PC-SIG: World of Education

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Text File | 1991-01-30 | 56.7 KB | 999 lines

VAR Grade HELP Version 4.6 Copyright (C) 1988-1991 by Dennis Revie. All Rights Reserved. Selecting a Class: ------------------ To select a class file, you can either type in the name of the class, or use the cursor keys or <Ctrl>-cursor keys to select the correct name and then press the <return> key. If you decide to type in the name, you may enter a full path name, but the three letter extension need not be entered (e.g., you can enter "CLASS" or "C:CLASS", but not "CLASS.PAR"). If the extension is entered (".PAR"), it is not used by the program. To use a class on another drive or in another directory, you can either enter the full path name (e.g., A:\grades\class), or you can use the <F5> key and enter the new directory (e.g., A:\grades). If you change the directory, all the classes in the new directory are displayed. Menu Choices: ------------- The "Main Menu" is the menu listed when you first enter the program. When you are asked for a menu choice here or at any other place in VAR GRADE, you only need to press one key (the one listed before the choice). When one of the choices is in reverse colors, pressing <Return> will choose the highlighted one. You can also use a mouse to pick the highlighted choice: the left button will select the highlighted choice. The program will only respond to those keys listed on the menu, and responds immediately to the key. Entering Data: -------------- To enter data either by name or by numbers, you type in the data, then you press <Return> to signal the end of your data. In general, if you are asked to "enter" a number or name, end it with "<Return>", when you are asked to "press" a key, type only the desired key. To pick a student name or class name, you can either use the cursor keys to select the name and press <Return>, OR you may type in a valid name. For student names, you only need to type enough letters to make uniquely specify that student. e.g., type "Ken" to find "Smith, Ken". However, if "Kennedy, John" was also in the class, the program would find that name, instead of the desired one. Quit the Program: ----------------- To quit or exit the program, you can either pick "Q" (quit) on the Main Menu or <CtrlC> from ANYWHERE in the program. If you have changed any data for your class, the program will ask you if the data should be written to a class file before the program quits. If you say no ("N"), the newly entered data will be irretrievably lost. For more Information: --------------------- There is a more extensive and complete manual that can be viewed from the program by pressing "M" on the main menu. You can also print it for easier reference. You can get help at any time in the program by typing <AltH> (the Alt key and the "H" key). How special keys are used in this program: ------------------------------------------ Special keys are designated by bracketing the name with "<" and ">". e.g.: <Esc> is the escape key, <Rtn> is the return key. The keys are used in some but not all parts of the program. Cursor keys: There are two types of key editing modes. The default mode lets you correct errors with the backspace key. The <Home>, <End>, <Left Arrow>, and <Right Arrow> are used to move thru a list of students, exams, or choices. There is a selectable mode ("edit" keys), in the "Z" option on the Main Menu, that changes these four keys so you can use them to correct errors. The <Home> key will then go to the first character of a number or name, the <End> key will go to the last one. The <Left Arrow> and <Right Arrow> move you left or right one character, respectively. Since you need to move between data fields, the <Ctrl-Left Arrow> and <Ctrl-Right Arrow> will then move you one field to the left or right, respectively. Key Name of key Program Function -------- ------------- ---------------- <Esc> escape Exit this section or part of the program <Rtn> return,enter Signals the end of input of a name or number <Pg up> page up List the previous screen <Pg dn> page down List the next screen <Home> home Go to the beginning of a list <End> end Go to the end of a list <Tab> tab Go to the next entry (cell) <ShftTab> shift-tab Go to the previous entry <F1> function key 1 Use all the listed choices <F10> function key 10 To erase what you have typed for the entry <AltU> alt-U (Undo) Restores the original number or letters when entering data for that cell only. <AltH> alt-H Help--available at any time <CtrlE> control E When typing in numeric data or words, it will cause switching between using and not using edit keys. <CtrlC> control C Exit from the program. If data has been changed, you will be asked if it should be written to a class file before exiting the program. Note: 1) When entering numeric data, a <rtn> alone, with no number can have one of several interpretations: (a) do not change the current value; or (b) end current input of sections or exams; or (c) let the program choose the appropriate number. Which possibility (a, b, or c) that the program will use is stated on the screen when data is requested. 2) When entering names, the cursor keys can usually be used to select the student or class. The cursor keys <Home>, <End>, <Pg up>, <Pg dn>, <Ctrl-Home>, <Ctrl-End>, <Left Arrow>, <Rt Arrow>, <Up Arrow>, <Dn Arrow>, <Ctrl-Pg up>, <Ctrl-Pg dn>, <Ctrl-Left arrow>, and <Ctrl-Rt arrow> can be used. Select the desired name, then press <Rtn>. If any letters or numbers have been typed before the <Rtn>, they will be used rather than the name at the cursor. 3) When entering task scores or attendance, the cursor keys will move you between exams, attendance, names, ID's, and section numbers. The <Ctrl>-cursor keys move you between exams, etc. IF you use the edit keys (<CtrlE> switches between these). Starting a new class: --------------------- You must first set-up the class. You can do this in three steps: 1) Choose the number of different SECTIONS of students: --------------------------------------------------- The default number of sections is 1. If there is more than one section of students in your class, press "Z" on the Main Menu. On the second menu, press "S" (change the number of sections). Type in the new number, ending with a <Rtn>. Then exit back to the Main Menu by pressing "E". 