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User's Guide to the ELECTRONIC CLASS ROLL Grade Management System Version 3.0 Copyright (c) 1986, 1992 by Dallan Quass, All Rights Reserved. WordPerfect is a registered trademark of WordPerfect Corp. LHA's SFX program is copyright (c) 1988-91 by Haruyasu Yoshizaki. Disclaimer - Agreement Users of the Electronic Class Roll (hereafter referred to as ECR) must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "ECR is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of ECR." Electronic Class Roll Table of Contents --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents Page Getting Started Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Learning How to Use the ECR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Final Grades in Ten Easy Steps: An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Installing the ECR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Tutorial Lesson One -- Creating a Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Lesson Two -- Entering the Student Roster . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Lesson Three -- Setting Up the Assignment List . . . . . . . . . 13 Lesson Four -- Entering Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Lesson Five -- Totaling Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Lesson Six -- Assigning Letter Grades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Lesson Seven -- Creating a Student Report . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Lesson Eight -- Creating a Class Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Lesson Nine -- Re-totaling Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Lesson Ten -- Backing Up Class Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Reference Section Start Up Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Main Menu Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Create New Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Change Letter Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Class Menu Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Set Up Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Edit Student Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Enter Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Graph / Adjust Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Calculate Total Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Create Student Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Create Class Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Copy From Another Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Load Scores From Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Advanced Tips and Techniques Reading Students from Your School's Computer . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Reading Scores from a Testing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Sending Final Grades to Your School's Computer . . . . . . . . . . 59 Using the WordPerfect Macros to Create Letters . . . . . . . . . . 60 Copying Class Data to a New Subject or Semester . . . . . . . . . 62 Combining Sections for Combined Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Combining Semesters for Year-End Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Electronic Class Roll 1 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction Welcome to the Electronic Class Roll grade management system! If you enjoy teaching but hate spending tedious hours calculating and reporting grades, then you will love the Electronic Class Roll. With the Electronic Class Roll you can easily total, graph, and report on students' scores, and still have time to do the things you got into teaching for in the first place. I hope you find this to be the finest grading program you have ever used. Special attention has been given to make the Electronic Class Roll flexible and powerful, yet at the same time easy to learn and use. Enjoy! Features Numerous menus and on-line help screens! Transfer student rosters and scores to and from your school's main computer or testing system! Manage as many classes as you want! Password protection for each class! Combine multiple sections or terms for combined grading! Up to 1000 students and 140 assignments per class! Maintain student comments! Enter scores as numbers, letters, or both! Track excused absences and missing assignments! Enter scores in a row and column format, just like a paper class roll! Display graphs and statistics on scores! Convert numeric scores to letter grades, percentages, Z-scores, etc.! Calculate total scores using a variety of grading formulas! Print reports for selected students, or for the entire class according to your format! Print reports for only the students with missing, low, or high scores! Create custom letters using WordPerfect! Copy students and scores from one class to another! Many other features! Equipment Needed IBM-PC or compatible with two disk drives or a hard disk. 256K memory (320K recommended). Dos 2.0 or above. Electronic Class Roll 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Learning How to Use the ECR Get an overview of the entire program by reading the overview section below. You then have three options for proceeding. Before using any of them however, you need to install the Electronic Class Roll onto your computer (see page 5). If you can't wait to get started, start the program and retrieve the "SAMPLE" class provided on the distribution disk. Play around with it, referring to the on-line help when necessary. For a quick step-by-step introduction to the program, go through the tutorial starting on page 9. The tutorial takes less than an hour to complete. For an in-depth explanation of program features, read the reference section of this manual. The Calculate Total Scores section in particular includes many examples. Skip around and read only the sections which interest you. An index is provided to help you in this regard. Final Grades in Ten Easy Steps: An Overview Here is a brief overview of what you can do with the Electronic Class Roll. It really is this easy. For more information, each step is covered in the tutorial and fully explained in the reference section. 1. Start Start the Electronic Class Roll by typing ECR <Enter>. Set up your printer to work with the Electronic Class Roll by selecting Set Up Printer. Optionally, you may want to customize your screen colors using Set Up Colors, and change the letter values scale using Change Letter Values. 2. Set up your class Create a class to hold the student information by selecting Create New Class. Instructions are available on-line for this option. 3. Open your class Select Retrieve Class to open the class you just created. Enter the name of the class you just created, and you will be presented with the class menu. 4. Add students to your class Add the students by selecting Edit Student Info. You can record students' names, id numbers, and comments. On-line help is available if you need it. If your school's main computer can give you a student roster on disk, the information may be electronically transferred to the Electronic Class Roll--no typing! Details for reading a student roster on disk can be found on page 57. Electronic Class Roll 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Set up your assignments Enter the assignments and tests you will be tracking by selecting Set Up Columns. (A column is just another name for assignment or test.) Group similar columns together. For example, you might have five homework assignments in one group, three tests in another group, and one final in a third group. Add each group one at a time by entering the group's name and the number of columns in it. You can assign a grading formula to each group later. 6. Record grades and scores Enter the students' scores by selecting Enter Scores. Scores can be either numbers between -100 and 1000, with a single decimal digit, or letter grades. The Electronic Class Roll accepts extra credit scores, so it is ok to give a score of 105 or 110 even though the maximum score for the assignment is only 100. If your school has a testing center or computer-graded tests, which can provide you with students' scores on disk, you can transfer the scores electronically to the Electronic Class Roll--no typing! Details for reading students' scores on disk can be found on page 58. 7. Total scores Total the students' scores by selecting Calculate Total Scores. Assign each group a grading formula. Five are available, but the two most common are "Cumulative" and "Fixed." In "Cumulative," each student's scores are simply added together to produce his or her total score. In "Fixed," each group is assigned a weight (percentage of the total score). For example, homework may be worth 50%, tests 30%, and the final 20%. Low scores in each group can be dropped. Each student's average percentage score for each group is multiplied by the group's percentage of the total, and the results are added together to produce his or her total score. After you have assigned the grading formulas, total the students' scores. (Takes only a few seconds!) You may even want to play around with different totaling options. 8. Letter grades Convert the students' total scores to letter grades by selecting Graph / Adjust Scores. Retrieve the TOTAL SCORES column, and you will see a graph of the students' total scores. Select the "Letter grades" command, and you will be given the choice of converting the scores to letter grades based upon either a minimum score, number of students, or percent of class for each grade. When you are finished, save the scores in the LETTER GRADES column by selecting "Exit", choosing to save scores in "Another" column, and then selecting "Letter Grades." 9. Reports Print a report containing the students' names, their total scores, and their letter grades by selecting Create Class Report. Create a new format and include "Names", "Total Scores", and "Letter Grades," then select "End include." Include "All" students in the report, and answer "No" to all of the other questions. When asked where to send the report, preview it by selecting "Screen," print it by selecting "Printer," or save it for later use by selecting "Disk." Electronic Class Roll 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Extras Sit back and relax! You're done! But the Electronic Class Roll can do much more. During the semester you might want to back up your class data by selecting Copy / Back Up Classes on the main menu, secure your data by selecting Change Password on the class menu, correlate two columns of scores (to see if students scoring well in one column tended to score well in the other) by selecting Graph / Adjust Scores, print interim reports for individual students, especially those with missing assignments or low scores by selecting Student Reports, or create custom letters home using WordPerfect or another word processor. Next semester, you can re-use the student list or column list from this class by selecting Copy From Another Class. You can also combine several sections or semesters of the same class for final grading. Refer to the Advanced Tips and Techniques section for more information. Electronic Class Roll 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Installing the ECR Files on the Distribution Disk The following files should be included with the Electronic Class Roll. INSTALL.BAT Installation program. Run this program to install the Electronic Class Roll. README.DOC Last-minute updates and information. ECRORDER.FRM Order form for the Electronic Class Roll. ECR.EXE Program files. Both are necessary to run the ECR. ECR.OVR ECR.CFG Contains set-up information about your printer and screen. This file is necessary to run the ECR. ECR.DOC This file serves as both the user guide and also the on-line help text. It does not appear on the distribution disk, but is created by running ECRDOC. Print this file by typing COPY ECR.DOC PRN <Enter>. This file is not necessary for running the ECR, but without it, on-line help will not be available. ECRDOC.EXE Run this program to extract the file ECR.DOC, described above. After extracting the ECR.DOC file, this program is no longer needed. ECR2WP.WPM WordPerfect macros for translating a comma-separated class ECR2WPQK.WPM report on disk to a WordPerfect secondary merge file. ECR2WP.LTR Sample WordPerfect documents for use with the macros. ECR2WPQK.LTR Customize these documents however you want to generate letters containing class data. CONFIG.ECR Contains the line "FILES=10". Copied to CONFIG.SYS when installing to floppy disks. Electronic Class Roll 6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- AUTOEXEC.360 Contains the line "ECR B:". Copied to AUTOEXEC.BAT when installing onto 360K floppy disks. AUTOEXEC.720 Contains the line "ECR". Copied to AUTOEXEC.BAT when installing onto 720K or higher-density floppy disks. SAMPLE.UTL Data files for the sample class included on the disk. SAMPLE.SFL SAMPLE.STD SAMPLE.SCO SAMPLE.RPT Running the Installation Program First, make the drive (or directory) containing Electronic Class Roll distribution files the current one. For example, if you are installing the Electronic Class Roll from a floppy in drive A, first type A: <Enter> Then, type the word INSTALL followed on the same line by two keywords. The first keyword tells in which drive and directory you want the Electronic Class Roll files