE GUIDE cannot read your class file : : without knowing your password. If you should ever forget a password : : and need to have GRADE GUIDE read your class file, you can get access : : to your class file by contacting GRADE GUIDE in care of Jon Kane. : : (See "User Support" in the chapter "INTRODUCTION.") : :.......................................................................: After checking your password, GRADE GUIDE reads your class file. GRADE GUIDE also checks the current directory to see if it contains a GRADE GUIDE default file for your class. (See the chapter "DEFAULT MENU.") If you have saved a default file using the same file name as your class file, GRADE GUIDE reads that default file and changes the default settings. If GRADE GUIDE does not find a default file with the same name as your class file, it will load the home directory's GRADEGID.DFT file when your file is read. (For more information, see the chapter "DEFAULT MENU.") ........................................................................ : For example, if the current class file is MATH-001.GRD and the file : : MATH-001.DFT can be found in the current directory, GRADE GUIDE will : : load the default settings from MATH-001.DFT each time the class file : : is read. If no MATH-001.GRD file exists, GRADE GUIDE will read the : : GRADEGID.DFT file in the home directory each time the class file is : : read. (See the chapter "DEFAULT MENU" for more information.) : :......................................................................: Note that GRADE GUIDE does not allow you to select Option C before you select a class to process using Option B. >>>Going on to the DEFAULT MENU GRADE GUIDE allows you to change several aspects of its operation. In particular, you may select default disk drives or directories so that GRADE GUIDE always selects the correct drive and directory for you. You also may set up GRADE GUIDE so that many of the values you must enter are set automatically for you. You can tell GRADE GUIDE to use different methods for calculating students' averages, different ways to display information, different ways to use the keyboard, and different colors to display on the screen. Pressing the letter D at the FILE MENU lets you proceed to the DEFAULT MENU. (For more information about DEFAULT MENU features, see the chapter "DEFAULT MENU.") GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 42 >>>Combining Two Class Files Occasionally, you may want to combine the information that is stored in two different class files. There are at least two common reasons you may want to do this. The first reason can arise when you are teaching two sections of the same class. Suppose that students in each section receive the same assignments and take the same or comparable tests. If you originally decided to store these two classes of students in two separate class files but later decide that it would be better to store all the students in one file, you will want to combine the two files. You could still distinguish the two sections of students by properly setting each student's SECTION NUMBER. The second reason can arise when you teach a course that runs for more than one semester, quarter, or grading period. You may want to store the grades for one semester on one file and the second semester on a second file. Then you may want to combine these two files at the end of the course so that you have a complete list of all the grades obtained throughout the entire course. This was commonly the way classes running over several grading periods were handled with earlier versions of GRADE GUIDE. The need for this has been eliminated with the implementation of the grade period feature in this version of GRADE GUIDE. (See "Grade Periods" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") If you want to combine more than two classes, you can easily combine two classes at a time until you have all the classes combined into one. Pressing the letter E at the FILE MENU lets you combine classes. GRADE GUIDE asks you to enter the names of the two classes that you want to combine and for the name of the new class that will be created when combining the old classes. The two old classes must be available on the current default disk drive. The new class can have the same name as one of the old classes. If you enter a blank name for any of the three classes, GRADE GUIDE will return to the FILE MENU. After you enter the class names, GRADE GUIDE will read the information for the two old classes and check if it is possible to combine the two files. If the two old classes have no students in common, GRADE GUIDE expects that you are trying to combine two sections of the same course. In this case, GRADE GUIDE requires that the two classes have the same categories defined with the same number of grades entered. If the two old classes have some students in common, GRADE GUIDE expects that you are combining two different semesters, quarters, or grade periods of the same course. In this case, the two classes do not have to have the same categories defined. Grades from each student in the second class will be added onto the list of grades from the same student in the first class. GRADE GUIDE only requires that the total number of grades in a category does not exceed 200 and the total number of categories does not exceed 30. Students who are listed in only one of the two class files are assigned NONE for the grades from the file where they are not listed. Before GRADE GUIDE combines the two classes, it asks you to confirm that you do want to combine the two files. If you do, GRADE GUIDE combines the classes and writes a copy of the new file to the disk. The values of the GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 43 menu switches stored with the second class are the switches stored with the new file. (See "Menu System" in the chapter "BASICS.") GRADE GUIDE requires you to supply passwords for the first and second file if their passwords are not blank. You are also asked to supply a new password for the newly created combined file. When you return to the FILE MENU, the new class will appear as the current class name. Before using the facility to combine class files, you may find it beneficial to prepare the files. For example, if you are combining two classes with different students, you may want to set the SECTION NUMBERS for the students in the first class to be one value and the SECTION NUMBERS for the students in the second class to be a different value. This will make it possible to distinguish between the students from the two classes after the files are combined. (See "Displaying and Changing Students" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") Also, if there are students in the two classes with the same name or the same alias, you may want to change the DEFAULT MENU settings that allow duplicate names or duplicate aliases. If duplicate names are not allowed, GRADE GUIDE will treat two students with the same name as one student. (See "Input Defaults" in the chapter "DEFAULT MENU.") >>>Recovering from a Back-up File Each time that GRADE GUIDE writes a class file, it makes a back-up copy of the previous version of the file. For example, when you use GRADE GUIDE to change the information in the class MATH-001, GRADE GUIDE changes the name of the old class file from "MATH-001.GRD" to "MATH-001.BAK." Then it stores the changed information to a new MATH-001.GRD file. If you ever make a serious error while changing a class file, choose that class (FILE MENU Option B) and press the letter F at the FILE MENU in order to recover the backup file for the class. For example, you can have the "MATH-001.GRD" file deleted and replaced by the "MATH-001.BAK" file. It has the same effect as performing the two DOS commands ERASE MATH-001.GRD RENAME MATH-001.BAK MATH-001.GRD Note that GRADE GUIDE periodically makes backup copies of your file, making the old MATH-001.GRD file into the new MATH-001.BAK file. So, if you have made a serious error from which you would like to recover, be sure to exit GRADE GUIDE before your file is backed up a second time. Using the <^Break> key provides the surest way to exit the program without updating the file a second time. (See "Keyboard and Mouse" in the chapter "BASICS.") >>>Copying Class Files GRADE GUIDE provides a facility to copy part or all of the information in a class file creating a new class file. You can use this facility to make back-up copies of your class files on other disk drives as a protection against loss due to damage of a disk. You also can use this facility to create new class files that contain some but not all of the information contained in an old class file. For example, if you are teaching a class this year made up of students who were in your class last year, you could copy last year's class file keeping the names of the students but dropping GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 44 the grades. For another example, if you are teaching a course where the students are different from the last time you taught the course, you could copy the previous class file keeping the categories and menu switches but dropping the students. To access GRADE GUIDE's copy file facility, press the letter G at the FILE MENU. When you do, the following COPY CLASS FILE menu is displayed. ......................................................................... : COPY CLASS FILE EXAMPLE3 : : : : First Select Options: : : A: destination drive A : : B: destination directory : : \ : : C: new file name EXAMPLE3 : : D: copy students and notes BOTH (BOTH,NO NOTES,NEITHER) : : E: copy categories and grades BOTH (BOTH,NO GRADES,NEITHER) : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to copy the file : : <Esc>: to Return to the FILE MENU <F1>: help : :.......................................................................: This menu has five choices labeled A, B, C, D, and E and three more choices labeled by <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1>. Note that the title of the screen tells you which class file has been chosen to copy. It is the same class as that chosen using FILE MENU Option B. Pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE to copy that class file. Before copying the class file, check the menu switches to see if they are set the way you want. CHOICES A AND B let you choose on which drive and directory you want the newly created class file to reside. To change the destination drive, press the letter A and enter the letter of the destination drive you want. To change the destination directory, press the letter B and enter the name of the desired directory. CHOICE C allows you to change the class name of the newly created class in case you do not want the class to have the same name as the old class you are copying. Note that if you are copying the file into the same directory as the current class file, not changing the name will result in your losing the old class file. CHOICES D AND E on the menu allow you to choose what information from the class will be copied. Choice D lets you choose whether to copy the students (names, aliases, and section numbers) and their NOTES. Each time you press the letter D, the selected value cycles between the choices BOTH (copy the students' information and the NOTES), NO NOTES (copy students' names, aliases, and section numbers but not the NOTES), or NEITHER (do not copy any student information.) Option E lets you choose whether to copy the category and grade information. Each time you press the letter E, the GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 45 selected value cycles between BOTH (copy category and grade information), NO GRADES (copy the name and types of each category but do not copy any of the students' grades), or NEITHER (do not copy any information about categories.) When all menu selections are set as you want, press the <Enter> key to copy the file. If you are making no changes in the class file being copied (Options D and E are both set to BOTH), GRADE GUIDE will just copy the file for you. If you are making changes to the class file, you will be prompted to supply the password for the class before the file will be changed. If you press the <Esc> key, GRADE GUIDE will return you to the FILE MENU. Note that GRADE GUIDE does not allow you to select Option G before you select a class to process using Option B. >>>Archiving Class Files At the end of a course you may no longer need to access the information stored for a class. You may no longer want the name of your class to appear in the list of classes on the FILE MENU. On the other hand, there are advantages to keeping your old records so you can refer to them in the future. The ARCHIVE/UNARCHIVE feature of GRADE GUIDE lets you hide your old class files and bring them back if you ever need to see them. When you archive a class file, GRADE GUIDE creates a file with one of the names "ARCHIV00.OLD" , "ARCHIV01.OLD", "ARCHIV02.OLD", and so forth. These files contain all of the information contained in your class files plus an extra message giving the class name and a short descriptive message that you can add. The message you add should describe the class (for example, date or topic) so that you can easily identify the class when you need to refer to it in later years. ........................................................................... : SINCE ARCHIVED FILES ARE STILL PROTECTED BY PASSWORDS, you may want to : : change a class' password to the blank password using MAIN MENU Option P : : before you archive the file. You will not be able to use the file if : : you forget the password. : :.........................................................................: To place a class file into archive or to recover an archived file, press the letter H at the FILE MENU. The following ARCHIVE/UNARCHIVE CLASS FILES menu is displayed. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 46 .................................................................... : ARCHIVE/UNARCHIVE CLASS FILES : : : : First Select Options: : : A: archive operation ARCHIVE (ARCHIVE,UNARCHIVE) : : B: archive file drive C : : C: archive file directory : : \GG\NEW\ : : D: class to archive EXAMPLE3 : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to archive/unarchive a file : : <Esc>: to Return to the FILE MENU <F1>: help : :..................................................................: This menu lists four choices labeled A, B, C, and D as well as the usual choices labeled by <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1>. Here, pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE either to archive or recover from archive one class file according to menu selection A. CHOICE A is used to indicate whether you want to put a class file into the archive format (ARCHIVE) or recover an old class file currently in an archived format (UNARCHIVE). CHOICES B AND C let you choose a drive and directory where the archived file will reside. GRADE GUIDE reads active class files from the current default directory when archiving a file. The created archived file, on the other hand, can be put in any directory of any disk drive. Conversely, when you recover an archived file, you can read the archived file from any directory, but you must place the recovered class file in the current default directory. Note that you can store up to 100 archived files in one directory. If you have already saved 100 archived files in one directory, and you want to archive additional class files, just begin saving archived files in another directory or on another disk. To choose a drive for archived files press the letter B and enter the drive letter. To set the directory, press the letter C and enter the directory name. CHOICE D on the menu lists the class file you can archive. When you first view the ARCHIVE/UNARCHIVE CLASS FILES menu, the file listed is the currently selected class file in FILE MENU Option B. Press the letter D to change the name of the class file you want to archive. If menu choice A is set to ARCHIVE, you can archive a class file by pressing the <Enter> key. GRADE GUIDE will prompt you to enter a 24 character descriptive message that you can have archived with your class file for future identification purposes. If menu choice A is set to UNARCHIVE, you can recover an archived class file by pressing the <Enter> key. GRADE GUIDE will display a pop-up menu showing you a list of all archived files in the archive directory. Each archived file is listed with the original class name of the file archived GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 47 along with the descriptive messages you saved with the archived file. Choose the file you want to recover. >>>Changing Between Color and Monochrome If your computer is using a monitor adaptor card that supports color (CGA, EGA, VGA, and so forth but not a monochrome adaptor card), the FILE MENU will display Option I. It allows you to force the display to appear in black and white rather than in color. This option is provided for those users who might have a monochrome display or a TV connected to their color adaptor card. The display is more easily read when the screen is displayed in monochrome. If the I option is chosen and the display is in black and white, pressing the letter I changes back from black and white to color. Option I is omitted if your computer does not have a color monitor adaptor card. (Note that you can reset GRADE GUIDE so that it always begins in monochrome mode rather than in color mode. See "Color Defaults" in the chapter "DEFAULT MENU.") GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 48 CHAPTER 5 -- MAIN MENU Pressing the letter C at the FILE MENU brings you to the MAIN MENU that looks like the following: ...................................................................... : MAIN MENU : : : : A: add new students D: drop students : : B: add new grades & notes E: drop/adjust/delete/copy grades : : C: add new grade categories F: drop grade categories or grades : : : : G: display/print/change students : : H: display/print/change grades & notes : : I: display/print/change grade limits, weights, & labels : : J: display/print/change established category information : : : : K: display/print class statistics N: select students : : L: display/print class roster O: set grade periods : : M: display/print letters P: change class password : : ................................................... : : : CLASS FILE : EXAMPLE3 STUDENTS : 10 : : : : GRADE PERIOD : 1 SELECTED STUDENTS : 0 : : : :.................................................: : : : : <Esc>: return to the FILE MENU <F1>: help : :....................................................................: The menu has sixteen choices labeled A, B, C, ...P and the usual <Esc> and <F1> choices. When selecting any of the letter choices, GRADE GUIDE proceeds by displaying another menu pertaining to that choice. In general, choices A, B, and C are used to add information to the class (students, grades, and categories); choices D, E, and F are used to drop information from the class; choices G, H, I, and J are used to view, change, print, or send to a file any of the information you have added to the class; choices K, L, and M are used to view, print, or send to a file specialized reports; choice N is used to select students based on your own selection criteria; choice O is used to create, select, or change which grades belong to which grade period; and choice P is used to change the class password. Note that the menu displays the name of the current class file, the number of students in the class, the currently displayed grade period, and the number of students marked as SELECTED using MAIN MENU Option N. >>>Entering New Students Pressing the letter A at the MAIN MENU lets you enter new students into a class. This is usually the first thing you need to do when beginning a new class. It may also need to be done if students enter the class after the beginning of the course. In that case, newly entered students are assigned NONE grades for any grades already assigned in the class. GRADE GUIDE displays the following ENTER NEW STUDENTS menu. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 49 ..................................................................... : ENTER NEW STUDENTS : : : : First Select Options: : : A: enter information from KEYBOARD (FILE,KEYBOARD) : : B: enter NAMES or ALIASES BOTH (NAMES,ALIASES,BOTH) : : C: enter SECTION NUMBERS NO (YES,NO) : : D: default section number 1 (0 to 9999) : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to enter new students : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :...................................................................: This menu has four choices labeled A, B, C, and D and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key allows you to enter names, aliases, and section numbers for new students. CHOICE A allows you to choose whether to enter new students by typing your students' names, aliases, and section numbers on the keyboard or by reading them from a DOS text file. Some teachers work at schools where the administration can supply them with DOS text files containing lists of their students' names, student numbers, addresses, and so forth. Each time you press the letter A, the selection switches between KEYBOARD and FILE. CHOICE B lets you switch between entering just names (NAMES), entering just aliases (ALIASES), or entering names and aliases together (BOTH) when you add new students to the class. Pressing the letter B cycles the selection through the three choices. CHOICE C determines whether you will enter a section number for each student. If you are teaching a class with more than one section, and you want to save all of the information for students from every section in the same class file, you may want to assign different section numbers to students from the different sections. (See "Students" in the chapter "BASICS.") Each time you press the letter C, the choice switches between entering (YES) and not entering (NO) a section number for each student. CHOICE D lets you set the value GRADE GUIDE will assign as a section number to each new student if choice C is set to NO. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 50 ......................................................................... : For example, suppose that you teach section 3 and section 5 of the : : MATH-001 course. Each section of the course has 20 students. Press : : the letter D and enter the default section number 3. Make sure that : : menu choice C is set to NO. Then press the <Enter> key and enter the : : names of the 20 students in section 3. When you return to the ENTER : : NEW STUDENTS menu, press the letter D again and change the default : : section number to 5. Then press the <Enter> key and enter the names : : of the 20 students in section 5. : :.......................................................................: After setting the ENTER NEW STUDENT menu switches, press the <Enter> key to begin entering new students. If you have chosen to enter information from the keyboard, GRADE GUIDE displays a screen that tells you how many students have been entered in the class and provides a column for entering students' names, a column for entering students' aliases, and a column for entering students' section numbers. Each name can be up to 20 characters long and each alias can be up to 12 characters long. A highlighted area indicates what information needs to be entered next. While entering the information, the cursor control keys (<up>, <down>, <left>, <right>, <PgUp>, <PgDn>, and so forth) can be used to move the highlighted area to previously entered names, aliases, or section numbers so that information can be changed if necessary. If the list of students fills the screen, the names will scroll upward. Using the cursor control keys, you can move the highlighted area up causing the list to scroll back down to view all the entered students' information, which can be changed. Moving the highlighted area to the line after the last student entered allows you to enter more students. If you have chosen not to enter students' aliases, then all students entered will be given blank aliases. Similarly, if you have chosen not to enter students' names, all students' entered will be given blank names. You can always change this information later. (See "Displaying and Changing Students" later in this chapter.) GRADE GUIDE allows you to enter two students with the same name or two students with the same alias as long as no two students have both the same name and the same alias. There are switches on the DEFAULT MENU that can be set so GRADE GUIDE will prevent your entering duplicate names or duplicate aliases. (See "Input Defaults" in the chapter "DEFAULT MENU.") If you plan to enter students' grades by reading the information from a file, it may be important that there are neither duplicate names nor duplicate aliases. (See "Reading Grades from Files" later in this chapter.) ......................................................................... : Note if you have set the DEFAULT MENU switch specifying that you may : : not use duplicate aliases, you must enter student aliases when you : : enter new students. If you do not enter aliases, GRADE GUIDE assigns : : a blank alias to each student. Since no two students will be allowed : : to share the same alias, the program will not allow more than one : : student to be entered. : :.......................................................................: Names may be entered in any order; GRADE GUIDE alphabetizes them for you. (See "Students" in the chapter "BASICS.") GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 51 If you enter new students into a class that already has some grades assigned, the new students are automatically given grades of NONE for each of the previously entered grades. You can change these NONE grades by using MAIN MENU Options B or H. If you have set choice A to choice FILE, when you press the <Enter> key GRADE GUIDE will let you read students' information from a file. GRADE GUIDE will prompt you first to enter the name of the file from which you want to read. Unless you specify otherwise, it is assumed that the file is in the same directory as the current class file. Each line of the file may be up to 250 characters long. After locating the file you specify, GRADE GUIDE asks you to enter the beginning and ending columns (tab positions) for the position on the line where the names, aliases, or section numbers (whichever you have chosen to enter) can be found. The first line of your file is displayed on the screen to help you remember which columns to choose. ........................................................................ : For example, if the first line of the file with student information : : looks like this: : : : : 12 Johnson, William 17845 : : : : : : : 1 6 30 <- columns : : : : then you might tell GRADE GUIDE to look for student names in columns : : 6 through 29, aliases in columns 30 through 34, and section numbers : : in columns 1 through 3. : :......................................................................: Once you have entered the column information, GRADE GUIDE will read the entire file. For each line of information on the file, a new student will be created. After the student information has been read and is displayed on the screen, you may use the cursor control keys to move a highlighted area to the information about any entered student so the information can be checked or corrected. >>>Entering New Grades and Notes Pressing the letter B at the MAIN MENU allows you to add new grades for all the students in your class. It also lets you review and change grades previously recorded as NONE grades, generate a new grade based on values of old grades, and enter students' NOTES. (See "Reviewing NONE Grades" and "Generating New Grades" later in this chapter.) Since all grades are entered into categories, some categories must be established (MAIN MENU Option C) before you can enter grades. (See "Establishing New Categories" later in this chapter.) If you have established at least one category, you will see the following ENTER STUDENT GRADES AND NOTES menu. