Custom Classes act as an alternative to Standard Class types, and are graded by issuing a single mark per grading period, as opposed to aggregating individual assignments over the course of a term. Custom Classes may follow any GradeScale (i.e., ABCDF, OGSN, etc.), and will appear on Report Cards, but will not appear on Transcripts or Progress Reports. In addition, Custom Classes will not factor into GPA because they are not numerically calculated. Both Standard and Custom Classes can possess Sub-Grades. Custom Classes are required to possess Sub-Grades in order to receive any sort of grade.
1. Click the Classes tab on the left sidebar, then click the gear icon next to the “Sub-Grades” drop-down menu.
2. In the “Class Type Name” field, enter a title for the Class that you would like to create a Custom Class for. This name is used in the Class Type drop-down menu and is not printed anywhere. Gradelink recommends entering the Class title and the grades the class will be used for, i.e. “Work Ethics 4-5” or “Behavior K-6”.
3. In the “Report Section Title” field, enter the name of the class as it will appear on the Report Card. If, in the Class Type Name field, you entered a name of “Work Ethics 4-5”, this field should read “Work Habits”. Any Fields Names added later will display underneath this header.
4. Click the Add button, and then select the newly-created Class from the list on the right side of the page.
5. Under the “Custom Fields” options:
a. “Field Name” is the title that will appear as an individual row on Report Cards. Field names under “Work Ethic” might include “Participation”, “Teamwork”, “Efficiency”, etc. Be sure to include the title of the class as the 1st Field Name.
b. “Field Order” determines in which order the Field Names will appear on the Report Card.
c. The “Field Not Graded” option will determine whether or not a grade can be entered into this particular field.
d. “Field Bolded” will bold the field. This is typically used for fields that require particular distinction. Similarly the “Indent(px)” and “Bullet” fields can determine how far the text of a field will be indented, as well whether or not a circular, triangular, or square bullet point will appear next to a field, respectively.
6. Click the Add button after every new entry to have them appear in the selection table to the left.
7. As previously mentioned, Sub-Grades can follow any GradeScale, and this can be separate from the Standard Grade Scale used in Standard Type Classes. Under the “Custom Grade Scale” options:
a. The “Grade Symbol” is a symbol such as “A”, “O”, “+”, etc. that will denote a particular mark received.
b. The “Grade Description” is used to add a definition to each Grade Symbol. For example, an “O” might possess a definition such as, “Outstanding: Making consistent progress that meets or exceeds individual learning goals”. These descriptions can be set to appear on Report Cards so that parents may understand the Grade Symbols. Similarly, these definitions will appear on Teacher pages when they are entering Sub-Grades in order to offer further clarification.
c. “Grade Order” is similar to the previous Field Order entry, and will determine where the Grade Symbol falls in order according to the other symbols. For example, since an “A” is the highest grade one can receive, it would have a Grade Order of “1”.
d. Click the Add button after every new entry to have them appear in the selection table to the left.