installed. The second keyword tells on what kind of disk you are installing the Electronic Class Roll. It is "LOW" if you are installing to 360K floppy disks, "HIGH" if you are installing to a 3-1/2" or high-density floppy disk, or "HARD" if you are installing to a hard disk (don't include the quotes). Installing on 360K Floppy Disks This procedure assumes both drives A and B are 360K drives. If you have a higher-density drive, skip to the next section. You will need two blank, formatted diskettes. Call the first the "Program Disk" and the second the "Classes Disk." It's best if the Program Disk is bootable (formatted with the "/s" parameter). Insert the ECR distribution disk in drive A, the Program Disk in drive B, and type A: <Enter> INSTALL B: LOW <Enter> Electronic Class Roll 7 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Installing on a 3-1/2" or High-Density Floppy Disk You will need one blank, formatted diskette. It's best if it is bootable (has been formatted with the "/s" parameter). Insert the ECR distribution disk in one drive and the blank disk in another. Make sure the drive containing the Electronic Class Roll distribution files is the current one, as described above in "Running the Installation Program." Then type INSTALL with the first keyword being the drive containing the blank disk, and the second keyword "HIGH." For example, to install the ECR to a blank disk in drive B, type INSTALL B: HIGH <Enter> Installing on a Hard Disk You will need approximately 440K free on your hard disk. Make sure the drive containing the Electronic Class Roll distribution files is the current one, as described above in "Running the Installation Program." Then type INSTALL with the first keyword being the drive and directory for where you want to install the ECR files, and the second keyword "HARD." For example, to install the ECR to a sub-directory called ECR on drive C, type INSTALL C:\ECR HARD <Enter> Electronic Class Roll 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ordering Information The Electronic Class Roll is shareware, which offers several advantages. Since relatively little is spent for marketing and distribution, we can make available quality software for less money. Even if you paid a disk vendor for a program disk, the total cost of the program is less than half of what you would normally pay. In addition, you get better than a 30-day money back guarantee. You are free to try the ECR for 30 days. Only if you decide to continue using it do you need to order. No money has to be spent up-front. Finally, you are free (even encouraged!) to share this program with your fellow teachers. The Electronic Class Roll may be freely copied so long as all files listed on page 5 of the manual are included unmodified. Disk vendors and user groups may charge a nominal fee (not to exceed $10) for program distribution. The purchaser must not be given the impression that he is buying the Electronic Class Roll itself. To Order Print and complete the ECRORDER.FRM file found on the distribution disk, or send $19.95 (UT residents please add 6.5% sales tax) to the address below. In return, you will receive the latest version of the software, a printed manual, and discounts on future upgrades. A printed manual is highly recommended, since being printed in different fonts it is much easier to read. Ordering Discounts You may deduct up to $5 from the price of ordering if you share the program with your fellow teachers. Deduct $1 for every teacher in your school and $2 for every teacher in another school to whom you give a copy of the program, so long as they don't already have a copy. Site Licenses Site licenses start at only $100 for an entire high school (or college department), up to 100 teachers. You will receive the latest version of the program, three copies of the manual, and be able to purchase additional manuals for $4 each. To order site licenses for schools with more than 100 teachers, add $1 for each teacher over the first 100. The number of teachers is the total number of teachers at the site, whether it be high school, school district, college department, or university. Customer Support Hopefully, the reference section of this manual will answer any questions you have. If you have a question that is not answered in the manual, or a suggestion for improvement, send it to the address below and a response will typically be returned the following day. Dallan Quass 1969 N. 190 E. Orem, UT 84057 Electronic Class Roll 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson One -- Creating a Class --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Electronic Class Roll Main Menu ╔═════════════════╗ ╔═════════════════════════════╗ ║ Classes ║ ║ ║ ╟─────────────────╢ ║ 1) Exit ║ ║ PARENT <dir> ║ ║ 2) Help ║ ║ SAMPLE ║ ║ 3) Retrieve Class ║ ║ ║ ║ 4) Create New Class ║ ║ ║ ║ 5) Delete Class ║ ║ ║ ║ 6) Copy / Back Up Classes ║ ║ ║ ║ 7) Set Up Printer ║ ║ ║ ║ 8) Set Up Colors ║ ║ ║ ║ 9) Change Drive\Directory ║ ║ ║ ║ 10) Change Letter Values ║ ║ ║ ║ 11) About the ECR ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ║ ╚═════════════════════════════╝ ╚═════════════════╝ Please enter your request > Directory = C:\ECR Create a new class to work with --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This lesson will get you started using the Electronic Class Roll. In it you will create a sample class that you will use throughout the rest of the tutorial. You must create a class before adding student names and scores. Type Explanation CD \ECR <Enter> If you installed the Electronic Class Roll on a hard ECR <Enter> disk, type this to start the program. ECR B: <Enter> If you installed the Electronic Class Roll on a floppy disk, type this to start the program. 4 <Enter> Create New Class is menu choice four. N You won't need instructions. BIOLOGY <Enter> Type this when asked for the class name. The class name can be up to 8 characters long. Electronic Class Roll 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Explanation Freshman Biology Section 1 <Enter> The extended name is a longer version of the class name that let's you be more descriptive. R Random id numbers means the computer will generate a four-digit id for every student. 20 <Enter> This class will be able to hold up to 20 students. (For your own classes, this number can be as high as 1000.) N You will be entering your students' names by hand, instead of reading them from a disk file. <Enter> Create the class and return to the main menu. You may want to learn more about the following topics The difference between Student id's, Random id's, and No id's (page 31). The reason for setting the maximum number of students in a class (page 31). How to read students from your school's computer (page 57). Electronic Class Roll 11 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson Two -- Entering the Student Roster --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ e<X>it <H>elp <A>dd student <D>rop student change <N>ame/id <C>omment <L>ocate student ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Edit Student Info ID # Name Comments 3506 BUSH GEORGE 1273 CARTER JIMMY 4214 FORD GERALD 7448 NIXON RICHARD 1988 REAGAN RONALD Return to the class menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this lesson you will retrieve the class you created, and enter the students' names. Type Explanation 3 <Enter> Retrieve Class is menu choice three. BIOLOGY <Enter> Alternatively, you could use the up/down arrow keys to highlight BIOLOGY in the classes list and press enter. 4 <Enter> Once the class is retrieved, you are presented with the class menu. Edit Student Info is menu choice four. Electronic Class Roll 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Explanation A "A" is the command for adding a student. To choose a command, press the letter of the command between the "<>" pair. Alternatively, you could use the left/right arrow keys to highlight the command and press enter. JOHNSON SUSAN <Enter> If the students' names are entered last-name first, they will appear alphabetized in the roster. <Enter> Susan is ok to add to the list. A Add George Bush next. BUSH GEORGE <Enter> <Enter> Add a few (2-6) more students of your own choosing. D Drop a student from the list. JOHNSON <Enter> Susan Johnson is the student to drop. Y It is ok to drop Susan. X Return to the class menu. You may want to learn more about the following topics How to add student comments (page 37). Electronic Class Roll 13 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson Three -- Setting Up the Assignment List --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ e<X>it <H>elp <A>dd <D>rop change <N>ame <E>rase scores <C>opy scores ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Set Up Columns GROUP: TESTS T1 (100) T2 (100) T3 (100) SUBTOTAL (0) GROUP: HOMEWORK CH1 (50) CH2 (50) SUBTOTAL (0) TOTAL SCORES (0) LETTER GRADES (0) Return to the class menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this lesson you will learn how to set up your list of columns (assignments). This corresponds to writing the names of the assignments at the top of the columns in a regular class roll book. Some teachers choose to set up their columns all at once; others add columns as the semester progresses. You can add or remove columns at any time. The only restriction is that a column must be added here before you enter scores for it. Type Explanation 3 <Enter> Set Up Columns is menu choice three. A G After pressing "A" for add, you are asked whether you want to add a group or a column. At first, you will add only groups, because columns are always organized in groups (for grading purposes). You will add columns only when you want to add additional assignments to groups which you added previously. Electronic Class Roll 14 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Explanation TESTS <Enter> 2 <Enter> This adds a group consisting of two test columns. <Enter> Pressing enter assigns each column a default name. 100 <Enter> The maximum score for each column will be 100. If you were to just press enter, a default maximum score of zero would be assigned to each column, which you could change later when entering students' scores. A G Add another group of columns for homework. HOMEWORK <Enter> 2 <Enter> This adds a homework group consisting of two columns. CH <Enter> The name of each column will begin with "CH." 50 <Enter> The maximum score for each column will be 50. A C Suppose you decide to give another test. T3 <Enter> The name of the test is "T3." 100 <Enter> The maximum score for this test is 100. T <Enter> Add this column to the TESTS group. Entering just the letter "T" is sufficient to distinguish the TESTS from the HOMEWORK group. In the Electronic Class Roll, you only need to enter the first few letters of an item to select it. X Return to the class menu. You may want to learn more about the following topics How to copy scores from one column or group to another (page 36). How to copy the column list from one class to another (page 62). Electronic Class Roll 15 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson Four -- Entering Scores --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ e<X>it <H>elp <L>ocate student chan<G>e max <J>ump across ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Enter Scores Group: TESTS TESTS TESTS TESTS HOMEWO HOMEWO Column: T1 T2 T3 SUBTOT CH1 CH2 ID # NAME Max: 100 100 100 0 50 50 3506 BUSH GEORGE 90 105 79.5 45 47 1273 CARTER JIMMY 78 85 99.8 50 4214 FORD GERALD EA 81 92 EA 44 7448 NIXON RICHARD 100 70 I 50 39 >1988 REAGAN RONALD 88 86.5 89.5 48 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this lesson you will learn how to enter scores and correct mistyped scores. Type Explanation 5 <Enter> Enter Scores is menu choice five. T1 <Enter> Start entering scores for the first test. 90 <Enter> Give the first student a score of 90 on the first test. Enter scores for the remaining students for the three test columns and the two homework columns. Leave the SUBTOT (group subtotal) columns empty. To position the cursor, use the <Left Arrow>, <Right Arrow>, <Up Arrow>, and <Down Arrow> keys. Enter scores between -100 and 1000, with up to one digit following the decimal place. For cases where students receive extra credit, you are free to assign scores higher than the column's maximum score. You can also enter scores such as "EA" for excused absences, "I" for incompletes, "M" for make-up, or leave scores blank for missing assignments. When totaling scores, "EA" scores are counted as the average of the remaining scores; "I", "M", and blank scores are counted as zeroes. During this tutorial you will not enter letter grades as scores; however, Electronic Class Roll 16 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- at the end of the tutorial you are free to add another group of columns and enter letter grades as scores for the columns in that group. Type Explanation <Left Arrow> Press the left arrow key until you are in the first column (T1). <Up Arrow> Press the up arrow key until you are in the first row (until the cursor is over the first student). 