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 52 ................................................................... : ENTER STUDENT GRADES AND NOTES : : : : First Select Options: : : A: enter information from KEYBOARD (FILE,KEYBOARD) : : B: type of grade entry NEW (NEW,REVIEW,GENERATED) : : C: which students ALL (SELECTED,ALL) : : D: begin with student : : E: in order of student NAMES (ALIASES,NAMES) : : F: confirm grades NO (YES,NO) : : G: enter default values NO (YES,NO) : : H: file read by (if from file) MERGING (MATCHING,MERGING) : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to choose grades to enter : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :.................................................................: This menu has eight choices labeled A, B, C, ...H and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key begins the process of entering new grades and NOTES, reviewing NONE grades, or generating a new grade based on the values of old grades. CHOICE A allows you to choose whether you to enter grades and NOTES from the keyboard or read them from a file. Each time you press the letter A, GRADE GUIDE switches between entering grades and NOTES from the keyboard and from a file. CHOICE B lets you specify whether you are entering new grades (NEW), reviewing NONE grades (REVIEW), or generating a new grade based on the values of old grades (GENERATED). Each time you press the letter B, the selection cycles among the three choices. CHOICE C determines whether you will be entering grades for all of the students in the class or just the students marked as selected. If you enter new grades or generate a new grade for selected students only, those students not selected will be assigned default values (NONE values unless Choice G below is set to YES) for their grades. Later you could review NONE grades for those students not selected if you wanted to change their NONE grades. Pressing the letter C switches between entering grades or NOTES for all your students (ALL) and entering values for only the selected students (SELECTED). CHOICE D lets you start entering grades or notes with a student who is not alphabetically first in the class. This is helpful when reviewing NONE grades. If you are ever entering grades and need to quit when only half finished, you could save your class file and exit GRADE GUIDE. Later you could restart GRADE GUIDE and begin to review NONE grades for those students whose grades you have not yet entered. Even if you begin entering grades with a student whose name is not at the beginning of the alphabet, GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 53 you can use the <PgUp> key to page back through the students or the <^PgUp> key to jump to the first student. Pressing the letter D allows you to choose a student in the class with whom you want to begin entering grades. When you enter the student's name, you have to enter only a few characters of the student's name or alias for GRADE GUIDE to be able to identify the correct student. If you want to clear the name displayed in choice D so GRADE GUIDE will begin at the beginning of the alphabet, just press the letter D followed by the <F2> (clear entry) key. CHOICE E switches between letting you enter your students' grades alphabetically by the students' names (NAME) or alphabetically by the students' aliases (ALIAS). Pressing the letter E switches between the two choices. CHOICE F lets you tell GRADE GUIDE to pause after you have entered each student's grades and NOTES so you can confirm that the entered values are correct and change the incorrect values. Even if you do not pause to confirm grades, you can always use the <PgUp> key to go back to students whose grades you have already entered to check or change their grades. Pressing the letter F switches between having GRADE GUIDE pause after each student (YES) and having no pause (NO). CHOICE G allows you to enter default values for grades and NOTES. Normally, if you do not enter a grade for a student, the student receives the first NONE grade. If you choose to enter default values, GRADE GUIDE will let you enter default values for each grade and NOTE that you enter. For example, if most of the students in your class received a 100 on QUIZ 3, you could enter 100 as the default value on QUIZ 3. Then you would only have to enter QUIZ 3 grades for those students not receiving a 100. Also, if you do not want to assign the first NONE grade as a default, you could choose one of the other four NONE grades as the default grade. If you are entering NOTES, you could give a default value to a NOTE. This would initialize the NOTE. If you wanted to enter NOTE 3 to read for each student "Your January project is ....", you could initialize the NOTE to have the value "Your January project is ". Then you would only have to fill in the remainder of the NOTE for each student. Note that if your students already have information stored in a NOTE, and you initialize that NOTE, your initialization is added to the end of the NOTE information already present. Pressing the letter G switches between having GRADE GUIDE ask you for default values (YES) and not asking you for default values. CHOICE H lets you switch between reading grades from a file using the MERGING method or the MATCHING method. (See "Reading Grades from Files" in the next section.) Pressing the letter H switches between the two choices. Suppose the ENTER STUDENT GRADES AND NOTES menu is set for you to enter new grades (choice B is NEW) from the keyboard (choice A is KEYBOARD). Then pressing the <Enter> key lets you begin the process of entering grades and NOTES. The first thing that you need to tell GRADE GUIDE is which grades and NOTES you want to enter. GRADE GUIDE shows you a pop-up menu with a list of your categories and the word "NOTE". For example, the pop-up menu may show the following categories GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 54 A EXAM B QUIZ C HOMEWORK D NOTE If you want to enter only one grade, let us say a QUIZ grade, press the letter B (either upper or lower case) followed by the <Esc> key. GRADE GUIDE responds by showing you the grade QUIZ 1 GRADE GUIDE also can let you enter several grades at once. For example, you could enter a QUIZ grade, an EXAM grade, a second QUIZ grade, a HOMEWORK grade, and NOTE 1. In that case you would type the choices "babcd". When you type the "d", GRADE GUIDE will prompt you to enter the number of the NOTE you want to enter (1 to 20). When you finish telling GRADE GUIDE your five entries, press the <Esc> key. GRADE GUIDE shows the listing QUIZ 1 EXAM 1 QUIZ 2 HOMEWORK 1 NOTE 1 You may enter up to ten grades or NOTES at one time. The number after the category name tells you which grade of the category you are entering. If you had entered three QUIZ grades previously, the two new QUIZ grades would be numbered 4 and 5. It is legal to enter an empty list of grades by pressing only the <Esc> key when prompted for the grades you want to enter. Do this if you really do not want to enter any grades. After selecting the list of grades and NOTES you want to enter, GRADE GUIDE asks you to confirm that the list is correct. If you say that the list is correct, GRADE GUIDE shows you a screen titled "ENTER INFORMATION ABOUT GRADES." At this screen you can enter grade labels for any of the grades that you are entering from labeled categories. (See "Categories" in the chapter "BASICS.") You may set a grade weight for each grade you enter, a maximum possible score for each numeric grade you enter, and lowest cutoff values for each WHOLE-CUTOFF, DECIMAL1-CUTOFF, or DECIMAL2-CUTOFF grade you enter. (See "Grade Types" and "Averages" in the chapter "BASICS.") You can move a highlighted area to the values you want to enter or change by using the cursor control keys. (See "Input Defaults" in the chapter "DEFAULT MENU" for information about having the numbers on this screen set for you by default.) Press the <Esc> key when you have finished entering the needed information. GRADE GUIDE will ask you to confirm that you have finished before going on. ......................................................................... : Note that entering a MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORE of zero has the effect of : : making that grade an extra credit grade. The points for the grades : : you assign get added to the total number of points accumulated. : :.......................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 55 If you have told GRADE GUIDE you want to enter default values for grades and NOTES (choice G on the ENTER STUDENT GRADES AND NOTES menu is set to YES), you are shown a screen where you can set the default values that will be assigned to each student. While entering the values, you can use any of the cursor control keys to edit the values entered. Press the <Esc> key when you have finished. Now GRADE GUIDE presents one screen for each of your students (or each of your selected students if you are entering values only for the selected students.) On each screen, you can enter values for each of the grades and NOTES that you chose to enter. Pressing the <Enter> key after entering a grade moves the program to the next grade. Pressing one of the cursor control keys (<up>, <down>, <^Home>, <^End> and so forth) moves the highlighted area among the grades so you can change any of the grades. Pressing the <PgUp> or <PgDn> key brings you from one student to the previous or next student, respectively. The <^PgUp> and <^PgDn> keys allow you to jump to the first or last student, respectively. To enter a LETTER grade, one of the number grades, or a NOTE, type the grade or NOTE's value. To enter a grade of type WORD GRADE, you need only to type the first character or characters of the grade from the WORD GRADE list for that category. As soon as GRADE GUIDE determines which of the up to ten words you are typing, it will display the word. Press the <Enter> key or one of the cursor control keys if the displayed word is correct. If the letters you type do not match one of the WORD GRADES in the list, GRADE GUIDE will display a pop-up menu from which you can choose the WORD GRADE you want. The pop-up menu also will be displayed if you press the <Ins> key. If you ever leave a grade blank, GRADE GUIDE will assign the first NONE grade for that grade. If you want one of the other NONE grades, you can press the slash key (/) to get a list of NONE grades from which to choose. If you decide you do not want one of the displayed NONE grades, press the <Esc> key. When you have entered all the grades and NOTES for all the students, GRADE GUIDE will tell you that you have reached the end of the list. Then you can choose to return to the ENTER STUDENT GRADES AND NOTES menu or continue editing grades and NOTES. Pressing the <Esc> key at any time allows you to return to the ENTER STUDENT GRADES AND NOTES menu. >>>Reading Grades from Files GRADE GUIDE allows you to enter grades and NOTES from a DOS text file. This feature is supplied for teachers who have computer graded exams with results supplied in DOS text files and for those who may want to read grades that they have obtained as output from some other computer program. If you wish to read grades from a file rather than from the keyboard, you should set choice A to FILE. If you choose to enter grades from a file, GRADE GUIDE asks you to enter the name of the DOS text file containing the new grades. If you do not specify the drive or directory of the file, the directory used is the same as the class file's directory. There are two methods that can be used for reading grades from a file, MERGING and MATCHING. You choose between the two methods by setting menu GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 56 switch H on the ENTER STUDENT GRADES AND NOTES menu. If you read grades by the MERGING method, GRADE GUIDE requires that the text file that you read has exactly one line of text for each student in your class, and that the students in the file are in the same order as the students in GRADE GUIDE's list. To achieve this, you may need to edit the text file before entering GRADE GUIDE to ensure that title lines have been removed, that the lines of the file are sorted in the same order that your students are sorted in GRADE GUIDE, that there is not an extra carriage return at the end of the last student's line of information in the file (resulting in an extra line in the file), and that there is a blank line entered for any student who is missing from the file. GRADE GUIDE checks that the file has exactly one line of text for each student in your class. If you read the file using the MATCHING method, GRADE GUIDE reads either a student name or alias from each line of the file to determine which student receives the grades on that line of the file. Whether GRADE GUIDE reads a name or alias is determined by whether you are entering grades in order of students' names or aliases (choice C on the ENTER STUDENTS GRADES AND NOTES menu). GRADE GUIDE will prompt you to enter the beginning and ending columns (tab positions) for the position on the line where the students' names or aliases can be found. (See "Entering New Students" in this chapter for a similar example.) It is important that if you enter grades or NOTES from a file in order of names, there should not be any duplicate names in the class. Similarly, if you enter grades in order of aliases, there should not be any duplicate aliases. Duplicates will result in some students being assigned grades of other students. GRADE GUIDE will warn you if there are students whose names or aliases appear on the file but not in the class. It also will warn you if there are students from the class who do not appear in the file. After the warning, you may choose not to enter grades or to enter grades only for the students in the class whose names appear in the file. Each line of the file except for the last line must end with a carriage return. Lines may be up to 250 characters long. When you enter grades and NOTES from a file, GRADE GUIDE asks you for the beginning and ending columns (tab positions) for the positions on the line containing those grades and NOTES. The first line of the input file is displayed on the screen to help you remember the correct columns to choose. GRADE GUIDE continues just as it did when you entered grades from the keyboard, including asking you for maximum possible scores, weights, cutoffs, and labels. The only difference is that the grades are read from the file. If you have chosen to do grade confirmations, after all the new grades have been read, the program redisplays the students and their new grades so you can check that the grades have been read correctly. You can then change them if they are wrong. When GRADE GUIDE reads a line of a file, it looks at each grade position on the line and determines a grade from what it finds in that position. In general, GRADE GUIDE selects the first item in the position that looks like a grade. If you said that there was a letter grade in columns 5 through 12 and one line reads: "ghscabyh" in that position, then GRADE GUIDE would assign a grade of C, the first reasonable grade in that position. If the position reads: "ghsuabyh", then the grade would be AB. If a number grade is read from a line reading: "a000078+23rihs ", the grade would be 78. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 57 If GRADE GUIDE cannot make sense out of the characters read from a given position (for example, if the position were blank), a grade of NONE is assigned. >>>Reviewing None Grades Choice B on the ENTER STUDENT GRADES AND NOTES menu can be set to REVIEW which allows you to review NONE grades. If you make this selection and press the <Enter> key, GRADE GUIDE will display the following REVIEW NONE GRADES menu. ........................................................................... : REVIEW NONE GRADES : : : : First Select Options: : : A: review which NONE grades ALL (ALL,DEFAULT ONLY) : : B: review which grades ALL GRADES (1 GRADE,1 CATEGORY,ALL GRADES): : C: which category(if not ALL) FINAL GRADE : : D: which grade (if 1 GRADE) 1 (1 to 1) : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to review none grades : : <Esc>: to Return to ENTER GRADES AND NOTES menu <F1>: help : :.........................................................................: This menu has four choices labeled A, B, C, and D and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key begins the process of reviewing NONE grades. The menu allows you to choose which grades you want to review. When you review NONE grades, GRADE GUIDE displays a screen for each student who has NONE grades assigned. This allows you to see which NONE grades have been assigned and lets you change them. It provides an easy way to see which students still have incomplete work (that is, NONE grades). It also gives you a fast way to update those grades that were recorded as NONE but now need to be changed. You can review grades that have any of the five kinds of NONE grades assigned, or just review the NONE grades assigned by default, the first NONE grade. You also can decide whether to review all NONE grades assigned, just the NONE grades in one category, or just the NONE grades given for one particular grade. CHOICE A allows you to choose between reviewing all the grades that have been assigned as any of the five kinds of NONE grades (ALL) and reviewing just those NONE grades that were assigned by default to be the first NONE grade (DEFAULT ONLY). Pressing the letter A switches between the two settings. CHOICE B is used to choose whether to review all NONE grades (ALL), just the NONE grades in one category (1 CATEGORY), or just the NONE grades given for one of the assigned grades (1 GRADE). Pressing the letter B cycles the choice among the three options. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 58 CHOICE C lets you select a category of grades to review in case choice B above is not set to ALL. Pressing the letter C causes a pop-up menu to be displayed from which you can choose a category to review. CHOICE D lets you select one grade in the category chosen in choice C above in the case choice B above is set to 1 GRADE. Pressing the letter D lets you enter a grade number. If the chosen category is a labeled category, a pop- up menu will be displayed from which you can choose a grade. >>>Generating New Grades Choice C on the ENTER STUDENT GRADES AND NOTES menu can be set to GENERATE which allows you to generate a new grade based on the values of old grades. If you make this selection and press the <Enter> key, GRADE GUIDE will display the following GENERATE A GRADE FROM AN AVERAGE/MAXIMUM/MINIMUM menu. ....................................................................... : GENERATE A GRADE FROM AN AVERAGE/MAXIMUM/MINIMUM : : : : First Select Options: : : A: set the generate definition : : B: generate by calculating the AVERAGE (AVERAGE,MAXIMUM,MINIMUM) : : C: optional NONE grades IGNORED (ZERO,IGNORED) : : D: add grade to which category FINAL GRADE : : E: generate letter grades with LETTER (LETTER+-,LETTER1/2,LETTER): : F: average based on WEIGHTS (WEIGHTS,TOTALS) : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to generate the grade : : <Esc>: to Return to ENTER GRADES AND NOTES menu <F1>: help : :.....................................................................: This menu has six choice labeled A, B, C, ...F and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE to generate a new grade. For each student the value of the new grade is based on a combination of the student's old grades and averages determined by the menu settings A, B, C, and F. The new grade will be placed in the category indicated by the menu choice D. Menu choice E determines the style of generated letter grades. CHOICE A lets you tell GRADE GUIDE which old grades and averages are to be combined to form the new grade. When you press the letter A, GRADE GUIDE displays the following EDIT GENERATE DEFINITION screen. This screen allows you to enter a list of up to 12 old grades, category averages, or the GRAND AVERAGE. Each entry can be given a PERCENT OF TOTAL which allows you to set how much influence each entry has on forming an average. The generate definition is initialized with one entry, the GRAND AVERAGE making up 100% of the contribution to a new grade. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 59 .......................................................................... : EDIT GENERATE DEFINITION : : ENTRY GENERATE CONTRIBUTION PERCENT OF TOTAL : : 1 GRAND AVERAGE 100.000 : : 2 : : 3 : : 4 : : 5 : : 6 : : 7 : : 8 : : 9 : : 10 : : 11 : : 12 : : EDIT GENERATE DEFINITION BY CHOOSING ONE OF THE FOLLOWING : : <down> : : A: save definition <up>: change lines <Enter>: add a new line : : B: read definition <Del>: delete the line <Esc>: go to GENERATE MENU : : <F1>: for help : :........................................................................: If this generate definition is used to generate a new grade, the new grade would be based entirely on the current value of the GRAND AVERAGE. Here are some other examples of generate definitions. ........................................................................... : The following definition could be used to create a grade which is the : : arithmetic average of the TEST 1 and the TEST 2 grades. : : : : 1 TEST 1 50.000% : : 2 TEST 2 50.000% : : : : The following definition could be used to create a grade that is : : weighted so that two thirds of the grade comes from the current TEST : : category average and the other third from the FINAL EXAM 1 grade. : : : : 1 TEST AVERAGE 66.667% : : 2 FINAL EXAM 1 33.333% : : : : The following definition could be used to create a grade that is : : weighted so that 40 percent of the grade is based on each of two : : semester grades and 20 percent on a final examination. Perhaps the two : : semester grades were created earlier by this procedure at the ends of : : each semester of a two semester course. : : : : 1 SEMESTER GRADE 1 40.000% : : 2 SEMESTER GRADE 2 40.000% : : 3 FINAL EXAM 1 20.000% : :.........................................................................: When viewing the EDIT GENERATE DEFINITION screen, you can press the <Enter> key to enter a new line of the definition. You can choose from a series of pop-up menus which type of grade or average you want as that part of the definition. Then you can enter a weight for that part of the definition. The <up> and <down> keys can be used to move the cursor to the different GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 60 lines of the definition. The <Del> key can be used to delete the line where the cursor is. Note that, as in the category percents, the percentages do not need to add up to 100%. If all percentages are zero, the new grade will be based on an accumulation of total points rather than on a combination of averaged grades. GRADE GUIDE always saves the current generate definition with your class file, but it also will allow you to save a generate definition on a file for future use or use with another class. Press the letter A to save the current definition or the letter B to read an old definition. GRADE GUIDE will ask you to provide a name for a definition you want to save and will show you a pop-up menu of old definition names from which to choose when you want to read a definition. GRADE GUIDE attaches a file extension of "GEN" to the file name you provide. Note that category names are not saved with the definitions, only category numbers (first category, second category, third category, and so forth). This allows you to use the generate definition with other classes whose category names may not match those of the current class. On the other hand, you must be careful when reading an old generate definition if you have added or deleted categories since the definition was created. The old definition may now use the wrong categories or grades. Also note that if a row of a generate definition becomes meaningless (for example, if it used the average of the last category QUIZ and category QUIZ has been deleted), GRADE GUIDE will drop the row of the definition. When you have finished entering a generate definition, press the <Esc> key to return to the GENERATE A GRADE FROM AN AVERAGE/MAXIMUM/MINIMUM menu. CHOICE B on the GENERATE A GRADE FROM AN AVERAGE/MAXIMUM/MINIMUM menu lets you determine how to combine the list of grades and averages listed in the generate definition discussed above. The new grade that you create can be an averaging of the grades and averages listed in your definition, the maximum of the grades and averages, or the minimum of the grades and averages. Pressing the letter B cycles through the three choices. .......................................................................... : For example, suppose we have the following generate definition: : : : : 1 TEST AVERAGE 25.000% : : 2 PROJECT AVERAGE 25.000% : : 3 FINAL EXAM 1 50.000% : : : : where the FINAL EXAM 1 was a 200 point exam. Suppose William Johnson : : has a TEST average of 90%, a project average of 80%, and a FINAL EXAM : : grade of 160. Then his FINAL EXAM 1 grade is worth 160 / 200 = 80%. : : : : If choice B is AVERAGE, GRADE GUIDE would combine William Johnson's : : three values, weighting the first two by 25% and the third by 50% to : : get 90% * 25% + 80% * 25% + 80% * 50% = 82.5%. : : : : If choice B is MAXIMUM, GRADE GUIDE would look at the three values of : : 90%, 80%, and 80% and choose 90%. If choice B is MINIMUM, GRADE GUIDE : : would choose 80%. : :........................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 61 Note that GRADE GUIDE ignores the percentage values for each generate definition entry when calculating MAXIMUMS or MINIMUMS. CHOICE C is used to tell GRADE GUIDE how you want any optional NONE grades to be treated when averages are calculated in the process of generating a new grade. Pressing the letter C switches between treating optional NONE grades as zeros or ignoring them. (See "NONE Grades" in the chapter "BASICS.") CHOICE D lets you choose into which category the newly created grade should be placed. CHOICE E is important when the category chosen in choice D above is a category of LETTER grades. It determines which style of letter grade will be created, pure letter grades (LETTER), letter grades including those with pluses or minuses such as A+ and C- (LETTER+-), or letter grades including the half grade values of AB, BC, CD, and DF (LETTER1/2). Pressing letter E cycles through those three choices. CHOICE F allows you to force generated grades to be based on total accumulated points of the entries in the generate definition rather than a weighting given by the generate entry percentages. Pressing F switches between doing the calculation by average (WEIGHTS) and by using totals (TOTALS). Once you have set the menu switches as you want, pressing the <Enter> key generates the new grade. If the new grade goes into a category of number grades, GRADE GUIDE generates a grade by converting the percentage calculation into a grade on a scale from 0 to 100. (See "Defaults for Grade Calculations" in the chapter "DEFAULTS" to change this scale.) If the new grade goes into a category of letter grades, GRADE GUIDE converts the percentage calculation into a letter grade. (See "Defaults for Grade Calculations" in the chapter "DEFAULTS" to see how the conversion can be regulated.) If the new grade goes into a category of WORD GRADES, GRADE GUIDE uses the values assigned to each grade in the word grade list and the maximum possible word grade value to determine the best word grade to assign. If you plan to convert percentages to WORD GRADES, use caution and test your results because you may not always get results that are easy to interpret. Note that if your generate definition contains only one entry and that entry is for one grade (for example, TEST 3), it would be easier to use the COPY GRADE facility in GRADE GUIDE to create the new grade. (See "Copying Grades" later in this chapter.) >>>Establishing New Categories Pressing the letter C at the MAIN MENU allows you to establish new grade categories for your class. Since there must be at least one category established before you can enter students' grades, usually you will want to use MAIN MENU Option C when you first establish each class file (although you can establish more new categories later.) GRADE GUIDE allows you to GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 62 enter as many as 200 grades for each student in each category. You can establish as many as 30 different categories, and, therefore, GRADE GUIDE limits you to entering no more than 6000 grades for each student. If you select MAIN MENU Option C, GRADE GUIDE lists information about each of the categories you have already established and waits for you to enter new information. A highlighted cursor appears on the screen. Using the <up> and <down> keys, you can move the cursor up and down the list of category names. If the cursor is at the bottom of the list of categories, it forms a large highlighted area showing you that you can begin typing the name of a category. If the cursor is not at the bottom line, you can insert a new category at that position in the category list by pressing the <Enter> key. For each new category, you must enter a name for the category (the name can be up to 20 characters long), select a grade type from a pop- up menu (LETTER, WHOLE, WHOLE-CUTOFF, DECIMAL1, DECIMAL1-CUTOFF, DECIMAL2, DECIMAL2-CUTOFF, or WORD GRADE), a percentage of the GRAND AVERAGE, and whether you want the category to be LABELED. (See "Categories" and "Grade Types" in the chapter "BASICS.") Pressing the <Esc> key while entering any part of a category definition clears that entire line of definition. The percentages you assign need not add up to 100%. If they do not, GRADE GUIDE adjusts them for you when it needs them. (See "Averages" in the chapter "BASICS.") If you select the grade type WORD GRADE for a category, GRADE GUIDE presents the following menu where you can tell how that WORD GRADE is to be used. The screen is initialized to look like the following: .......................................................................... : DEFINE WORD GRADE FOR CATEGORY ATTENDANCE : : : : First Select Options: : : A: number of words 2 (2 to 10) : : B: maximum possible value 1.000 (0.000 to 999.999) : : C: use values in GRAND AVERAGE NO (YES,NO) : : D: list category when suppressed YES (YES,NO) : : E: list grades when suppressed NO (YES,NO) : : F: suppress category AVERAGE ALWAYS (ALWAYS,SUPPRESSED,NEVER) : : G: suppress word counts NEVER (ALWAYS,SUPPRESSED,NEVER) : : ............................................. : : : WORD VALUE : : : :1 ABSENT 0.000 : : : :2 PRESENT 1.000 : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Then Press: :...........................................: : : <Enter>: to set word names and values : : <Esc>: to Return to SET INPUT DEFAULTS <F1>: help : :........................................................................: The category name on the screen title changes with the name of the category you are establishing. The menu has seven choices labeled A, B, C, ...G and the usual <Esc>, <F1>, and <Enter> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 63 allows you to enter or change the list of words you can assign as WORD GRADES in that category. CHOICE A tells GRADE GUIDE how many different WORD GRADES can be assigned in the category. The number is initialized at 2 to accommodate the two words ABSENT and PRESENT. The five NONE grades also can be assigned as WORD GRADES but do not need to be listed here. Pressing the letter A allows you to enter a different number of WORD GRADES up to a maximum of ten. CHOICE B sets the maximum possible value for your WORD GRADES. When GRADE GUIDE calculates numeric average values for WORD GRADES or for the entire WORD GRADE category, it will use this maximum possible value to determine the value of the average. Pressing the letter B allows you to enter a new maximum possible value. CHOICE C lets you tell GRADE GUIDE not to consider the grades in this category when calculating a student's GRAND TOTAL. For example, many teachers want to record attendance grades but do not want the attendance grades to affect a student's final average. Pressing C switches between using the grades in the GRAND AVERAGE (YES) and not using the grades (NO). CHOICES D E F AND G let you determine how grades in your WORD GRADE category should be listed when displaying grades using MAIN MENU Option H. (See "Grade Types" in the chapter "BASICS" and "Displaying and Changing Grades and Notes" later in this chapter.) Because of some possible uses of WORD GRADES (such as for ATTENDANCE), GRADE GUIDE allows you not to list the grades every time you get a report of students' grades. For example, it is unnecessary to report a student's ATTENDANCE grade for every class period. It may be sufficient to just list the number of times a student is absent or present (grade COUNTS). At other times you may need to see all of the grades so you can either report which days a student missed or correct a mistaken entry. For this reason, GRADE GUIDE provides a SUPPRESS option that can be chosen when using MAIN MENU Option H to list grades. Choice D tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want this category listed at all when the SUPPRESS option is chosen. Pressing the letter D switches between listing the category when the SUPPRESS option is chosen (YES) and not listing it (NO). Choice E tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want grades in the category listed when the SUPPRESS option is chosen. Pressing the letter E switches between listing all the grades (YES) or not listing them (NO). Choice F tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want it to remove the category TOTALS and AVERAGES on the grade lists for this category. Pressing F cycles the choices through always removing the averages (ALWAYS), removing the averages only when the SUPPRESS option is chosen (SUPPRESS), or always listing the averages (NEVER). Choice G tells GRADE GUIDE when it should list the category grade COUNTS when grades are listed. Pressing the letter G cycles through the choices of always listing the counts (ALWAYS), listing the count only when the SUPPRESS option is chosen (SUPPRESS), and never listing the counts (NEVER). GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 64 Pressing <Enter> allows you to alter the list of up to ten words that can be assigned as WORD GRADES in the category. Also you can edit the numeric values assigned to each grade. Choice A determines how many words will appear in the list. Press the <Esc> key when you finish editing the list. You can provide default initialization values for all WORD GRADE DEFINITION menus on the DEFAULT MENU. (See "Input Defaults" in the chapter "DEFAULT MENU.") Press the <Esc> key to return to entering new categories. If you wish to use GRADE GUIDE for a class and do not want to separate your grades into categories, just establish one grade category and call it GRADES. When you have finished entering new categories, press the <Esc> key to return to the MAIN MENU. >>>Dropping Students Pressing the letter D at the MAIN MENU allows you to drop students from your class. GRADE GUIDE lets you select students one at a time, and remove those students from your class list. Recall that it is not necessary to enter the entire name of the student to find the student that you want. Before actually dropping any student from the list, GRADE GUIDE asks you to confirm that you want that student dropped. Press the <Esc> key when you have finished dropping students. >>>Dropping, Adjusting, Copying, and Deleting Grades Pressing the letter E at the MAIN MENU allows you to make changes to grades that affect the entire class at the same time. In particular, you can have GRADE GUIDE look through any category and drop (mark with one of the NONE grades) the scores in that category which are lowest. GRADE GUIDE also can go through your class and adjust any numeric grade by adding or subtracting a constant amount from each student's grade or multiplying each student's grade by a constant. You can make a copy of a grade. This creates a second copy of the same grade and stores it at another position within the same category or in another category. Finally, you can remove a grade from your grade list altogether. These four functions are described in more detail in the next four sections. To allow you to choose which of the four functions you want, GRADE GUIDE displays the following menu: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 65 ........................................................................ : DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE GRADES : : : : Select the type of change to make. : : A: drop the lowest grades for each student in any category, : : dropped grades are changed to one of the NONE grades : : B: adjust the values for any numeric grade by shifting each : : grade by a constant amount : : C: copy any grade to another position : : D: delete any grade from the list of grades : : : : : : Changed grades remain as TEMPORARILY CHANGED GRADES until either : : they are made permanent or the old grades are reinstated. : : : : : : <Esc>: to return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :......................................................................: To choose one of the operations listed, just press the corresponding letter. Press the <Esc> key when you have finished. You may want to see the effect of your having dropped, adjusted, copied, or deleted grades before committing yourself to making the grade change permanent. Therefore, GRADE GUIDE only TEMPORARILY changes the grades. This allows you to view the grades using any of the MAIN MENU options while the grades are still only TEMPORARILY changed. In fact, if you return to the MAIN MENU while there are TEMPORARILY CHANGED GRADES, there will be a statement at the bottom of the screen reminding you that grades have been TEMPORARILY CHANGED. GRADE GUIDE never updates the disk file while there are TEMPORARILY CHANGED GRADES. It lets you investigate the changes, make additional changes, create reports, and so forth. Whenever there are TEMPORARILY CHANGED GRADES, the DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE GRADES menu displays two more choices: ..................................................................... : E: make the temporarily changed grades permanent : : : : F: reinstate the grades as they were before the temporary changes : :...................................................................: Sooner or later you must decide whether you want the grades in your class to be PERMANENTLY CHANGED or whether you want to reinstate the old grades as they were before you made the change. You make that choice by re-entering MAIN MENU Option E which allows you to select between those two options or to change some more grades (TEMPORARILY). GRADE GUIDE does this by making sure that the copy of your class file on the disk has been updated prior to your changing grades. Then, if you decide that you want to reinstate the grades the way they were before you created the TEMPORARILY CHANGED GRADES, the file can be read from the disk and the old grades are restored. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 66 .......................................................................... : Note that if you make any changes to any information stored with your : : class (names, aliases, grades, menu switches, passwords, and so forth) : : while there are TEMPORARILY CHANGED GRADES, all those changes will be : : lost if you decide to reinstate the old grades. : :........................................................................: >>>Dropping Lowest Grades Instructors sometimes want to drop the lowest grade or lowest few grades for a student before calculating final grades. Pressing the letter A at the DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE GRADES menu displays the following menu: ....................................................................... : DROP GRADES : : : : First Select Options: : : A: which students ALL (SELECTED,ALL) : : B: drop grades from category PROJECT : : C: number of grades to drop 1 (1 to 8) : : D: dropped grades replaced by DROP (NONE,ZERO,N/A,DROP,) : : E: drop zero NONE grades YES (YES,NO) : : F: drop ignored NONE grades YES (YES,NO) : : G: drop optional NONE grades YES (YES,NO) : : H: optional NONE grades IGNORED (ZERO,IGNORED) : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to drop the grades : : <Esc>: to Return to DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE menu <F1>: help : :.....................................................................: This menu has eight choices labeled A, B, C, ...H and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE to go through your list of students and drop the lowest grades in the category indicated by menu choice B. CHOICE A determines whether you will be dropping grades for all the students in the class or for just the students marked as selected. Pressing the letter A switches between dropping grades for all your students (ALL) and dropping grades for only the selected students (SELECTED). CHOICE B allows you to choose from which category you want to drop the grades. Pressing the letter B causes GRADE GUIDE to display a pop-up menu from which you can choose the category you want. CHOICE C lets you tell GRADE GUIDE how many grades to drop. You could drop just the lowest score in the category (1 grade) or drop several of the lowest scores (4 or 5 grades.) Pressing the letter C allows you to change the number of dropped grades. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 67 CHOICE D is used to tell GRADE GUIDE which of the five NONE grades should be used to replace the dropped grades. By default, GRADE GUIDE assigns the NONE grade labeled "DROP." Pressing the letter D cycles the choices through the five NONE grade values. CHOICES E F AND G are used to tell GRADE GUIDE how to handle NONE grades that are encountered when looking for low grades. Some times you may want to include NONE grades among the grades you want to drop, that is, drop grades that are already marked as NONE grades. Other times you may want to skip over NONE grades, only dropping grades that are not yet NONE. Choice E lets you choose whether to skip NONE grades that are always treated as zeros. Choice F lets you choose whether to skip NONE grades that are always ignored. Choice G lets you choose whether to skip NONE grades that are optionally ignored. (See "NONE Grades" in the chapter "BASICS" for more information about the different types of NONE grades.) For each menu choice, pressing the letter for that choice switches the choice between being able to drop those NONE grades (YES) and skipping those NONE grades (NO). CHOICE H is used to tell GRADE GUIDE how you want any optional NONE grades to be treated when calculating the value of each grade while looking for grades to drop. Pressing the letter H switches between treating optional NONE grades as zeros and ignoring them. (See "NONE Grades" in the chapter "BASICS.") If the type of NONE grade listed on menu choice D is treated as ignored, GRADE GUIDE will drop those scores with the smallest percent. This will give the students the highest possible average when NONE grades are ignored. On the other hand, if the type of NONE grade listed on menu choice D is treated as zero, GRADE GUIDE will drop those scores with the smallest point value. .......................................................................... : For example, suppose there are four QUIZ scores recorded as follows: : : : : QUIZ # MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORE WEIGHT : : ------ ---------------------- ------ : : 1 10 1.000 : : 2 10 2.000 : : 3 20 1.000 : : 4 10 1.000 : : : : Suppose also that one student has received the grades 8, 7, 12, and 9, : : respectively. If you drop two grades while the chosen NONE grade is : : treated as zero, GRADE GUIDE will calculate the weighted grades to be : : 8, 14, 12, and 9 and will drop the first and the last grades which are : : the smallest. If you drop two grades while the chosen NONE grade is : : ignored GRADE GUIDE will calculate the percentages obtained for each : : score to be 80%, 70%, 60%, and 90% and will drop the second and third : : grades which have the smallest percentage. : :........................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 68 If you like to drop grades at the end of a semester or year, but you also would like to show students how well they are doing before the end, you can TEMPORARILY drop some grades and get a listing of grades to show the students, without making the TEMPORARILY CHANGED GRADES permanent. You can wait till the end of the course to make them permanent so if students receive lower scores later in the semester, the new lower scores can be dropped and the old scores will not be lost. Press the <Esc> key to return to the DROP GRADE menu. >>>Adjusting Grades Sometimes after instructors look at the grades they assigned, they see there is a need to shift or rescale the grades to bring them in line with other grades given in the same course. This often happens as a result of an assignment being too easy or too hard for students, making their grades artificially high or artificially low. GRADE GUIDE allows you to do this sort of manipulating of a grade. Pressing the letter B at the DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE GRADES menu displays the following ADJUST A GRADE menu: ..................................................................... : ADJUST A GRADE : : : : First Select Options: : : A: which students ALL (SELECTED,ALL) : : B: adjust a grade from category PROJECT : : C: adjust which grade 1 (1 to 8) : : D: adjustment type ADD (ADD,SUBTRACT,MULTIPLY) : : E: add to the grade 0 (0 to 250) : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to adjust the grade : : <Esc>: to Return to DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE menu <F1>: help : :...................................................................: This menu has five choices labeled A, B, C, D, and E and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE to adjust the grade indicated by the category in menu choice B and the grade number in menu choice C. CHOICE A determines whether you will be adjusting grades for all the students in the class or just the students marked as selected. Pressing the letter A switches between adjusting grades for all your students (ALL) and adjusting them for only the selected students (SELECTED). CHOICE B lets you select the category where the grade is to be adjusted. Pressing the letter B causes GRADE GUIDE to display a pop-up menu from which you can select a category. Note that you can only adjust grades from numeric categories, that is, you cannot adjust LETTER or WORD GRADE grades. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 69 CHOICE C lets you select the grade from within the category selected in menu choice B. Pressing the letter C lets you enter a grade number or choose a grade label from a pop-up menu if the category is labeled. CHOICE D is used to tell GRADE GUIDE whether you want to adjust the grade by adding a constant to the grade (ADD), subtracting a constant from the grade (SUBTRACT), or multiplying the grade by a constant (MULTIPLY). Pressing the letter D cycles the selection through the three choices. CHOICE E lets you set the constant that should be added to, subtracted from, or multiplied by each of the students' grades. The menu choice changes when menu choice D changes. Pressing the letter E allows you to change the constant. GRADE GUIDE will warn you when grades have been increased up to the maximum possible value for that grade type (250 for WHOLE grades, 5000.0 for DECIMAL1 grades, and 500.00 for DECIMAL2 grades). It will also warn you if grades are dropped to zero. ........................................................................... : Note that GRADE GUIDE adjusts only the students' grades and not the : : maximum possible scores or the letter grade cutoffs that are associated : : with that grade. If you want those changed also, you can reset them : : by using MAIN MENU Option I. : :.........................................................................: >>>Copying Grades Occasionally, you may need to create a second copy of a grade. In particular, you might want a grade stored in one category to be stored in another category. You also might need to copy a grade so that you can change the order in which grades are listed. If you press the letter C at the DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE GRADES menu, GRADE GUIDE displays the following COPY A GRADE menu. ....................................................................... : COPY A GRADE : : : : First Select Options: : : A: copy a grade from category TEST : : B: copy which grade 5 (1 to 5) : : C: copy to which category FINAL EXAM : : D: place copy before which grade 1 (1 to 1) : : E: make letter grades with LETTER (LETTER+-,LETTER1/2,LETTER): : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to copy the grade : : <Esc>: to Return to DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE menu <F1>: help : :.....................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 70 This menu has five choices labeled A, B, C, D, and E and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE to make a copy of the grade indicated by menu choices A and B and save the grade at the position indicated by the menu choices C and D. The example COPY A GRADE menu above shows how the choices could be set to copy the last TEST grade into the FINAL EXAM category. CHOICE A lets you choose the category of the grade to be copied. Pressing the letter A causes GRADE GUIDE to display a pop-up menu from which you can choose a category. CHOICE B is used to choose the number of the grade from within the category displayed in menu choice A. Pressing the letter B allows you to enter a number of a grade in that category or choose a grade label from a pop-up menu if the category is labeled. CHOICE C lets you choose the category into which you want to copy the grade. Pressing the letter C causes GRADE GUIDE to display a pop-up menu from which you can choose a category. CHOICE D is used to choose the position in the category displayed in menu choice C where you want the copied grade inserted. Pressing the letter D allows you to enter a grade number or choose a grade label from a pop-up menu if the category is labeled. The number gives the grade BEFORE which you want the grade inserted. Therefore, the grade number you choose can exceed the number of grades in the category by 1. CHOICE E is for letting GRADE GUIDE know what format of LETTER grade you want to create in case the destination category of the new grade is a LETTER grade category. Pressing the letter E cycles through the three choices of creating pure letter grades only (LETTER), letter grades with pluses and minuses (LETTER+-), and letter grades with the half way grades (LETTER1/2). When GRADE GUIDE copies a grade, it does not remove the original grade. That is, you end up with a class that has one more grade than you had before the copying. You can use the DELETE GRADE facility to remove the old grade. (See "Deleting Grades" in the next section.) >>>Deleting Grades Occasionally, instructors either enter a grade incorrectly or decide that a particular grade should not be used for grade calculations. One way to handle this situation would be to change the weight of that grade to zero using MAIN MENU Option I. Then the grade would appear on each student's grade list but would have no effect on the student's average. Another solution would be to remove that grade completely from the list of grades. You can delete a grade in this manner by pressing the letter D at the DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE GRADES menu. GRADE GUIDE will display the following DELETE A GRADE menu. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 71 .................................................................... : DELETE A GRADE : : : : First Select Options: : : A: delete a grade from category TEST : : B: delete which grade 5 (1 to 5) : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to delete the grade : : <Esc>: to Return to DROP/ADJUST/COPY/DELETE menu <F1>: help : :..................................................................: This menu has two choices labeled with the letters A and B and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE to delete the grade indicated by menu choices A and B. CHOICE A lets you choose the category of the grade to be deleted. Pressing the letter A causes GRADE GUIDE to display a pop-up menu from which you can choose a category. CHOICE B allows you to enter the number of a grade in the category indicated by menu choice A. Press the letter B to enter the grade number or choose a label from a pop-up menu if the category is labeled. .......................................................................... : For example, you have 10 QUIZ grades, and you choose to delete QUIZ 6. : : This will cause the QUIZ grades numbered 7, 8, 9, and 10 to be : : renumbered and appear as QUIZ 6, 7, 8, and 9, respectively. : :........................................................................: >>>Dropping Categories Occasionally, you may have established a category that you never used or for which you have no further use. You can remove that category and ALL OF THE GRADES ENTERED IN THAT CATEGORY by using Option F. GRADE GUIDE displays a pop-up menu from which you can choose the category to drop. GRADE GUIDE allows you to choose between dropping the entire category (including all the grades entered into that category) or dropping just the grades entered into the category (leaving the category definition intact). You also can choose not to drop any information by pressing the <Esc> key. >>>Displaying and Changing Students Pressing the letter G at the MAIN MENU lets you view, print, and change any of your students' names, aliases, or section numbers. GRADE GUIDE displays the following DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE NAMES,ALIASES,SECTIONS menu. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 72 .............................................................. : DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE NAMES,ALIASES,SECTIONS : : : : First Select Options: : : A: list information on the SCREEN (SCREEN,PRINTER,FILE) : : B: which students ALL (SELECTED,ALL) : : C: set output format : : : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to list students : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :............................................................: This menu has three choices labeled A, B, and C and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE to list your students. CHOICE A tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want to view the list of students on the SCREEN, print the list on the PRINTER, or save the list to a GRADEOUT FILE. (See "Files" in the chapter "INTRODUCTION.") Pressing the letter A cycles the choices through those three possibilities. CHOICE B determines whether you will be listing all the students in the class or just the students marked as selected. Pressing the letter B switches between listing all your students (ALL) and listing only the selected students (SELECTED). CHOICE C allows you to alter what student information is listed. Pressing the letter C causes GRADE GUIDE to display the following NAME OUTPUT FORMAT menu. ........................................................................... : NAME OUTPUT FORMAT : : : : First Select Options: : : A: list student BOTH (NAMES,ALIASES,BOTH) : : B: list SECTION NUMBERS NO (YES,NO) : : C: lines end (if printing) BLANK (BLANK,UNDERLINE,BOXES) : : D: page comment (if printing) : : : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter> OR : : <Esc>: to Return to the DISPLAY NAME,ALIAS,SECTION MENU <F1>:help : :.........................................................................: This menu has four choices labeled A, B, C, and D and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing either the <Enter> or the <Esc> key returns you to the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE NAMES,ALIAS, SECTIONS menu. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 73 CHOICE A tells GRADE GUIDE whether to list your students' NAMES, their ALIASES, or BOTH. Pressing the letter A cycles through the three choices. CHOICE B indicates whether students' section numbers should be listed. Pressing the letter B switches between listing the section numbers (YES) and not listing them (NO). CHOICE C selects which of three ways to print a list of students. If you choose to have lines end BLANK, a listing of names would look like this: 1. Able 2. Baker If you choose to have lines end with UNDERLINE, the listing would look like this: 1. Able________________________________________________________ 2. Baker_______________________________________________________ If you choose to have lines end with BOXES, the listing would look like this: 1. Able___|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| 2. Baker__|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____| The latter two methods produce lists that are convenient for recording grades by hand before they are entered into a class. CHOICE D lets you enter a comment that will appear on the top of your list of students when you send the listing to a file or to the printer. Press the <Esc> key when you have finished setting the name output format. As you view a list of students on the screen, a highlighted area shows you what information can be changed. You can use the cursor control keys to move the highlighted area around the screen so that any of the names, aliases, or section numbers can be changed. Only 40 students are displayed on the screen at any one time. You can use the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to see other screens with more students. If you ever make a change to the information on the screen that changes the order in which students are alphabetized, pressing the <PgUp> or <PgDn> keys always returns you to the first screen of students. Pressing the <Esc> key lets you return to the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE NAMES,ALIASES,SECTIONS menu. If you are printing names, you may stop the printer by pressing the <^Break> or <^C> key once. Rather than stopping the program's execution, the program will pause, and you can continue printing by pressing the <Enter> key or stop printing by pressing the <Esc> key. This is helpful if you want to stop printing the list before its end. At the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE NAMES,ALIASES,SECTIONS menu, press the <Esc> key to return to the MAIN MENU. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 74 >>>Displaying and Changing Grades and Notes Frequently, you will need to create a report listing your students' grades, averages, or NOTES. You may need to change the values of grades or NOTES you have previously entered. To do any of these activities, press the letter H at the MAIN MENU. GRADE GUIDE will display the following DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE GRADES,NOTES menu: ............................................................... : DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE GRADES,NOTES : : : : First Select Options: : : A: list information on the SCREEN (SCREEN,PRINTER,FILE) : : B: which students ALL (SELECTED,ALL) : : C: optional NONE grades IGNORED (ZERO,IGNORED) : : D: list notes YES (YES,NO) : : E: first note listed 1 (1 to 20) : : F: last note listed 20 (1 to 20) : : G: suppress word grades YES (YES,NO) : : H: begin with student : : I: set output format : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to list grades and notes : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :.............................................................: This menu has nine choices labeled A, B, C, ...I and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing <Enter> produces a list of your students' grades and NOTES. CHOICE A tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want to view the list of students on the SCREEN, print the list on the PRINTER, or save the list to a GRADEOUT FILE. (See "Files" in the chapter "INTRODUCTION.") Pressing the letter A cycles the choices through those three possibilities. CHOICE B determines whether you will be listing all of the students in the class or just the students marked as selected. Pressing the letter B switches between listing all your students (ALL) and listing only the selected students (SELECTED). CHOICE C is used to tell GRADE GUIDE how you want any optional NONE grades to be treated when averages are calculated in the process of listing your students' grade. Pressing letter C switches between treating optional NONE grades as zeros or ignoring them. (See "NONE Grades" in the chapter "BASICS.") CHOICES D E AND F determine which, if any, of the 20 NOTES should be listed with the students' grades. Pressing the letter D switches between listing NOTES (YES) and not listing NOTES (NO). Pressing the letter E or F lets you GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 75 enter the number of the first NOTE to list or last NOTE to list, respectively. CHOICE G regulates whether the SUPPRESS option should be used for categories of WORD GRADES. (See "Grade Types" in the chapter "BASICS" and "Establishing New Categories" earlier in this chapter.) Pressing the letter G switches between using the SUPPRESS option (YES) and not using it (NO). CHOICE H lets you start listing grades and NOTES with a student who is not alphabetically first in the class. If you are viewing your students on the screen and begin with a student whose name is not at the beginning of the alphabet, you can use the <PgUp> key to page back through the students or the <^PgUp> key to jump to the first student. If you are listing your students on the printer or to a file and begin with a student not at the beginning of the alphabet, GRADE GUIDE will pause at the end of each student it lists and ask you if you want to proceed with the next student. Pressing the letter H allows you to choose a student in the class with whom you want to begin entering grades. When you enter the student's name, you have to enter only a few characters of the student's name or alias for GRADE GUIDE to be able to identify the correct student. If you want to clear the name displayed in choice H so GRADE GUIDE will begin at the beginning of the alphabet, just press the letter H followed by the <F2> (clear entry) key. CHOICE I allows you to determine exactly how your students' grades and NOTES will be listed. Pressing the letter I causes GRADE GUIDE to display the following GRADE OUTPUT FORMAT menu: ........................................................................... : GRADE OUTPUT FORMAT : : : : First Select Options: : : A: list student NAMES (NAMES,ALIASES,BOTH) : : B: list SECTION NUMBERS NO (YES,NO) : : C: list GRAND BOTH (TOTAL,AVERAGE,BOTH,NEITHER) : : D: list CATEGORY BOTH (TOTAL,AVERAGE,BOTH,NEITHER) : : E: list letter category GPA YES (YES,NO) : : F: list grades with LABELS (LABELS,MAXIMUMS,BOTH,NEITHER) : : G: list empty categories NO (YES,NO) : : H: list letter grade for average NEITHER (GRAND,CATEGORY,BOTH,NEITHER) : : I: list average letters with LETTER (LETTER+-,LETTER1/2,LETTER) : : J: page comment (if printing) : : : : K: slip comment (if printing) : : 1 : : 2 : : Then Press: : : <Enter> OR : : <Esc>: to Return to the DISPLAY GRADES AND NOTES MENU <F1>: help : :.........................