2) Enter the NAMES of students: ("N" on the Main Menu) ---------------------------- There is very little that you can do with the program if no students have been added to your class. Enter the NAMES by pressing "N" on the Main Menu. You can enter names either of several ways. You can prepare a file of names, as explained below, or you can type each directly into the program. You can also enter them in the "D" or "I" sections of the Main Menu by pressing <AltI>, then typing in the name. Lastly, you can enter them in the "A" option of the Main Menu. Loading Students: (Add Students Menu) ----------------- The program can load students from a file directly into a VAR Grade class. This can save lots of typing if your school or college can give you class rosters via computer files. The loader is relatively dumb: it cannot recognize student names or ID's. You need to prepare the file before using the loader. NOTE: You can also load students from a batch file by using the VAR Grade utility "GrUtil". Flat File ("F"): Steps: 1. Use a word processor to delete lines in the file that do not contain student names and ID's. Each file should contain ONE section of students. If you have multiple sections, separate the class into one file per section. Each line of the file(s) contain one student name and ID (if there are ID's). 2. Tell the program the name of the class AND the name of the student file (see the directions for selecting a file, below). 3. Tell the program where the student names, notes, ID's, section numbers, and tasks start and end. If the names or notes are longer than 20 letters, they will be truncated to 20. If the ID's are longer than 15 letters, they will be truncated. The names and/or ID's can be anywhere on the line. Each line should contain a different student. If ID's, sections, or tasks are not used, tell the program to use "0" as the position of the first character of that item. Comma and Quote File ("C") and Automatic loading of Flat File ("A"): Steps: 1. (1C) Comma and Quote file: Prepare a file of Names, ID's, notes, sections, and tasks. Only the names are required. Each item should be separated by commas. If the Names or ID's contain commas, you need to put quotes around that item. (1A) Automatic flat file: Prepare a file of Names, ID's, notes, sections, and tasks. Only the names are required. Each item should be separated by spaces. If the Names or ID's contain spaces, they will be read as two different columns unless you need to put quotes around the items. 2. The first line of the file can have the names of the items. The line: "Name", "ID", "Section", "Exam 1", "Homework 5" as the first line will tell VAR Grade to load the next lines with the name as the first field, ID as the next, etc. Exam 1 and Homework 5 will be the names of the first two unused tasks. The line: "Name", "ID", "Section", 1, 5 as the first line will tell VAR Grade to load the next lines with the name as the first field, ID as the next, the section number as the next, then tasks 1 and 5 (with "Number task" as the name). The program will try to determine if the task uses numbers or letters, and load the exam accordingly. 3. If the first line does not contain "Name", VAR Grade will guess how to load the fields. It will take the first non-numerical field and call it the name, the next as the ID. The first number will be loaded as the first unused task, etc. All the students will be loaded into section 1. One task imports ("G"): Steps: 1. Prepare a file listing with two fields: (1) either the names or ID's of the students in the class. (2) list the scores of a task. The two fields should be separated by a comma. If the names have a comma in them, surround the name with double quotes (e.g., "Darwin, Charles"). 2. Tell the program the name of the file, whether the file contains names or ID's, and the task number. 3. The program will compare the names or ID's with the students in the class. The new grades will take precedence over the old ones. Selecting a Student File: ------------------------- To select a student file, you can use the cursor keys to select the correct name and then press <Rtn>. The file should previously have been prepared by deleting any lines without student names. Lines with blank names are ignored. If the name of the student already exists, the new data is merged into the data for that student. Direct Entering of Students: ("N" or "I" on the Add Students Menu) ---------------------------- You can type the names of students into the program, as well. If you want to enter ID numbers as well, you may do so by choosing "I" on the Add Students Menu, otherwise, enter an "N". ID's can be added later, if desired, in the sections of the program for entering task scores or attendance. If there is more than one section in the class the program will prompt for the correct section of the students. After a section has been chosen, enter the names (ending each name with <Rtn>). Each name can have up to 20 characters, while the ID's can be up to 15 characters. Use the cursor keys to move around the screen. To add more lines, type a <Rtn>. When you are finished, exit by pressing <AltS>. CAUTION: The program can sort the students by their names, so if you want the students alphabetized by last name, enter the names LAST name first. You can also sort the class by ID, by the score on any task, or turn off the sorting of students. You can also add students in the task scores or attendance sections of the program. See below for details. To check whether the students have been entered into the class, press "D" on the Main Menu. All the students in the class will be listed on the left side of the screen. 3) Define some exams or tests: ("T" on the Main Menu) --------------------------- There are two types of exams: regular and special. Regular exams are those used to enter exam or test scores. A second menu will ask you to define a task, or to take an action on a task (move, copy, etc.). After choosing a type of task, you need to choose the number. The tasks listed are all the tasks that have been defined (initially, none). After choosing a task number, you need to enter the task name and, if it is a number task, the total points for it. Note that for a number task, student scores must be less than or equal to the total points of the task and greater than or equal to the minimum possible points. If it is a letter task, only letter grades can be entered. The default grading system is A to F with + and - grades. You can change this to just about ANY grading system in the "Z" option on the Main Menu. You will be able to pick the names and point values for up to 50 grades. To define special tasks, see the section tasks definitions, below. When a number, extra credit, or letter task is defined, the task is automatically added to the list of tasks to display in the "D" section of the Main Menu. 4) Define some attendance days: ---------------------------- If you record attendance, the "A" option on the Main Menu can be pressed for defining and entering attendance. See the section below on attendance. 