92 <Enter> To change the student's score to a 92, simply type over the old score. X When you have entered scores for the students in the three test columns (T1, T2, and T3), and in the two homework columns (CH1 and CH2), return to the class menu. You may want to learn more about the following topics How to quickly move the cursor to a student in a large list (page 39). What letter grade scores can be entered (page 38). How to change the default 0 to 4.0 letter grade values scale (page 32). Electronic Class Roll 17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson Five -- Totaling Scores --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ e<X>it <H>elp <T>otal scores change <F>ormula change <O>ptions change <M>ax Curr Options: Include empty cols(n); Round(n); Totals/subtotals are(points) ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Calculate Total Scores GROUP: TESTS Formula: Cumulative 3 score(s) in group T1 (100) T2 (100) T3 (100) SUBTOTAL (0) GROUP: HOMEWORK Formula: Cumulative 2 score(s) in group CH1 (50) CH2 (50) SUBTOTAL (0) TOTAL SCORES (0) LETTER GRADES (0) Return to the class menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this lesson you will calculate your students' total scores. Their total scores are put into the TOTAL SCORES column. Unlike spreadsheet programs, scores in the Electronic Class Roll are totaled only when you tell the program to total them. If you change a student's score, you need to re-total the scores in order to have that change reflected in the student's total score. The good news is that totaling scores takes only a few keystrokes and a few seconds. You can assign one of five different totaling formulas to each group for totaling scores. When a group is created, it is automatically given the "Cumulative" totaling formula (the most common one). With that formula, the students' scores are simply added together to produce their total scores. You will be using that formula in this lesson. In lesson nine, you will return to the Calculate Total Scores screen and total the students' scores using the "Fixed" totaling formula (the next most common one). Electronic Class Roll 18 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Explanation 7 <Enter> Calculate Total Scores is menu choice seven. The totaling formulas for each group are shown alongside the group's name. T Total the students' scores. Notice that the maximum scores for the "SUBTOTAL" and "TOTAL SCORES" columns are filled in when totaling is completed. N Don't calculate the students' final letter grades yet. You will do that in the next lesson. X That's it! Return to the class menu. You may want to learn more about the following topics What the different totaling options mean (page 44). How letter grade scores are totaled (page 44). How the various totaling formulas work (page 46). Electronic Class Roll 19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson Six -- Assigning Letter Grades --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ e<X>it <H>elp <P>ercentages <Z>-scores <L>etter grades <A>rithmetic set <T>op score <R>ound change <M>ax <U>ndo print <G>raph <C>orrelate ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Graph / Adjust Scores Max: 400 Statistics Excludes blank, EA, etc. scores. 11┤ │ High: 366.5 9┤ Low: 259.0 │ Average: 317.96 7┤ Median: 312.8 │ Std. Dev.: 39.87 5┤ InnerQuartile Range │ 312.0 - 339.5 3┤ │ ▄ # scores: 5 1┤ ▄ █ ▄ ▄ # blank, └┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ EA, etc.: 0 0 100 200 300 400 # students: 5 50 150 250 350 Zoom: <PgUp> <PgDn> Return to the class menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this lesson you will display a graph of the students' total scores, and convert them to letter grades. Type Explanation 6 <Enter> Graph / Adjust Scores is menu choice six. TOTAL <Enter> You want to retrieve the students' total scores in order to convert them to letter grades. <PgDn> Zoom in and out, and scroll the graph left and right <Up Arrow> by pressing the keys at the left. Press them as <Down Arrow> many times as you want to get a feel for this <PgUp> feature. P Y First, convert the scores to percentages of the maximum score. This converts a perfect score to 100 points. Electronic Class Roll 20 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Explanation L M You have three ways of converting the scores to letter grades. Select the first one, "Minimum score," in which you set the lowest score that is to be converted into each letter grade. The other two allow you to assign letter grades according to a curve. 97 <Enter> A student must have a score of at least 97 in order to receive an "A." Make up and enter numbers next to each of the letter grades. This is called the "letter grade breakpoint scale." X Y After entering a number next to each letter grade, press X to exit, Y to convert the scores. A new graph shows the letter grades. X A LETTER <Enter> Y Save the converted scores in the LETTER GRADES column. During the next lessons you will create reports showing both the total score and the assigned letter grade for each student. You may want to learn more about the following topics What the statistics mean (page 40). How to "undo" a change you made to the scores; for example, reverting back to numeric scores after converting to letter grades (page 42). How to correlate the scores in two columns (page 42). How to use the other commands available on this screen (page 41). Electronic Class Roll 21 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson Seven -- Creating a Student Report --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLASS: BIOLOGY Freshman Biology Section 1 12/20/91 Report for: BUSH GEORGE (3506) GROUP: TESTS Cumulative T1: 90/100 T2: 105/100 T3: 79.5/100 SUBTOT: 274.5/300 GROUP: HOMEWORK Cumulative CH1: 45/50 CH2: 47/50 SUBTOT: 92/100 Total Score: 366.5/400 Letter Grade: B+/Letter Press any key to continue or <Esc> to cancel --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this lesson you will create a report for a student and display it on the screen. This kind of report could be created for your own use, or to give to the student or his or her parent(s). Reports could be created several times during the semester to show interim progress. Type Explanation 8 <Enter> Create Student Reports is menu choice eight. O Create a report for one student only (type an "oh" not a zero). Alternatively, you could create reports for all students in the class, only students with missing scores, only students with low scores, or only students with high scores. <Down Arrow> <Enter> Use the arrow keys to select which student to report on. Electronic Class Roll 22 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Explanation N S Don't include the letter grade breakpoints. (The letter grade breakpoints are the numbers you entered in the previous lesson for converting the students' total scores to letter grades.) Send the report to the screen. If you later decide to print the report, please ensure your printer is set up properly using the Set Up Printer menu option from the main menu. (To access the main menu, you will need to exit the class menu). <Enter> The student's scores are displayed along with the maximum scores for each column. X Return to the class menu. You may want to learn more about the following topics How to create custom letters using WordPerfect (page 60). How to transfer student data to any word processor using disk reports (page 54). Electronic Class Roll 23 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson Eight -- Creating a Class Report --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please select the fields to include > ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ <E>nd include <N>ame <I>d number <A>ll columns <G>roup <C>olumn <T>otal scores <L>etter grades co<M>ments <D>elete field ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Edit Report Report Fields width: 71 │ Column List │ NAME │ GROUP: TESTS TESTS: T1 │ T1 T2 T3 SUBTOTAL TESTS: T2 │ GROUP: HOMEWORK TESTS: T3 │ CH1 CH2 SUBTOTAL HOMEWORK: CH1 │ TOTAL SCORES HOMEWORK: CH2 │ LETTER GRADES TOTAL SCORES │ LETTER GRADES │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Stop including columns --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this lesson you will create a report for the entire class and display it on the screen. This kind of report could be created for your own use, or for posting outside your door to show students their scores. Showing students their scores periodically throughout the semester will remind them of missing assignments, help catch mistyped scores, and might even encourage better performance. Including the students' (random) id numbers on the report instead of their names would help keep the owners of the scores confidential. Type Explanation 9 <Enter> Create Class Report is menu choice nine. C Create a new report format. Before leaving, you'll save this format so you can use it again later. N A T L Include students' names, their scores, their total scores, and their letter grades in the report. Electronic Class Roll 24 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Explanation <Up Arrow> <Up Arrow> <Up Arrow> D <Up Arrow> <Up Arrow> <Up Arrow> D Position the cursor over the two SUBTOTAL columns and delete them from the report so the report will fit on the screen. Only the first 80 characters of the report are displayed on the screen, but printed and disk reports can be as wide as you want. E You're finished including columns for the report. A Include all students in the report. Alternatively, you could specify to only include students with missing scores, low scores, or high scores. N Y T Don't sort the report (it is automatically sorted alphabetically), but do rank the students according to their total scores. N Y Final Grades Report <Enter> <Enter> Don't include the letter grade breakpoints, but do add a header for the report. Y Final Grades <Enter> Save this format for future use. S Send the report to the screen. If you later decide to print the report, please ensure your printer is set up properly using the Set Up Printer menu option from the main menu. (To access the main menu, you will need to exit the class menu). <Enter> Page down through the report. The header <Enter> information is displayed on the first screen, the <Enter> students' scores on the next screen, then a footer for each column showing the number of scores, the average score, and the maximum score. X X Return to the class menu. Electronic Class Roll 25 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson Nine -- Re-totaling Scores --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ e<X>it <H>elp <T>otal scores change <F>ormula change <O>ptions change <M>ax Curr Options: Include empty cols(n); Round(n); Totals/subtotals are(pct.'s) ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Calculate Total Scores GROUP: TESTS Formula: Fixed (60) 3 score(s) in group Drop 1 T1 (100) T2 (100) T3 (100) SUBTOTAL (100) GROUP: HOMEWORK Formula: Fixed (40) 2 score(s) in group CH1 (50) CH2 (50) SUBTOTAL (100) TOTAL SCORES (100) LETTER GRADES (Let) Return to the class menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this lesson you will re-total the students' scores using a grading formula which allows you to assign weights (percentages) to each group. Discover how easy it is to change your grading scheme at any time. After re-totaling scores and re-assigning letter grades, you will use the report format saved in the previous lesson to display the new scores. Type Explanation 7 <Enter> Calculate Total Scores is menu choice 7. F T <Enter> Change the grading formula for the TESTS group. Typing "T" is enough to identify the TESTS group. F 60 <Enter> 1 <Enter> Change the formula to "Fixed," with a weight of 60 (worth 60% of the final score), and drop the lowest test score for each student. Electronic Class Roll 26 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type Explanation F H <Enter> Change the grading formula for the HOMEWORK group. Typing "H" is enough to identify the HOMEWORK group. F 40 <Enter> <Enter> Change the formula to "Fixed," with a weight of 40 (worth 40% of the final score), but don't drop any scores. T Total the students' scores using the new grading formulas. Y M X Answer "yes" to the assign letter grades at this time. Although you don't see a graph like you do in Graph / Adjust Scores, it might be more convenient here. Base the letter grades on minimum score, change any breakpoints you want, and press X to exit. X After calculating the students' total scores and assigning their letter grades, you are ready to return to the class menu. 9 <Enter> Create Class Report is menu choice nine. R <Enter> Retrieve the report format saved in the previous lesson. N S Don't bother editing the report format, and send it to the screen. <Enter> Page down through the report. Notice the new <Enter> values for the students' total scores and letter <Enter> grades. X X Return to the class menu. Electronic Class Roll 27 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lesson Ten -- Backing Up Class Information --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ This option copies the class onto another directory. You cannot remove the disk containing the class during the copy. If you only have two floppy drives, you may temporarily remove your Program Disk at this time. ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ Copy / Back Up Classes Enter the directory to copy to > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this lesson you will see how easy it is to back up your class data. You are encouraged to do this frequently. Type Explanation <Enter> Return to the main menu. 6 <Enter> Copy / Back Up Classes is menu choice six. S Copy the biology class. BIOLOGY <Enter> At this point, insert your backup disk into drive A. If your program disk is in drive A, temporarily remove it. If you don't have a backup disk, press <Esc>. A: <Enter> The biology class is copied to the backup disk. Electronic Class Roll 28 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you removed the program disk from drive A for the above step, replace it when the copying is complete. Type Explanation <Enter> Exit the Electronic Class Roll. That's it! Hopefully, you enjoyed this tour of the Electronic Class Roll. In the tutorial you have covered entering, totaling, graphing, and reporting scores. You now know everything you need to use the Electronic Class Roll for managing your grades. If you have any questions on whether the Electronic Class Roll can meet a particular grading need, please feel free to browse through the reference section of this manual or the on-line help contained in the program. Enjoy! Electronic Class Roll 29 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Start Up Options ECR -b Forces black and white mode, even when you have a color monitor. This is useful for some lap-tops. ECR -s Removes snow from some CGA monitors. ECR dir Specifies in which directory or drive the classes are located. For example, you would type ECR B: if the classes were on drive B, or ECR \FALL91 if the classes were in the FALL91 directory. ECR class Immediately retrieve a named class. The options can be combined in any order. To combine the directory and class options, you would type ECR dir\class <Enter>. The following example removes snow from CGA displays, sets the class directory to "c:\classes," and retrieves the class "biology." ECR -s c:\classes\biology Electronic Class Roll 30 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Main Menu Overview Exit Exit the Electronic Class Roll and return to DOS. Help Present the on-line help text. The file ECR.DOC must be present on the ECR or classes disk. Retrieve Class After creating a class, retrieve it in order to enter information into it. Select a class to work with by typing its name or using the arrow keys to highlight it. If the class you want is not displayed, you probably need to change the directory. Do this by selecting Change Drive\Directory. Create New Class Create a new, empty class. Do this at the beginning of the semester for each class you teach. Delete Class Erase a class' data files from the disk. Copy/Back Up Classes Copy class data files onto another disk or directory. Copy either a single class or all classes at once. If you are running on two floppy drives, temporarily remove the program disk and replace it with the backup disk during this operation. Set Up Printer Set up your printer to work with the Electronic Class Roll program. You need only do this once. Set Up Colors Customize your colors if you have a color monitor. Change Drive\Directory The box at the right of the Main Menu lists the classes in the current directory. The current directory is shown at the bottom of the screen. Use this option to display the classes found in a different directory. Change Letter Values Change the scale by which letter grades are converted to numbers for adding or averaging them during the totaling process. Unless changed, this is the standard 0 to 4.0 scale. About the ECR Customer support and ordering information. Electronic Class Roll 31 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Create New Class Use this option to create a new, empty class on the disk. Class name The class name can be up to eight characters long, but no extension. Five files are created for the class on the disk, each beginning with the name you enter, and with the extensions ".utl", ".sfl", ".std", ".sco", and ".rpt". Each file stores different information about the class. Extended name An extended class name appears on reports, and can be up to 30 characters long. ID number format Specify that student id numbers will be supplied by you (Student id's), should be supplied by the computer (Random id's), or will not be used at all (No id's). With "Student id's," you assign each student an id beginning with a digit (0-9), up to 11 characters long. With "Random id's," the computer assigns each student a random four-digit id. If you ever want to load scores from a disk file (see page 58), or combine two classes together for combined grading (see pages 63 and 64), "Student id's" is the recommended choice. Maximum number of students in class Up to 1000 students can be enrolled in a class; however, setting the number smaller conserves some space on the disk. But make it large enough to accommodate late arrivals, since it cannot be changed. If you do need to change this number later, create another class with room for more students, retrieve that class, and select Copy From Another Class to copy the information from the old smaller class into the new one. Read class roll from a sequential file If your school can provide you with an ASCII file containing your student list, you can read it in at this point so you don't have to enter the students by hand. See page 57 for more information. Electronic Class Roll 32 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Change Letter Values Use this option to change whether a failing grade should be represented by an "E" or an "F," and to change the scale by which letter grades are converted to numbers for adding or averaging during the totaling process. This scale should not be confused with the scale for converting a set of numeric scores to letter grades (just the opposite). The latter scale is called the breakpoint scale, and is set in the Graph / Adjust Scores option on the class menu. In order to total letter grades entered for individual assignments, the Electronic Class Roll must convert the grades to numbers. By default, the standard 0 - 4.0 scale is used; however, if you assign letter grades for individual assignments, you may want to change this scale for the following reason. In the standard 4.0 scale, a "C" is worth 2.0 points, only 50% of an "A." The problem is that a score of 2 out of 4 (or 50 out of 100) is usually considered failing, not a "C." In order to remedy this situation, you can change the letter values scale to perhaps a 100 point scale, where an "A" is worth 100 points, and a "C" is worth perhaps 70. For example, suppose you had two groups, tests and homework, each worth 50% of the final grade. For the tests you assigned numeric scores, and for the homework you assigned letter grades. Now suppose Joe Student averages 90% on his tests and averages a "C" on his homework. If you keep the 0 - 4.0 scale, Joe's total score is 70 out of a possible 100 (because a "C" is worth 2.0 out of 4.0, which works out to 50 out of 100, and the average of 50 and 90 is 70). As long as you understand the math and remember that a 70 isn't such a bad score when converting the total scores to final letter grades (perhaps worthy of a "B-"), there isn't much problem with keeping the 0 - 4.0 scale. But it might be more intuitive instead to change the letter values scale such that an "A" is worth 100 points and a "C" is 70. Then if Joe averages 90% on his tests and averages a "C" on his homework, his total score is 85 out of a possible 100. Electronic Class Roll 33 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Class Menu Overview Exit Exit this class and return to the main menu. Help Present the on-line help text. The file ECR.DOC must be present on the ECR or classes disk. Set Up Columns When you enter the students' scores in the Electronic Class Roll it looks very much like a regular grade book. Each student has one row for her or his grades, and each assignment or test has one column. Use this option to set up your column list, the list of all assignments and tests you will be tracking for the class. Adding an assignment or test to the column list using this option creates a new column for entering scores in the Enter Scores menu choice. You can modify the column list at any time. Edit Student Info Use this option to add students to and drop students from your class roll, and maintain comments about students. Enter Scores Enter or change students' scores. Graph / Adjust Scores Use this option to see a graph of students' scores in any column, including their total scores. Print the graph, get statistics, correlate the scores with those in another column, or convert scores to letter grades, Z- scores, percentages, etc. Calculate Total Scores Calculate the students' total scores. This option is usually used at the end of the semester, but can also be used during the semester to show interim progress. If the menu option is followed by an exclamation mark (!), the students' total scores need to be re-calculated. Create Student Reports Generate reports for individual students. The one-page reports contain all of a student's scores. You can generate reports for a selected student, students with missing, high, or low scores, or all students. Create Class Report Generate reports in a row and column format, with one student per row and one score per column. You select what to include in the report and whether to sort or rank students. The report format can be saved for future use. Electronic Class Roll 34 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copy From Another Class Copy the column list, student list, and/or students' scores from another class. Use this option at the end of the semester to combine classes together for combined grading, or at the beginning of the next semester to copy the student list from the previous semester's class. See the Advanced Tips and Techniques section for more information. Load Scores From Disk Load scores from an ASCII file on disk. Use this option if you have a test scoring service which can provide you with a file containing the students' scores, or if you want combine total scores from several semesters for calculating year-end grades. See the Advanced Tips and Techniques section for more information. Change Password Assign a password to the class. This is not guaranteed secure (i.e., the data files are not encrypted), but will stop all but determined efforts to display or modify scores. Electronic Class Roll 35 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Set Up Columns When you enter the students' scores in the Electronic Class Roll it looks very much like a regular grade book. Each student will has one row for her or his grades, and each assignment or test has one column. Use this option to set up your column list, the list of all assignments and tests you will be tracking for the class. Adding an assignment or test to the column list using this option creates a new column for entering scores in the Enter Scores menu choice. What is a column Column is just another name for assignment or test. What is a group Columns are arranged in groups, with similar columns grouped together. For example, you may have a group of five homework assignments, a group of three tests, and a group consisting of one final. In the Calculate Total Scores menu choice, each group is assigned a grading formula, and all columns in the group are graded together to produce a group subtotal score. That score is recorded in a special SUBTOTAL column automatically added to each group. The scores in the SUBTOTAL columns of each group are added in Calculate Total Scores to produce the students' total scores. How to Set Up Your Column List You can completely set up the column list at the beginning of the semester or fill it out as the semester progresses. You can add and delete columns and groups at any time. You can even erase scores in columns, or copy scores from one column to another. The column list can contain up to 140 columns, organized into as many as 40 different groups. To create the list, divide your assignments into groups, then add the groups one at a time (select "Add", then "Group"). You will be asked for the name of the group, the number of columns in it, an optional prefix for the column names, and an optional maximum score for the columns. By default, the columns are named with the first letter of the group name followed by a sequence number, and the maximum score is zero. The names can be changed by selecting "Change Name," then "Column." For example, suppose you wanted to give six tests, ten homework assignments, and one final. You would add a tests group with six columns, a homework group with ten columns, and a final group with one column. Two special columns appear in the list and do not belong to any group: TOTAL SCORES and LETTER GRADES. The TOTAL SCORES column will contain the students' total scores when they are calculated in Calculate Total Scores. The LETTER GRADES column provides you with a convenient place to record the students' final letter grades after they have been determined based upon the total scores. In general, it can be used as a scratch pad to store whatever scores you want. Electronic Class Roll 36 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tracking Non-Graded Information You may track attendance, class participation, and other non-graded information by creating special non-graded groups of columns. To create a non-graded group, add the group in the normal way, then select Calculate Total Scores and change the group's formula to "Non." Commands Many of the commands will ask you to select a column or