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Progress and Semester Reports - Detailed Explanation

Progress and Semester Reports - Detailed Explanation

This article is for Administrators and Teachers

Setting up reports - Administrators

Before semester and progress reports can be written, a series of steps must be taken to setup report writing. Mandatory steps include:

  • Having students, classes and their teachers exist on the system and up to date.

  • Having subjects created and assigned to classes. This is done to specify which subjects the teachers will mark against students.

Optional steps can also be taken that will not prevent teachers from marking reports, but will affect report writing and what they look like:

  • Reviewing the reporting settings through School Preferences. This page allows authorised staff to choose from a variety of settings such as; report templates, comment boxes and enabling work habit scores. It also allows the turning on of other features such as principal and student self-reflection comments.

Creating Subjects

  • From the main menu Go to; Management -> School -> Subjects:

     

  • Click the green [ + ] add button at the top of the page.

  • Enter the details for the subject such as:

a.    The Subject Name.

b.    A Chief Examiner (optional).

c.     The Curriculum type (either Victorian or Australian Curriculum).

d.    An identifying colour (if required).

e.    The subject category (these are based on the curriculum type selected and you can choose more than one category).

f.      Whether to allow scoring and/or learning area commenting for report writing.

  • When done, click on the green ‘Create’ button at the bottom of the page.

Creating Classes

Note: This step is optional, as the students’ classes should already exist on the system from the initial start-of-year setup. However, you may desire to have classes created for specialist subjects such as LOTE or Art. This is handy for specialist teachers as they can go in and mark only the scores and comments for the subject(s) they teach.

To create a class for managing specialist classes:

  1. From the main menu Go to; Management -> School -> Classes.

  • Click the green [ + ] add button at the top of the page.

  • Enter the details as follows:

a.    The campus the class is for

b.    The name of the class

c.     Select Normal as the class type

d.    Leave Record Attendance unticked, as there will be no attendance rolls marked for these specialist classes

e.    Set the commencement and end date of the class. Setting these dates will determine whether the class will have reports marked for just one semester or the whole year.

f.      Leave the attendance start and end dates, as teachers will not be marking rolls for this class.

g.    Select if you want work habit scoring for the class

h.    Leave the External System Class ID as empty.

  • Once the information has been input, click the green Continue button.

Modify Classes

  • After clicking the Continue button in the previous step, you will now find yourself on the Modify Class page. Here, you will need to add additional information about the class. This includes adding students and teachers to the class.

  • Before students can be added to the class, you will need to add year levels to specify the range of students the class is for. Select the Year Levels tab near the top of the page and select the +Add Year Levels button at the top right of the page.

a.    Select the year levels you wish to add to the class. When done, click on the green Add Selected button at the bottom of the page.

b.    Once year levels have been added, click on the Go back to : Modify Class button at the bottom of the page, to return to the Modify Class page.

  • Select the Students tab and select the +Add Students button on the top right.

a.    Select all the students you wish to add to this class. To select all students, select the very top checkbox to the left of the word Student in the heading. Click the Add Selected button at the bottom of the page.

b.    When the desired students have been added, once again go back to the previous page by clicking on the Go back to : Modify Class button at the bottom of the page.

  • Select the Teachers tab and click the green +Add Teachers button on the top right.

a.    Select the teacher(s) you wish to add to the class. When done, click on the green Add Selected button at the bottom.

b.    When the desired teachers have been added, once again go back to the previous page by clicking on the Go back to : Modify Class button at the bottom of the page.

c.     If you are adding multiple teachers to the class, it is advisable to specify which of these teachers in the class teaches the students. You can do this by selecting yes or no for the Is main teacher? slider button in the centre column.

Note: this yes/no preference saves automatically.

The specialist class has now been created with almost all its relevant information. The last step is to add the subject(s) to the class, which is covered in the next section. 

Assigning Subjects to Classes

  • From the main menu Go to; Management -> School -> Classes.

  • Choose the class you want to edit and click on the down arrow to the right of the blue

View button…

  • Select Edit from the drop menu.

  • Select the Subjects tab near the top of the page.

  • Click on the green +Add Subjects button on the right.

  • Select the subjects you wish to add to the class by adding a tick to the checkboxes.

  • Click the green Add Selected button at the bottom of the page to add the subjects.

  • When the desired subjects have been added, once again go back to the previous page by clicking on the

Go back to: Modify Class button at the bottom of the page.

 

School Preference Settings for Reporting

  • From the main menu Go to; Management > Advanced > School Preferences.

