One of the most important parts of any course is keeping track of student grades. Without a clear picture of how each student is performing it can be hard to track their progress and decide what academic assistance may be needed. Many factors go into grading students from attendance to punctuality, individual assignments, and more. Sometimes this becomes overwhelming for school faculty.

The good news for professors is that there is some answer to their problems, at least when it comes to gradebook software. There are many programs available on the web, all offering different features that can help keep track of your student’s grades in an easy-to-use format.

Most Common Features of Gradebook Software

While there are many different features of online gradebook software, some are more common than others. Here are the five most common features to look out for!

#1: Self-Enrollment.

The first thing that usually comes to mind when talking about gradebook software is self-enrolling students and letting them log in on their own. One of the biggest problems that teachers run into is having to remember every student’s password or even worse enter it manually. A program like this can keep track of all that information in one place and it eliminates the risk of a student not being registered in the system.

#2: Self-Painting Grades.

Another common feature within gradebook software is self-painting grades. This allows students to enter their grades from tests, quizzes, homework assignments, and more on their own. This reduces the amount of time that teachers have to spend entering grades, which helps keep them more focused on teaching and less on paperwork.

#3: Easily Exportable Grades.

Along with being able to import grades easily, most programs are also capable of exporting them easily as well. Depending on what grade book you are using, the grades may be exported directly into a spreadsheet or another grading platform. In some cases, it can be used to send grades straight to parents.

#4: Customizable Reports.

Another feature to look for in gradebook software is customizable reports. This allows teachers to make changes and add fields within the program to make grading easier. This is especially helpful in cases where teachers want to report grades in a different format specific to their school or district.

#5: Different Grade Levels Within One Program.

Finally, gradebook software with different grade levels can be useful in some cases. For example, if you are teaching multiple classes, you could save time by having all the students in those classes within one program. This can make it easier to keep track of grades and ensure that students are on the right track as they move through different levels.

While there are many features to look for in grade book software, these five should be at the top of every teacher’s list!

How To Differentiate Between Good and Bad Gradebook Software

It is important to know the difference between good and bad gradebook software!

Good

Here are three signs of good gradebook software:

#1: It is affordable.

Gradebook software should not be overly expensive. While some programs come with more features than others, those should still be affordable for schools or universities.

#2: It is user-friendly.

Good gradebook software should be easy to use for both students and teachers. The easier it is to use, the less likely a teacher will avoid using the program and simply go back to paper and pencil!

#3: It has good customer service.

Good gradebook software should have good customer service in case something breaks down or gets corrupted. This is especially true when you are dealing with parent information. If something were to happen, it could be difficult or impossible to get that data back.

Bad

Here are three signs of bad gradebook software:

#1: It is too expensive.

If a program is incredibly costly, it may not be worth the investment for your school. That’s why it’s important to do your research and look around for different programs that can offer more features at a better price.

#2: It does not have good student/teacher portals.

If the gradebook program does not have a portal for teachers and students to use, it can make grading and classwork difficult. A teacher should be able to keep track of their grades as well as communicate with students easily.

#3: The software breaks down often.

It’s not uncommon for programs to crash, but it should not be happening daily. If the problem is big enough that it requires frequent repairs, then it can become very difficult to focus on anything else!

To find good gradebook software, be sure you look for these three traits: affordability, user-friendly, and few or no problems with the software itself. This will help you find the perfect fit for your school!

It is important to invest in good and affordable gradebook software for your teachers and your school. In addition, good gradebook software should have a user-friendly portal for teachers and students to use to stay organized and communicate with each other more easily. Your main goal should be to have the best gradebooks for your teachers and students. It’s also important to find gradebook software with few or no problems caused. Be sure to keep all this in mind when making the transition to using gradebook software!

SchoolCues is an all-in-one school management system for small schools with limited budgets and resources. Our solutions include admissions and enrollment, online payments, student information system, gradebook, communications, parent engagement, donations and fundraising, alumni management and more. Schedule a demo with usĀ today.