5) Enter task scores: ------------------ Scores can be entered either by individual students ("I" on the Main Menu) or by the whole class ("D" on the Main Menu). From the "D" option, you can tell the program which regular tasks you would like to use for entering student scores by pressing <AltC> (change list of tasks). Regular tasks are letter, number, or extra credit tasks. If no regular tasks have been defined, there will be a list of students, ID's, and/or sections, but no tasks. After defining new tasks, they will be automatically added to the list of tasks to display. The program will "remember" the last set of tasks you chose and keep displaying the list until it is changed. When picking tasks to list, you can pick the task number(s) in ANY order, ending with the list with a zero. When you list the tasks to use, you can enter them one at a time, or as groups of consecutive scores by using a colon (e.g. 1:5 is a valid way to tell the program that you want to pick tasks 1 to 5). You can then use the cursor keys to move between the task scores, student names, ID's, or sections. If there is more than one section of students in the class, you can list only the sections you want for data input by pressing <AltZ>. The "I" option lists all the regular tasks for a student. You can move between the student name, ID, section, and tasks with the cursor keys. Other students can be listed by using the <Alt> keys listed on the screen. You can also add new students by using the <AltI> key (insert new student). <AltF> lets you quickly find any student in the class. Only regular tasks (those that accept input), will be listed. In either option, you can make a student task score be undefined (unused) by making the score blank. Student scores that are blank are ones that have not yet had a score entered. File Maintainance: ("F" on the Main Menu) ------------------ 1) Changing the Class file name: ("F" on the Main Menu, then "A") ----------------------------- This option will let you change the class name. The current name of the class will be listed. To change the name, just type in the new one, up to eight letters. All the class files with the old name are changed to the new name. Note that this changes the class FILE name, not the name of the class that is listed on the printouts. To change that, go to the "Z" option on the Main Menu. 2) Updating to another Disk: ("F" on the Main Menu, then "W") ------------------------- At any time, you can easily backup the current class data to a second disk. After pressing "W", a file name will be listed, along with a message to specify the new drive (and directory). The program will suggest a default drive to use. If that is acceptable, just press <Rtn>. Otherwise, change the drive and/or directory to one you prefer. The difference between this option and the "S" option on the Main Menu is that the name and directory of the file is not changed in this option. If you use the "S" option and change the directory or file name when you write the class data, that new name will be used by the program from then on. 3) Modifying other classes: ("F" on the Main Menu) ------------------------ You can do complete file maintainance with the other options. For all of them, you can use the DOS wildcards ("*" and "?"). You can also move around the directories on your drives. The options are: Rename: changes the names of all the classes you pick. Update: checks all classes in the first directory or drive and copies any classes saved LATER that are in a second directory or drive. Copy: copies the classes to new directories, drives, or names. Move: move the classes from the one directory or drive to another one. Delete: removes all class files (ending in ".DAT" or ".PAR") that you have chosen. It will not remove any other files. WARNING: this is a destructive command. Make sure you do not need these class files any more. 4) File Protection: ("F" on the Main Menu, then "P") ---------------- The student files are, by default, written as read-only files. This prevents deletion of the files by normal procedures like the DEL command of MS-DOS. You can change these defaults to "normal" or "hidden". Normal allows deletion of the files with DEL. This is not as safe, as you could accidentally remove them. Hidden files are prevented from being seen by the MS-DOS DIR command--this is a method of extra protection. NOTE: Some programs (back-up, etc.) may not like hidden or read-only files. If the program complains about VAR Grade class files, try changing them to "normal" files. Save the class data: ("S" on the Main Menu) -------------------- After entering data, it is STRONGLY recommended that you IMMEDIATELY save your data by pressing "S" (Save) on the Main Menu, or by exiting the class with the "Q", "E", or "X" options. When data is changed, the program will not allow you to exit the program without your telling it if you want to save the altered data. However, if a power or computer failure occurs before you finish using the program, you may lose a LOT of work if you have not yet saved the data. After pressing "S", you will see a prompt asking if you want to save the file to the one listed (the current class), or to a new name. If you change the name for saving the data, the program will retain the new name as the revised file name for the class. Each time the data is saved, the previous data file is renamed as a back up. The new data is written as a Read-Only file. Read-Only files cannot be deleted from DOS by the "del" or "erase" command. The back up file and read-only main file are done to take every precaution to prevent the loss of your class data. You can, however, prevent back ups and/or have the data written as normal DOS files. In the File Maintainance ("F" on the Main Menu) part of the program there are options that allow either. You can tell the program to write your files "read-only" (which is the default value), as "hidden" (the DOS dir command will not even list the file--this gives extra safety from prying eyes), or as "normal". Normal files can be deleted by DOS. VAR Grade back-ups are written with "normal" attributes, hence can easily be deleted. If you do not have much disk space, you can prevent backup files being made of your class data. It is recommended that you do not change the default values of making back up files and making the class files as read-only. Picking a Printer: ("Z" on the Main Menu, then "P") ------------------ You can pick different types of printers. Each printer that has been installed (up to 5) is listed on the "Printer Menu". The file GRADE.PDT contains the needed information. To install different printers, you can press "P". VAR Grade will search for INSTALLP.EXE and GPRTDRV.PDT. Note that the program only fully supports the printers for graphs and plots. An option is included in the program that allows you to enter the print codes for your printer for pica, elite, bold, etc. The program will then print in pica, elite, etc, for your printer! You can also specify whether to use single or double spacing and whether to use draft or high quality printing when printing the information. Note, however, not all printers are supported for type sizes other than pica. If you do not select a printer, you will not be able to print the plots on a printer. If your printer is not listed by INSTALLP, your printer may emulate the printer commands of another printer. Consult your printer's manual for further details. Printer codes can be changed, as well. Several keys work differently if you do change the codes, as they are needed to put in printer codes. Type in the new codes with the <Esc>, <Alt><keypad numbers>, and regular keys. To delete the previous character, instead of using backspace, use the <F2> key. Exit with <AltS>. Print Menu: ----------- When you analyze the scores or wish to print them, a menu will appear on the screen. This menu allows you to specify where to print the information (the disk, printer, and/or screen), to alter the specifications for printing, or to make other changes. If you are writing to a disk file, you will be asked for the file name. If you are writing to a disk that fills up, the file will be truncated. Other changes can be made. Ignoring Students: You can tell the program to "ignore" some students when analyzing the class performance. These students will only be ignored when calculating statistics or for plots. Note that students with unentered scores are also ignored for the statistical measures. These students are ignored for the current session of VAR Grade only. Student Ranks: You can also change whether or not you want "rank" numbers written when listing the students. The ranks will be listed in order of the method you used to sort the students. For instance, if you tell the program to sort the class by the score on a task, the rank numbers that can be printed will be by their score on that task. Show Notes: To print out the notes you have entered on students, you need to make sure that you have the program lists "show notes" as "yes". You can also change the sections of students to use for your analysis or listing or change the printer characteristics. You can stop printing any time you are writing data to a printer or to a disk file by pressing <CtrlS>. You will be asked if you want to stop printing. Undoing student data: --------------------- You can move a student from one section to another, add or change the student ID, or delete a student from the class. These changes can be made while entering the attendance or task scores. To delete a student from the class, delete the student name. When the screen is changed, the student will be deleted from memory. The only way to "undelete" the changes made are to quit the program without saving the changes or, if you already saved the class data, to use the back up (previous) class data. Define Tasks: ("T" on the Main Menu) ------------- You can designate a task as a "special" task. There are several types of tasks that can be defined. If you use letter grades, however, some of these types of tasks may not have any meaning (for example, "summing" tasks). Note that when selecting which tasks to use, you may use a colon for "inclusive"--e.g. "1:5" translates to "tasks 1 to 5", while "16:5" translates to tasks 16 down to 5. You can list the tasks in any order (e.g., "1 5 2 20"). You can redefine a special task by just telling the program to use a different set of tasks for the calculations. To remove tasks that have previously been defined, use the "R" (remove) option in this part of the program. Types of regular tasks: Number: Tasks that use numbers for student scores (e.g. 90). Letter: Tasks that use letters for student scores (e.g. A, or B-). Extra Credit: When added to another task, it will not add to the total points for the task. This allows scores above 100%, but only when the extra credit and regular tasks are summed together. WARNING: If the special task "highest" of several tasks includes an extra credit task, it will discards an additional task (presumably the extra credit, if it is one of the lowest tasks). Types of special tasks: Sum: Adds up the scores for all the tasks in the list. Average: Calculates the average for the tasks on the list. If a score has not been entered, the task is not included in the average. Percent: Calculates the percent of the tasks on the list. If a score has not been entered, the task is not included in the percent. High: Throw out the lowest scores of summed, averaged, or percent tasks, then calculates the sum, average, or percent (respectively) of the remaining scores. Weight: Weighted average. Adds up a list of tasks and their weights (e.g., task 1 with weight 0.2, task 2 with weight 0.4, and task 3 with weight 0.4). Use this task if you want to use, for example, 50% of the final points as Task 1, 25% as task 2, and 25% as task 3. Attendance: Task for converting attendance to grades. You need to specify the weights for the different types of attendance, the days (and how many to drop), and the total points. Final: Task for keeping track of the final grades. This task score can only be entered by computing the final grades ("G" option on the Main Menu, or automatically). Final tasks reassign the grades whenever new scores are entered. NOTE: Tasks will either ignore unentered scores or count them as zero points. You