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 76 This menu has eleven choices labeled A, B, C, ...K and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Esc> or the <Enter> key will return you to the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE GRADES,NOTES menu. Normally, when GRADE GUIDE lists grades, it begins with a title line containing a student's name, their GRAND TOTAL, and their GRAND AVERAGE. (See "Averages" in the chapter "BASICS.") After the title line, GRADE GUIDE lists one or more lines for each category for which you have entered some grades. Each category listing begins with a line containing the category name, the category total, and the category average. LETTER grade categories also include a GPA (grade point average) based on a 4 point scale. On the lines following the category title, GRADE GUIDE lists all of the grades given to the student in that category (unless the grade list has been SUPPRESSED as is possible with WORD GRADES.) After all the categories have been listed, any NOTES that you want listed are displayed. If the list is sent to the printer, only NOTES with non-blank entries are printed. The menu above allows you to alter how the listing is done. CHOICE A lets you choose whether to list students' names, aliases, or both on the title line of the grade report. If names are included, the students will be listed alphabetically by name. Otherwise, they will be listed alphabetically by alias. Pressing the letter A cycles through the choices of listing names only (NAMES), aliases only (ALIASES), or both names and aliases (BOTH). CHOICE B determines whether to list students' section numbers on the title line of their grade reports. Pressing the letter B switches between including the section number (YES) and not including it (NO). CHOICE C tells GRADE GUIDE to list on the grade reports' title lines the students' GRAND TOTAL (TOTAL), the students' GRAND AVERAGE (AVERAGE), list both the GRAND TOTAL and the GRAND AVERAGE (BOTH), or to leave off both the GRAND TOTAL and GRAND AVERAGE (NEITHER). Pressing the letter C cycles through these four choices. CHOICE D tells GRADE GUIDE to list with the grade reports' category titles the category total (TOTAL), the category average (AVERAGE), both the category total and average (BOTH), or neither the category total nor average (NEITHER). Pressing the letter D cycles through these four choices. CHOICE E indicates whether the GPA should be listed with LETTER grade categories. Pressing the letter E switches between listing the GPA (YES) and not listing it (NO). CHOICE F is used to regulate what optional information should be listed next to each grade in the list of grades. If grades come from a labeled category, you can optionally have the grade labels listed next to each grade. Doing this makes it easier to identify which grades are for which assignments, but it makes the grade report somewhat longer. (See "Categories" in the chapter GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 77 "BASICS.") For number grades, you also can list each grade along with the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORE for that grade. This makes it easier to remember whether a score of 45 was a good score (45 out of 50) or a bad score (45 out of 200). Listing the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORE can make the grade report somewhat longer. Pressing the letter F cycles through the choices of listing grades with labels (LABELS), with MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES (MAXIMUMS), with both labels and MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES (BOTH), and with neither labels nor MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES (NEITHER). CHOICE G lets you decide if you want to list a category title for categories in which you have not yet inserted any grades. Pressing the letter G switches between including titles for empty categories (YES) and not including them (NO). CHOICES H AND I indicate whether GRADE GUIDE should generate and list a letter grade equivalent to the numeric averages that it lists. To do this GRADE GUIDE looks up the numeric averages on a conversion table. (See "Averages" in the chapter "BASICS.") Pressing the letter H cycles through the choices of listing the generated letter grade with the GRAND AVERAGE (GRAND), listing the generated letter grade along with each category average (CATEGORY), listing the generated letter in both locations (BOTH), or not listing any generated letter grades (NEITHER). If letter grades are to be generated, choice I displays which letter grade format is used to generate the letter grade. Pressing the letter I cycles the choice through the three choices of using pure letter grades only (LETTER), using the plus and minus letter grades (LETTER+-), and using the half way letter grades (LETTER1/2). CHOICE J lets you enter a comment that will appear on the top of your list of students when you send the listing to a file or the printer. CHOICE K lets you enter a comment that will appear on each students' grade report when you send the listing to a file or to the printer. The comment can be up to two lines long. You could use this comment to label the students' reports with the class name, the date, or some other message describing the report. When all the menu switches are set the way you want, press the <Esc> key to return to the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE GRADES,NOTES menu. When all the switches on the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE GRADES,NOTES menu have been set, press the <Enter> key to list the students' grades. When grades are listed on the screen, you can use the cursor control keys to move the highlighted area to the various grades and NOTES displayed. An indicator near the bottom of the screen always gives the current location of the highlighted area (cursor). The highlighted grades and NOTES can be changed. When grades are changed, averages and totals are updated instantaneously. Note that the <^Home> and <^End> keys move the cursor to the top or bottom of the screen, respectively. The <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys move the cursor to the previous or the following student, respectively. When <PgUp> and <PgDn> are used, the highlighted area remains at the same GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 78 grade or NOTE on the new student's screen as it was on the original screen. This makes it easy to check one particular grade or NOTE for each student. You can press the <Esc> key at any time to return to the DISPLAY/PRINT/ CHANGE GRADES,NOTES menu. >>>Displaying and Changing Grade Weights, Limits, and Labels Pressing the letter I at the MAIN MENU brings up the following DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE LIMITS, WEIGHTS, & LABELS menu: .................................................................. : DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE LIMITS, WEIGHTS, & LABELS : : : : First Select Options: : : A: list information on the SCREEN (SCREEN,PRINTER,FILE) : : B: listed category FINAL GRADE : : C: list weights YES (YES,NO) : : D: list maximums YES (YES,NO) : : E: list cutoffs YES (YES,NO) : : F: list labels YES (YES,NO) : : : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to list limits, weights, & labels : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :................................................................: This menu has six choices labeled A, B, C, ...F and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE to list information about how you have set grade weights, labels, maximum possible scores, and letter cutoffs for each grade in one of the categories. Being able to view and change these values is important not only because the original values you entered may be incorrect, but because it gives you a chance to see how grades or averages would change if the values were different. You may, for example, not be sure that you want the grade weight for TEST 4 to be 2.000. Perhaps it would be better if the weight were reduced to 1.500. You can change the grade weight for TEST 4, and, if you do not like the result, change it back. The listing looks very much like the grade reports listed by MAIN MENU Option H. (See "Displaying and Changing Grades and Notes" in the previous section.) CHOICE A tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want to view the limit, weight, and label information on the SCREEN, print it on the PRINTER, or save it to a GRADEOUT FILE. (See "Files" in the chapter "INTRODUCTION.") Pressing the letter A cycles the choices through those three possibilities. CHOICE B lets you choose the category whose information you wish to list. Pressing the letter B causes GRADE GUIDE to display a pop-up menu from which you can choose a category. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 79 CHOICES C D E AND F indicate which information will be listed. Choice C indicates whether grade weights will be listed (YES) or not listed (NO). Choice D indicates whether grade maximums for number grades will be listed (YES) or not (NO). Choice E indicates whether grade cutoffs for lowest A, B, C, and D grades will be listed for categories of type WHOLE-CUTOFF, DECIMAL1-CUTOFF, or DECIMAL2-CUTOFF (YES) or not (NO). Choice F indicates whether grade labels will be listed. Pressing one of the letters C, D, E, or F switches between the YES and NO selections for the appropriate menu choice. When the list is displayed on the screen, you can change any of the weight, limit, or label information by moving the highlighted area to the value you want to change. A message near the bottom of the screen indicates the current position of the cursor. Pressing the <Esc> key returns you to the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE LIMITS, WEIGHTS, & LABELS menu. Pressing the <Esc> key at the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE LIMITS, WEIGHTS, & LABELS menu causes GRADE GUIDE to return to the MAIN MENU. >>>Displaying and Changing Categories MAIN MENU Option J is used to display information about the categories you have established. It also lets you change any of the established information: the category names, grade types, percentages, and whether the categories should be labeled. Pressing the letter J at the MAIN MENU causes the following DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE Category Information menu to be displayed: .................................................................... : DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE CATEGORY INFORMATION : : : : First Select Options: : : A: list information on the SCREEN (SCREEN,PRINTER,FILE) : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to list category information : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :..................................................................: This menu has a single choice labeled by the letter A and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key lists the category information. CHOICE A tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want to view the category information on the SCREEN, print it on the PRINTER, or save it to a GRADEOUT FILE. (See "Reports" in the chapter "BASICS.") Pressing the letter A cycles the choices through those three possibilities. If the information is listed on the screen, the display changes to look like the following example: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 80 ........................................................................ : ESTABLISHED CATEGORY INFORMATION : : : : Press <Esc> to return to the DISPLAY CATEGORY INFORMATION menu : : : : CATEGORY NAME GRADE TYPE PERCENT GRAND AVERAGE LABELED : : : : 1 TEST Decimal1 - Cutoff 60.000 % LABELED : : 2 PROJECT Whole 20.000 % LABELED : : 3 PRESENTATION Word Grade 20.000 % NOT LABELED : : 4 FINAL GRADE Letter 0.000 % NOT LABELED : : : : : : <F1>: help : :......................................................................: If you press the <Enter> key, a highlighted area appears on the screen. With the cursor control keys you can move the highlighted area around the screen and change the values in the highlighted area. You can edit any of the category names or percentages. To change a grade type, move the highlighted area to the grade type you want to change and press the letter C. A pop-up menu will appear from which you can choose a new grade type in the same manner as you did when establishing categories. (See "Establishing New Categories" earlier in this chapter.) If you change a grade type, GRADE GUIDE will convert all of the grades in that category that you have assigned to students to the new grade type. It is a good idea to check your students' grades and the information about maximum possible scores and cutoffs for those grades after any change of grade type. Note that if you have a category of WORD GRADES, and you need to change the list of words that can be assigned as grades or wish to change how MAIN MENU Option H lists your WORD GRADES, you can do that here. Position the highlighted area over the "Word Grade" indicator for the category in question and press the letter C. When presented with the pop-up menu of grade types, select "Word Grade." You will see the DEFINE WORD GRADE menu you saw when you established the category at MAIN MENU Option C. Make the appropriate changes at that menu and press the <Esc> key. To change whether a category can have labels, locate the highlighted area under the LABELED column heading in the row for that category. Press the letter C to change between LABELED and NOT LABELED. When you have finished viewing or changing the category information, press the <Esc> key to return to the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE CATEGORY INFORMATION menu. At the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE CATEGORY INFORMATION menu, press the <Esc> key to return to the MAIN MENU. >>>Statistical Reports GRADE GUIDE includes a very powerful statistical report facility that displays several kinds of reports about grades for your class. You may GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 81 choose to display a report concerning one particular grade (for example, TEST 3), one particular category (for example, QUIZ totals or averages), or the GRAND TOTALS or GRAND AVERAGES. Each report has GRADE GUIDE calculate one value for each student. In the case of one grade, GRADE GUIDE takes either that grade for each student or a percentage score based on the maximum possible score for that grade. In the case of one category, GRADE GUIDE takes either the total or the percentage that each student obtained in that category. In the case of the GRAND TOTAL or GRAND AVERAGE, GRADE GUIDE calculates the GRAND TOTAL or GRAND AVERAGE for each student. The list of values calculated for each student is statistically analyzed, and three reports are generated: a review of some standard descriptive statistics, a sorted list of all the values obtained along with their Z- Scores, and a histogram (graphical chart) showing the distribution of the scores. Note that a Z-Score is a measure of how many standard deviations a value is from the mean value. Many teachers use Z-Scores to determine a grading scale using a traditional class curve method. Pressing the letter K at the MAIN MENU causes GRADE GUIDE to display the following DISPLAY/PRINT CLASS STATISTICS menu: ........................................................................... : DISPLAY/PRINT CLASS STATISTICS : : : : First Select Options: : : A: list information on the SCREEN (SCREEN,PRINTER,FILE) : : B: which students ALL (SELECTED,ALL) : : C: optional NONE grades IGNORED (ZERO,IGNORED) : : D: statistics for ALL GRADES (1 GRADE,1 CATEGORY,ALL GRADES): : E: calculate TOTALS (TOTALS,AVERAGES) : : F: list values YES (YES,NO) : : G: list histogram YES (YES,NO) : : H: which category (if not ALL)FINAL GRADE : : I: which grade (if 1 GRADE) 1 (1 to 1) : : J: page comment : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to list statistics : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :.........................................................................: This menu has ten choices labeled A, B, C, ...J and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key generates a statistical report. CHOICE A tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want to view the statistical report on the SCREEN, print it on the PRINTER, or save it to a GRADEOUT FILE. (See "Files" in the chapter "INTRODUCTION.") Pressing the letter A cycles the choices through those three possibilities. CHOICE B determines whether you will be calculating statistics for all the students in the class or just the students marked as selected. Pressing the letter B switches between writing a statistical report concerning all your GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 82 students (ALL) and writing the report concerning only the selected students (SELECTED). CHOICE C is used to tell GRADE GUIDE how you want any optional NONE grades to be treated when averages are calculated in the process of calculating your students' statistics. Pressing the letter C switches between treating optional NONE grades as zeros or ignoring them. (See "NONE Grades" in the chapter "BASICS.") CHOICE D indicates whether you want to calculate statistics using the GRADE TOTAL or GRADE AVERAGE that encompass all the grades (ALL GRADES), to calculate statistics using one of the category totals or averages (1 CATEGORY), or to calculate statistics using the scores or percentages for just one of the grades (1 GRADE). Pressing the letter D cycles through these three choices. CHOICE E indicates whether you want to calculate statistics using a TOTAL (GRAND TOTAL, a category total, or the grade values for one of the grades) or to calculate statistics using an AVERAGE (GRAND AVERAGE, a category average, or a percentage value for one of the grades). Pressing the letter E switches between the TOTALS and AVERAGES choices. CHOICES F AND G let you avoid listing two of the three parts of the statistical report. When you ask for a statistical report, GRADE GUIDE always produces a list of descriptive statistics (mean value, maximum value, minimum value, standard deviation, and so forth). You can have GRADE GUIDE suppress the sorted listing of calculated values and Z-Scores and the histogram. Pressing the letter F switches between having GRADE GUIDE include a sorted listing of calculated values (YES) and leaving it out (NO). Pressing the letter G switches between having GRADE GUIDE include the histogram (YES) and leaving it out (NO). CHOICES H AND I are used to indicate which category or which grade is used to calculate the statistics when choice D is not set to ALL GRADES. In the event you want a statistical report using 1 CATEGORY or 1 GRADE, pressing the letter H causes a pop-up menu to be displayed from which you can choose a category. In case you want a statistical report using 1 GRADE, pressing the letter I lets you enter the grade number or select a grade label from a pop-up menu if the category named in choice H is labeled. CHOICE J lets you enter a comment that will appear on the top of your statistics report when you send the report to a file or to the printer. Once the menu switches are set as you want, press the <Enter> key to generate the report. When the report is displayed on the screen, you can press the <PgUp> and <PgDn> keys to move among the three parts of the report. Press the <Esc> key when you are through viewing the report to return to the DISPLAY/PRINT CLASS STATISTICS menu. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 83 When you have finished generating statistical reports, press the <Esc> key to return to the MAIN MENU. >>>Roster Reports GRADE GUIDE supplies a roster listing option that can print a report in a traditional roster format with information for one student appearing on each line. You can select just which information you want to appear on each line. A roster report appears as one or more columns where each column contains one kind of information (a name, a grade, an average, and so forth). For example, you could print a report where each line gave a student's name, the student's QUIZ 1, QUIZ 2, and QUIZ 3 scores, the student's QUIZ TOTAL, the student's GRAND TOTAL, and the student's NOTE 3. In addition, you can have the lines of the roster sorted so that students are listed in order of their NAMES or ALIASES, in order of one of their NOTES, in order of one of their grades (that is, students with better grades could appear first), or even in order of a total or average grade. Pressing L at the MAIN MENU causes the following DISPLAY/PRINT CLASS ROSTER menu to be displayed: ...................................................................... : DISPLAY/PRINT CLASS ROSTER : : : : First Select Options: : : A: list information on the SCREEN (SCREEN,PRINTER,FILE) : : B: which students ALL (SELECTED,ALL) : : C: optional NONE grades IGNORED (ZERO,IGNORED) : : D: list column statistics YES (YES,NO) : : E: sort list by SE 1 (NAME,ALIAS,SE 1,SE 2,SE 1&2) : : F: list column headings YES (YES,NO) : : G: list column entry key NO (YES,NO) : : H: printed roster width 80 (30 to 255) : : I: write files for database NO (YES,NO) : : J: page comment : : : : K: set roster format : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to list roster : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :....................................................................: This menu has eleven choices labeled A, B, C, ...K and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key displays the roster report. It is important to note that to get a roster report, you must first set the roster report format by pressing the letter K. CHOICE A tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want to view the roster report on the SCREEN, print the report on the PRINTER, or save the report to a GRADEOUT FILE. (See "Files" in the chapter "INTRODUCTION.") Pressing the letter A cycles the choices through those three possibilities. CHOICE B determines whether your report will include all the students in the class or just the students marked as selected. Pressing the letter B switches GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 84 between reporting on all your students (ALL) and reporting on only the selected students (SELECTED). CHOICE C is used to tell GRADE GUIDE how you want any optional NONE grades to be treated when averages are calculated in the process of generating the roster report. Pressing the letter C switches between treating optional NONE grades as zeros or ignoring them. (See "NONE Grades" in the chapter "BASICS.") CHOICE D indicates whether you want to include some descriptive statistics at the bottom of each column of number values in your roster report. If the statistics are included, each column of numbers in the report has at its bottom a list of the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE value for the numbers in the column, the maximum value obtained in the column, the minimum number obtained in the column, the mean of the numbers in the column, and the standard deviation of the numbers in the column. CHOICE E tells GRADE GUIDE the order your students will be listed in the roster report. For example, your students could be listed alphabetically by name or alphabetically by alias. In addition, when you set up a roster format (see choice K below), you can choose any two of the roster entries to be SORT ENTRIES. That is, if your report was to include a column for the GRAND AVERAGE, you could use the GRAND AVERAGE for one of the sort entries. If a column of the report is SORT ENTRY number 1 or SORT ENTRY number 2, you can have the lines of the report sorted in order of the values in that column. In particular, your report can be sorted alphabetically by your students' names (NAME), alphabetically by your students' aliases (ALIAS), by the values in the column of SORT ENTRY number 1 (SE 1), by the values in the column of SORT ENTRY number 2 (SE 2), or by the values in SORT ENTRY number 1 where ties are broken by looking at the values in SORT ENTRY number 2 (SE 1&2). The technical name for a SORT ENTRY is a record key. You can choose your record key to be the students' names, their aliases, their SORT ENTRY number 1, or their SORT ENTRY number 2. If the key is SORT ENTRY number 1, you can use a secondary key of SORT ENTRY number 2 (SE 1&2). Pressing the letter E cycles through the five choices for sorting the roster list. ........................................................................... : For example, if you were creating a roster report with the entries : : being the students' names, TEST 5, TEST TOTAL, HOMEWORK AVERAGE, GRAND : : AVERAGE, and NOTE 4, and the SORT ENTRIES were set up by you to be the : : GRAND AVERAGE and the TEST 5, you could sort the roster report in order : : of : : names aliases GRAND AVERAGES TEST 5 grades : : : : OR in order of GRAND AVERAGES where if two or more students had the : : same GRAND AVERAGE, they would appear in a group sorted by their TEST 5 : : scores. : :.........................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 85 CHOICES F AND G determine what type of titles will head the columns of your roster report. GRADE GUIDE provides two different methods for placing titles on the report. You may chose one, both, or neither method. The first method prints a four line column heading at the top of each roster entry column. The column headings describe the information in the columns below. The second method prints a number above each column. Then at the bottom of the roster report, an entry key is printed (missing when the roster report is viewed on the screen) describing what each number stands for. Pressing the letter F switches between printing the column headings (YES) and leaving them off (NO). Pressing the letter G switches between printing the numbers and entry key (YES) and leaving them off (NO). .................................................................... : Note that if a column is very narrow, its column heading must be : : abbreviated in order to fit in the space provided. If you view : : the report on the screen and do not like the looks of the column : : heading, you can use choice K below to increase the number of : : spaces preceding the column, thus allowing more space and a more : : understandable column heading. : :..................................................................: CHOICE H tells GRADE GUIDE how wide a roster report your printer can print. Printers usually print lines 80 characters wide which is the width of your display screen. Some printers accommodate wider paper or can print in a condensed mode allowing lines to be 120 or 132 characters wide. Pressing the letter H allows you to enter a number of characters for your line width. ........................................................................... : Note that even if the printer width is 80 characters, GRADE GUIDE : : allows you to set up a roster report wider than 80 characters. It will : : print your roster report on separate pages. Then when you place the : : corresponding pages side by side, you construct a wide report. When : : you view on the screen a report wider than 80 characters, you can use : : the left and right cursor control keys to shift the screen left and : : right so that the entire report can be viewed. : :.........................................................................: CHOICE I is provided for users of database programs. When GRADE GUIDE writes a roster report to a file, you can have the report written in comma delimited format which can be read easily by most data management programs. The format suppresses all page and column titles, puts text information within quotation marks, and suppresses the printing of NONE grades (leaving them blank). Pressing the letter I switches between writing reports to files in this database format (YES) and printing normally (NO). CHOICE J lets you enter a comment that will appear on the top of your roster report when you send the report to a file or the printer. CHOICE K causes GRADE GUIDE to display the following screen on which you can set up the information that will appear on your roster report: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 86 ................................................................ : SET ROSTER FORMAT : : ENTRIES YOU HAVE CHOSEN ENTRIES YOU MAY CHOOSE FROM : : Entry Spaces : : Number Before Information A: LINE NUMBER : : 1 2 NAME B: NAME : : 2 2 TEST 1 C: ALIAS : : 3 5 HOMEWORK AVERAGE D: SECTION NUMBER : : 4 2 GRAND TOTAL E: 1 GRADE : : 5 F: 1 CATEGORY : : 6 G: ALL GRADES : : 7 H: NOTE : : 8 I: SAVE NEW FORMAT : : 9 J: READ OLD FORMAT : : 10 : : 11 <up> <down> <PgUp> : : 12 <PgDn>: to move cursor : : 13 <left> <right>: to change spacing : : 14 <Esc>: to quit : : 15 <F1>: help : : Current Roster Width = 46 : :..............................................................: To set up a roster report, you need merely to choose which information belongs in which columns of the report. On the left side of the screen above is a list of the column entries that are currently on the report. The above example shows four entries. Your report can have up to 70 entries. On the right side of the above screen is a list of the kinds of information you can have as entries. Also, at the bottom of the column notice the indicator showing how many characters wide the roster report will be. When this number exceeds 80 characters, GRADE GUIDE warns you so that you are aware the report will not fit on one 80 column screen or printed page. (See the discussion of menu choice H above.) To add a new roster report entry, move the highlighted marker to the position where you want to insert the new entry by using the <up>, <down>, <PgUp>, and <PgDn> keys. Then press the letter corresponding to the choice on the right side of the screen that describes the information you want added. For example, if you want the entry to be the GRAND AVERAGE, press the letter G for ALL GRADES since the GRAND AVERAGE is an average of all the grades together. If you want the entry to be NOTE 16, press the letter H for NOTE. GRADE GUIDE will usually need you to enter more information and will prompt you for the information. You often select the additional information from a pop-up menu. For example, if you want the entry to be HOMEWORK 3, press the letter E for 1 GRADE. GRADE GUIDE will present a pop-up menu from which you can choose the category HOMEWORK. Then GRADE GUIDE will ask you to enter the number of the grade you want to use. If the HOMEWORK category were labeled, you would choose the grade number from a pop-up menu of grade labels. Otherwise, you would just enter the number 3. Finally, GRADE GUIDE presents you with a pop-up menu giving you several choices of formats for the HOMEWORK 3 grade. If you just want to list the HOMEWORK 3 grades in the form you entered the grades, use the menu choice "Value" to represent the grade's value. Here are the formats you can choose. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 87 ......................................................................... : FORMAT : USAGE : :..........:............................................................: : Value : the value of a grade as you entered the grade : :..........:............................................................: : Percent : a grade expressed as a percent of the possible : :..........:............................................................: : Total : an accumulated point total for a category or GRAND TOTAL : :..........:............................................................: : Average : category or GRAND total expresses as a percent of possible : :..........:............................................................: : GPA : an average converted to a 4 point grade scale : :..........:............................................................: : Letter : a percent converted to a pure letter grade A, B, C, D, or F: :..........:............................................................: : Letter+- : a percent converted to letter allowing pluses and minuses : :..........:............................................................: : Letter1/2: a percent converted to letter allowing the half grades : :..........:............................................................: To remove an unwanted entry, move the highlighted marker to the unwanted entry and press the <Del> key. When GRADE GUIDE prints your roster report, it puts two spaces between each two column entries of the report. This shows up on the above screen as the number in the column titled "Spaces Before." You can have GRADE GUIDE increase or decrease the number of spaces printed before any column by first locating the highlighted marker at the entry in question. Then press the left or right arrow keys to decrease or increase the number of spaces, respectively, before the column for that entry. The current roster format is always saved with the information in your class file, but GRADE GUIDE also lets you save roster formats separately so they can be recalled later or even used with another class. To save a roster format, press the letter I. GRADE GUIDE will ask you to enter a file name with which to identify the file where the format is stored. The file extension "ROS" is added automatically to the file name you provide. Later you can retrieve the roster format by pressing the letter J. GRADE GUIDE will display a pop-up menu showing you all of the roster format files in the current default directory. Choose the file you want from the list of up to 100 files displayed. Note that category names are not saved with the roster format, only category numbers (first category, second category, third category, and so forth). This allows you to use the roster format with other classes whose category names may not match those of the current class. On the other hand, you must be careful when reading an old roster format if you have added or deleted categories since the definition was created. The old format may now use the wrong categories or grades. Also note that if a row of a roster definition becomes meaningless (for example, it used the average of the last category QUIZ and category QUIZ is deleted), GRADE GUIDE will drop the entry of the format. When the roster format is set the way you want, press the <Esc> key. GRADE GUIDE will then change the right side of the screen to show the following menu choices: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 88 ................................ : SORT BY THESE ENTRIES: : : A: sort entry 1 4 : : B: sort entry 2 1 : : : : SORT IN THESE ORDERS: : : C: sort order 1 DECREASING : : D: sort order 2 INCREASING : :..............................: Here, you can select which roster entries can be used to sort the roster report. (See the discussion above about menu choice E.) Pressing the letter A or B allows you to change the SORT ENTRY number 1 or the SORT ENTRY number 2, respectively. Pressing the letter C or D switches between sorting entry 1 or 2, respectively, in an INCREASING or DECREASING order. Only number and grade values can be sorted in DECREASING order. When a SORT ENTRY can only be listed in INCREASING order, the corresponding menu choice for letter C or D is ignored. When the SORT ENTRIES have been set, press the <Esc> key to return to the DISPLAY/PRINT CLASS ROSTER menu. Press the <Enter> key when you are ready to list your roster report. If the report is written on the screen, and the report is too long to fit on one screen, you can use the <up>, <down>, <PgUp>, and <PgDn> keys to move the report up and down so the whole report can be viewed. If the roster report is too wide to fit on one screen (80 characters wide), you can use the <left> and <right> keys to move the screen left or right so the whole report can be viewed. If the report is written on the printer or to a file, and the report is too wide to fit on one printed page, GRADE GUIDE will print the report on multiple pages. These pages can be placed side by side to make an extra wide report. Note that if you are working with a class that is so large that there is not enough memory space in your computer to allow you to produce statistical reports using MAIN MENU Option K, you can get some statistical information regarding grades, totals, and averages by creating a roster report containing the desired values. When viewing a report on the screen, press the <Esc> key to return to the DISPLAY/PRINT CLASS ROSTER menu. When finished with the roster facility, press the <Esc> key to return to the MAIN MENU. >>>Writing Letters The letter writing capability of GRADE GUIDE is the most flexible reporting facility available with the program. This option allows you to write one or more letters in a manner similar to the mail merge options available on many word processors. To use this option, first you must create a letter file that is a DOS text file containing a form letter. This form letter may contain special codes that instruct GRADE GUIDE to insert special information into the letter in place of the special codes. (See "Special Codes for Letter Writing" in the next section.) This information could GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 89 include the date, a student's name, a grade, a list of grades, an average, or other information you may want to include in a letter about a student. To create a form letter you can use any word processor or text editor that allows you to create a standard DOS text file (that is, a file with a carriage return at the end of each line and no special embedded word processor command or font control symbols), or you can use a built-in form letter editor that is part of GRADE GUIDE. Letter files you create outside of GRADE GUIDE's own editor must have the file extension "LTR". Files created by GRADE GUIDE's editor will be given the "LTR" extension automatically. ......................................................................... : Note that letter files created by a word processor must be stored in : : a purely text format (ASCII format) for GRADE GUIDE to properly read : : and use the letter. Most word processing packages store document : : files containing more than just text information. They also contain : : information about margins, page sizes, fonts, underlining, and so : : forth. GRADE GUIDE cannot handle such files properly. On the other : : hand, most word processing packages will allow you to save a document : : in a text or ASCII format, free of this extra information. GRADE : : GUIDE can read those text files. Look for a "Text In/Out" or : : other text file feature in your word processing package. Text editor : : programs usually create files that GRADE GUIDE can read. : :.......................................................................: GRADE GUIDE requires that no line of your letter exceeds 250 characters in length. Only the first 80 characters of each letter can be viewed on the screen. Letters created by the built-in editor are restricted to lines 79 characters long. Letter files must be stored in the same directory as the class file containing the students for whom you want to write the letters. You may store as many as 100 different letter files in the same directory. GRADE GUIDE allows you to select the letter file you want to use. You may, for example, want to have several form letters prepared: one for exceptionally good students, one for good students, one for average students, and perhaps several for students with various problems. You can also use the letter writing facility to create your own report formats. For example, the reports created using MAIN MENU Options H and L could have been created using the letter writing facility, albeit with somewhat more difficulty. Pressing the letter M at the MAIN MENU causes the following DISPLAY/ PRINT/EDIT LETTERS menu to appear. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 90 ................................................................... : DISPLAY/PRINT/EDIT LETTERS : : : : First Select Options: : : A: list information on the SCREEN (SCREEN,PRINTER,FILE) : : B: which students ALL (SELECTED,ALL) : : C: optional NONE grades IGNORED (ZERO,IGNORED) : : D: select letter file WEEK : : E: list in order of NAMES (NAMES,ALIASES) : : F: illegal code action IGNORE (PAUSE,IGNORE) : : G: page jump after each letter YES (YES,NO) : : H: preview letters before print YES (YES,NO) : : I: use labels in grade lists YES (YES,NO) : : J: begin with student : : K: edit current letter file : : L: create new letter file : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to view letters : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :.................................................................: This menu has twelve choices labeled A, B, C, ...L and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key begins the listing of the letter writing reports using the form letter file indicated by menu choice D. CHOICE A tells GRADE GUIDE whether you want to view generated letters on the SCREEN, print them on the PRINTER, or save them to a GRADEOUT FILE. (See "Files" in the chapter "INTRODUCTION.") Pressing the letter A cycles the choices through those three possibilities. CHOICE B determines whether you will generate letters for all the students in the class or just the students marked as selected. Pressing the letter B switches between writing letters to all your students (ALL) and writing letters to only the selected students (SELECTED). CHOICE C is used to tell GRADE GUIDE how you want any optional NONE grades to be treated when averages are calculated in the process of writing letters. Pressing the letter C switches between treating optional NONE grades as zeros or ignoring them. (See "NONE Grades" in the chapter "BASICS.") CHOICE D indicates which letter file is to be used when generating letters. This file must be chosen before you can generate letters or edit an existing letter. To choose a form letter press the letter D. GRADE GUIDE will display a pop-up menu from which you can choose one of the letter files in the current directory. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 91 CHOICE E lets you choose whether your letter reports will be listed alphabetically by your students' NAMES or alphabetically by your students' ALIASES. Pressing the letter E switches between the two choices. CHOICE F determines what GRADE GUIDE will do when it is reading a form letter and finds a special code that it cannot interpret. The choices are to IGNORE the incorrect code or to PAUSE so you can inspect the error. Pressing the letter F switches between the two choices. ........................................................................ : Note that it may make perfect sense to have special codes within a : : form letter that are incorrect codes. For example, you have a form : : letter that asks GRADE GUIDE to insert grades for TEST 1, TEST 2, : : TEST 3, and TEST 4. At the beginning of the next term when there : : have only been two test grades given, you may still want to use the : : same form letter. The TEST 3 and TEST 4 special codes will be : : incorrect; they refer to grades that have not been entered. You may : : want GRADE GUIDE to IGNORE incorrect codes in a case like this. : :......................................................................: CHOICE G allows you to choose whether each of the letters you write to your students should end with GRADE GUIDE causing your printer to jump to the top of the next page. If you are writing separate letters or reports to give to each student, you will probably want each report to appear on a separate sheet of paper. In that case you would likely choose to place a page jump at the end of each letter. On the other hand, if you are generating a short report for each student for your records or to post, you may want the listing of reports placed on one sheet only. In that case you would choose to suppress the page jump. Pressing the letter G switches between GRADE GUIDE's including the page jump (YES) and suppressing it (NO). Note that even if GRADE GUIDE suppresses the page jumps, you can include a special code in your form letter that forces a page jump. (See "Special Codes for Letter Writing" in the next section.) CHOICE H tells GRADE GUIDE whether letters being sent to the printer or to a file should be displayed on the screen before they are printed. If you preview the letters on the screen, for each student you will have the option to print the letter. Pressing the letter H switches between previewing letters (YES) and not previewing them (NO). CHOICE I determines whether grade reports generated by the special code "@[ GRADE LIST ]@" should include grade labels. Pressing the letter I switches between using labels (YES) and not using them (NO). CHOICE J lets you choose which student should be the first student listed when you write a letter for each student. This choice is convenient if you are ever writing letters to each of your students but need to quit part way through the class. When you start again, choice J can be used to enter the name of the student with whom you want to restart the letter writing. Pressing the GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 92 letter J allows you to choose a student with whom you want to begin writing letters. When you enter the student's name, you have to enter only a few characters of the student's name or alias for GRADE GUIDE to be able to identify the correct student. If you want to clear the name displayed in choice J so GRADE GUIDE will begin at the beginning of the alphabet, just press the letter J followed by the <F2> (clear entry) key. CHOICES K AND L allow you to access the built-in form letter editor. Pressing the letter K lets you edit the form letter indicated by menu choice D. Pressing the letter L lets you enter the name of a new form letter and, then create it. The form letter editor is a line editor, that is, it allows you to move a highlighted area from line to line in your text. The highlighted line can be edited the way any text information is edited in GRADE GUIDE. The only difference is that while editing a form letter, you can split a line of text into two lines or join two adjacent lines into one line. To split a line, just position the cursor to the point in the line where the second line should begin and press the <Enter> key. To join two lines together, either position the cursor at the end of the first line and press the <Del> key or position the cursor at the beginning of the second line and press the <Backspace> key. You will notice also that if you use the <up> and <down> keys to move from line to line, the cursor does not jump automatically to the beginning of each line. The cursor remains on the column where it was unless you move it with the <left>, <right>, <Home>, or <End> key. It may be more convenient for you to edit a form letter while using GRADE GUIDE. One reason to use the form letter editor rather than a word processor is the editor can insert the special codes needed to merge students' information into a form letter. A list of the possible special codes appears in the next section. When using the form letter editor, you do not need to remember the special codes. When you want to insert a special code into a form letter, just position the cursor where you want the code and press the <Ins> key. GRADE GUIDE will respond by displaying a sequence of one or more pop-up menus from which you can choose the information needed for the special code. The first pop-up menu displayed, for example, contains the entries GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 93 ........................................................................... : ENTRY : USAGE : :...............:.........................................................: : page jump : inserts a jump to the top of the next page : :...............:.........................................................: : join next line: causes the line to be joined to the next line : :...............:.........................................................: : date : inserts the current date : :...............:.........................................................: : time : inserts the current time : :...............:.........................................................: : class name : inserts the current class name : :...............:.........................................................: : name : inserts the student's name : :...............:.........................................................: : first name : inserts the student's first name : :...............:.........................................................: : last name : inserts the student's last name : :...............:.........................................................: : alias : inserts the student's alias : :...............:.........................................................: : grade lists : inserts one of several lists of grades : :...............:.........................................................: : all grades : inserts one of several values based on the GRAND TOTAL : :...............:.........................................................: : one category : inserts a value based on a category average : :...............:.........................................................: : one grade : inserts a value based on one grade : :...............:.........................................................: : one note : inserts a NOTE : :...............:.........................................................: See the next section for more details about these choices. The choices "grade list," "all grades," "one category," "one grade," and "one note" require more information. If you select one of those choices, GRADE GUIDE will prompt you to make additional choices. Information inserted by special codes can be positioned within a line; that is, you can provide the tab position where you want the inserted information to be located. GRADE GUIDE will prompt you to see if you want to either right-justify or left- justify the information inserted by the special code, and if so, on which character position (tab position) of the line you want the information to line up. When you have finished editing a form letter, press the <Esc> key. After setting the menu switches on the DISPLAY/PRINT/EDIT LETTERS menu, you are ready to generate letters. Press the <Enter> key to begin. When viewing letters on the screen, GRADE GUIDE presents one screen of information at a time. You can press the <Enter> key to continue the listing. When each full letter has been listed, you can press the <PgUp> or <PgDn> keys to view the letter of the previous or next student, respectively. If you are previewing a letter before printing it, you are given the option to print the letter. If your letter includes the special code @[ COMMENT ]@ and you are printing the letter, the program halts to GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 94 allow you to enter a comment that gets inserted into the letter. Press the <Esc> key at any time to return to the DISPLAY/PRINT/EDIT LETTERS menu. When you have finished producing letters, you can press the <Esc> key at the DISPLAY/PRINT/EDIT LETTERS menu to return to the MAIN MENU. >>>Special Codes for Letter Writing There are several kinds of special codes that mean something to GRADE GUIDE that you can insert into the letter. Each special code must begin with the two characters "@[" and end with the two characters "]@". You may use one or more blanks between the words in the special code. The code must fit entirely on one line; that is, you may not have part of a code at the end of one line and the remainder of the code at the beginning of the next line. There can be many special codes on each line. Special codes can be written in either upper or lower case letters. You may reuse a particular code as many times as you want to in a letter. The following is a list of all the special codes that GRADE GUIDE accepts and the information that GRADE GUIDE inserts for each of the codes. Code words in the table that are written in upper case must be typed as shown. Words in lower case refer to information you must insert. CODES NOT PERTAINING TO ANY STUDENT OR GRADES CODE GRADE GUIDE WILL ---- ---------------- @[ DATE ]@ insert the current date @[ TIME ]@ insert the current time @[ CLASS NAME ]@ insert the class name @[ PAGE JUMP ]@ form feed the printer to jump to the next page @[ + ]@ join the line to the beginning of the next line CODES NOT PERTAINING TO ANY GRADES CODE GRADE GUIDE WILL ---- ---------------- @[ NAME ]@ insert a student's full name @[ FIRST NAME ]@ insert a student's first name @[ LAST NAME ]@ insert a student's last name @[ ALIAS ]@ insert a student's alias @[ SECTION ]@ insert a student's section number @[ NOTE number ]@ insert a student's NOTE for the given NOTE number @[ COMMENT ]@ prompt you to insert a comment for the student Note that if you plan to use FIRST NAME and LAST NAME, make sure that each student's name is entered either in the form of last name followed by a comma followed by first name or entered in the form of last name followed by a space followed by first name. This is necessary for GRADE GUIDE to determine the correct first and last names. Do not make the mistake of entering Joan Van Frank's name as "Van Frank Joan". That would give her a last name of "Van" and a first name of "Frank Joan". Use the form "Van Frank, Joan" or "Van.Frank Joan". GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 95 CODES REFERRING TO A COMPILING OF ALL GRADES CODE GRADE GUIDE WILL INSERT ---- ----------------------- @[ NONE ]@ a student's number of NONE grades @[ NUMBER ]@ the number of grades entered in the class @[ GRAND TOTAL ]@ a student's grand total @[ GRAND AVERAGE ]@ a student's grand average @[ GRAND GPA ]@ the GRAND AVERAGE converted to a 4 point scale @[ GRAND LETTER ]@ the GRAND AVERAGE converted to A, B, C, D, or F @[ GRAND LETTER+- ]@ the GRAND AVERAGE converted to a LETTER grade with pluses and minuses @[ GRAND LETTER1/2 ]@ the GRAND AVERAGE converted to a LETTER grade with half grades @[ GRAND TOTAL POSSIBLE ]@ the total possible for the GRAND TOTAL @[ GRADE LIST ]@ a list of all the student's grades Note that the GRADE LIST above will have the same format as the GRADE LIST produced by MAIN MENU Option H and the switches set on the DISPLAY/PRINT/ CHANGE GRADES & NOTES menu. (See "Displaying and Changing Grades and Notes" earlier in this chapter.) Note that the category name in each of the following codes can either be listed as the name of the category such as "TEST", "HOMEWORK", and "QUIZ" or be listed by category number such as "CATEGORY 4". Here, "CATEGORY 4" refers to the fourth category in the listed by MAIN MENU Option J. (See "Displaying and Changing Categories" earlier in this chapter.) CODES REFERRING TO ALL THE GRADES IN ONE CATEGORY CODE GRADE GUIDE WILL INSERT THE STUDENT'S ---- ------------------------------------- @[ category name NUMBER ]@ number of grades in the category @[ category name PERCENT ]@ the category's PERCENT OF GRAND AVERAGE @[ category name NONE ]@ number of NONE grades given in category @[ category name POSSIBLE ]@ total possible points in the category @[ category name TOTAL ]@ total accumulated points in the category @[ category name AVERAGE ]@ total converted to a percentage @[ category name GPA ]@ percentage converted to a 4 point scale @[ category name LETTER ]@ percentage converted to A, B, C, D, F @[ category name LETTER+- ]@ percentage as a LETTER with pluses and minuses @[ category name LETTER1/2 ]@ percentage as a LETTER with the half grades used @[ category name COUNT grade value ]@ a count of how many times the given grade value occurred in the category @[ category name GRADES ]@ a list of grades for the one category GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 96 CODES REFERRING TO JUST ONE GRADE CODE GRADE GUIDE WILL INSERT THE STUDENT'S ---- ------------------------------------- @[ category name grade number POSSIBLE ]@ maximum possible grade for the given grade number in the given category @[ category name grade number WEIGHT ]@ weight for the given grade number in the given category @[ category name grade number LABEL ]@ label for the given grade number in the given category @[ category name grade number ]@ assigned grade for the given grade number @[ category name grade number AVERAGE ]@ assigned grade converted to a percentage of the possible score @[ category name grade number GPA ]@ percentage converted to a 4 point scale @[ category name grade number GRADE*WEIGHT ]@ the value of the given grade multiplied by the corresponding grade weight @[ category name grade number LETTER ]@ the value of the given grade converted to a LETTER A, B, C, D, or F @[ category name grade number LETTER+- ]@ the value of the given grade converted to a LETTER using pluses and minuses @[ category name grade number LETTER1/2 ]@ the value of the given grade converted to a LETTER using the half grades @[ category name grade number GRADE/POSSIBLE ]@ the given number grade along with the maximum possible score CODES RESULTING IN VERTICAL LISTINGS You can change any of the codes listed in "CODES REFERRING TO JUST ONE GRADE" above by replacing the grade number by the word "VERTICAL". The result will cause GRADE GUIDE to print a vertical list of all the values for each grade in the category. For example, the code @[ category name VERTICAL LETTER ]@ will cause GRADE GUIDE to print a vertical list of each grade in the category converted to a LETTER grade. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 97 RIGHT OR LEFT JUSTIFICATION GRADE GUIDE allows you to format the special codes to help determine the position on the printed line that the information replacing the special codes will go. A format code consists of a letter L or R followed immediately by a column number. A format code can be included at the end of any special code. Its effect is to move the replacement information to the indicated column number on the line. For example, if you use the special code "@[ HOMEWORK 5 ]@", GRADE GUIDE will simply replace the code with the student's HOMEWORK 5 grade. If you include the format code L24, that is "@[ HOMEWORK 5 L24 ]@", GRADE GUIDE will print the HOMEWORK 5 grade beginning in column 24. If you use the special code R24, that is "@[ HOMEWORK 5 R24 ]@", GRADE GUIDE will print the HOMEWORK 5 grade ending in column 24. That is, the L format codes are used to LEFT JUSTIFY the replacement information while R format codes are used to RIGHT JUSTIFY the replacement information. GRADE GUIDE will use the format codes only if there is room to print the information in the requested columns. The format codes can be used to construct a customized grade report table. Consider the following examples. FORM LETTER EXAMPLES Suppose you might create a letter file called GOOD.LTR containing the following form letter. .......................................................................... : @[Date]@ : : To the parents of @[ First Name ]@ @[ Last Name ]@: : : : : Your child is in my MATH 001 course this year. So far this year, : : your child is doing very well. After @[EXAM NUMBER]@ exams @[Note 1]@ : : has obtained an average of @[EXAM AVERAGE]@. The important grade on : : the semester's first project was @[PROJECT 1]@. The project was : : concerned with @[NOTE 20]@. : : Here is a list of the grades @[ First Name ]@ has earned so far. : : @[GRADE LIST]@ : : : : It has been a pleasure having @[ First Name ]@ in my course. : : @[ COMMENT ]@. : : : : Sincerely, : :........................................................................: This would work well if for each student NOTE 1 was the word "he" or "she", depending on the student's sex, and NOTE 20 was a description of the student's PROJECT. Each of the special codes in the form letter gets replaced by the appropriate student's information. The following form letter could be used to create a table for each student. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 98 ...................................................................... : @[ name ]@ @[ date r70 ]@ : : : : EXAM POSSIBLE : : ---- -------- : : @[ EXAM VERTICAL R10 ]@ @[ EXAM VERTICAL POSSIBLE R18 ]@ @[ + ]@ : : @[ EXAM VERTICAL LABEL L20 ]@ : : ----- -------- : : @[ EXAM TOTAL R10 ]@ @[ EXAM POSSIBLE R18 ]@ : :....................................................................: GRADE GUIDE would replace the codes and print something like the following. .................................................................. : Smith, John December 11, 1992 : : : : EXAM POSSIBLE : : ---- -------- : : 95 A 100 Chapters 1-3 : : 88 B 100 Chapters 4-5 : : 71 D 100 Chapters 6-8 : : 87 B 100 Chapter 9 : : 185 A 200 Final Exam : : ----- --------- : : 526.00 600.00 : :................................................................: >>>Selecting Students One of the most powerful features of GRADE GUIDE is its ability to select students. You could, for example, select all the students who have a NONE grade on PROJECT 3, the students who have A or B averages, or the students who belong to a particular group named in one of the NOTES. There are many GRADE GUIDE functions that can be restricted by menu choice to the selected students (entering, reviewing, generating new grades, dropping or adjusting grades, listing students, listing grades, statistical reports, roster reports, and letter writing). To select students you first must set the criteria on which GRADE GUIDE will base its selection of students. Then the students matching those criteria can be marked as "selected" students. Both activities are handled by MAIN MENU Option N. Pressing the letter N at the MAIN MENU causes the following SELECT STUDENTS menu to be displayed: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 99 ...................................................................... : SELECT STUDENTS : : : : First Select Options: : : A: edit selection criteria : : B: select students NOT matching NO (YES,NO) : : C: optional NONE grades IGNORED (ZERO,IGNORED) : : : : : : ......................................... : : : Number of students in the class : 42 : : : : Number of selected students : 0 : : : :.......................................: : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to select students matching current criteria : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :....................................................................: This menu has three choices labeled A, B, and C and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key causes GRADE GUIDE to go through the class and mark the students who match the criteria as selected students. Notice that the screen displays the number of students in the class as well as how many of the students are currently marked as selected. CHOICE A is used to set up the selection criteria. When you press the letter A, the following EDIT SELECTION CRITERIA screen is displayed: ........................................................................... : EDIT SELECTION CRITERIA : : : : # FIRST SELECTION FIELD COMPARISON SECOND SELECTION FIELD CONNECTOR : : : : 1 GRAND TOTAL < 860.000 AND : : 2 GRAND TOTAL > 840.000 : : 3 : : 4 : : 5 : : 6 : : 7 : : 8 : : 9 : : 10 : : 11 : : 12 : : : : EDIT SELECTION CRITERIA BY CHOOSING ONE OF THE FOLLOWING : : <up> : : A: save criteria <down>: change lines <Enter>: add a new line : : B: read criteria <Del>: delete the line <Esc>: go to SELECT MENU : : <F1>: for help : :.........................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 100 The screen has room for the entry of up to twelve selection criteria. Each criterion consists of two selection fields, one comparison used to compare the fields, and an optional connector that is either "AND" or "OR." There is a highlighted marker on the screen that you can move up and down by using the <up> and <down> keys. To enter a new criterion, move the marker to the position desired for the new criterium and press the <Enter> key. A highlighted area will appear in the position of the FIRST SELECTION FIELD on that row. Also, a pop-up menu will appear from which you can choose an item for the selection field. The seven possible field choices are: ............................ .......................................... : CHOICE : USE STUDENT'S : : CHOICE : USE STUDENT'S : :.........:................: :............:...........................: : NAME : name : : 1 GRADE : grade value for 1 grade : :.........:................: :............:...........................: : ALIAS : alias : : 1 CATEGORY : category average or total : :.........:................: :............:...........................: : SECTION : section number : : ALL GRADES : grand total or average : :.........:................: :............:...........................: : : : : NOTE : NOTE value : :.........:................: :............:...........................: If you choose from the second choice column, GRADE GUIDE will prompt you for additional information. For example, if you choose "1 CATEGORY," GRADE GUIDE will display a pop-up menu from which you can choose the category you want. Then it will prompt you to tell whether you want the category AVERAGE or the category TOTAL. The choices of NAME, ALIAS, and NOTE result in GRADE GUIDE's evaluating a character string, that is, a sequence of characters. The other choices result in GRADE GUIDE evaluating a number value. Once you have chosen the FIRST SELECTION FIELD, GRADE GUIDE presents you with another pop-up menu from which you can select a comparison. The list of possible comparisons is different for character strings than for number values. Possible comparisons are: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 101 ........................................................................... :CHOICE : MAKES THE SELECTION CRITERION TRUE IF ... : :..........:..............................................................: : = : first field has the same value as second field : :..........:..............................................................: : NOT = : first field has a different value as second field : :..........:..............................................................: : < : first field has a smaller value as second field : :..........:..............................................................: : ≤ : first field has a value smaller or equal to second field : :..........:..............................................................: : > : first field has a greater value than second field : :..........:..............................................................: : ≥ : first field has a value greater or equal to second field : :..........:..............................................................: : BEGINS : first field character string starts with second field string : :..........:..............................................................: : CONTAINS : first field character string contains a copy of second field : :..........:..............................................................: : ENDS : first field character string ends with second field string : :..........:..............................................................: When the FIRST SELECTION FIELD and the comparison have been chosen, GRADE GUIDE displays another pop-up menu from which you can choose a SECOND SELECTION FIELD. Your choices are similar to your choices for the FIRST SELECTION FIELD. One difference is that if the first field represents a number value, the second field also must represent a number value. If the first field represents a character string, the second field also must represent a character string. The SECOND SELECTION FIELD can always be a "User Value". If you select "User Value", GRADE GUIDE will prompt you for a value to enter to be used as the SECOND SELECTION FIELD. If you are going to enter more than one selection criterion, you must tell GRADE GUIDE how to combine the various criteria with AND's and OR's. If two criteria are connected by AND, both of the criteria must be satisfied for a student to be selected. If two criteria are connected by OR, only one of the criteria must be true for a student to be selected. GRADE GUIDE will prompt you so you can choose an AND or an OR connector to end your criterion. If your criterion is the last criterion, you can press the <Esc> key to use no connector. Note that when GRADE GUIDE evaluates selection criteria, it considers all pairs of criteria connected with AND before it considers pairs of criteria connected with OR. ........................................................................ : For example, consider the following criteria: : : : : 1 GRAND TOTAL < 860.000 AND : : 2 GRAND TOTAL > 840.000 : : : : The "860" and "840" are both "User Value" entries. These criteria : : could be used to select all students whose GRAND TOTAL value falls : : between the values of 840 and 860. : :......................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 102 .......................................................................... : Here is a second example: : : : : 1 HOMEWORK AVERAGE < 70.000 OR : : 2 QUIZ AVERAGE < 70.000 OR : : 3 TEST AVERAGE < 70.000 : : : : Each "70" value is a "User Value" entry. These criteria could be used : : to select all students who have an average of less than 70 percent in : : at least one of the categories, HOMEWORK, QUIZ, or TEST. : :........................................................................: .......................................................................... : You can use criteria to compare grades or averages as in this example: : : : : 1 TEST 3 > TEST 2 : :........................................................................: .......................................................................... : Finally, consider this more complex set of criteria: : : : : 1 NOTE 3 CONTAINS Group 1 AND : : 2 PROJECT 1 = NONE OR : : 3 NOTE 3 CONTAINS Group 1 AND : : 4 PROJECT 2 = NONE : : : : Here the criteria is set up to select all students who are working in : : Group 1 (indicated by their NOTE 3) who have not yet completed PROJECT : : 1 or PROJECT 2. : :........................................................................: The current selection criteria are always saved with your class file. Since you may need to use more than one set of selection criteria, GRADE GUIDE allows you to save selection criteria on a disk file to be read in the future. At the EDIT SELECTION CRITERIA screen, you can save the current selection criteria by pressing the letter A. GRADE GUIDE will prompt you for the file name for a file into which you want to put the selection criteria. GRADE GUIDE will attach the file type "SEL" to the file name automatically. If you want to retrieve selection criteria saved to a file, press the letter B. GRADE GUIDE will display a pop-up menu from which you can choose one of the selection criteria files in the current directory. Up to 100 selection criteria can be listed in one directory. Note that category names are not saved with the selection criteria, only category numbers (first category, second category, third category, and so forth). This allows you to use the selection criteria with other classes whose category names may not match those of the current class. On the other hand, you must be careful when reading old selection criteria if you have added or deleted categories since the criteria were created. The old selection criteria may now use the wrong categories or grades. Also note that if one of the selection criterion becomes meaningless (for example, it used the average of the last category QUIZ and category QUIZ is deleted), GRADE GUIDE will drop that row of the selection criteria. When the selection criteria are set properly, press the <Esc> key to return to the SELECT STUDENTS menu. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 103 Now, back to the discussion of the SELECT STUDENTS menu. CHOICE B lets you select either the students who match the current selection criteria or those students who DO NOT MATCH the current selection criteria. This is a useful feature since often you may need to select one group of students for whom you need to do one thing, and then select those students not in that group for whom you need to do something else. ........................................................................... : For example, you could select all those students whose TEST AVERAGE is : : less than a passing score of 70 percent. For each of those selected : : students, you could generate a letter warning them of their failure : : status. Then you could select those students NOT having a failing TEST : : AVERAGE and send each of them a different letter. : :.........................................................................: Pressing the letter B at the SELECT STUDENTS menu switches between selecting those students who match the current criteria (NO) and those NOT matching (YES). CHOICE C is used to tell GRADE GUIDE how you want any optional NONE grades to be treated when averages are calculated when evaluating a student's selection criteria. Pressing letter C switches between treating optional NONE grades as zeros or ignoring them. (See "NONE Grades" in the chapter "BASICS.") Note that neither setting up the selection criteria with menu choice A nor choosing between selecting students who match or do not match the criteria with menu choice B causes GRADE GUIDE to mark selected students. To mark selected students according to the criteria established on the SELECT STUDENTS menu, press the <Enter> key at the SELECT STUDENTS menu. GRADE GUIDE will look at each student in your class and decide if that student needs to be selected. When complete, GRADE GUIDE will update the display showing how many selected students are in the class. When you have finished selecting students, press the <Esc> key to return to the MAIN MENU. >>>Grade Periods GRADE GUIDE allows you to store together grades from several different grade periods in the same class file. University course often run for more than one semester or quarter, and secondary and elementary schools often run for four or six marking periods. GRADE GUIDE can handle all of these situations by providing up to ten grade periods. It allows you to mark the end of one grade period and the beginning of the next one. It allows you to move grades from one grade period into another. It lets you view grades from any one grade period or view all the grades from the entire course. For example, if you are restricting GRADE GUIDE to look at GRADE PERIOD 2, all grades in GRADE PERIOD 1 will be hidden. All the report writing procedures (grade lists, statistics, roster listings, and writing letters) restrict their attention to the grades from that GRADE PERIOD 2. If you have stored five TEST scores, three in GRADE PERIOD 1 and two in GRADE PERIOD 2, you can refer to the last two TEST grades as TEST 1 and TEST 2. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 104 They are the only TEST scores visible to GRADE GUIDE when GRADE PERIOD 2 is displayed even though those grades are really the fourth and fifth grades stored in the TEST category. GRADE GUIDE allows you to enter new grades into the currently displayed grade period even if the currently displayed grade period is not the last grade period. For example, if, as above, the TEST category has three grades in GRADE PERIOD 1 and two grades in GRADE PERIOD 2, you could enter a new TEST grade even if GRADE PERIOD 1 was the currently displayed grade period. The new TEST grade would be entered as the fourth grade in the category TEST. The TEST category would then have six grades, four in GRADE PERIOD 1 and two in GRADE PERIOD 2. Note that inserting grades at the end of a grade period that is not the last grade period can take more time than entering grades at the end of the latest grade period. ........................................................................ : Also note that you are still restricted to having at most 200 grades : : stored in a category, even if the grades are spread out over several : : grade periods. : :......................................................................: To set up or change grade periods press the letter O at the MAIN MENU. The following SET GRADE PERIOD menu is displayed: ........................................................................... : SET GRADE PERIOD : : : : Select the grade period operation. : : A: displayed grade period 3 (1 to 3,ALL) : : B: category to edit PROJECT : : C: begin a new grade period (last period is now period 3) : : D: remove last grade period ............................... : : :PERIOD FROM TO LABEL : : : : 1 1 2 Foundation : : : : 2 3 4 Roof & Siding: : : : 3 5 6 Finishing : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Then Press: : : : : <Enter>: to edit grade period boundaries:.............................: : : <Esc>: to Return to the MAIN MENU <F1>: help : :.........................................................................: This menu has four choices labeled A, B, C, and D as well as the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Note that the menu choice A indicates which grade period will be displayed when viewing grades. The message following choice C indicates how many grade periods are currently defined. Here, pressing the <Enter> key allows you to change which grades within a category belong to which grade periods, and suppose that you have established three grade periods as in the sample menu above. Suppose there are six PROJECT grades, two in each grade period. The display in the outlined box on the menu screen shows what range of PROJECT grades lies in GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 105 each of the three grade periods. The example shows PROJECTS 1 and 2 in GRADE PERIOD 1, PROJECTS 3 and 4 in GRADE PERIOD 2, and PROJECTS 5 and 6 in GRADE PERIOD 3. If you decide that the PROJECT 3 should really be in GRADE PERIOD 1 rather than GRADE PERIOD 2, pressing the <Enter> key allows you to make the change. After you press the <Enter> key, the first row of the table in the outlined box will be highlighted. You can use the <up> and <down> keys to move the highlighted entry up and down to any one of the three grade periods. Pressing the <left> and <right> keys decrease or increase, respectively, the number of the last grade in the highlighted grade period. For example, if you make the first row of the table highlighted (1 1 2 Foundation) and press the <right> key, the ending grade in the first grade period increases from 2 to 3, changing the display to look like the following: ................................. : PERIOD FROM TO LABEL : : 1 1 3 Build Frame : : 2 4 4 Roof & Siding : : 3 5 6 Finishing : :...............................: This shows the third PROJECT grade moved into GRADE PERIOD 1. Now GRADE PERIOD 2 has only one PROJECT grade. Menu choice B shows which category is displayed in the outlined box. When you are through deciding which grades belong in which grade periods, press the <Esc> key. ......................................................................... : Note that if a grade period contains grades 3, 4, and 5 in a grade : : period, and you want grade 4 to belong to the next grade period with : : grade 5 being in the next grade period, you can, but not directly. : : You must first use the copy grade feature to make a copy of grade 4 : : in the grade 6 position and, then, delete grade 4. Then you can use : : this menu to change the grade period of the new grade 5, old grade 4. : : (See "Copying Grades" and "Deleting Grades" earlier in this chapter.) : :.......................................................................: CHOICE A indicates which grade period will be displayed by GRADE GUIDE. If you have more than one grade period defined, you can display grades from any one grade period or choose to view grades from ALL the grade periods at once. Pressing the letter A cycles the choice through the choices. CHOICE B lets you choose the category whose grades are displayed in the box on the SET GRADE PERIOD menu. This is, the category whose grades you can shift from one grade period to another by pressing the <Enter> key. Pressing the letter B causes a pop-up menu to be displayed from which you can choose a category. CHOICE C causes GRADE GUIDE to create a new grade period. When you have finished entering grades into one grade period, and it is time to begin entering grades into the next grade period, press the letter C. GRADE GUIDE will ask you to confirm that you want to establish one more grade period. Then it will increase the number of defined grade periods. All previously GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 106 entered grades will be in earlier grade periods; the latest grade period will have no grades. Defining a new grade period also changes the setting in menu choice A to be the latest grade period. CHOICE D causes GRADE GUIDE to remove the latest grade period. Use this if you have created the latest grade period by mistake, or you want to combine the grades from the latest two grade periods. When you press the letter D, GRADE GUIDE will ask you to confirm that you want to remove the latest grade period. Then it will move all the grades from the latest grade period and place them after the grades of the previous grade period. Then the number of grade periods will be decreased. If menu choice A is set to the last grade period, it will be decreased. By repeatedly pressing the letter D, you can put all your grades together into Grade Period 1. .......................................................................... : The following example shows one use of grade periods not uncommon for : : secondary school teachers. Suppose that you are required to assign a : : report card grade at the end of each marking period four times during : : the year. At the end of the year you are to give a final examination. : : The final grade in the course is supposed to combine the four marking : : period grades with the final examination grade. Each of the four : : marking period grades is supposed to be weighted 1, and the final : : examination grade is supposed to be weighted 2. : : : : At the end of each marking period you could use the GENERATE feature : : to create a grade in the MARKING PERIOD GRADE category. (See : : "Generating New Grades" earlier in this chapter.) The grade would : : likely be based on the GRAND AVERAGE. Then you would begin a new : : grade period. By the end of the year, you would have created four : : MARKING PERIOD GRADES. Enter the final examination grade either into : : the fourth grade period or, if you prefer, into a new fifth grade : : period. Set the displayed grade period to ALL using SET GRADE PERIOD : : menu choice A. Now use the GENERATE feature to generate one more : : grade, the final grade. This time you edit the generate definition : : to include the five entries : : : : MARKING PERIOD GRADE 1 1.000 : : MARKING PERIOD GRADE 2 1.000 : : MARKING PERIOD GRADE 3 1.000 : : MARKING PERIOD GRADE 4 1.000 : : FINAL EXAM 1 2.000 : : : : (Recall that the weights do not need to add to 100 percent.) The : : generated grade is the grade you can submit as the final grade. Of : : course, you can use MAIN MENU Option H to review each student's grade : : and make adjustments in the final grades as you see fit or are allowed : : to do by school rules. : :........................................................................: When you have finished setting up grade periods, press the <Esc> key to return to the MAIN MENU. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 107 >>>Changing the Password Occasionally, you may want to change the password assigned to a class. You may, for example, be using the blank password, and decide that you want the protection of using a non-blank password. (See "Passwords" in the chapter "BASICS.") Or perhaps you are not using the blank password and would like to. Still another example might be that you want to change your password to one that is easier to remember or more difficult for others to figure out. When you press the letter P at the MAIN MENU you will be prompted to enter the current or "old" password. This is to ensure that the person changing the password is the person who is supposed to be able to change the password. After you correctly enter the old password, GRADE GUIDE will prompt you to enter the new password. It will ask you to enter the new password a second time to verify that you have typed the word you thought you typed. Remember, your password need not be made up of only letters. You can use letter, numbers, punctuation, or any other arrangement of ASCII characters. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 108 CHAPTER 6 -- DEFAULT MENU There are many ways to customize GRADE GUIDE functions by making selections on the DEFAULT MENU. Most users will not need to make any of these changes and can disregard the information in this chapter. Other users find some of the changes they can make using the DEFAULT MENU can save them time whenever they use GRADE GUIDE. In particular, they might like to set the default directory or the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES once and for all so they need not have to change them every time the program is run. For them, the information in this chapter could be helpful. Still other users will, on occasion, need to change one or more settings to get the program to function according to their own grading system. GRADE GUIDE saves the settings from the default menu on a default file with file type "DFT". (See "Files" in the chapter "BASICS.") The default file "GRADEGID.DFT" is stored in the GRADE GUIDE home directory (where file "GRADEGID.OVR" is stored) and is read by the program when the program starts running. You also can choose to store DEFAULT MENU settings in other default files stored in the current default directory. If a default file has the same file name as that of a class file, the default settings in that file are loaded into GRADE GUIDE each time that class file is read. In this way you can associate different DEFAULT MENU settings with each class file. ........................................................................ : For example, suppose that you have the following class files: : : : : MATH-001.GRD MATH-217.GRD MATH-412.GRD MATH-446.GRD : : : : Suppose you have the following default files: : : : : GRADEGID.DFT MATH-217.DFT MATH-446.DFT MATH-900.DFT : : : : Whenever you process class MATH-217 or MATH-446, the corresponding : : default file will be read. Whenever you process class MATH-001 or : : MATH-412, the GRADEGID.DFT file will be read. The MATH-900.DFT file : : will only be read if you specifically ask GRADE GUIDE to read the : : default settings stored in that file. : :......................................................................: To view or make changes to the settings on the DEFAULT MENU press the letter D at the FILE MENU to display the following DEFAULT MENU: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 109 ................................................ : DEFAULT MENU : : : : SET DEFAULTS FOR THE : : : : : : A: drives, directories, back-ups, and mouse : : B: methods of grade calculations : : C: input of information : : D: output of information : : E: keyboard definitions : : F: display colors : : : : G: save default settings : : H: read default settings : : : : <Esc>: return to the FILE MENU : : : : .............................. : : : DEFAULT FILE : GRADEGID : : : :............................: <F1>: help : :..............................................: This menu has eight choices labeled A, B, C, ...H and the usual <Esc> and <F1> choices. Note that it displays the name of the default files whose settings are currently loaded. >>>Defaults for Drives, Directories, Back-ups, and Mouse Pressing the letter A at the DEFAULT MENU allows you to change default settings concerning the use of disk drives, directories, GRADE GUIDE's automatic back-up time interval, the use of a mouse input device. The following SET DEFAULTS FOR DRIVES, DIRECTORIES, BACK-UPS, AND MOUSE menu is displayed. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 110 ................................................................... : SET DEFAULTS FOR DRIVES, DIRECTORIES, BACK-UPS & MOUSE : : : : Set the default for : : A: disk drive NONE (A to Z,NONE) : : B: directory changing YES (YES,NO) : : C: back-up time interval 10 (1 to 250,NONE) : : D: help file drive NONE (A to Z,NONE) : : E: help file directory : : .unset. : : F: mouse accept button RIGHT (RIGHT,LEFT,NO MOUSE) : : G: directories : : Drive Default Directory for the Drive : : A .unset. : : B .unset. : : C .unset. : : D .unset. : : E .unset. : : Then Press: : : <Enter> OR : : <Esc>: to Return to the DEFAULT MENU <F1>: help : :.................................................................: This menu has seven choices labeled A, B, C, ...G and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key or the <Esc> key both return you to the DEFAULT MENU. CHOICE A lets you set a default disk drive. If you keep your class files on a different disk drive than your GRADEGID.EXE and GRADEGID.OVR files, you may want GRADE GUIDE to change the current default drive automatically when it begins. For example, if you keep your GRADEGID.EXE and GRADEGID.OVR files on drive C but your class files on drive A, every time GRADE GUIDE begins you will have to change the drive from C to A. Pressing the letter A lets you tell GRADE GUIDE that you want drive A (or any other drive) as the drive to look at for your class files. Then, whenever GRADE GUIDE begins, drive A automatically becomes the drive name. Note that a drive specified in a command line parameter takes precedence over the drive set as default. (See "Choosing a Class File and Using Command Line Parameters" in the chapter "FILE MENU.") If the default setting for choice A is ".unset.", then GRADE GUIDE will not change drives when it begins. If you press the <Enter> key when choosing the default drive, GRADE GUIDE will set the default drive to ".unset.". CHOICE B allows you to tell GRADE GUIDE that you will be doing no directory changing. This lets you change the default disk drive on the FILE MENU choice A without having to set the directory. Pressing the letter B switches between allowing directory changing (YES) and not allowing it (NO). CHOICE C lets you set the back-up time interval. When you make changes to your class files, GRADE GUIDE keeps track of how long it has been since the last GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 111 time it wrote a copy of your class file to the disk. GRADE GUIDE does not let you work for more that 10 minutes before it backs up your class file. This is to protect you from losing too much of your work if your computer should experience a power failure or other hardware problem. If you would like GRADE GUIDE to back up your class files more or less often than every 10 minutes, press the letter D and enter the time interval that you want. If you enter NONE, GRADE GUIDE will stop making backup copies of your file except, of course, when you exit from the MAIN MENU back to the FILE MENU, just before you create TEMPORARILY CHANGED GRADES, or when you request GRADE GUIDE to save your file by pressing the <^Break> or <^C> key. CHOICES D AND E are used to tell GRADE GUIDE where to look to find the GRADEGID.HLP file that contains the GRADE GUIDE help information. Users who run GRADE GUIDE from a floppy drive may not have enough room to store the GRADE GUIDE program and the help information on the same disk. Pressing the letter D lets you type the letter of the disk drive where you want the help file located. Pressing the letter E lets you enter the directory of that disk where you want the help file located. CHOICE F allows you to change the behavior of a mouse input device. When making selections from a pop-up menu, pressing the RIGHT mouse button causes the selection at the position of the mouse cursor to be chosen. Pressing the letter F switches the "accepting" mouse button to the LEFT button. Pressing the letter F again switches the menu setting to NO MOUSE which causes GRADE GUIDE to ignore the mouse altogether. Note that if you are using the mouse to select choice F, that once NO MOUSE is selected, the mouse stops working, and you must begin entering commands from the keyboard. CHOICE G If you keep class files in a particular directory on a particular drive, you can request that GRADE GUIDE look at that directory every time you select that drive. Before any defaults are set, GRADE GUIDE assumes that the five disk drives are A, B, C, D, and E although these drive names can be changed to any five different letters. Pressing the letter G allows you to set a default directory for up to five disk drives. You can then use the cursor control keys to move a highlighted area to any of the five drive names or their default directory names. You can set the drive names and directory names as you want them. If the directory has not been set or has been set to blank, the screen displays the name ".unset." GRADE GUIDE checks that the five drive names that you enter are all different. GRADE GUIDE does not check to see if your computer has the appropriate drives or whether the default directory names that you associated with the drives are legal directory names. If you enter any illegal directory names, GRADE GUIDE will ignore the names when it is time to use them. Suppose for example that you have set the second line of the list of default drives and directories to read "B \grades". Then whenever you select drive B when using Option A on the FILE MENU, GRADE GUIDE automatically switches to the directory "\grades" on that drive. If you have the default for directory changing (see choice B above) set to YES, GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 112 GRADE GUIDE still gives you the chance to change directories in case you do not want your chosen default directory. If you start GRADE GUIDE by using a command line parameter, a directory given in the command line parameter will be used in preference to the directory set by default. Note that if you enter a default directory name beginning with a backslash, "\", you are entering a full DOS path name for the directory. If the directory name does not begin with a back slash, it is only a relative directory name as explained by the DOS path name rules. If your default directory for drive A is named "grades", whenever you choose to change to drive A, GRADE GUIDE will attempt to add "grades" to the CURRENT directory name for drive A. If the current directory is the root directory, "\", then GRADE GUIDE will change it to "\grades". If the current directory is "\students", GRADE GUIDE will change it to "\students\grades". This is compatible with standard DOS rules for changing directories. >>>Defaults for Grade Calculations Pressing the letter B at the DEFAULT MENU allows you to change default settings concerning how grades are calculated. In particular, this menu gives access to the conversion tables showing how LETTER grades are converted to number values and how number values can be assigned LETTER grades. The following SET DEFAULTS FOR METHODS OF GRADE CALCULATIONS menu is displayed: ....................................................................... : SET DEFAULTS FOR METHODS OF GRADE CALCULATIONS : : : : Set the default for : : A: grand average weighted YES (YES,NO) : : B: value of an empty category NONE (0%,100%,NONE) : : C: basis of generated grades 100 (1 to 250) : : D: average letters AFTER GPA YES (YES,NO) : : E: letter grade percentages : : F: none grade values : : : : NONE NAME USE (zero,ignored,optional) : : 1 NONE optional : : 2 ZERO zero The first NONE is the default NONE which : : 3 N/A ignored is chosen when blank grades are entered. : : 4 DROP ignored : : 5 zero : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter> OR : : <Esc>: to Return to the DEFAULT MENU <F1>: help : :.....................................................................: This menu has six choices labeled A, B, C, D, E, and F and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key or the <Esc> key returns you to the DEFAULT MENU. CHOICE A lets you choose whether the grand average should be weighted or not. (See "Averages" in the chapter "BASICS.") When GRADE GUIDE calculates the GRAND GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 113 AVERAGE for your students, it normally uses the category percentages that you have supplied. It also can calculate the GRAND AVERAGE by simply dividing the GRAND TOTAL by the total number of points possible. Pressing the letter A switches between using the category percents (YES) and using the total points only (NO). CHOICE B is used to set the value GRADE GUIDE assigns to a category that does not have any grades in it. Consider the following example. Suppose you have three categories: NUMBER OF EACH GRADE CATEGORY CATEGORY GRADES WORTH PERCENT -------- --------- -------- -------- EXAM 2 100 70 QUIZ 0 25 20 HOMEWORK 10 10 10 Suppose that a student had been given the following grades: CATEGORY GRADES TOTAL AVERAGE -------- ------ ----- ------- EXAM 80 100 180 90 % QUIZ no grades 0 0 % HOMEWORK 7 9 8 6 3 5 8 9 7 8 70 70 % If the GRAND AVERAGE is being weighted, GRADE GUIDE acts as if the category QUIZ never existed and calculates the GRAND AVERAGE by WEIGHTED SUM = 90%*70% + no grades + 70%*10% = 70% TOTAL CATEGORY PERCENTS = 70% + 10% = 80% GRAND AVERAGE = 70% / 80% = 87.50 % There are two other ways that this calculation might be done. One way would be to assign an average of 0% to the QUIZ category to get WEIGHTED SUM = 90%*70% + 0%*20% + 70%*10% = 70% TOTAL CATEGORY PERCENTS = 70% + 20% + 10% = 100% GRAND AVERAGE = 70% / 100% = 70.00 % Another way would be to assign an average of 100% to the QUIZ category to get WEIGHTED SUM = 90%*70% + 100%*20% + 70%*10% = 90% TOTAL CATEGORY PERCENTS = 70% + 20% + 10% = 100% GRAND AVERAGE = 90% / 100% = 90.00 % GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 114 Pressing the letter B cycles through the three choices of treating empty categories as zero (0%), as 100 percent (100%), or as ignored (NONE). CHOICE C lets you change the basis of generated grades. When using MAIN MENU Option B to create a number grade from a combination of other grades, GRADE GUIDE calculates for each student a new grade based on a maximum possible score of 100 points. If you want to have this grade expressed as a percentage of some number other than 100, press the letter C and enter the maximum possible score that you want. CHOICE D determines exactly when letter grades should be converted to a number value when averages are calculated. The use of choice D will not make sense unless you first understand the use of choice E, described below. By using choice E, you have a great amount of control over the numeric values assigned to the various letter grades. The default values for these numeric settings can always be seen in the letter values table which appears when choice E is selected. Even after these values are set, there is still another choice that can be made concerning how GRADE GUIDE calculates the average of letter grades. The question is one of whether GRADE GUIDE should make the conversion to your choice of letter grade values before or after it calculates a grade point average. Suppose, for example, that a student has received the four grades A-, B, C+, and D. GRADE GUIDE would first calculate a grade point average treating A- as a 3.667, B as a 3, C+ as a 2.333, and D as a 1. Then the GPA would be (3.667 + 3 + 2.333 + 1) / 4 = 2.5. The values for A- and C+ were determined by the LETTER GRADE +- FRACTION set on the letter values table discussed below in the section about choice E. This average is half way between a C and a B, which is equivalent to the grade BC. Now GRADE GUIDE has to determine a PERCENTAGE AVERAGE for this list of four letter grades. Suppose that on the letter values table discussed below in the section on choice E you had set the letter grade percentages as follows. GRADE PERCENT GRADE PERCENT GRADE PERCENT GRADE PERCENT ----- ------- ----- ------- ----- ------- ----- ------- A 96 % A+ 98 % A- 93 % AB 92 % B 88 % B+ 90 % B- 85 % BC 82 % C 76 % C+ 79 % C- 73 % CD 68 % D 60 % D+ 63 % D- 45 % DF 40 % F 20 % F+ 30 % F- 0 % According to this table, a GPA equivalent to a BC should be worth 82%. Suppose that GRADE GUIDE first converts the letter grades into percentages and then finds the GPA. In this case GRADE GUIDE would take the average of the four percentages 93%, 88%, 79%, and 60% to get: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 115 (93% + 88% + 79% + 60%) / 4 = 80.00 % Clearly, the percentage is different depending on whether GRADE GUIDE converts to your chosen percentages BEFORE calculating the GPA (80 %) or AFTER calculating the GPA (82 %). The only time that it will make a difference is when the percentages assigned to the letter grades are not evenly spaced. In the above example the spacing between the settings for A and B is 96% - 88% = 8% while the spacing between the settings for B and C is 88% - 76% = 12%. Therefore, GRADE GUIDE allows you to choose whether you want to convert to percentages before or after the grade point average is calculated. The current default choice is to calculate the GPA first and base the average on the GPA calculation (YES). Pressing the letter D switches the method so the average is calculated without basing it on the GPA (NO). GRADE GUIDE still reports a grade point average (GPA) calculated on the standard 4.0 scale as shown above. CHOICE E allows you to set exactly how LETTER grades should be converted into numeric averages and how numbers should be converted into LETTER grade equivalents. GRADE GUIDE, for example, assigns A a value of 95%, B a value of 85%, C a value of 75%, D a value of 65%, and F a value of 55%. These choices may or may not be compatible with the values that you would want assigned. Pressing the letter E causes GRADE GUIDE to display the following letter values table. ........................................................................... : Set the Default for the : : A: letter grade +- fraction 33.333 % (0 to 50 % of 1 point) : : B: values for converting letter grades to numeric averages : : : : Grade Percentage Fractional & Mixed Grade Percentages : : A 95.000 A+ 98.333 A- 91.667 AB 90.000 : : B 85.000 B+ 88.333 B- 81.667 BC 80.000 : : C 75.000 C+ 78.333 C- 71.667 CD 70.000 : : D 65.000 D+ 68.333 D- 61.667 DF 60.000 : : F 55.000 F+ 58.333 F- 51.667 : : : : C: ranges for converting numeric values to letter grades : : : : Range of Values for Letter Grades : : TOP BOTTOM TOP BOTTOM TOP BOTTOM TOP BOTTOM: :A Maximum 90.000 A+ Maximum 96.667 A- 93.333 90.000 AB 92.500 87.500: :B 90.000 80.000 B+ 90.000 86.667 B- 83.333 80.000 BC 82.500 77.500: :C 80.000 70.000 C+ 80.000 76.667 C- 73.333 70.000 CD 72.500 67.500: :D 70.000 60.000 D+ 70.000 66.667 D- 63.333 60.000 DF 62.500 57.500: :F 60.000 0.000 F+ 60.000 56.667 F- 53.333 0.000 : : : : <Esc>: to Return to the DEFAULT GRADE CALCULATIONS MENU <F1>: help : :.........................................................................: This table has three choice labeled A, B, and C and the usual <Esc> and <F1> choices. By changing the entries on this table you can change the way GRADE GUIDE treats LETTER grades. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 116 CHOICE A determines how many grade points to assign to the letter grades with pluses and minuses. When determining a grade point average (GPA) from a list of letter grades, GRADE GUIDE assigns a grade point value to each letter grade. For example, the letter grade B is assigned the value 3.000. When you use a plus letter grade like B+, GRADE GUIDE assigns that letter grade a value which is one third of a point greater than the assignment made for a B. This assigns the value 3.333 to a B+. Similarly, GRADE GUIDE assigns to a B- a value which is one third of a point less than the assignment made for a B. This assigns the value 2.667 to a B-. Pressing the letter A lets you change this percentage of one grade point to any percentage between 0.000% and 50.000%. If, for example, you want the fraction changed to one fourth, you would enter 25.000. This would cause a B+ to receive a value of 3.25 and B- to receive a value of 2.75. If the fraction were set to 50.000%, a B- will have the same grade point value as a C+ and the same grade point value as a BC. CHOICE B lets you set the numeric values of each of the LETTER grades. The numbers are expressed as percentages. When determining an average for a list of LETTER grades, GRADE GUIDE uses the table listed under "B: values for converting letter grades to numeric averages." For example, if a student receives the letter grades A, B-, and B (all with weight 1.000), GRADE GUIDE would calculate and average by replacing A with 95 %, B- with 81.667 %, and B with 85 % to get: (95 + 81.667 + 85) / 3 = 87.222 %. You can change these percentages by pressing the letter B. To decide which values to enter, you should decide first what each letter grade is worth. Take the grade B+, for example. If a student were to receive B+ for every grade ever given, what average would you want that student to receive? A 92 % ? An 87.5 % ? Whatever percentage you decide is correct for that student who earns a B+ for every grade is the percentage you should assign to B+. Pressing the letter B allows you to change the percentages for the base grades, A, B, C, D, and F. You can use the <up> and <down> keys to move among the five grade values. When you finish with the percentages for those five grades, press the <Esc> key. Then GRADE GUIDE will ask you if it should adjust the values of the fractional grades (the plus and minus grades) by using the LETTER GRADE +- FRACTION set in the table in menu choice A. If you want, GRADE GUIDE will set the percentages for those plus and minus grades to be compatible with the LETTER GRADE +- FRACTION and the base grade percentages that you just finished setting. Whether or not you ask GRADE GUIDE to make that adjustment for you, GRADE GUIDE will allow you to adjust the percentages for the plus grades of A+, B+, C+, D+, and F+. When you have finished working with those adjustments, press the <Esc> key. Then GRADE GUIDE will allow you to adjust the percentages of the minus grades of A-, B-, C-, D-, and F-. When you have finished working with those adjustments, press the <Esc> key again. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 117 GRADE GUIDE will then ask if it should adjust the percentages for the mixed grades of AB, BC, CD, and DF by making them half way between the appropriate base grade percentages. GRADE GUIDE will allow you to adjust the percentages for the mixed grades whether you ask GRADE GUIDE to make that adjustment or not. When you have finished, press the <Esc> key. Finally, GRADE GUIDE will let you set a percentage value for letter grades which have been assigned a NONE grade being treated as zero. CHOICE C tells GRADE GUIDE how to convert numeric values into LETTER grades. When using MAIN MENU Option B to generate a new grade, you can create for each student a new grade in a category of your choice based on the value of the student's current grades. If the chosen category contains LETTER grades, GRADE GUIDE has to convert a generated numeric value into a LETTER grade. (See "Generating New Grades" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") Also, there are several reports that GRADE GUIDE can create where you have the option of expressing a number in a LETTER format. (See "Displaying and Changing Grades and NOTES," "Roster Reports," and "Writing Letters" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") In addition, sometimes when you copy grades from one category to another or change the grade type of a category, number values must be converted to LETTER grades. (See "Copying Grades," and "Displaying and Changing Categories" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") To perform any of these operations, GRADE GUIDE uses the table listed under "C: ranges for converting numeric values to letter grades." For example, if a numerical value of 84.35 is converted into a LETTER grade, GRADE GUIDE would, according to the table, assign a grade of B. If you wish to change these grade ranges, press the letter C. GRADE GUIDE will first allow you to set the bottom limits for the ranges for A, B, C, and D. When you have finished adjusting these ranges, press the <Esc> key. .......................................................................... : Note that the grade ranges for the five base grades of A, B, C, D, and : : F completely cover the values from 0 up to 200 so that any average : : between 0 and 200 can be assigned to one of the letter grades, A, B, : : C, D, or F. If an average falls on a border between two grades, : : the higher grade is assigned. : :........................................................................: GRADE GUIDE will then let you adjust the bottom limits for the grade ranges for A+, B+, C+, D+, and F+. When you have finished adjusting these ranges, press the <Esc> key. ......................................................................... : Note that the ranges for these plus grades must lie at the top end of : : the ranges you set for the corresponding base grades. That is, for : : example, the range for C+ must be the top portion of the range for C. : :.......................................................................: GRADE GUIDE will then let you adjust the top limits for the grade ranges for A-, B-, C-, D-, and F-. When you have finished adjusting these ranges, press the <Esc> key. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 118 ........................................................................... : Note that the ranges for these minus grades must lie at the bottom end : : of the ranges you set for the corresponding base grades. That is, for : : example, the range for B- must be the bottom portion of the range for B.: :.........................................................................: Finally, GRADE GUIDE will let you adjust the top and bottom limits for the ranges for the mixed grades of AB, BC, CD, and DF. When you are all done setting the range limits, press the <Esc> key. ........................................................................... : Note that these grade ranges for the mixed grades must cover the border : : of the grade ranges for the two associated base grades. That is, for : : example, the top value for the AB range must be in the range set for A, : : and the bottom of the AB range must be in the range set for B. : :.........................................................................: When you have finished adjusting numbers on the letter values table, press the <Esc> key to return to the SET DEFAULTS FOR METHODS OF GRADE CALCULATIONS menu. CHOICE F lets you set up how NONE grades are displayed and used by the program. Use the cursor keys to move among the five NONE grade NAMEs and USEs. When the highlighted area is on a NAME, you can enter the up to four character word which will appear when that NONE grade is used (for example, I, WTDR, EXCU). When the highlighted area is on a USE, you can press <Enter> to toggle the use between "zero" (the NONE grade is always evaluated as zero), "ignored" (the NONE grade is always ignored), and "optional" (the NONE grade value is determined by settings of the various gradebook application menus). When you have finished setting the defaults for methods of grade calculations, press the <Esc> key to return to the DEFAULT MENU. >>>Input Defaults Pressing the letter C at the DEFAULT MENU allows you to change default settings concerning the assigning default values to many input quantities needed by GRADE GUIDE. When one of these quantities is set on the default menu, whenever GRADE GUIDE needs you to enter the quantity, your chosen default value will be displayed. You can then either accept the default values by pressing the <Enter> key or change the value. The following SET DEFAULTS FOR THE INPUT OF INFORMATION menu is displayed. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 119 ................................................................... : SET DEFAULTS FOR THE INPUT OF INFORMATION : : : : Set the default for : : A: allow duplicate names YES (YES,NO) : : B: allow duplicate aliases YES (YES,NO) : : C: ignore case on name search NO (YES,NO) : : D: maximum possible whole 100 (1 to 250) : : E: maximum possible decimal1 100.0 (0.1 to 5000.0) : : F: maximum possible decimal2 100.00 (0.01 to 500.00) : : G: weight for generated grade 0.000 (0.000 to 999.999) : : H: allow grade labels YES (YES,NO) : : I: set new passwords blank NO (YES,NO) : : J: grade cutoff percentages : : K: file input columns : : L: word grade definition : : : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter> OR : : <Esc>: to Return to the DEFAULT MENU <F1>: help : :.................................................................: This menu has twelve choices labeled A, B, C, ...L and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key or the <Esc> key returns you to the DEFAULT MENU. When GRADE GUIDE needs you to enter a value, it often displays a default value that you have the option of accepting, editing, or replacing with a new value. Many of the choices on this menu (D, E, F, G, J, K, and L) allow you to set default values so GRADE GUIDE supplies a default value which is likely to be the value you will want to use. For example, if all of your QUIZ grades are for 25 point quizzes recorded as DECIMAL1 grades, you may want to use menu choice E to change the default MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORE for DECIMAL1 grades from 100.0 to 25.0. Then, whenever you enter a DECIMAL1 or DECIMAL1-CUTOFF grade, the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORE will be preset for you at 25.0, the value it should be most of the time. You need to change the value only if you enter a DECIMAL1 grade with a different MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORE. CHOICES A AND B determine whether GRADE GUIDE will allow you to enter duplicate names or aliases. Normally, when you enter new students using MAIN MENU Option A, when you change students using MAIN MENU Option G, or when you combine two classes using FILE MENU Option E, GRADE GUIDE checks that no two students are given exactly the same name and the same alias at the same time. It does allow two students to have the same name or two students to have the same alias. You can ask GRADE GUIDE to prevent duplicate names or duplicate aliases. When entering grades from a file by the MATCHING method, it is important that the class has either no duplicate names or no duplicate aliases. (See "Reading Grades from Files" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") Pressing the letter A switches between having GRADE GUIDE allow duplicate names (YES) and preventing duplicate names (NO). Pressing the letter B switches between having GRADE GUIDE allow duplicate aliases (YES) GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 120 and preventing duplicate aliases (NO). Note that neither setting has any effect on students' names or aliases already stored in class files. CHOICE C affects the way GRADE GUIDE searches for students in your classes. At several places in the program you can enter part of a student's name or alias in order for GRADE GUIDE to locate that student's full name and alias (MAIN MENU Options B, E, H, and M). For example, if you want to begin listing students' grades beginning with the student "Johnson, William," you press the letter H on the DISPLAY/PRINT/CHANGE GRADES,NOTES menu. You then can enter part of the student's name such as "Will", and GRADE GUIDE will find the student's name. Normally, you must be sure to type the part of the student's name in the correct case (upper case or lower case). In particular, in the above example you could not have entered the characters "will" instead of "Will" if you wanted GRADE GUIDE to find "Johnson, William." With this menu choice you can tell GRADE GUIDE to ignore differences in case when searching for a student's name or alias. Pressing C switches between ignoring case (YES) and continuing to be case sensitive (NO). CHOICES D E AND F assign default values to the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES of grades. When you enter new grades using MAIN MENU Option B, you need to enter a MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORE for each new number grade (WHOLE, WHOLE-CUTOFF, DECIMAL1, DECIMAL1-CUTOFF, DECIMAL2, or DECIMAL2-CUTOFF). (See "Entering New Grades and Notes" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") Pressing the letter D lets you enter a default value for the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES of WHOLE and WHOLE- CUTOFF grades. Pressing the letter E lets you enter a default value for the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES of DECIMAL1 and DECIMAL1-CUTOFF grades. Pressing the letter F lets you enter a default value for the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES of DECIMAL2 and DECIMAL2-CUTOFF grades. Then, when you enter MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES while using MAIN MENU Option B, the default values will appear on the screen. Of course, you can still change those values, if needed, for those grades whose MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORES are not the default values. CHOICE G assigns a default value to the grade weight for generated grades. Most grades will be given a grade weight of 1.000, but when you generate a new grade using MAIN MENU Option B, you often want to assign a grade weight of 0.000, since those grades are often not considered as part of the GRAND AVERAGE. (See "Generating New Grades" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") Pressing the letter G allows you to change this default value of 0.000. Some users will prefer to set it back to 1.000. CHOICE H lets you turn off GRADE GUIDE's asking you if a category should be a labeled category. (See "Establishing New Categories" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") Pressing the letter H switches between having GRADE GUIDE ask you for each new category whether you want the category labeled (YES) and having GRADE GUIDE assume you do not want categories labeled (NO). CHOICE I lets you automatically assign a blank password to all new classes. Normally, when you create a new class, GRADE GUIDE prompts you to enter a GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 121 password for the class and then to verify the password. (See "Passwords" in the chapter "BASICS" and "Going on to the MAIN MENU" in the chapter "FILE MENU.") Pressing the letter I switches between having GRADE GUIDE automatically assigning a blank password to each new class (YES) and continuing to prompt you (NO). Note that in either case you can change the current password using MAIN MENU Option P. CHOICE J assigns default values to the CUTOFF values you assign as the lowest possible A, B, C, and D values when you enter a WHOLE-CUTOFF, DECIMAL1- CUTOFF, or DECIMAL2-CUTOFF grade. (See "Entering New Grades" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") Pressing the letter J causes the following to be displayed: .......................................................................... : SET LETTER CUTOFF PERCENTAGES : : : : Set letter cutoffs at these percentages of the maximum possible score. : : A B C D : : Whole - Cutoff NONE NONE NONE NONE : : Decimal 1 - Cutoff NONE NONE NONE NONE : : Decimal 2 - Cutoff NONE NONE NONE NONE : :........................................................................: Each of the three rows of the table list percentage values for the lowest A, B, C, and D grades for one of the three cutoff grade types. The current default values are all NONE. A highlighted area appears over the first entry in the table. You can use the cursor control keys to move the highlighted area to any of the twelve entries in the table. You can change any highlighted value. For example, suppose the table were set to the following. .......................................................................... : SET LETTER CUTOFF PERCENTAGES : : : : Set letter cutoffs at these percentages of the maximum possible score. : : A B C D : : Whole - Cutoff 90 80 70 60 : : Decimal 1 - Cutoff 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 : : Decimal 2 - Cutoff 90.00 80.00 70.00 60.00 : :........................................................................: Then, whenever you entered a new cutoff grade, the lowest possible A score would be set by default to be 90 percent of the MAXIMUM POSSIBLE SCORE for that grade. When you have finished entering the letter cutoff defaults, press the <Esc> key to return to the SET DEFAULTS FOR THE INPUT OF INFORMATION menu. CHOICE K assigns default values for column (tab) positions on input lines for reading names, aliases, section numbers, and grades from files. When you read information from files, GRADE GUIDE needs to know where on each line of the file the needed information is written. (See "Entering New Students" and "Reading Grades from Files" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 122 Perhaps you always receive files of grade information from the same source (for example, output from computer graded tests.) Pressing the letter K lets you set the input columns (tab positions). The following table is displayed: ......................................................................... : SET DEFAULT FILE INPUT ENTRY COLUMNS : : : : Enter the starting and ending columns usually used on the input file. : : : : FIELD Beginning Ending : : NAME NONE NONE : : ALIAS NONE NONE : : SECTION # NONE NONE : : GRADE 1 NONE NONE : : GRADE 2 NONE NONE : : GRADE 3 NONE NONE : : GRADE 4 NONE NONE : : GRADE 5 NONE NONE : : GRADE 6 NONE NONE : : GRADE 