group. Do this by using the arrow keys to highlight it and pressing <Enter>, or by entering its (partial) name. Add Group -- Add a group of columns to the list. Column -- Add another column to an existing group. Drop Group -- Delete an entire group of columns. Any scores contained in the group will be lost. Column -- Delete one column from a group. Any scores it contained will be lost. Change Name Group -- Change the group's name. Column -- Change the column's name. Erase Scores Group -- Erase the scores in all of the columns belonging to the group. The columns are not deleted, but all scores in them are erased. Column -- Erase the scores in a single column. Copy Scores Group -- Copy the scores from the columns in one group to the columns of another group. You are asked for the group to copy from and the group to copy to. The scores in the first group remain unchanged. Column -- Copy the scores from one column to another. Electronic Class Roll 37 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edit Student Info Use this option to add students to and drop students from your class roll, correct student names and id's, and maintain comments about students. The student list can contain up to 1000 students, but this number could have been reduced when you set the "Maximum number of students in the class" option in Create New Class. If your school can provide you with a disk containing the names (and optionally, the id numbers) of the students in this class, you won't have to enter them by hand! See page 57 for more information. If the student list is too long to be displayed on the screen all at once, use the <PgUp>, <PgDn>, and arrow keys to display the rest of the list. Commands Many of the commands will ask you to select a student. Do this by: (1) use the arrow keys to highlight the student and press <Enter>, (2) enter the first few letters of the student's last name, or (3) if the students have ID numbers, enter the first few digits of the student's ID. Add Add a student to the list. The student's name can be up to 21 characters long, and should be entered last-name first without commas. If you chose to assign student id's in Create New Class, the id can be up to 11 characters long, and must begin with a digit (0-9). If you chose random id's instead, the computer will assign the student a random 4- digit id. The Electronic Class Roll will automatically alphabetize the student list. Drop Drop a student from the list. All scores for that student will be lost. Change Name Correct a student's name or id number. or Id Comment Add or modify a comment for a student. The comment can be up to 40 characters long, and can be printed using Create Student Reports and Create Class Report. Locate Display the selected student at the top of the screen. Electronic Class Roll 38 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enter Scores This option allows you to enter and correct the students' scores for their assignments. The screen is displayed in a row and column format, like a regular grade book. Six columns are displayed on the screen at once. Scroll using the arrow keys to see other columns and students. To record a new score, use the arrow keys to position the cursor over the score to be recorded and type the score followed by <Enter>. To change a score, type over it. To erase a score, press <Space bar> and <Enter>. Choosing a Column to Enter Scores Into Immediately after selecting Enter Scores, you are presented with the column list and asked which column you want to enter scores into. This allows you zero in on a particular column, which is useful if you have a lot of columns. If you have only a few, simply press <Enter>. Once in the score entry screen, use the arrow keys to change which column to enter scores into. Types of Scores Scores can be entered as numbers or letter grades. Numeric scores can be between -100 and 1000, with up to one digit following the decimal point (e.g., 999.5). Valid letter grades are "A" through "D-", with either "E" or "F" representing a failing grade. To choose whether "E" or "F" represents a failing grade, or to change the scale by which letter grades are converted to numbers when totaling them, select Change Letter Values from the main menu. If you plan to enter letter grades as students' scores, it is highly recommended that you read page 32. In case students do not hand in an assignment, they can be skipped and their scores left blank. A blank score counts as zero when totaling the student's scores, but does not lower the class average on the assignment. (A score of zero would lower the class average.) Scores of "I", "M", "T", "UW", and "W" can also be entered. They are treated internally exactly like blank scores, but are provided in case you want to track incomplete or make-up scores separately. Excused absences Excused absences are represented by scores of "EA". Like blank scores, they do not affect the class average on an assignment. But when totaling student scores, they are converted to the student's average percentage score based upon the other columns in the group. Electronic Class Roll 39 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jane Student 90 EA 70 In this example, the EA would be --- --- --- converted internally to an 80 when Maximum Score 100 100 100 totaling scores (((90/100) + (70/100)) / 2) * 100 = 80. Jane Student 8 EA EA In this example, the first EA would -- -- -- be converted to a 9.6, and the Maximum Score 10 12 20 second EA would be converted to a 16 when totaling scores. The Meaning of Maximum Score The "Maximum Score" for a column is the number of points possible for the assignment. It is used in determining a percentage score for calculating the value of excused absence scores, and in some of the grading formulas. For example, a score of 8 in a column with a maximum score of 10 would be converted to 80%. The maximum score is NOT the upper limit of students' scores on the assignment. A student receiving extra credit can be given a score as high as desired; for instance, a score of 105 even though the maximum score is only 100. Commands On this screen, you cannot use the left and right arrow keys to select the command. You must press the letter of the command within brackets <>. Locate Student Use this command to quickly position the cursor over a student by entering the first few characters of his or her last name or id number. This is very useful for entering scores in a large class when the assignments are not pre- arranged in alphabetical order. Change Max Change the maximum score of a column. If the column contains numeric scores, the maximum score should be a number between 1 and 1000. If the column contains letter grades, you should enter 'L' (for Letters). Jump Across Enter scores in another column. You can also use the right and left arrow keys to enter scores in another column, but if the column you want is very far from the column you are currently in, this command might be faster. Electronic Class Roll 40 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Graph / Adjust Scores Use this option to see a graph of students' scores in any column, including their total scores. Print the graph, get statistics, correlate the scores in another column, or convert scores to letter grades, Z-scores, percentages, etc. When you are finished adjusting the scores you can save them either back in the same column or in another column. The LETTER GRADES column can hold the students' letter grades after deriving them from their total scores. To save scores in it, select "Exit," then "Another column," then "Letter Grades." Graph and Statistics The scale along the bottom of the graph (the X-axis) indicates the scores that were received. The scale along the left side of the graph (the Y- axis) indicates the number of students receiving each score. Use the <PgDn> and <PgUp> keys to zoom in and out of the graph, and the <Down Arrow> and <Up Arrow> keys to pan left and right. Initially, the graph is displayed so that all scores are visible at once, which may cause several scores (e.g., 98 and 99) to be combined into the same bar. To see more detail, use the <PgDn> key to zoom in. Statistics are displayed to the left of the graph. The statistics are calculated based only upon students receiving scores -- blanks, EA, I, M, T, UW, and W scores are not included and so do not lower the average. Zero scores, however, are included and do lower the average. Median If all scores were ordered from low to high, the median is the score at the half-way point. Standard deviation A measure of the spread, or dispersion of the scores. The higher the deviation, the greater the dispersion. Technically, it is (nearly) the root of the average of the squares of the deviations of the scores from the average score. Inner quartile range If all scores were ordered from low to high, the inner quartile range is the score 1/4 of the way from the bottom and the score 1/4 of the way from the top. Electronic Class Roll 41 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Commands During conversions (Z-scores, percentages, etc.), scores will always be rounded to one decimal place. Blank, EA, I, M, T, UW, and W scores will remain unchanged. Percentages Convert scores to percentages of the maximum score. Z-Scores Convert scores to Z-scores. This is a way of standardizing scores, where you enter the new mean (usually 50) and the new standard deviation (usually 10). The formula is: New Score = New Std. Dev. New Mean + (Old Score - Old Mean) * --------------- Old Std. Dev. Letter Grades Convert scores to letter grades in one of three ways: (1) you enter the lowest score to receive each grade, (2) you enter the number of students to receive each grade, or (3) you enter the percent of the class to receive each grade. Options two and three assist you in grading on a curve. The number that you enter for each letter grade is called the "Breakpoint Scale," and can be printed in student and class reports. Arithmetic Perform the same arithmetical function on every score in the column. Select which function to perform: add, subtract, multiply, or divide. Enter the adjustment number, which is the number to be added to, subtracted from, multiplied by, or divided into each score. You could use this command to add 10 points to every score, or to divide every score by 2. Set Top Score Specify the highest possible score. Any scores higher than this limit will be truncated to be equal to this limit. Round Round the scores to the nearest integer. Change Max Change the maximum score of the column. You might want to do this after converting the scores. The maximum score is displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. Undo Undo the last change made to the scores. For example, if you changed numeric scores to letter grades, this command would reinstate the numeric scores. Print Graph Print the graph displayed on the screen onto the printer or a file on disk. The scores are printed down the left side of the page. To the right of each score is a line of asterisks (*), with one asterisk for each student receiving that score. If you answer yes to "Print only scores Electronic Class Roll 42 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- received by students", then a score is skipped if no student actually received that score. Otherwise, one line per score is printed, resulting in a proportionally spaced graph. Correlate Correlate the scores in this column with those in another. Correlation between two columns is a measurement of how well the scores in the two columns are associated. If students scoring well in the first column also tended to score well in the second column, and students scoring poorly in the first column tended to score poorly in the second column, then the correlation between the two columns nears one. If however, students scoring well or poorly in the first column scored randomly in the second column, the correlation between the two columns nears zero. (A correlation nearing negative one means that students scoring well in the first column scored poorly in the second column, and vice-versa.) Numeric Scores This command is only available for letter grade scores. It converts letter grades into numeric scores using the scale set in the Change Letter Values main menu choice. Electronic Class Roll 43 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Calculate Total Scores Calculate the students' total scores. This option is usually used at the end of the semester, but can also be used during the semester to show interim progress. Scores are totaled only when you tell the program to total them, so if you change a student's score you need to re-total the scores in order to have that change reflected in the student's total score. If the menu option is followed by an exclamation mark (!), the students' total scores need to be re-calculated. Commands Total Scores Total the students' scores. This can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes (for large classes) to complete. The actual process for totaling the scores is described below. Change Formula Change a group's grading (totaling) formula. Select which group to change, then the formula to assign to it. The formulas are described beginning on page 46. Change Options Change the "include empty columns," "round," and "totals/subtotals are points, percentages, or letters" grading options. The options are described beginning on page 44. Change