Online gradebooks are one of the most time-saving, convenient features offered by many schools. With so much data and information being recorded every day, it’s easy for teachers to forget or neglect informing parents about their student’s grades. It can be challenging for busy parents, especially those who work outside of the home, to stay up-to-date on their students’ progress. When this is the case, parents may feel disconnected from their child’s education. It is crucial to help parents stay involved.

Teacher-parent communication is an integral part of a student’s academic success. When teachers and parents have a line of communication open in both directions, it can help to create a sense of trust between them. In addition, when a parent is involved in their child’s education, teachers and parents can expect that their student will perform better in school.

When teachers make an effort to inform parents about their student’s progress, it can create a sense of trust. Students can feel more comfortable coming forward with any academic issues and learn from their teachers more effectively when this happens.

Online Grading Systems to Help Parents Stay Involved

Some teachers are still sending home notes written on paper or sticky notes for parents to view. While this can help parents stay up-to-date, it can also be very time-consuming and cause a lot of hassle for the teacher who has to go back through their grading book every day. Even with teachers who make an effort to send a weekly email, it can still be somewhat time-consuming because it takes extra planning.

Teachers using online gradebooks can upload their students’ grades into one single system from any device whenever they feel like grading. This means that parents will receive automated updates every time there is new information added. Parents can also log in to view their child’s grades, check to see if their child missed a test, or simply see the global progress of their student throughout the academic year.

Using online gradebooks instead of paper-based grading systems is very convenient for teachers because they no longer have to write out notes or send emails that may not meet their parents’ needs. The flexibility of online grading makes it easier to communicate with a broader range of families, which may lead to better academic performance in the classroom.

To make the online gradebook process as convenient and helpful for parents as possible, teachers should follow these steps:

  • Make sure that your school is equipped with an online gradebook
  • Keep a schedule to inform parents about their student’s grades weekly (or however often they would like to be updated)
  • Keep a dialogue open with parents by sending occasional emails or using classroom social media.
  • Include a summary of students’ grades as well as detailed information such as assignments, tests, and quizzes
  • Be sure to explain the grading scale your school uses
  • Use engaging language, and be sure not to skip over any questions
  • After the quarter or semester is finished, include a grade distribution chart so that parents can see how their child performed compared to other students.

By following these steps, teachers will provide parents with the information they need to stay involved. Along with that, students’ grades are likely to improve as a result of this parent-teacher communication.

When parents are informed about their child’s grades, they can better understand how much progress the student makes. Plus, by advising parents regularly, teachers give students an additional incentive to do well in school. When you help parents stay involved, their trust in you increases, and having an online gradebook increases parent and even student satisfaction. And when students do better academically, it can lead to them being more confident and ultimately achieving tremendous success in all areas of life.