can change this in the "Z" option of the Main Menu. You can also move, copy, and transfer task scores, as well as change the task name or remove tasks: Transfer: This copies the scores of a task to another task (2nd) with a higher number. The second task will be defined as a Number or Letter task, with the total points the same as the total points of the first task. For transferring definitions, the "Y" (one definition) and "J" (several), the student scores are not transferred, only the task definitions. Special tasks that are transferred have their definitions adjusted for their higher numbers. Copy: This option will copy the task EXACTLY as the task you choose; the new task must have a higher number than the first one. You will be asked the new name of the task, but everything else is the same. Move: You can move one or more tasks to higher numbers. The task(s) will be EXACTLY the same as the original tasks. If the tasks that are moved have been referenced by special tasks, they will still be used by those tasks (e.g., if task 10 is the sum of tasks 1 thru 3, and you move them to 5 thru 7, task 10 will be the sum of tasks 5 thru 7). If you move a group of tasks, the new task numbers can overlap the old ones (e.g., if you move tasks 1 thru 5 to 3 thru 7, everything will be moved correctly). If you move a group of tasks and they will overwrite an old task, you will be warned. Clear: This will remove all the student scores for the designated task(s). The tasks will still be there, but all student scores are "unentered". Remove: You can remove a task or set of tasks by specifying the task(s), then, when asked, pressing "D" to delete them. Rename: Changes the name of the task, only. Show definition: Displays the current definition for a task. Attendance: ("A" on the Main Menu) ----------- You can keep track of attendance. If you do not use attendance, the program will skip the sections referring to it. If you decide to use attendance, after you define at least one day, you will be able to list the attendance, etc. Changing Attendance Defaults: ("Z" on the Attendance Menu) ----------------------------- Two defaults can be changed for attendance. First, you can tell the program to set student attendance for a newly defined date as: present, excused, unexcused, late, other, or not entered. When you first use the program, the students are set to "not entered". Changing this default to "present" will cause all students to be set to that value when a date is newly defined. Second, you can change the letter for each type of attendance. You can, for example, change "P" for attendance to " ". Since " " is the default letter for "not entered", you should then change that value to something else, e.g., "N". WARNING: If two attendance types are designated by the same letter, the program may assign the wrong type to a letter. Note that the new defaults are used for ALL classes that you have. Defining Dates: ("D" on the Attendance Menu) --------------- You first must define one or more attendance days. To make it easier, if you type <F1>, the program will find the next undefined task. You need to enter a name for the day (usually the date) to define it. The <F3> thru <F8> keys will make it easier to enter dates. If you define day 10 before 5 thru 9, those intermediate days will be listed, but will have no names for the day (hence are still undefined). After a date has been defined, it is automatically added to the list of dates to display when doing class attendance. There are 6 possible types of attendance. Present, Late, Excused Absent, Unexcused absence, Other (which can mean anything you want), and Not entered (no attendance has yet been entered). You can then enter the attendance for an single student or for a section or class of students. Removing Dates: ("D" on the Attendance Menu) --------------- Follow the instructions, immediately above, for defining a date, except make the date have a blank name (e.g., by pressing <F10> when the date name is asked). Attendance by Name: ("N" on the Attendance Menu) ------------------- This section is analogous to entering tasks by student names. All the defined attendance dates are listed, as well as the student name, ID, and section. At the top of the screen, you see the letter designations for each type of attendance. You can use the cursor keys to move around the screen. When entering attendance, the program responds immediately when you press a valid key. The <Alt> keys listed on the screen can be used to move between students. You can also add new students to the class by using the <Alt> keys. Attendance by Section: ("S" on the Attendance Menu) ---------------------- This section is analogous to entering tasks by sections. You can pick which days you want to use with the <Alt-C> key. The program will remember the most recently picked days. All the students will be listed. You can move between students and dates with the cursor keys. At the top of the screen, you see the letter designations for each type of attendance. The program responds immediately when you press a valid key. Write Scores and Attendance: ("W" on the Main Menu) ---------------------------- One important function that the program does is allow you to write the student scores and attendance to a printer. You can print scores, attendance for each day, or an attendance summary. You can print all the scores for one student OR whichever tasks scores you want for any section(s) of the class. The attandance summary adds up the totals for each type of attendance (there 6 are types). List by name: ("N", "L" on the Write Data Menu) ------------- Listing the tasks for one student lists all the defined tasks and/or attendance days and/or attendance summary for that student. Listing the students by section will list the scores or attendance days or attendance summary for everyone in the section or sections that you choose. You must specify which tasks or attendance days to list for the section(s). Note that after choosing which method for listing the scores, the Print Menu will be displayed, which will list a number of options for printing--sections to use, printer, and whether to write them to the screen, to a disk file, or a printer. This menu appears whenever printing is done to allow you great flexibility in how you want to view the student data. If you want to list all the students in your class individually, pressing <F1> when asked for the student name