Max Change the maximum score of a column. Score Totaling Process Select one of the four possible grading formulas for each group using the "Change Formula" command. Usually, you will want to pick one formula and use it for all groups. Next, set the grading options the way you want using the "Change Options" command. Finally, select the "Total Scores" command. This command calculates the students' total scores and puts them in the TOTAL SCORES column. You are then asked if you want the students' letter grades calculated. If you answer "yes," you will be asked to enter the letter grade breakpoints (see page 41) for converting the students' total scores into letter grades, and the letter grades will be stored in the LETTER GRADES column. Alternatively, you could answer "no," and convert the students' total scores to letter grades by retrieving the TOTAL SCORES column in the Graph / Adjust Scores menu choice. Using this alternative would allow you to see a graph of the students' total scores. Calculating the students' total scores is a three step process: (1) preparing the students' scores, (2) calculating the scores for each group's SUBTOTAL column, (3) calculating the scores in the TOTAL SCORES column. Preparing the students' scores Letter grades "A" through "F" entered as students' scores are temporarily converted to numbers using the scale set in the Change Letter Values main menu choice. This scale is by default the Electronic Class Roll 44 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 to 4.0 scale; however, if you entered letter grades as students' scores, you should probably read page 32 and change this scale to something more appropriate. The other letter grades are also converted to numbers; excused absences (EA's) are converted to numbers using the rules found on page 38; blank scores, and scores of "I," "M," "T," "UW," and "W," are converted to zeroes. Calculating the scores in the group SUBTOTAL columns The scores in each group's SUBTOTAL column are calculated according to that group's grading formula. The grading formulas are described beginning on page 46. Calculating the scores in the TOTAL SCORES column The scores in each of the group SUBTOTAL columns are added together to produce the total scores. The maximum score of the TOTAL SCORES column is the sum of the maximum scores of the group SUBTOTAL columns. Grading Options Include empty columns Suppose you had three tests worth 30% of the total score, Joe Student received a perfect score on the first test, but the other two haven't yet been given. Does Joe get 30 points or 10 for his subtotal score for the group? If you answer "yes" to "include empty columns" then all columns in the group are included in grading regardless of whether they actually contain scores, and Joe's perfect score is divided by three tests to give him 10 points for the group. If you answer "no," then only columns actually containing scores are included, Joe's score is divided by the one test, so he receives 30 points. The number of columns in the group which contain scores is displayed to the right of the group's grading formula. Answering "yes" gives Joe an idea of where he is in relation to where he has to go; answering "no" projects Joe's final score based upon current performance. Round If you answer "yes," then scores in the group SUBTOTAL and TOTAL SCORES columns will rounded to the nearest integer; otherwise, they will be rounded to one decimal place. Note that the rounding occurs after the subtotal scores are added together to produce the total scores. So for example, if a student received subtotal scores of 48.3 and 49.4, the subtotal scores are rounded to 48 and 49, and the total score is 98. Totals/Subtotals are points, percentages, or letter grades If you choose "points" (the default), scores in the group SUBTOTAL columns remain as calculated by the grading formulas, and scores in the TOTAL SCORES column remain the sum of the SUBTOTAL columns. If you choose "percentages," after the scores in SUBTOTAL and TOTAL SCORES columns have been calculated as points, they are converted to percentage scores. For example, a score of 48 points out of a maximum score of 50 in a SUBTOTAL or TOTAL SCORES column would be converted to a score of 96, and the column's maximum score would be converted to 100. Electronic Class Roll 45 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The "letter grades" option should not be chosen until you are at least somewhat familiar with the other two alternatives. When you choose "letter grades," scores in the group SUBTOTAL columns are calculated as follows: (1) scores are calculated normally as points, then temporarily converted to percentages, (2) the percentage scores are converted to letter grades using a letter grade breakpoint scale you enter upon selecting the "Total Scores" command, (3) the letter grades are then saved back in the group SUBTOTAL columns. Once the group subtotals have been calculated, total scores are calculated as follows: (1) the letter grades in each group's SUBTOTAL column are temporarily converted to numbers using the letter values scale set in the Change Letter Values main menu option, (2) the resulting scores are multiplied by (the total number of points possible for the group) divided by (the total number of points possible for all groups) so that groups contribute proportionally to the total score based upon their weight, (3) the resulting scores for each group are added together to produce a total score, which is saved in the TOTAL SCORES column. This procedure results in the students' total scores being a percentage of the letter values scale. A student receiving perfect scores in all columns would receive a total score that is the letter value of an "A." The math is complex, but the results more or less intuitive. Hopefully, an example will clarify. Suppose you have set the letter value of an "A" at 100, and the letter value of an "A-" at 95 using the Change Letter Values main menu choice. Suppose also that in the letter grade breakpoint scale entered upon selecting the "Total Scores" command, you specified that scores 93 and above should be converted into an "A," and scores 90 and above should be converted into an "A-." (The remainder of the letter grades are not relevant to this example.) Now suppose you have two groups -- tests and homework, and that with the option "Totals/Subtotals are points," Joe Student received a score of 59 out of a possible 60 points on tests, and a score of 36 out of a possible 40 points on homework. Using the option "Totals/Subtotals are letter grades," in calculating Joe's subtotal scores, the 59 out of 60 is temporarily converted to a 98.3 out of 100, which is greater than 93 so it becomes an "A." The 36 out of 40 is temporarily converted to a 90 out of 100, which is between 90 and 93 so it becomes an "A-." To calculate Joe's total score, the "A" for the first group is temporarily converted to 100, which is then multiplied by (60) divided by (60+40), resulting in 60. The "A-" is temporarily converted to 95, which is then multiplied by (40) divided by (60+40), resulting in 38. The two scores are then added together, resulting in a total score of 98 out of a possible 100 -- a nearly perfect score! Grading Formulas Select one of five possible grading formulas for totaling the scores in each group: "Cumulative," "Fixed," "Proportional," "Average," or "Non." Use the "Non" formula when you want to track information that is not included in the totaling process, such as attendance, grades that have been Electronic Class Roll 46 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- re-tested, or class participation. The "Non" grading formula specifies that scores in this group are not to be graded, and the group's SUBTOTAL column is left blank. Of the other formulas, you will usually select the same formula for each group. "Cumulative" is the simplest and also the most popular, followed by "Fixed" and "Proportional" for when you want to assign weights to each group (e.g., tests is worth 40%, homework is work 60%), followed by "Average." The formulas are described in detail on the following pages. If this is your first time using the Electronic Class Roll, you will probably want to spot-check a couple of the total scores to make sure the computer is calculating them the way you intend. Electronic Class Roll 47 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cumulative Formula In the cumulative formula, the student's scores from each of the columns in the group are added together to produce the SUBTOTAL score. Formula sum of student's scores Example Suppose you give three tests, so you have a TESTS group with three columns in it. Suppose Joe Student receives: 45 out of 50 on Test 1 35 out of 50 on Test 2 90 out of 100 on Test 3 His group subtotal score would be: 45 + 35 + 90 = 170 The maximum score for the SUBTOTAL column would be the sum of the maximum scores of each of the columns in the group: 50 + 50 + 100 = 200 So, Joe would receive 170 out of 200 points. Electronic Class Roll 48 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average Formula In the average formula, the student's average score of the columns in the group is calculated and then multiplied by the group's weight to produce the SUBTOTAL score. Formula sum of student's scores ----------------------------- X group weight number of scores in the group Example Suppose you give three tests, so you have a TESTS group with three columns in it. Suppose Joe Student receives: 45 out of 50 on Test 1 35 out of 50 on Test 2 50 out of 50 on Test 3 Suppose the weight was 1. Joe's group subtotal score would be: 45 + 35 + 50 ------------ X 1 = 43.3 3 The maximum score for the SUBTOTAL column would be the average of the maximum scores of each of the columns in the group (50). Dropping You have the option of dropping one or more low scores for Scores each student. The average is calculated based upon only the higher remaining scores. Dropping one score in the above example gives: 45 + 50 ------- X 1 = 47.5 2 Electronic Class Roll 49 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fixed Formula In the Fixed formula, the student's average percentage score of the columns in the group is multiplied by the group's weight (percent of the total score) to produce the group's SUBTOTAL score. Formula student's score sum of --------------- maximum score ----------------------------- X group weight number of scores in the group Example Suppose you give three tests, so you have a TESTS group with three columns in it. Suppose Joe Student receives: 45 out of 50 on Test 1 35 out of 50 on Test 2 90 out of 100 on Test 3 Suppose the weight assigned to this group was 30. Joe's group subtotal score would be: (45/50) + (35/50) + (90/100) ---------------------------- X 30 = 25 3 The maximum score for the SUBTOTAL column would be the group's weight (30). Dropping You have the option of dropping one or more low scores for Scores each student. The low score is the lowest percentage score (e.g., 80/100 is lower than 45/50). The average percentage score is calculated based upon only the higher remaining scores. Dropping one score in the above example gives: (45/50) + (90/100) ------------------ X 30 = 27 2 Note that the group's weight is just a number. You will probably want to set it such that the sum of the weights in all groups adds up to 100, but there is nothing keeping you from setting up your grading system so that the sum of all of the groups' weights adds up to 1000, or any other number if you want. Electronic Class Roll 50 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proportional Formula In the Proportional formula, the student's SUBTOTAL score is the average percentage score of the columns in the group multiplied by the group's weight (percent of the total score), just as in the Fixed formula, but with a twist. Each column contributes proportionally to the average score according to its maximum score. For example, a column with a maximum score of 200 would contribute twice as much to the group subtotal score as one with a maximum score of 100. (In the Fixed formula, each column contributes equally, regardless of its maximum score.) Formula sum of student's scores ----------------------- X group weight sum of maximum scores Example Suppose you give three tests, so you have a TESTS group with three columns in it. Suppose Joe Student receives: 45 out of 50 on Test 1 35 out of 50 on Test 2 90 out of 100 on Test 3 Suppose the weight assigned to this group was 30. Joe's group subtotal score would be: 45 + 35 + 90 (slightly higher than in the ------------- X 30 = 25.5 Fixed formula because of the 50 + 50 + 100 extra weight given to Joe's 90/100 in Test 3) The maximum score for the SUBTOTAL column would be the group's weight (30). Note that the group's weight is just a number. You will probably want to set it such that the sum of the weights in all groups adds up to 100, but there is nothing keeping you from setting up your grading system so that the sum of all of the groups' weights adds up to 1000, or any other number if you want. Electronic Class Roll 51 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Create Student Reports Generate reports for individual students. The one-page reports contain all of a student's scores. Student comments and the letter grade breakpoint scale can be optionally included on each report. Reports can be sent to the screen