Override Overall Grade

Overview

SchoolSpeak gradebook now has the ability to override the computed overall grade per term. This feature is useful in modifying the overall grade slightly, for example bumping up a border grade to next letter grade. The overridden grade is passed to report cards and newly published grade reports. The overridden value is retained till it is manually removed.

Who can override grade?

It is configurable per gradebook in its Settings page, ‘Configure Gradebook’ section. The options include None (no one can override), Teachers (users with edit permission to the gradebook), School Admin (SchoolSpeak Administrators in your account), and SchoolSpeak Support.

Using the Grade Override Feature in Gradebook

Grade override is disabled by default. The first step is enabling the feature in the Gradebook Settings page. The “Who can override grade” parameter should be enabled for the proper member level (Teacher, School Admins).

Users with permission to modify the gradebook settings page, ‘Configure Gradebook’ section can change the parameter from None. However, relaxing the permission can only be done by current users with override permission or above, i.e., changing the parameter from SchoolSpeak Support can be done only by SchoolSpeak Support and changing the parameter from School Admin can only be done by School Admins and SchoolSpeak Support. Remember to record the change by clicking the Save button below the section.

Override is done on the gradebook Term Summary page. If Override is enabled, an Override column appears next to the computed grade in the grade column. It will be editable only to users with override permission and visible to even users without override permission. Enter the override value in the override column as percentage or letter grade and click the Save button to record the changes. Override column will show values overridden.

Term summary grade column will only show calculated grade, not overridden grade.

Note: To use letter grade in the override column, the letter grade and its numerical score value should be defined in the Letter Grade section of the Gradebook Settings page. If not properly defined, the system will discard the entered letter grade value. If the letter grade is numeric such as 1, 2, 3 or 4, SchoolSpeak will first match the override value against letter grade definition. If the value doesn’t match a letter grade, it will be interpreted as percentage.

The overridden value replaces the calculated value as the overall grade for the term. It is used in the gradebook reports such as the progress report and the analysis report. It is also passed to report cards.

Note: Overriding is suggested at the end of the term as final adjustment once all assignments are put in. The overridden value will stay until it is removed. If overridden in the middle of the term, subsequent assignments will not have an impact on the overall grade, unless the overriding is removed.

How to Enable/Disable Gradebook Override

• While in the Gradebook pages, click on Settings link at the top-right corner.
• Click and expand Configure this Gradebook section.
• Set Who can override this grade parameter to the desired option.
• Click Save button at the bottom of the page to record the change.

How to override a grade

• Click on Term Summary at the top of Gradebook pages.
• Enter the override value in the Override column as a letter grade or percentage.
• Click the Save button to save the changes.

Locating Grades that have an override

Gradebook view/edit pages display indicator ⁞ in red, black or green color in front of all overridden grades - red if the overridden value is less than the calculated value, green if the overridden value is more than the calculated value, and black if the overridden value is same as the calculated value. Moving the cursor over the overridden value shows the calculated value.

Final Notes

If you use override, consider tuning the contents of progress reports. If the progress report displays scores or percentages, parents may find that the overall grade doesn’t match the assignment scores. We suggest you override once all assignments for the term are put in, just in time for report card generation.