will print all the students in the sections listed on the Print Menu. Each student will start on a new page. List by section: ("S" on the Write Data Menu) ---------------- When you list the students by section, as many scores or dates will be printed on a line as will fit on a print page. The characters per line and lines per page can be set in the printing menu mentioned above. If more tasks or attandance days need to be printed, the whole section will be listed using the first tasks or dates are listed, then the whole section will be listed for the next set of tasks, etc., until all have been printed. A key is listed at the beginning of the list, with only the task numbers or date numbers used when they are listed (having a key allows more to be listed per line). You will first select whether to list just the names, ID's, or both. Then you will be able to select which task scores or attendance days to display. Finally the results will be displayed. You can alter the number of decimal places the data will be written. On either the Print Menu (which pops up before viewing the data), or in the "Z" option of the Main Menu, you can change the number of decimal places to be written to between 0 and 5. Print Grids: ("G" on the Write Data Menu) ------------ This option will allow you to print empty grids to a printer so that you can more easily enter data. Since the students will be listed in the same order as in the program, updating the data in the program can be done very easily. Export Data: ("Q", "P", and "B" on the Write Data Menu) ------------ If you want to export data to be used in another program, VAR Grade lets you do it three ways. First, you can write data that is in a form that can be imported by spreadsheets like Borland's Quattro (TM). The data is written as numbers or quotes and is delimited by commas. The data is written for each student by (a) name, ID, or both; (b) notes, if desired; (c) if there is more than one section of students, the section numbers are written; last (d) the task scores that you choose are written. Letter or Final grades are written with letters, the others as numbers. The tasks are written in the order that you specify. The data can then be imported directly into some spreadsheets. Second, you can write the data as plain text. The data is written with the data in nicely formatted columns in the same manner as for the quote and comma delimited data. Third, you can write the data as bytes. This option lets you write or use other prorams that can import non-ASCII data. The data for each student is written as (a) name, ID, or both (as picked by you), 20 characters for names, 15 for IDs; (b) notes, if desired, with 20 characters; (c) if there is more than one section, the section numbers are written as a two byte word, then, (c) the task scores are written as either a two byte string if it is a letter or final score or as an eight byte floating point number. The tasks are written in the order that you specify. Reports and forms ----------------- Editing: You can edit forms from VAR Grade. However, you must first pick an editor with the "D" option of the Write Scores Menu. Then press the "F" option to edit and write forms. It is recommended that you use FRM as an extension of files, but VAR Grade can use any file name. Details on what the report form commands mean are listed in the manual. Printing reports: There are two options, individual reports ("I"), and class reports ("C"). If you choose the "I" option, you will be asked to pick the student(s) to list. There are three options: (1) list the students you choose, (2) list students above a score on a task, or (3) list students below a score on a task. These let you print reports on good or bad students. If you choose the first, the program will ask for the name(s). If you choose the last 2, the program will ask for the task and the cutoff score. The program then uses the names or score you chose for inserting into the form. If you choose the "C" option, it is assumed that only the whole class is to be used for the report, so you do not choose names or cutoffs. The program just prints the report. Interactive commands (question marks) can be placed in the forms that ask for tasks or students. Plotting: ("P" on the Main Menu) --------- This option on the Main Menu allows several types of plots. For those with display adapters that allow graphics (any but the Monochrome adapter), you can also change the fonts the graphs will be displayed. If you can display graphics, you can also choose to display 2D or 3D bars on the screen. Plotting the scores: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "P" or "T") -------------------- You can plot the scores for the class of any defined task. Unless it is a letter or final grade, you can choose the low and high cutoffs for plotting. Note that the statistics listed are calculated for only those scores that are plotted. You can also tell the program to "ignore" certain students before it calculates the plot. Students that have not had scores entered for the task are also ignored. When you enter the cutoffs values, the default value is picked by typing a <Rtn>, without any number. The default is the highest or lowest score for the class, whichever is appropriate. The scores are plotted and the mean, median, and standard deviation from the mean are calculated for the class. Looking at only part of the distribution can spread out the plot of the scores, allowing a better analysis of the distribution. After the plot, you can also list the students used for the plot. They are listed alphabetically AND by the high to low score by answering "Y" when the program asks if it should list the students. Correlate two tasks: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "C" or "3") ---------------------- To see if scores on any two tasks are related to each other, you can calculate the correlation coefficients. The correlation coefficient varies between -1 and +1. The closer the number is to zero, the less predictable the scores on the two tasks are. A score of 0 means that the score on the first task has no relationship to the score on the second task. If this is the case, something is probably wrong in one or both tasks. A score of +1 means that the score on the first task can be used to perfectly predict the score on the second one. The MANUAL explains in more detail what correlation coefficients mean and what their use can be. Individual