for previewing, to the printer, or to a disk file for later printing. If the reports are printed or are written to disk, the Electronic Class Roll calculates the maximum number of reports that can fit together on a page, and allows you to print from one report per page up to this number. You can generate reports for a selected student, students with missing (blank, I, or M) scores, low scores, high scores, or all students. If you generate reports for only students with missing scores, then the report includes any student not having a score in a column where other students do have scores. If you generate reports for only students with low or high scores, then you are asked to enter the column to check, and the score that the students' scores in that column must be below or above in order to be included in the report. For each column, the report lists the student's score followed by the maximum score. For example, if Joe Student received 71 points out of a possible 100 on test T1, it would be displayed as "T1: 71/100". Commands One Student Generate the report for one student. All Students Generate reports for all of the students. Blank Scores Generate reports only for students with missing (blank, I, or M) scores in any column. Low Scores Generate reports for students with scores in a selected column that are below a value you set. High Scores Generate reports for students with scores in a selected column that are above a value you set. Electronic Class Roll 52 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Create Class Report Generate reports in a row and column format, with one student per row and one score per column. You select what to include in the report and whether to sort or rank students. The report format can be saved for future use. The report contains a header, body, and footer. The header contains the name of the class, the date the report was printed, group names (from the column list) and their grading formulas, column titles, and optionally the letter grade breakpoints and two lines of text that you enter. The body contains the information you have chosen to include for your students. The footer contains the count (number of scores), the average score, and the maximum score for each column. The count and average values exclude blank, EA, I, M, T, UW, and W scores. Commands Create Format Create a new report from scratch. This is the command you will use most often. After selecting this command you will specify what columns to include in the report. That procedure is explained below. Retrieve Retrieve a previously saved report format. A list of the Format saved formats is displayed. Select the format to retrieve by its number. You have the option to edit the retrieved format before printing the report. Edit Last Make changes to the report format last created. Even if you Format did not save it, you can re-display to the report format you used last, make modifications to it, and re-print the report. Including Fields in the Report After choosing to create a new report format, you have the opportunity to choose which items to include as the columns of the report. The items you choose appear in a list on the left-hand side of the screen. If you want to insert an item in the middle of the list, use the up and down arrow keys to position the cursor over the item you want to add in front of. If you want to delete one of the items you have included, use the up and down arrow keys to position the cursor over the item to delete and select "Delete." When you have finished selecting items to include in the report, select "End include." Electronic Class Roll 53 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Width The report width is displayed in the upper center of the screen. Only the first 80 columns will be displayed if the report is sent to the screen; however, printed and disk reports can be as wide as necessary. If a printed report is wider than the number of characters printable on one line, then multiple pages are printed, which may be taped side-by-side for an extra wide report. Selecting Students to Include in the Report You can generate reports for all students, students with missing (blank, I, or M) scores, low scores, or high scores. If you generate reports for only students with missing scores, then the report includes any student not having a score in one of the columns included in the report where other students do have scores. If you generate reports for only students with low or high scores, then you are asked to enter the column to check, and the score that the students' scores in that column must be below or above in order to be included in the report. Sorting You can sort the report ascending by name, id, or descending by the scores in any column. The field to sort on does not have to be included in the report. The default is to sort it by name. Ranking Ranking the report displays each student's rank in class as the first column. The field to rank on does not have to be included in the report. A student's rank is her/his position relative to the other students in the class; for example, if you were to rank students based upon their scores in the TOTAL SCORES column, a one would be printed next to the student with the highest total score, a two next to the student with the second highest, and so on. Students with the same score get the same rank, and the next rank is skipped. Other Questions Asked Print only the last four digits of the ID number If you have entered student id's which are more than four characters long, you have the option of printing only the last four digits. This option is provided for those that enter social-security numbers as student id's, and want to help preserve student privacy by not printing the entire social-security number on posted reports. Include the letter grade breakpoints The letter grade breakpoints are the scale last used to convert numeric scores to letter grades. Include header lines A two-line header, including whatever text you want, can be included at the top of the report. Electronic Class Roll 54 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Save this format You can save the report format for future use. If you save it you are asked to give it a name, which can be up to 22 characters long. Up to nine different formats can be saved. Send report to screen, printer, or disk You can choose to preview the report on the screen, print it on the printer, or write it to a disk file. If you write it to a disk file, you are asked if you want to write it in a comma-separated format. If you answer "no," the report will be formatted exactly as if it were being sent to the printer. This is useful in case you do not have access to a printer from your computer, and want to be able to print the report later from the disk file you created. If you answer "yes" to a comma-separated format, the fields in the report are enclosed in double-quotes (") and separated by commas (,). The first two lines contain the column titles, the next lines contain student information, and the last three lines contain column footers. This feature is very useful in transferring scores to other classes and even to other programs. It can be used to send final grades to your school's computer (page 59), to read class data into a word processor for creating custom letters (page 60), or to combine scores from two semesters for year-end grading (page 64). Electronic Class Roll 55 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copy From Another Class Copy the column list, student list, and/or students' scores from another class. Use this option at the end of the semester to combine classes together for combined grading, or at the beginning of the next semester to copy the student list from the previous semester's class. See the Advanced Tips and Techniques section for information about ways to apply this feature. Copying the student list adds the students in the other class to this one. If there is not enough room in this class to hold both sets of students (i.e., the number of students in both classes is greater than the "maximum number of students" for this class set when the class was created), create a new class and copy both classes into it. Some limitations are imposed. To copy a column list, this class' column list must be empty. To copy student names, students in both classes must have the same type of id numbers (either student id's, random, or none). If students have random id's, you should make sure that no students in the two classes have the same id by changing one of the id's if they do. To copy student scores, both classes must have the same number of columns. Electronic Class Roll 56 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Load Scores From Disk Load scores from an ASCII file on disk. Use this option if you have a test scoring service which can provide you with a file containing the students' scores, or if you want combine total scores from several semesters for calculating year-end grades. See the Advanced Tips and Techniques section for information about ways to apply this feature. In order to use this option, the students in the class must have either student id's or random id's, since matching students to scores read from the disk is based upon id number. The scores can be loaded into any column, even TOTAL SCORES or LETTER GRADES. If a student already has a score in the column and the student is not included in the file being loaded, then the original score remains. The score input file must follow the rules described on page 58. After scores are loaded, you are shown a count of the number of students in the file without matches in the class, and the number of students in the class without scores in the file. You can send these reports to the screen, printer, or disk. Electronic Class Roll 57 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reading Students from Your School's Computer If your school can provide you with an ASCII file containing the names, and optionally, the id numbers of the students in your class, you can read them directly from the disk rather than typing them in by hand! To read student information from a disk file, when you create the class answer "yes" to the prompt "Read the class roll from a sequential file." Then enter the name of the file containing the students. The student input file provided by your school should follow the rules below. (1) Straight ASCII text; no special word-processor codes. (2) One student per line. (Each line should be separated by the normal carriage-return line-feed sequence). (3) If student id numbers are included, they must be first on the line. (4) There must be a comma and/or spaces separating the student id numbers from the student names. (5) Student names must be last-name first, without commas between the last and the first names. (6) Student names and id numbers can be optionally enclosed within double quotes. (7) It doesn't matter whether student names are in mixed or upper case. Example Lines "1234","DOE JOHN" 1234 Doe John 1234-56-7890,Doe John "DOE JOHN" doe john Note to the Teacher If student id's are included in the input file and you want to read them into the Electronic Class Roll, you need to choose "Student id's" as the id number format when creating the class. Electronic Class Roll 58 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reading Scores from a Testing System If assignments are graded electronically and your test scoring service can provide you with an ASCII file containing the students' scores, you can read them directly from the disk without having to enter them by hand! The score input file provided by your test scoring service should follow the rules below. (1) Straight ASCII text; no special word-processor codes. (2) One student per line. (Each line should be separated by the normal carriage-return line-feed sequence). (3) Each line must contain an id number first, followed by a score, optionally followed by other information (such as the student's name). (4) There must be a comma and/or spaces separating the student id numbers from the scores. However, if there is more on the line than just an id number and a score (like the student's name), then each item on the line must be separated by commas. (5) Student names and id numbers can optionally be enclosed within double quotes. Example Lines "1234","95","DOE JOHN" "1234","95" 1234-56-7890, 95, DOE JOHN 1234,95 1234 95 Note to the Teacher If you want to take advantage of the ability to read scores from a disk file, you must assign id's. When creating the class, choose either "Student id's" or "Random id's" as the id number format. To read the scores once the ASCII file has been created, select Load Scores From Disk on the class menu. Information about how to use this option can be found on page 56. Electronic Class Roll 59 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sending Final Grades to Your School's Computer At the end of the semester, depending upon your school you could have two new options for submitting final grades. As the first option, you could print a class report (menu choice Create Class Report) containing the students' id numbers, names, and final grades columns. Your school may accept this if you sign it and send it in. As a second option, you could submit your grades on disk. Create a class report containing the students' id numbers followed by their final grades. Don't rank the report. Send