PowerSchool Support


FAQ's

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FAQ's

1. Why am I getting an error when trying to save an assignment?  There may be two reasons: check to make sure the abbreviation field is not longer than 15 characters and check the name of your assignment, you can not have duplicate assignments with the exact same name.

2. How can I print a blank check-off list to record assignments on?  In your Gradebook click on the Reports icon. Select the first report, Attendance Grid. Check the No Dates box and select a number from the drop down menu that is less than 19. Now click Run Report. Then just print your sheet!

3. How do parents know when an assignment has been marked exempt, late, missing or collected? Each of these indicators show up online for parents and students next to the specific assignment.

4. Can we do the Grade Setup for all classes at once? At this time it must be done for each class.

5. Can we take attendance in seating chart mode? Not available at this time, but soon!

6. Are there pictures on the seating chart?  Yes as long as their picture was taken this year (2008).

7. How do we do extra credit? Two ideas: Make an extra credit assignment, Exempt all kids except for the students receiving extra credit and give the points. Second way- create extra credit assignment and give it 0 points for the value, then just give kids points who earned extra credit.

8. Can we just pull kids who are lower in grades (C and below)? This is a specialized report that we can put on the "Wish List" of things to be built during the year!

9. Types of absence codes-what do we see in the various screens?  In the PowerTeacher screen, when you click on the "chair" to take attendance you will just see A or T (absent or tardy).  When you go to the "backpack" and click on a student you will see the various Mead codes for why they were out.

10. Discipline Information-what do we see on PowerTeacher? You may recall the various icons that were next to the student picture when in the "backpack" mode (student information). The "scale" alert icon represents any discipline, however this is NOT a running tally of what they have had trouble with it is just a general awareness such as "Mark throws pencils when frustrated". The yellow triangle "alert" could be used for anything. This may be where a counselor would enter a concern that is effective right now.

11. IEP information- can we see it, if so when? This feature is being built and will show up on the Alert screen on your PowerTeacher home page.

12.  Can you print a group within a class? You can make sets/groups of various groups of kids in your class. You then can click on the group, go to the "Reports" screen and select Individual Student Report or Student Roster. Check the circle for "Student groups" and you have your list! 

13. Will past classes be loaded into PowerSchool Gradebook? No, past classes and assignments from Skyward can not be added to the PS Gradebook. We will be starting fresh!

14. Can the most current assignment be displayed first in the line up instead of last? We will recommend this to PowerSchool. In the meantime you can sort your Gradebook by “this week” under the Reporting Term drop down menu. Just remember to always put it back to the current term rather than selecting “All”.

15. Can numbers be added next to the kids' names? We will recommend this to PowerSchool.

16. What students can we see? You can see just the students in your current courses under each classes’ backpacks. If you use the new feature called “Student Data” you can see each student in your school for Schedules and Demographics.

17. Where do log entries by the teacher go?  Log Entries can be pulled up in a report by your School Administrators. All counselors can access log entries submitted by staff.

18. Can PowerSchool differentiate between block days and regular days for taking attendance?    No, and for state attendance reporting it is reported in minutes which is accounted for in the attendance section of both Skyward and PowerSchool.

19. End of semester class average % grades, so you can "see" where one class is compared to your others. With just a few simple clicks you can click the "Summary tab" on the "Scoresheet" view and see the mean, median and mode for that specific class then toggle to your other classes.

20. Will the gradebook be able to show both percentage and letter grades at the same time as you are inputting grades? YES! It is right in the gradebook next to the letter grade you just need to slide that window to be larger.

21. What is the default after I enter an assignment? When you enter an assignment fields are default as exempt (JUST LIKE SKYWARD).

22.  Is there a count of how many students are in my class in the Gradebook? There is a count of how many students are in your class at the top of the student list.

23. Can I access student information in the Gradebook? You can click on any student in the Gradebook and get their student information (phone number, etc) as well as any alerts. If you need to call the parent just click on the phone number and you can see it from almost across the room.  

24. If student is absent periods 1-5, will 6th period be auto/absent? Not unless the office has pre-marked the attendance for that student.

25. Is there flexibility in the gradebook to change an assignment score after that quarter or semester is over? This is determined by building.

26.  Can I change the name of a section in my gradebook? Yes, under preferences, click on the section tab and select use Display name. Then under your Class Info tab type in the desired name.  This does not apply to your attendance sections or what parents see online.

27. Why do I not get the green light after taking attendance? This is a problem PowerSchool has not been able to fix as of yet. It has to do with the amount of staff hitting the site at once.

28. Why do comments remain after I entered them for progress reports? Comments are different in PowerTeacher compared to Skyward in that if you enter comments they stay for the semester. They are more intended to be utilized at Final Grade reporting.
    

29. Can I mass delete or assign comments for students? At this time this feature is not available. It has been turned in as a request from our district.
    I used Manual Override during Progress Reports and now the student's grade has not changed, why? The Manual Override feature (right click on the student's grade and select "Score Inspector") is also intended for use to override the final grade. You need to uncheck the "override" box to allow for the remaining grades or assignments entered to begin to calculate. You can tell if you applied a Manual Override to a student because there will be a small red dot with an exclamation point in it next to their grade. Similarly you can tell if the student has a comment by a small "c" inside a blue circle.
    

30. How can I run a Multi-Section Report or Individual Report for just one student? This can really come in handy for a student that has been absent or if you have a parent conference and need just one student. First you create a student group and pull that one student into the group, then head to the Reports and choose "Selected Students and/or Groups" to create the report for the student(s) that you pulled into that group.
    

    • Launch Gradebook, click the Student's icon.

    • Now click the "+" button in the lower left hand of your screen.

    • Title the Set by double clicking the words.

    • Title your group. (For example, "Print Reports").

    • Now click and drag the student for which you would like to print the report for into the "group".

    • To delete a student from the group simply click the gray arrow directly in front of the name of your group or set.

    • Click on the Group name or student in the Student Group pane area.

    • Now click on the Report's icon. Select the report you would like to print.

    • On any report choose "Selected Students and/or Groups". This will just print reports for students in the group you created.

PowerSchool Technical Support

Gradebook Questions-Contact Kim Montecucco #6036
PowerSchool Questions-Contact Laura Cowart #6028
Student Login Difficulty-Please contact the Mead Help Desk at #7777