Plot: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "I" or "B") ---------------- If you need to see how one student is doing, but need visual and quantitative evidence, just printing out the scores may not be enough. You can plot the scores on any combination of tasks for a student. You can tell the program to plot four ways: via the task scores, task percentages, by T-scores, or by the students' standard deviations. The trends can be seen visually. In addition, the trends are calculated three ways. First, the program assumes that the trend is a straight line (which frequently is not correct), and calculates the task "0" intercept and the slope of the line by the least squares method. Second, VAR Grade calculates the standard deviation from that line. The larger the deviation, the more scattered the points, hence the worse the trend predicts the scores. Third, the program calculates the correlation coefficient of the tasks. A high correlation coefficient tells you that the student has been consistent, a low one says that the scores jumped around a lot. Some or all of these three measures may help you or may be completely meaningless, depending on the task scores for the student, so interpret the results with caution. Class Statistics: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "S" or "1") ----------------- This option is ONLY available if you have a graphics capable display adapter. It will plot the range of scores for each task that you choose, as well as the mean (a bar the width of the bar), one standard deviation above and below the mean (the half width lines connected vertically to the mean), and the median (the "checked" half bar). If you pick the "1" option, VAR Grade will use an arrow to display the position of one students' score on each of the chosen tasks. These are graphic displays of the statistics you can get in the "G" option on the Main Menu (see below). Changing Fonts: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "F") --------------- When in the graphics mode, you can choose the default font or ANY other font compatible with the Borland Graphics Interface (BGI). Several fonts are included with the program, but you can add any you wish. After choosing this option, you will be asked for the file specifications. Normally, you will let the program pick any CHR files with "*.CHR". The program will find any files in the DOS path that match the file specifications. If you choose file specifications that change the drive or directory (e.g., "a:*.CHR"), these files will be listed, instead. Pick the desired font with the cursor keys and <Rtn>, or with the mouse and left mouse button (select). To select the default font (the first one), press <Esc> when in this part of the program. Final Grades: ("G" on the Main Menu) ------------- At the end of a task or semester, you can assign grades and have the grades and grade cutoffs neatly printed. If you use a grade system other than A to F, with +/- grades, you may want to redefine the grade system. See the next section for details. Final grades are continuously recalculated. This way, if you add in make-up scores, or correct grades, the final grade will reflect the changes. NOTE: If you do not want them to be recalculated, after assigning final grades, change the task to a letter task (when the program asks whether to delete the existing scores, say NO). The program needs the LOW scores (cutoffs) required to obtain each grade (except the worst). If you have not chosen "automatic" (permanent) cutoffs, the program will ask for them. You can cycle thru the cutoffs as often as you like before leaving this section. You can tell the program to automatically pick the low scores with the "C" option on this menu. You can tell the program to use the numbers as percentages for each grade OR to use them as total points. These cutoffs will be in effect when assigning grades unless you remove the low cutoffs or change the points. These cutoffs are saved by the program when class data is saved. The grades are then automatically assigned according to the cutoffs when the task was defined or from when you assigned the cutoffs in the "G" option. When assigning grades based on Sum, Average, or Percent tasks, any unentered scores may be ignored (or set to 0, depending on your wishes). The grade is based, therefore, on only those scores that have been entered. The number of students with each grade is totaled for you after listing all the scores. The final grades are assigned ONLY if you have previously defined a task as a Final grade (task type "F"), otherwise they are NOT saved by the program. If the grade has been assigned to the students, you can then list the grade in the "W" option of the Main Menu. Grade System: ("G" on the Main Menu, then "G") ------------- The program was written for the standard American grading system. If you use a different grading system, you can redefine the grade names and points for each grade, for up to 50 different types of grades (plus a "not entered" or incomplete grade). The program defaults to the A to F, with + and - grades. If you do not use +/- grades, you could, for example, tell the program to use only A thru F. The point values for each grade are also needed by VAR Grade, as they are used for calculating grade averages. The standard US point values are 4.0 for an A, 3.0 for a B, etc. You can also have the program auto- matically assign certain student scores certain grades (see the Final Grades section). When changing the grade names, enter them in numerical order of the grade values. Scaling grades: ("G" on the Main Menu, then "S") --------------- If you use number grades, you also can scale tasks differently by adding/subtracting or multiplying the scores by a number. These weights permanently change your student grades. For example, you can add 10 points to everybody in Section 2 of your class. The total points for the task are not changed. Any students that end up with scores above the total points for the task are reduced back to the total points. Calculating Statistics: ("G" on the Main Menu, then "M") ----------------------- You can calculate the mean, median, and standard deviation of any combination of tasks and sections. This section bypasses the plotting and listing of students. At the end of the semester, this section very easily can be used to calculate these statistics for every task you gave for the whole class, thus allowing an