  • Select the Reporting option from the menu on the left side of the Advanced Management page.

  • You are now able to view and change the settings for reporting. These settings are divided into separate tabs which you can toggle through near the top of the page. If you wish to save any changes while in a tab, click on the Save button at the bottom of each page.
    If you navigate to a different tab without having saved your changes, the changes will be lost.

a.    General - Options that will affect both semester and progress reports.
These settings include the curriculum type, word limits for writing comments, and teacher access to viewing reports outside the classes they teach.

b.    Semester Reports - Preferences that are specific to semester reports.
Settings include enabling features, distinctive styles, defining templates to format printed report appearance, comment boxes and the work habit score options to allow.

c.     Progress Reports

  • Settings for progress reports only.

  • The options include; enabling work habit scores, defining whether progress comments are viewed and setting the grouping to be by week, month or term.

d.    Attendance Stats

  • Allows attendance statistics to be turned on or off for semester reports, as well as managing the attendance comments. uEducateUs automatically calculates the attendance of students to import into reports from the Attendance module. These statistics are calculated as reports are written by staff and can be viewed while looking at their reports in the Reporting module.

Two attendance comments will already exist, which specifies what comment students will receive on their reports if they have received no absences or at least one absence. These comments can be reworded and saved as you wish and are required comments to ensure attendance comments display on student reports.

You may desire to have different comments used for students based on the number of days they have been absent for. To do this, click on the +Add Attendance Comment button. A new comment box will display at the bottom of the page where you will be able to enter the following details:

a.       Days Absent Range – The day range of absences that a student should get for the comment to be used on their report. Entering 0 for the maximum day range will ignore a maximum day limit (such as if you want a comment to display for students who have 12 or more absent days).

b.       Comment – Write the actual attendance comment here. There are multiple box options to choose from that will automatically prefill with the student’s relevant information and customise the content of the various reports.

  • Note: You can also delete comments by clicking on the x Remove button. This button will only appear for those comments you or another administrator have created.

  • When you are finished, click on the green Save button at the bottom.

Note: While saving, you may have an error message appear on the page informing you to revise the comments you have made. If this occurs, simply look over the comments and fix any problems encountered based on the error messages provided for each comment.

Writing and managing reports – Administrators and teachers

All functionality for writing and managing semester and progress reports can be accessed from the main menu via Reporting > F-10.

Mark End of Semester Report

  • Click on the Mark End of Semester Report option:

  • You are now able to view and mark student reports from this page.

  • Teachers will be able to toggle between the different classes they teach through the Viewing Class: drop-down at the top of the page.

  • Administrator users will be able to use this drop-down to toggle between all classes available to their campus.

  • When viewing the students in a class, you will be able to identify those who have and have not been marked previously.

  • You can filter students by year level by selecting the appropriate year level from the Viewing Class drop list near the top of the page.

  • To mark reports, there are two ways to go about doing this:

a.    You can mark a single student by clicking on their name or by selecting the green Mark Student button to the right of the student.

b.    Students can be bulk marked by first selecting the checkbox to the left of each student’s name. You can select all students by ticking the checkbox at the top of the Student column. Once you have selected the students you wish to mark simultaneously, click on the green Mark Scores for Selected button at the top of the Student column.

Note: you will not be able to bulk write the comments for student reports through this option.

Mark Single Student

Once on the Mark Student Report page, you will have the option of marking the curriculum and work habits scores for the student, as well as writing comments.

Note: before proceeding to another tab or section, you must save your work if you have made any changes to the current tab you are on. Clicking on the ‘Save button will only save your work on the current selected tab.

You can also make use of the blue Next/Previous Student buttons near the top of the page. This will allow to easily navigate to the next student in the class, which is ascendingly sorted by year level and student surname.

To mark the scores for the student:

a.       Ensure you are in the Scoring section by selecting the option on the left of the page.

b.       Enter the scores the student achieved using the drop lists.

c.       For curriculum scoring, the options available will depend on the curriculum you are accessing students against.

d.       If the student has been marked previously against a subject on the system, their previous result will display as a reference and to assist in giving an appropriate score.

e.       A rating score will also display next to each drop-down, informing you of the 5-point scale score all users will see on the final report based on the student’s score and year level.

f.        Select the Work Habits scores, if applicable. Choosing N/A will stop the work habit from appearing on the student’s report.

g.       When finished selecting the scores, click the green Save button.

Note: the student’s scores are shared across all teachers in the same class. If another teacher in your class has marked the scores for the student previously, you will be able to view and change the scores values previously entered.

