PowerSchool Final Grades 2009-2010: Understanding Your Options

You have three options this year for computing your final grades.  Refer to this sheet to understand your options, and select the option that best suits your grading procedure and needs.  Then, refer to the link below for a video screencast detailing step-by-step directions for each option.

Option A: PowerSchool Automatically Computes Final Grades

If you have used PowerSchool Gradebook consistently throughout the year to enter assignments with numerical grades (points or percentages), then the final grade will be automatically calculated and will reflect an accurate numerical and letter grade.  You do not need to override your final grades in PowerSchool unless you assigned a letter grade only for a marking period or exam.

For example, a student who received an F on the midterm is automatically assigned 57 percentage/points by PowerSchool.  If this student earned 35%/points on the midterm, and you would like the final grade to reflect an accurate numerical average, then you will need to override the final grade.  To do so, see option B.

If you are comfortable with the numerical grade pre-assigned to letter grades (i.e. C=72%/points), then you can simply allow PowerSchool to compute your final grades and you do not have to manually override.

Option B: Use Exact Numerical Calculations for Final Grades (Override Assigned Letter Grade Values)

If you would like your final grade to reflect an exact numerical average of all numerical grades earned throughout the course of the year including Q1, Q2, E1, Q3, Q4, and E2, and you entered letter grades rather than number grades into PowerSchool, then you will need to compute this average on your own.  Once you have determined the final grade, you will need to manually override the final grade calculation in PowerSchool.  Refer to the PBWorks Wiki link above, and view the screencast for step-by-step instructions.

Option C: Use Quality Points Calculations for Final Grades (Override All Assigned Numerical/Letter Grade Values)

If you intend to use the quality points system to compute final grades, you will need to compute this average on your own.  Once you have determined the final grade, you will need to manually override the final grade calculation in PowerSchool.  Refer to the PBWorks Wiki link above, and view the screencast for step-by-step instructions.

Note: You may want to use the Final Grade Calculator on the Middletown South website to simplify this process.  Access the site, click on Academics on the left sidebar, and then click on the Final Grade Calculator link.  This calculator allows you to enter the student’s letter grade for each marking period, the midterm, and the final, and then computes the average.  This calculator alleviates the necessity of converting each student’s letter grade into a number from 0-9, and then re-converting the quality points number back into a letter grade.  Note the text below the calculator for suggestions on rounding used to compute the grades.

View Screencast