Traditional Grading

In this guide, you will learn

• About Traditional grading
• How to create a grade record using traditional grading
• About scales and weights
• How to record student grades
• How to manage a student's final grade

What is Traditional Grading?

Spark’s Traditional Grading strategies allow you to assess student performance using percentages or points, traditional methods of grading.

• Traditional Percentage Grading – You enter a percentage score for each assignment. Spark calculates final averages based on these percentages and applies a customizable letter grade scale.
• Traditional Points Grading – You enter the number of points a student earned out of a total possible. Spark converts the total points earned into a percentage and applies the grading scale.

You can select either strategy when creating a Grade Record.

How to Create a Grade Record Using Traditional Grading

To create a Traditional Percentage grade record:

1. In the Gradebook, click + Add Grade Record.
2. In the New Grade Record modal:
   • Set Grading Strategy to Traditional %.
   • Choose whether this grade should be included in GPA calculations.
     • If yes, enter the credit hours. (This contributes to the student's Earned GPA, which factors in the assigned credit hours.)
   • Select the Traditional Scale to use. Spark provides example scales, or you can create a custom one.
   • Select the Category Weights to use. Spark provides example weights, or you can create custom.
   • Add other details, such as name, students, and instructor.
3. Click Create Traditional Record.

To create a Traditional Points grade record:

1. In the Gradebook, click + Add Grade Record.
2. In the New Grade Record modal:
   • Set Grading Strategy to Traditional Points.
   • Choose whether this grade should be included in GPA calculations.
     • If yes, enter the credit hours. (This contributes to the student's Earned GPA, which factors in the assigned credit hours.)
   • Select the Traditional Scale to use. Spark provides example scales, or you can create a custom one.
   • Add other details, such as name, students, and instructor.
3. Click Create Traditional Record.

Once created, you’ll land in the record, which has three tabs:

• Table View – Enter scores for students by learning objective.
• Student View – View and enter scores by student.
• Graded Items – Create or upload items (assignments) to score.

Scales & Weights

Spark provides built-in scales and weights for you to use. You can also create and manage custom scales and weights on the Scales & Weights page.

Grade Scales

Grade Scales define the range of scores teachers can assign and how those scores convert into letter grades.

• Create or select a scale when setting up a grade record, or add one later.
• Customize grade thresholds (e.g., A = 90–100%, B = 80–89%, etc.).
• Reuse your custom scales across multiple grade records and classes.

Assignment Weight Categories

When using traditional percent-based grading, you can organize assignments by category (e.g., tests, quizzes, homework) and assign weights to each. This allows different types of assignments to carry different levels of importance in the final grade calculation.

Note: traditional points-based grading does not use weights, as the total number of points for each assignment automatically weighs each assignment.

Examples:

Math Class

• Tests: 60%
• Homework: 20%
• Quizzes: 10%
• Class Participation: 10%

English Class

• Essays: 40%
• Reading Quizzes: 30%
• Class Discussions: 20%
• Homework: 10%

You can set up weight categories when creating or editing a Grade Record.

Recording Student Grades

You can record grades in two ways: on an assignment submission, or directly in the grade record.

Grading an Assignment Submission

If you’ve created assignments in the Student Planner, you can grade their submissions directly:

1. Find the assignment and open.
2. Go to the Submissions & Grades tab.
3. Click + Select Grade Record.
4. Choose the correct Gradebook and Grade Record from the dropdowns.
5. Create a new graded item or select from an item already entered in the grade record.
6. Select the weight category if applicable.
7. Next to each student, enter the score (percentage or points) and click the checkmark to save.

The grade will automatically appear in the selected Grade Record.

Entering Grades in the Grade Record

You can also enter grades directly into a Grade Record:

1. Click into the Grade Record.
2. In the Table View tab, click the + to add a new graded item, or go to the Graded Items tab and click + Add Graded Item.
3. Name the graded item and save.
4. Enter each student’s score next to their name in the table view, or add the score in the Student View.

This is ideal for grading activities not linked to the assignment calendar.

Managing Final Grades

Spark automatically calculates final grades based on the scores and weights entered; however, final grades can be manually entered if desired.

How Final Grades Are Calculated

Spark calculates final grades differently depending on the grading strategy you choose: percentage-based or points-based.

Traditional Percentage Grading

When using percentage grading, Spark calculates final grades using a weighted average of assignment categories:

• Assignments are grouped into categories (such as Tests, Homework, etc.).
• Each category is assigned a weight that reflects its importance in the final grade.
• Spark averages the scores within each category and applies the weights to determine the final grade.

This method gives you control over how much each type of assignment contributes to a student’s overall grade.

Traditional Points Grading

In points-based grading, each assignment has a point value, and Spark calculates the student’s grade based on the total points earned divided by the total points possible.

• No separate weighting is applied.
• The point values themselves determine the weight of each assignment.
• Larger assignments automatically carry more weight in the final grade.

This approach makes it easy to grade assignments of varying importance without setting up separate weight categories.

Viewing Final Grades

In a Grade Record:

• Go to the Student View tab and select the student at the top.
• Their current average will appear in the Final Grade section.

In a Gradebook:

• Click on a student's name in the Student dropdown to see their overall grades across grade records.
• You can also view credits and GPA recorded below.

Spark’s GPA calculation exclusively uses Earned GPA, which incorporates the number of credit hours a class is worth into its calculation. Spark no longer supports 'Simple GPA' or 'Weighted GPA' as separate calculation types.

Customizing a Student's Final Grade

You can manually override Spark’s calculated final grade if needed:

1. Click into the relevant Grade Record.
2. In the Table View tab, click on the score in the Results column, or to to the Student View tab, select the student, and go to the Final Results section.
3. In the Calculation Type dropdown, select Manual.
4. Enter the result, letter score, credits, and GPA.
5. Click Save.

This is helpful for incorporating factors like extra credit, teacher judgment, or special circumstances.