 

To write the comments for the student:

Select the appropriate subject to comment on, by making your selection from the left side of the page under Comments. The comment sections are divided into 2 types:

a)    General – comments for the whole class

b)    Subject – comments specific to the subject selected

  • Begin writing comments. The comment boxes provided will depend on those set up by your school. If you leave a comment box blank, that comment, and its heading, will not appear on the student’s report.

  • Comments are teacher specific, meaning that teachers will only be able to write and edit their own comments. If you are logged in as an administrator, you will have the option of selecting which teacher in the class you are writing the comments for.

  • If sample comments have been written, you can add them to a comment box by selecting them from the provided drop-down. You will also have the option to filter the sample comments in the drop-down by performance type and subject learning area (if applicable).

  • File attachments can also be added to a comment box when the report is viewed online. Click on the ‘Choose File’ button to select a valid file type from your computer. You can add additional files by clicking on the ‘Add More’ button. Select ‘Remove’ to delete an attachment for the comment.

  • When finished, click on the ‘Save’ button. This button will appear on both the top and bottom of the page if the amount of comment boxes available are numerous.

 

Mark Scores for Selected:

  • Using this option will allow staff to enter the curriculum and work habit scores for multiple students, up to and including all students, by ticking the checkbox at the top of the Student column.

a.    Enter the scores for the individual students by selecting a dropdown from the row that corresponds with the student’s name.

b.    Enter scores for all students, by selecting a dropdown from the Mark All row at the top of the student column.

c.     Individual students can then have their scores modified accordingly afterwards.

d.    If multiple subject and work habits scores exist for the class, it may be necessary to scroll the table to bring the additional ones in to view. This can be done by clicking and dragging the black section of the table header, or by using the scroll bar at the bottom of the table.

e.    To save your progress, click on the green Save button. Students who have had their scores saved will now be shaded in green on the ‘Mark Scores for Selected’ page.

Sample Comments:

Staff can create and manage their own comment banks through the Sample Comments section of reporting.

This page can be accessed in one of two ways:

  • By clicking on the Sample Comments button on the main reporting page:

  • If you are situated on the Mark End of Semester Report page, you can click on the Sample Comments button near the top right-hand corner of the page:

  • Once on the Sample Comments page you will be able to view the existing comments and create a new one.

  • Anyone can edit their own comments; administrative users can edit all comments.

  • Anyone can read the sample comments by clicking the blue View button to the right of the comment.

  • If you are the creator of the comment or an administrative user, you will also have the option of editing and deleting the comment through the blue cog button that is displayed after clicking the View button.

Create Sample Comment

  • Click on the Create Comment button.

  • Enter out the details as follows:

a.    The name of the comment.

b.    The comment type which will affect what comment box the comment appears under while writing reports. Selecting ‘General’ will allow the sample comment to be used in any reporting comment box excluding principal comments.

c.     The subject the comment is for, as well as learning area if applicable.

d.    The teacher who this sample comment belongs to (for administrators only, teachers will automatically be assigned as they create the comment).

e.    Whether you want the sample comment to be accessible to all teachers or just the teacher of the comment.

f.      The year level range of students this comment can be used for. Choosing ‘Selected Year Levels’ from the drop-down will allow you to choose the year levels you want with the use of the ‘Add’ and ‘Remove’ buttons.

g.    The performance type range, which allows staff to write sample comments for students who have been performing at, below or above their expected level. If multiple year levels are selected, you will instead be able to select a performance type for each year level of the comment.

h.    The actual comment. You can make use of the student’s name and gender box options which will automatically prefill with the student’s relevant information while used in report writing.

i.      Once all the information has been filled out, click on the ‘Create’ button at the bottom of the page.

Modify Sample Comment

  • Click on the View button to the right of a comment. When done, click on the blue cog button and select Edit.

Note: The cog button will only appear if you are the author of the comment or an administrative user.

  • Change the information displayed on the page. The options available are the same as on the create sample comment page.

  • When done, click on the Save button at the bottom of the page. Any changes made to the sample comment will not affect any existing semester and progress reports that make use of it.

Deleting Sample Comments:

  • Click on the ‘View’ button to the right of a comment. When done, click on the blue cog button and select ‘Delete’. Please note that the cog button will only appear if you are the author of the comment or an administrative user.

  • A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm this decision. To proceed, click on the ‘Delete’ button.