easier comparison of the scores. Since some students may have missed tasks, you can have the program ignore certain students when doing the calculations. Any students with unentered scores will be automatically ignored when calculating statistics. Adjust Statistics: ("G" on the Main Menu, then "A") ------------------ On occasion, you might want to change the mean, median, and/or the standard deviation of a task, or you might want to "save" the current values of these statistics. You can do this by adjusting the statistics. Regrades and other changes sometimes alter the means, etc., but you need to grade using the "original" values. If you save the values by "adjusting" them, the old values will be permanently stored and used by the program. You can also use this option to alter the values to conform to what you think the class should have done. You can delete the new values in the "D" option on the "G" menu, or, if you make a value blank (e.g., with the <F10> key), the true value for the statistic will be used by VAR Grade. Assigning T-Scores and Standard Deviations: ("G", then "T" or "V") ------------------------------------------- To calculate and assign T-scores or standard deviations, you will need to (a) pick the task on which to calculate the statistics, and (b) pick a Number task to assign the scores to. The scores can only be assigned to a number task (a "regular" task that will accept numbers for input). The total points for the number task will be set to equal the whole number immediately higher than the highest student T-score or standard deviation. The scores can be altered in the "D" or "I" sections on the Main Menu. Adjusting the Fewest Allowed Task Points: ("G", then "L") ------------------------------------------ The fewest points allowed is initially set to -1000000. You can adjust this value to any number up to zero. If you set the low to 0, you can still enter point totals less than 0, but the program will ignore the score when calculating statistics or plotting graphs. This option allows you to make up your own codes, in negative numbers, for different reasons a task might be missed. Unentered scores: ("G", then "Z") ----------------- Unentered scores can either count as zero points or as undefined. If they are undefined, the total points of sum, average, and percentage tasks are reduced for those tasks. If you count them as zero, you can still enter undefined task scores by making the scores LESS than the fewest allowed task points. Change Program Parameters: ("Z" on the Main Menu) -------------------------- You can change many of the default values for the program. Some of these are listed above (passwords, read-only files, numbers of sections, printer, etc.). Others include changing the name of the class (the default name is the 8 letter classname you use when starting the program) and changing the ways the current dates are written to the printer. Passwords: ("Z" on the Main Menu, then "W") ---------- If you keep your grades on a computer that is accessible to others, you can prevent most people from "browsing" in your data by telling the program that you want to use a password. The password can be up to 15 characters long, and can include spaces and punctuation marks. Note that the system used by the program will prevent most snoopers but is NOT fool-proof. Should you forget your password, you can write for details about how to "break-in" to the program by bypassing the password. Program Colors: ("Z" on the Main Menu, then "C") --------------- You can set the colors of the normal text, the background colors, the "graph" colors, the error colors, and the Help Screen colors (that you are now reading). The program will not allow text and the background colors to be the same, as that would prevent your seeing anything. EGA, VGA modes: ("Z" on the Main Menu, then "V") --------------- If you have an EGA or VGA monitor and graphics board, you can tell VAR Grade to display 43 (for EGA) or 50 lines of text (for VGA), or more if you have Super VGA. The new value is used for all classes on that computer. Mice, Mouse: ------------ The program will automatically support mice that conform to the Microsoft specifications (e.g., the Microsoft and Logitech mice). Mouse button(s) Meaning --------------- ------- <Left button> Select. If the button is pressed while the mouse cursor is at a menu choice, that choice will be selected. If the mouse cursor is at a number or name, the cursor will move to that place. If the mouse cursor is outside the current window, this will usually cause that window to close. If the mouse cursor is inside a window, but at no choice, number, or name, nothing will happen. If there is more information than can be seen on one screen, "mouse bars" will appear on the right and/or bottom of the current window. Pressing on these bars will move you the screen to a different part of that information. <Right button> Escape. This is the same as pressing <Esc>. <Left & right buttons> Return (enter). This is equivalent of pressing the <Rtn> key. Where the cursor is located determines what action is taken by the program. <Center button> [Three button mice, only.] Clear the name or number. Equivalent to pressing the <F10> key. Beeps or Noises: ---------------- When entering numeric data, a beep indicates that the value entered was out of the range of allowed numbers. You can change the sound of the beep, or turn it off, in the "Z" option of the Main Menu. Any other time the computer beeps or makes a noise, the memory is quite low and the information in a window could not be saved. When the current window is finished, it probably will not be able to redraw the underlying window correctly. Other than this, the program will run correctly. However, since memory is short, you should probably exit the program, free up some memory, and re-run it. VAR Grade tries to load as much of the program as it can into memory. You can increase or decrease the amount of the program in memory by typing "SET OMEM=xxx;", where xxx is any number between 0 and 200000. The smaller the number, the less memory used by the program, but also the more disk accesses it needs. VAR Grade will also take advantage of EMS memory (version 3.2 or later), if you have it. Only parts of the program, however, use EMS. This help file is loaded into EMS memory, if you have it, and the overlays are also loaded into EMS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------