the report to a disk file. When asked about a comma-separated format, answer "yes." An example file format is shown below. The first two lines contain header information, followed by one line per student, followed by three lines of footer information. "","LETTER" "ID #","GRADES" "1234","A-" "5678","B+" . . . "7890","A " "COUNT:","9" "AVERAGE:","2.85" "MAXIMUM:","LET" If your school can read this kind of file, you may never have to fill out grade reports again! Note to the teacher If you plan on sending final grades to your school's computer at the end of the semester, when creating the class you need to choose "Student id's" as the id number format. This lets you to enter id numbers for the students when you add them. The id numbers you enter should be the ones the students are known by on the school's computer. Electronic Class Roll 60 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Using the WordPerfect Macros to Create Letters Two WordPerfect macros and corresponding sample documents help you create nice-looking, customizable letters to give to your students or their parents. You should already be somewhat familiar with WordPerfect before trying this feature. In order to use the macros, you need to create a class report containing first the students' names followed by whatever score columns you want included in the letters. (You could even include student id numbers or comments columns, but this requires extra changes to the sample documents - - more on this later.) Don't rank the report. Send the report to a disk file. When asked about a comma-separated format, answer "yes." The next step is choose which macro to run. Both macros take the disk report you created in the previous step and convert it to a WordPerfect secondary merge file, but each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The first macro is ECR2WP.WPM, and its corresponding sample document is ECR2WP.LTR. Its advantage is that it can automatically insert the column name, class average, and maximum score for each column in the document. Its disadvantage is that it is very slow to run -- up to several hours for large classes. But if you want the extra column information automatically included in the letters you create, and you have access to a computer you can keep running for a while, this is the macro for you. The second macro is ECR2WPQK.WPM, and its corresponding sample document, ECR2WP.LTR. Its advantage is that it is reasonably fast. Its disadvantage is that if you want column names and class averages included in the letters you create, you need to insert them manually into the sample document before running the macro. Generally this is not a problem, and this is the macro you will choose. Once you have decided upon a macro, start WordPerfect and retrieve the document corresponding to the macro you have chosen. In it are further instructions on how to create the letters. If you have already created the disk report, skip step two. Just make sure you have an empty document screen when starting step three. Electronic Class Roll 61 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Creating Your Own Letter Formats You can include student information in any WordPerfect document -- not just in the sample ones. Create a letter just as you would any other WordPerfect document. Where you want to include a field from the secondary merge file into your letter, press <Shift-F9>, followed by F, followed by the number of the field you want to include. The ECR2WP and ECR2WPQK macros both convert the disk report into secondary merge files that can be merged with any document you create, but each macro numbers the fields differently. The numbering schemes are shown below. In order for the macros to work, student names must always be the first column you include in the disk report. ECR2WP Merge File Format Field # Contents 1 First name 2 Middle name (if any) 3 Last name 4 Group name of the second column 5 Column name of the second column 6 Student's score in the second column 7 Count of the number of scores in the second column 8 Class average score for the second column 9 Maximum score for the second column 10 Group name of the third column 11 Column name of the third column 12 Student's score in the third column 13 Count of the number of scores in the third column 14 Class average score for the third column 15 Maximum score for the third column etc. ECR2WPQK Merge File Format Field # Contents 1 First name 2 Middle name (if any) 3 Last name 4 Student's score in the second column 5 Student's score in the third column etc. Electronic Class Roll 62 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copying Class Data to a New Subject or Semester Once you have entered the students' names in one class, you need not enter them manually again. Instead, you can copy their names and id numbers from one subject or semester or to another. Follow the steps below. (1) Create the class for the new subject or semester. Make it large enough to hold all of the students from the previous class. Assign the same id number format as in the previous class. (2) Retrieve this class. (3) Select the Copy From Another Class menu choice. Choose the class for the previous subject or semester as the class to copy from. You will be given the opportunity to copy column set up information, student names and id's, and student scores. If you plan on giving the same number of homework assignments, tests, etc., in this class as you did in the previous one, you might want to copy the column set up information (column list) from the previous class. Copy the student names and id's. Don't copy their scores. If you teach multiple sections of the same class Rather than copying student names and id's, you probably want to copy column set up information from one section to another. In this case, create a new class for the next section, retrieve the new class, select Copy From Another Class, and choose the class for the previous section as the class to copy from, just as in the above paragraph. Then, instead of copying student names and id's, copy only the column set up information. More information about how to use Copy From Another Class can be found on page 55. Electronic Class Roll 63 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Combining Sections for Combined Grading If you teach multiple sections of the same class, you may want to combine all sections into one class at the end of the semester in order to do combined grading. After assigning the final grades, you can copy the grades back into the original sections. In order to use this feature, all of the sections to be combined must have been created with student id numbers (either "Student id's" or "Random id's"), and you must make sure that students in the various sections have not been given the same id's. Also, every section must have the same column setup (the groups are in the same order in each section, and contain the same number of columns). The easiest way to ensure this requirement is to create the column setup in one class, then copy it to the others as described on page 62. To combine sections, follow the steps below. (1) Create a new class capable of holding all students from all sections. (2) Retrieve the new class. (3) Select Copy From Another Class. Choose one of the original sections as the class to copy from. Answer "yes" to copying the column list, the students, and their scores. (4) Select Copy From Another Class again. Choose another of the original sections as the class to copy from. This time, answer "no" to copying the column list, and "yes" to copying the students and their scores. Repeat this step until you have copied all of the original sections into this class. (5) This class now contains the students and scores from all of the original sections. Assign the students their final grades and store them in the LETTER GRADES column. Steps 6-8 below copy the final grades back into the original sections. (6) Create a disk report containing the students' id's and final grades. Select Create Class Report. Include student id's as the first column and LETTER GRADES as the second column. Don't rank the report. Send the report to a disk file. Answer "yes" to a comma-separated format. (7) Now exit the combined class so you are back at the main menu. (8) Retrieve one of the original sections. Select Load Scores From Disk. Select LETTER GRADES as the column to load scores into, and choose the file you just created as the file containing the scores. Don't worry if there are students in the file without matches in the class -- these are the students in the other sections. Repeat this step for each of the original sections. That's it! Electronic Class Roll 64 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Combining Semesters for Year-End Grading After two or more semesters have passed, you may want to combine the students total scores or final letter grades from all semesters in order to give a year-end grade. In order to use this feature, all of the semesters to be combined must have been created with student id numbers (either "Student id's" or "Random id's"), and you must make sure that students have kept the same id's from semester to semester. The easiest way to ensure this requirement is to copy the student list from the previous semester as described on page 62. To combine semesters, follow the steps below. (1) Retrieve the class from the first semester being combined. (2) Create a disk report by selecting Create Class Report. Include student id's as the first column. If you want to combine the students' total scores for year-end grading, include TOTAL SCORES as the second column; if you instead want to combine their final letter grades, include LETTER GRADES as the second column. Don't rank the report. Send the report to a disk file. Answer "yes" to a comma-separated format. (3) Exit the class so you are back at the main menu. (4) Repeat steps 1-3 for each semester. Make sure that the disk file is given a different name for each semester. (5) Create a new class big enough to hold the students from the previous semester. Assign the same id number format as in the semesters being combined. (6) Retrieve the new class. (7) Select Copy From Another Class. Choose the previous semester's class as the class to copy from. Copy the student list, but not the column list. This copies the students from the previous semester into this class. (8) Select Set Up Columns. Add one group for each semester being combined. Each group should contain only one column. Return to the class menu. (9) Select Load Scores From Disk. Select the column belonging to the first group as the column to load scores into, and choose the disk report file for the first semester as the file containing the scores to load. (10) Repeat step nine for each semester, loading each semester's scores into the appropriate group. (11) Select Calculate Total Scores. Change the formula for each group to "Fixed," and assign as the weight of each group the percentage of the year-end score you want that semester to contribute. (12) Total the students' scores. The TOTAL SCORES column in this class now represents the students' year-end scores. You can also assign year-end letter grades if you wish. That's it! Electronic Class Roll 65 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Index Absences 38, 44 Files Arithmetic 41 distribution 5 AUTOEXEC.BAT 6 in CONFIG.SYS 5 Average 48 Fixed 25, 49 Backup 27 Grading formulas 46 Calculate Total Scores 18, 25, options 44 43 Graph / Adjust Scores 19, 40, Change Drive\Directory 30 44 Change Letter Values 32, 44 Group 35 Change Password 34 adding 13 Class non-graded 36, 46 back up 27, 30 subtotal 44 copying 55, 62 create 9, 31 Help 5, 30, 33 directory 29, 30 disk 6 Id numbers 23, 31, 37 menu 33 copying 55, 62 name 9, 31 printing 53 report 23, 26, 52 reading 57 retrieve 11, 29, 30 Inner quartile range 40 SAMPLE 2, 6 Installation 5 Column 35 floppy disk 6, 7 Comma-separated format 54, 59 hard disk 7 Comments 37 CONFIG.SYS 5 Letter grades Copy / Back Up Classes 27, breakpoints 20, 41, 43, 51, 30 54 Copy From Another Class 55, column 20, 36, 40, 43 62-64 entering 38 Correlate 42 from numbers 41 Count 52 grading option 45 Create Class Report 23, 26, 52 to numbers 42 Create New Class 9, 31 totaling 32, 44 Create Student Reports 21, 51 values 32, 44 Cumulative 17, 47 Load Scores From Disk 56, 58, Customer support 8 63, 64 Delete Macros 5, 60 Class 30 Main menu 30 report field 52 Maximum Dropping scores 48, 49 number of students 31 score 39, 44, 45, 47-50 Edit Student Info 11, 37 Median 40 Enter Scores 15, 38 Memory 1 Equipment 1 Menu Excused absence (EA) 38, 44 class 33 main 30 Electronic Class Roll 66 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Non grading formula 36, 46 WordPerfect 5, 60 Numeric Scores 42 Z-Scores 41 Options grading 44 start up 29 Ordering the ECR 8 Password 34 Percentages 41 Printing 21 graph 42 reports 51, 54 set up printer 30 Proportional 50 Rank report 53 Reports class 23, 26, 52 comma-separated 54, 59 student 21, 51 Retrieve Class 11, 30 Round 41, 45 Scores blank 38, 51, 53 entering 15, 38 excused 38, 44 read from disk 56, 58 Section 63 Semester 62, 64 Set Top Score 41 Set Up Colors 30 Columns 13, 35 Printer 30 Social-security number 53 Sort report 53 Standard deviation 40 Subtotal column 35, 44, 45 Support 8 Total scores column 36, 44, 45, 64 process 18, 25, 43, 45 Undo 42 Weight 25, 46, 48-50 Width report 53