Note: If an administrator deletes a comment, it is permanently deleted. If a teacher deletes a comment, it is archived and can be recovered by an administrator.

Administrators will have sample comments separated into two tabs near the top of the page:
                           a) Available comments    b) Deleted comments.

From within the Deleted comments tab, an administrator can restore a deleted comment for the use of all staff, or they can permanently delete it.

Restoring Sample Comments:

Click on the Deleted Comments tab.

Click on the View button to the right of a comment. When done, click on the blue cog button and select Restore.

A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm restoring the comment. To proceed, click on the Restore button.

Permanently Deleting Sample Comments:

Click on the Deleted Comments tab.

Click on the View button to the right of a comment. When done, click on the blue cog button and select Delete.

A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm this decision. Click on Delete and the comment will be removed permanently and cannot be recovered by an administrator.

Principal Comments:

Providing you are the principal for your school, you can write a personalised comment for each student’s report. Before writing these comments, you must ensure that principal comments are enabled in the system option settings:

  • From the main menu, go to -> Advanced > School Preferences

  • Click on the Reporting tab to the left of the page.

  • Click on the Semester Reports tab near the top of the page.

  • Select yes for Allow Principals to write their own comment for each student's report?

  • Click the Save button.

To write a principal comment:

  • Click on the Mark End of Semester Report button on the main Reporting page.

  • Select the class of students you wish to view, using the classes dropdown at the top of the page.

  • Click on the green arrow button next to a student and select Principal Comment.

  • You can now write your comment.

  • If you have created any sample comments under the type of Principal Comment, you will be able to add the comment into the comment box.

  • When done, click on the Save button. Your comment will now display on the student’s semester report.

Student Comments

A student comment is a self-reflectional comment by the student for the semester. These comments can be written by either the student or the main teacher for the class:

For a teacher to write a student comment, they must have the following settings:

  • Be part of the student’s main hub group. These classes are usually imported and updated from Cases21.

  • Be marked as a main teacher for the class the student is in.

An administrator can set the teacher to main by:

  • From the main menu go to: Management -> School -> Classes.

  • Click on the down arrow to the right of the View button and select Edit.

  • Go to the Teachers tab near the top of the page and ensure that Yes is selected for Is main teacher?

If not, click on the slider button to change its state. This setting will be automatically saved.

Providing you have the access to student comments, you can begin writing them by:

  • Click on the ‘Mark End of Semester Report’ button on the main Reporting page.

  • Select the class of students to wish to view through the classes drop-down at the top of the page.

  • Click on the green arrow button next to a student and select ‘Student Comment’.

  • You can now write the comment for the student. If they have written a comment previously, you will be able to review and make corrections to it.

  • When done, click on the ‘Save’ button. The student’s comment will now display on their semester report.

Create Progress Report

Progress reports are an optional reporting method schools can use to allow reporting to parents in a more frequent and timely manner. Progress reports consist of a series of comments and/or scores marked by teachers that can be released to parents and students over the course of the semester.

To write a progress report comment:

  • Click on the ‘Create Progress Report’ button.

  • You are now able to view and write comments for students from this page. Teachers will be able to toggle between classes if they teach several classes through the top drop-down. In addition, administrator users will be able to toggle between all classes available to their campus.

  • When viewing the students in a class, you will be able to identify those who have had comments written for them previously for the semester and if they have been approved. You can filter students by year level by clicking on the appropriate year level tab near the top of the page.

  • To write a progress report for a student, click on either the student’s name or the ‘Mark Student’ button.

  • Once on the Mark Progress Report page for a student, you will be able to view the comments that exist for that student in the class. To write a new comment, click on the Write Comment tab located near the top of the page.

 

  • Enter the details as follows:

a.    The subject the comment is for

b.    The date of the comment (e.g. The student demonstrated that she could count to 50 by this date)

c.     The title

d.    The actual comment itself. If sample comments have been written, you can add them to a comment box by selecting them from the provided drop-down. You will also have the option to filter the comments by performance type.

e.    File attachments that will show when a user views the comment online. Click on the Choose File button to select a valid file type from your computer. You can add additional files by clicking on the Add More button. Select Remove to delete an attachment from the comment.

f.      Work habit scores (if enabled by your school).

You can also quickly view existing comments that have been made for the student to assist you in what comments to write next. You will find this list at the bottom of the page.

  • When ready to create the comment, click on the Save button.

Review existing comments:

While on the Mark Progress Report page, you will have the option to view and manage the comments that have been written for the student in their class. Simply click on the View button next to the relevant comment to display its content.