7 NONE NONE : : GRADE 8 NONE NONE : : GRADE 9 NONE NONE : : GRADE 10 NONE NONE : :.......................................................................: The table has entries for the beginning and ending column positions for students' names, aliases, section numbers, and up to ten grades. A highlighted area appears over the first table entry. You can use the cursor control keys to move the highlighted area to any table entry and change it. Then, whenever you enter information from a text file, GRADE GUIDE will use these default values for the positions of the information on each line of input. Of course, you will be able to change the values if you need GRADE GUIDE to read a file that does not have the same format as the ones you usually read. When you have finished entering the file input column defaults, press the <Esc> key to return to the SET DEFAULTS FOR THE INPUT OF INFORMATION menu. CHOICE L assigns default values for the defining of WORD GRADES. Each time you choose WORD GRADE as the grade type for a category, you are presented with a menu for setting up the list of words used for the WORD GRADES. (See "Establishing New Categories" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") Pressing the letter L allows you to set the default values for the switches on this menu. The following DEFINE WORD GRADE FOR CATEGORY DEFAULTS menu is displayed: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 123 .......................................................................... : DEFINE WORD GRADE FOR CATEGORY DEFAULTS : : : : First Select Options: : : A: number of words 2 (2 to 10) : : B: maximum possible value 1.000 (0.000 to 999.999) : : C: use values in GRAND AVERAGE NO (YES,NO) : : D: list category when suppressed YES (YES,NO) : : E: list grades when suppressed NO (YES,NO) : : F: suppress category AVERAGE ALWAYS (ALWAYS,SUPPRESSED,NEVER) : : G: suppress word counts NEVER (ALWAYS,SUPPRESSED,NEVER) : : ............................................. : : : WORD VALUE : : : :1 ABSENT 0.000 : : : :2 PRESENT 1.000 : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Then Press: :...........................................: : : <Enter>: to set word names and values : : <Esc>: to Return to SET INPUT DEFAULTS <F1>: help : :........................................................................: You can set the switches on this menu in exactly the same way as you set the value on the DEFINE WORD GRADE FOR CATEGORY menu you see when defining WORD GRADES while using MAIN MENU Options C or J. (See "Establishing New Categories" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") The way you set the menu here is the way the menu will be presented to you whenever you establish a category to use the grade type WORD GRADE. When you have finished entering the default WORD GRADE definition, press the <Esc> key to return to the SET DEFAULTS FOR THE INPUT OF INFORMATION menu. When you have finished setting input defaults, press the <Esc> key to return to the DEFAULT MENU. >>>Output Defaults Pressing the letter D at the DEFAULT MENU allows you to change default settings concerning how GRADE GUIDE output will look. The following SET DEFAULTS FOR OUTPUT OF INFORMATION menu is displayed: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 124 ........................................................................... : SET DEFAULTS FOR THE OUTPUT OF INFORMATION : : : : Set the default for : : A: lines per page NONE (5 to 250,NONE) : : B: histogram print character * (42) (Any character ASCII 32 to 255) : : C: roster column spacing 2 (0 to 80) : : D: total decimal digits 2 (0 to 7) : : E: average decimal digits 2 (0 to 7) : : F: beep pitch 660 (0 to 5000) : : G: ASCII printer initialization : : H: ALIAS display name (singular) ALIAS : : I: ALIAS display name (plural) ALIASES : : J: print date and time YES (YES,NO) : : K: page title : : : : L: letter grade display names Letter Grades : A B C D F : : Letter Grades Displayed As : A B C D F : : Then Press: : : <Enter> OR : : <Esc>: to Return to the DEFAULT MENU <F1>: help : :.........................................................................: This menu has twelve choices labeled A, B, C, ...L and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing either the <Enter> key or <Esc> key returns you to the DEFAULT MENU. The choices on this menu let you tell GRADE GUIDE how you want items displayed by the program. CHOICE A lets you tell GRADE GUIDE how many lines to print on each page of your printer. Normally, when GRADE GUIDE prints, it does not count the number of lines being printed. Therefore, GRADE GUIDE often writes right on top of page perforations on the printer paper. This is because the default setting for choice A is set to "NONE." Pressing the letter A allows you to enter the number of lines that you want GRADE GUIDE to use as the maximum number of lines written on any page. For example, standard 11 inch long paper has room for 66 lines written at 6 lines per inch. If you want GRADE GUIDE to avoid writing on the last 6 lines of the page, use choice A to set the maximum number of lines per page to 60 (or any other number less than 66.) Then GRADE GUIDE will not write more than 60 lines before writing a form feed to make the printer jump to the top of the next page. GRADE GUIDE will not put the page jumps in at random places. If you are printing students' grades using MAIN MENU Option H, GRADE GUIDE will not print some of a student's grades on one page and some more grades on the next page. If a student's grades do not fit on the current page, GRADE GUIDE will jump to the next page before printing that student's grades. If you want to print students' grades using MAIN MENU Option H but you would like each student's grades to appear on a separate page, set the default page length to 5. When GRADE GUIDE is printing lists, it tries to print a multiple of five lines on each page. CHOICE B lets you tell GRADE GUIDE what character GRADE GUIDE should use to print the bars on the histogram which is printed in the statistics report. (See GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 125 "Statistics Reports" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") When the statistics histogram is displayed on the screen, GRADE GUIDE uses the block graphics character with ASCII value 219. This causes the bars on the histogram chart to be completely filled in. When GRADE GUIDE writes a histogram on the printer, it does not use the block graphics character because most printers do not support this character. GRADE GUIDE uses instead the asterisk "*" with ASCII value 42, a standard character available to most printers. If you want to choose a different character to be printed on your printer, press the letter B and enter one character with any ASCII value from 32 to 255. To enter a character not available on your keyboard, hold down the alternate key, <Alt>, and enter the ASCII code for the character using the numeric keypad on your keyboard. Finally, release the <Alt> key. Do not be disturbed if the character displayed by GRADE GUIDE on the screen is not the same as the character you expected to show on your printer. Characters with ASCII values greater than 127 are not standard; the display of those characters on the screen may be different from the display of those characters on your printer. CHOICE C sets the default number of spaces to place between every two columns on a roster report. (See "Roster Reports" in the chapter "MAIN MENU.") Pressing the letter C allows you to change this default spacing. CHOICE D and E allow you to set the precision to use when printing totals or averages. When GRADE GUIDE displays or prints a TOTAL or AVERAGE, it shows the number with 2 decimal digits to the right of the decimal point. You may change the number of digits displayed for TOTALS by pressing the letter D and change the number of digits displayed for AVERAGES by pressing the letter E. You can set the precision for all TOTALS or AVERAGES anywhere from 0 to 7 decimal places to the right of the decimal point. CHOICE F lets you tell GRADE GUIDE the sound to produce when you press a key in error or the program warns you of a problem. The pitch is defined in cycles per second. Normally, the beep pitch is at 660 cycles per second. By pressing the letter F you can set the pitch at any value from 0 to 5000 cycles per second. Note that if you set the pitch to 0, the beep will disappear. Each time you reset the pitch, GRADE GUIDE will beep so that you can hear the sound of the pitch you just set. CHOICE G is used to send special printer commands to your printer. You may want to send a special sequence of characters to your printer when you begin printing. For example, many printers will shift into a condensed printing mode when the initialization string is set to the ESC SI characters, which are the ASCII characters numbered 27 and 15. You could enter these two ASCII values by pressing the letter G. The printer initialization string you enter can be up to six characters long. You end the entry by pressing the <Esc> key. If your printer is in use, as soon as you set the initialization string, that string is sent to your printer. The initialization string is sent to your printer each time you use GRADE GUIDE to print. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 126 CHOICES H AND I let you change the word ALIAS that is used throughout the program. Many users do not like the use of the word ALIAS and prefer the use of other words like ID or STUD#. You can change the singular and plural forms of the word GRADE GUIDE uses for ALIAS. Pressing the letter H lets you enter a new word in place of the word ALIAS, and pressing the letter I lets you enter a new word in place of the word ALIASES. When the words are changed, all GRADE GUIDE references to ALIAS are changed throughout the program including the special code in the form letters for ALIAS that normally appears as @[ ALIAS ]@. CHOICE J allows you to suppress the date and time message GRADE GUIDE prints at the top of printed reports. Pressing the letter J switches between having GRADE GUIDE print the date and time at the top of all reports (YES) and suppressing the date and time (NO). CHOICE K gives GRADE GUIDE a page title or header that is printed at the top of each printed report. You might, for example, want to place your name or the school's name in the title. Pressing the letter K allows you to enter a title. Note that you are not allowed to enter a page title when using a site license version of GRADE GUIDE. These versions use the site name in place of the page title. CHOICE L is used for changing the letters used to display the five letter grades A, B, C, D, and F. Pressing the letter L allows you to change those letters to any other system of five letters. For example, some schools use an A, B, C, D, and E system. Other schools use the O, G, S, U, and F or the E, G, S, U, P system. Whatever system of five grades you choose, GRADE GUIDE will allow them. Make sure that the grades are entered in order from high grade to low grade. GRADE GUIDE shows you what the corresponding A, B, C, D, and F grades are. After you make the change, GRADE GUIDE begins to use your chosen letter grades both when it displays and reads grades. From then on, you must use your chosen letters when you enter grades. When you have finished setting the output defaults, press the <Esc> key to return to the DEFAULT MENU. >>>Keyboard Defaults Pressing the letter E at the DEFAULT MENU allows you to change default settings for the keyboard keys. Here you are able to redefine the use of the keyboard keys. This is helpful if you are used to using certain keystrokes for special operations that are different from the ones used by GRADE GUIDE. The following SET DEFAULTS FOR KEYBOARD DEFINITIONS menu is displayed: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 127 ........................................................................... : SET DEFAULTS FOR KEYBOARD DEFINITIONS : : Old New Old New : : Key used for : Key Key Key used for : Key Key : : : : cursor left within field left cursor to start ^PgUp : : cursor right within field right cursor to end ^PgDn : : cursor to start of field Home help F1 : : cursor to end of field End clear field F2 : : cursor up between fields up alternate PgUp F3 : : cursor down between fields down alternate PgDn F4 : : cursor left between fields ^left alternate up F5 : : cursor right between fields ^right alternate down F6 : : cursor to screen top ^Home alternate Home F7 : : cursor to screen bottom ^End alternate End F8 : : cursor one student up PgUp alternate left F9 : : cursor one student down PgDn alternate right F10 : : : : The <Esc>, <Ins>, and <Del> keys have values that cannot be changed. : : The <Tab> and <Bk-Tab> keys are predefined to cursor between fields. : : Then Press: : : <Enter>: to set all the keyboard characters OR : : <Esc>: to Return to the DEFAULT MENU <F1>: help : :.........................................................................: This menu has only the <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing the <Enter> key allows you to redefine how the keyboard keys are used by GRADE GUIDE. (See "Keyboard Usage" and "Mouse Usage" in the chapter "BASICS.") If you would prefer using different keyboard keys for some of the editing operations than the keys GRADE GUIDE uses, you can. Pressing the <Enter> key allows you to select any of the arrow keys, <Home>, <End>, <PgUp>, <PgDn>, <^Home>, <^End>, <^PgUp>, <^PgDn>, <Tab>, and <Back-Tab> keys and the function keys to use for any of the functions listed in the table above. Just enter one key for each of the key uses listed on the screen. From that point on, GRADE GUIDE will begin using your choice of keys. >>>Color Defaults Pressing the letter F at the DEFAULT MENU allows you to change default settings for the screen colors. Some users need to change the colors used by GRADE GUIDE to display screens since the colors are difficult to read on their computer monitor. The following SET DEFAULTS FOR SCREEN COLORS menu is displayed: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 128 ........................................................................... : SET DEFAULTS FOR SCREEN COLORS : : Choose a screen level and character type. Then select the color. : : : : : : A: screen level INTRO (INTRO,FILE,TOP,SECOND,THIRD,POPUP,HELP) : : B: character type BACKGROUND (BACKGROUND,TITLE,BRIGHT,NORMAL) : : ..... : : C: color choice :___: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ : : :...: : : INTRO FILE TOP SECOND THIRD POPUP HELP : : ........ ........ ........ ........ ........ ........ ........ : : :Title : :Title : :Title : :Title : :Title : :Title : :Title : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :Bright: :Bright: :Bright: :Bright: :Bright: :Bright: :Bright: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :Normal: :Normal: :Normal: :Normal: :Normal: :Normal: :Normal: : : :......: :......: :......: :......: :......: :......: :......: : : : : D: start in color mode YES (YES,NO) : : : : Then Press: : : <Enter> OR : : <Esc>: to Return to the DEFAULT MENU <F1>: help : :.........................................................................: This menu has four choices labeled A, B, C, and D and the usual <Enter>, <Esc>, and <F1> choices. Here, pressing either the <Enter> or the <Esc> key returns you to the DEFAULT MENU. Note that the display shows seven screens, each of which can be assigned its own colors. The INTRO screen is the screen that displays the introduction message when GRADE GUIDE begins running. The FILE screen is used only for the FILE MENU. The TOP screen is used for the MAIN MENU and DEFAULT MENU. The SECOND screen is used for the menus that you see when making a selection from the MAIN MENU or DEFAULT MENU or when you perform a COPY or ARCHIVE function from the FILE MENU. The THIRD screen is used for display screens and menus seen when making choices from a menu displayed as a SECOND screen. The POPUP screen is used for the pop-up menus as well as for the message bar that appears at the bottom of the screen. The HELP screen is used for all GRADE GUIDE help messages. The color coding of the screens should help users remember what level menu they are using. Each screen has four color uses: a Background color, a Title color used for screen titles, a Highlight color used to attract special attention, and a Normal color used for the displaying of most text. CHOICES A B AND C are used together to change any of the four colors on any of the seven screens GRADE GUIDE uses. When you press the letter A, you cycle through the list of the seven screens. When you press the letter B, you cycle through the list of four color uses. When you select a screen in menu choice A and a color use in menu choice B, GRADE GUIDE displays which color is being used in the small box next to menu choice C. Pressing the letter C cycles through the list of 16 colors available for that color use on the given screen. When the color changes, the display of the corresponding GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 129 screen changes so you can see the effect of your color change. Note that the background color can only be set to one of the first eight of the sixteen colors in the list. GRADE GUIDE will not let you set the background color and a text color to be the same on any one screen. This would make some text on the affected screen invisible. ....................................................................... : Note that the setting of colors does not work when your computer is : : using a monochrome display adaptor card. : :.....................................................................: CHOICE D lets you force GRADE GUIDE to begin displaying all screens (except the SET DEFAULTS FOR COLOR SCREENS menu) in black and white. Recall that you can switch GRADE GUIDE into using only black and white with FILE MENU Option I. (See "Changing Between Color and Monochrome" in the chapter "FILE MENU.") Pressing the letter D switches between having GRADE GUIDE automatically start running in black and white from the introduction screen on (YES) or start running in color (NO). In either case you can still use FILE MENU Option I to change the display mode. When you have finished setting the screen colors, press the <Esc> key to return to the DEFAULT MENU. >>>Saving and Reading Default Files To save the current default settings, press the letter G at the DEFAULT MENU. GRADE GUIDE gives you a choice whether to save the current defaults as the GRADEGID.DFT file in the home directory, as a file with the same name as the current class file, or as a default file with another name. If you attempt to leave the DEFAULT MENU without saving the current default settings, GRADE GUIDE asks you if you want to save the current settings. GRADE GUIDE loads default settings whenever it reads a class file. If you read a class file when the current default settings have not yet been saved, GRADE GUIDE asks if you want to read the default settings. For example, suppose you had been working with the class MATH-001 on the MAIN MENU. You could exit the MAIN MENU, return to the FILE MENU, and go to the DEFAULT MENU to change some default settings. Suppose you do not save the new default settings. When you return to the MAIN MENU to continue working with the class MATH-001, GRADE GUIDE will want to load the default settings appropriate for that class, but doing so will clear the changes you have just made in the default settings. GRADE GUIDE will ask if you want to load default settings. If you want to use the settings as you have just finished changing them, answer no (N). If you answer yes (Y), you will loose the changes you just finished making. To read any saved default settings, press the letter H at the DEFAULT MENU. GRADE GUIDE will display a list of all the default setting files in the current default directory and the GRADEGID.DFT file from the home directory. You can choose which file to read. Reading a default file changes all the default file settings appropriately. When you have completed all the changes to the DEFAULT MENU settings, press the <Esc> key at the DEFAULT MENU to return to the FILE MENU. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 130 CHAPTER 7 -- TECHNICAL CONCERNS >>>Memory Concerns When GRADE GUIDE is working with one of your classes, it reads the entire file of information for that class into the computer's memory. This allows GRADE GUIDE to execute very quickly. If you try to read a file that is too large for the memory of your computer, GRADE GUIDE displays a warning message and does not allow you to continue processing that class. This could happen if you record information about a class using one computer and then try to process that class using another computer with less internal memory. GRADE GUIDE Version 4 has been tested with a class that has 175 students with 650 grades and 20 NOTES assigned to each student. This test was done on a computer with 640K of internal memory. The same machine supported a class with more than 1100 students with 40 grades and 4 NOTES assigned to each student. On a computer with only 256K of internal memory, the program can handle a class of 200 to 300 students with 40 grades assigned to each student. The exact number of students depends on the number of NOTES assigned. The use of NOTES drastically increases the amount of memory required to handle your classes. GRADE GUIDE constantly checks whether your computer has the memory capacity to continue processing. If you attempt to add one more new student or try to record a new set of grades and there is not enough memory in the computer to allow that, GRADE GUIDE stops you and prevents your making those additions to your class. You can continue processing normally as long as you do not try to add the new information. If you need to add the new information, there are several things that you can try. First, you could move your work to a computer with more memory. Second, you could delete some less important information. An easy way to get more room, for example, would be to stop using LABELED categories. Another way would be dropping an unneeded category or some students who are no longer attending your class. Third, you can delete some NOTES that you have left for students. Student NOTES take up a large amount of memory space, so if your computer is low on memory, do not put a lot of information in NOTES. Fourth, you can change some of the grade types for your categories. Decimal1 and Decimal2 type grades take twice as much memory to store as Whole and Letter grades. Finally, if you are using a RAM disk or a memory resident program that takes up some of your memory space, you could try running GRADE GUIDE without using those utilities. There are three MAIN MENU options that require some extra memory to be allocated in your computer. They are Options E (drop grades), K (display statistics), and L (display class roster when sorting is done with a number entry). In addition, GRADE GUIDE must check the memory used when it combines two classes with FILE MENU Option E. If you ever try to use one of these options when your computer does not have enough available memory, a warning is displayed and you are not allowed to use the option. Normal processing can continue as long as you avoid using those options. If you run GRADE GUIDE on a computer configured with some EXPANDED memory with an EXPANDED MEMORY DRIVER program installed, some or all of the GRADE GUIDE overlay file (GRADEGID.OVR) will be loaded into EXPANDED memory, GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 131 automatically. This will cause a slight increase in the speed of the program's execution. >>>Input/Output Problems When reading from or writing to the disk drives, there is always the possibility that problems will occur either due to hardware problems with the disk drive or the diskette, due to the diskette's being full, or due to your removing the necessary diskette from its drive before GRADE GUIDE is finished with it. GRADE GUIDE tries to catch each of these kinds of errors and will display a warning message whenever it finds a problem. It may ask you to choose to: A:abort operation or R:retry ? Choose to abort if you want to continue without performing the operation. Choose to retry if you want to start the reading or the writing of the file again. If you receive this message because GRADE GUIDE was writing the class file and your floppy disk ran out of free space to write the file, you can replace the floppy with a different formatted floppy disk that does have enough free space on it. Then press the letter R to have GRADE GUIDE retry writing your class file. If you do not have a formatted disk available, you can use the <^Break> key to jump to DOS to format a new disk. (See "Keyboard and Mouse" in the chapter "BASICS.") Note that GRADE GUIDE produces a file with file type ### when creating your class file. This file is renamed if the operation is completed correctly. Otherwise, you may delete the file. Note that GRADE GUIDE makes updated copies of your class file while you are working and changing your class information. This is done so if you experience a power loss or other serious hardware problem, there will be a fairly recent version of you class file stored on the disk. It is recommended (as it is for all information stored on a disk) that after a session with GRADE GUIDE, you make backup copies of your class files on a separate disk. You can use either the FILE MENU Option G or the DOS COPY function to make the copies. >>>Running Under WINDOWS Although GRADE GUIDE is not designed as a WINDOWS application (one that interfaces smoothly with the Microsoft WINDOWS program), it is compatible with WINDOWS Version 3.0 and 3.1. You can run GRADE GUIDE from within WINDOWS as a non-Windows application. Two files are supplied with GRADE GUIDE to assist users who wish to run GRADE GUIDE under WINDOWS. The file GRADEGID.PIF is a standard WINDOWS PIF file. The file GRADEGID.ICO contains an icon which can be used instead of the usual DOS icon WINDOWS assigns to non-Windows applications. Use the WINDOWS File Manager to associate the icon with GRADE GUIDE. (See your WINDOWS documentation.) >>>Running On a Computer Network GRADE GUIDE has been tested and works fine on a Novel network. The program does not take any precautions to prevent problems which would occur if two users on a network changed the same class file at the same time. On the other hand, it is unlikely that two users would ever need access to the same class file at the same time. You can protect class files from being changed by a second user by using GRADE GUIDE's password protection. GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 132 GRADE GUIDE INDIVIDUAL LICENSE ORDER FORM This is an order form for one individual ordering GRADE GUIDE Version 4. .......................................................................... : : : :NAME:_________________________________________ : PREFERRED DISK SIZE : : : : :ADDRESS:______________________________________ : 3.5"___ 5.25"___ : : : : :______________________________________________ :........................: : : :______________________________________________ : : : :CITY:______________________ STATE:______ ZIP CODE:__________________ : : : :TELEPHONE:(_______)-________________________ : : : :PAYMENT: One individual license $40 (US) ______ : : : : One individual license when five or more licenses are : : ordered together $32 (US) ______ : : : : Update from a previous license $15 (US) ______ : : : : Additional shipping outside the : : United States, Canada, or Mexico $5 (US) ______ : : : :NAME OF SECOND PERSON:_________________________________________ : :A second person license for an individual at the same household : : address for and additional $10 (US) ______ : : : : : : TOTAL PAYMENT ____________ : :PAYMENT BY: Check _____ Money Order _____ : : Organizational : : VISA _____ Master Card _____ Purchase Order _____ : : : : : :Credit Card Number:________________________________________________ : : : :Expiration Date:_________ Signature:______________________________ : : : : Send Order and Payment to: GRADE GUIDE, c/o Jon Kane : : 2814 Regent Street : : Madison, Wisconsin 53702-5218 : :........................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 133 GRADE GUIDE SITE LICENSE ORDER FORM This is an order form for one organization ordering GRADE GUIDE Version 4 for some or all of their employees. .......................................................................... :NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION AS THE PROGRAM WILL DISPLAY THE NAME: : : : :________________________________________________________________________: :CONTACT : : :PERSON : : :NAME:_________________________________________ : PREFERRED DISK SIZE : : : : :ADDRESS:______________________________________ : 3.5"___ 5.25"___ : : : : :______________________________________________ :........................: : : :______________________________________________ : : : :CITY:______________________ STATE:______ ZIP CODE:__________________ : : : :TELEPHONE:(_______)-________________________ : :........................................................................: :Site license prices vary with the number of users at the organization. : :For additional pricing arrangements, program modifications needed, or : :update of a previous license contact Jon Kane at the address below. : :Two instruction manuals are supplied with each site license. Additional: :manuals may be purchased for $10 (US) each. : :........................................................................: : up to 10 users $250 : up to 40 users $800 : : up to 15 users $350 : up to 50 users $950 : : up to 20 users $450 : up to 75 users $1200 : : up to 30 users $625 : up to 100 users $1400 : :..................................:.....................................: :PAYMENT: : : License cost in US Dollars ______ : : : : Number of manuals ______ at $10 (US) each for a total of ______ : : : : : : TOTAL PAYMENT ____________ : :PAYMENT BY: Check _____ Money Order _____ : : Organizational : : VISA _____ Master Card _____ Purchase Order _____ : : : : : :Credit Card Number:________________________________________________ : : : :Expiration Date:_________ Signature:______________________________ : : : : Send Order and Payment to: GRADE GUIDE, c/o Jon Kane : : 2814 Regent Street : : Madison, Wisconsin 53702-5218 : :........................................................................: GRADE GUIDE Instruction Manual - PAGE 134