Report Card Field Groups and Fields are what users see in the entry screen to know what data needs to be entered for the students. Fields are specifically tied to student data which can be from a variety of data sources such as Manual Entry, Gradebook, Assessments, or even Custom Reports. If fields are the same across grade levels, you are able to use them and not have to recreate them. If there are minor differences, you can also duplicate and edit/refine them as needed.
It is highly recommended to take your time during this part of setup due to the sensitive nature. This will be the most sensitive and careful part of the Elementary Report Card building process. Give yourself plenty of time. If you need some guidance feel free to contact Support or your Customer Success Manager at any time.
Field Group and Fields Overview
Report cards are comprised of field groups, which are comprised of fields.
- Each field group should have 5-10 fields for maximum system performance.
- One example of a field group and its fields is a composite score and the associated clusters/standards.
- Another example of a field group and its fields is a personal/social growth group with effort categories.
Where to Start
- Click Grades.
- Under Report Card Administration, select Field Groups.
- Click Manage Fields for the desired Field Group.
- Select Add Field.
Create a Field
- Select Field Group List to return to the previous screen.
- Name your Field.
Field Types indicate how data is entered or populated. Depending on the Field Type, there may be additional settings and configurations in order for data to be display on the Report Card as needed.
If there is EVER a possibility you might use Illuminate's GradeBook you MUST use the field type Assessment or Gradebook Score.
There are three families of Field Types:
Manual Entry, where the user manually enters data:
- Whole Number: whole number value
- Decimal Number: any decimal mark or value
- Text for limited: characters, one word, one line entries one or more letters, numbers or characters
- Date: to be entered in the format of mm/dd/yyyy
- Boolean: for a Yes/No/True/False value option
- Free-entry Comments: is most common for Report Card comments which allow for hundreds of characters
Predefined or Custom Manual Entry is where a previous setup piece has been completed and users will be given a drop-down or menu or choices available to enter in the field:
- Predefined Value, marks that come from the predefined value sets you created
- Predefined Comment, provides users with a drop down list of comments you have previously entered through Code Management
Automatically Populated is where data comes from another source or place in Illuminate and is populated automatically on the report card for the student when applicable:
- Custom Report Value, will populate any value from a previously created custom report
- Assessment or Gradebook Score, where data has been linked to an assessment or teacher's gradebook
- Assessment Field, where data is tied to a specific field or area of an assessment's data such as "mastery" or "performance level"
For more information on each of the field types, visit the Report Card Field Type Guide.
Each field has options of how it works on the user's entry screen as well as how the data saves, prints, and publishes.
Is this a field that the teacher is Required (1) to enter a mark?
- If selected, the field will be marked with an asterisk and must be completed for the report card to publish and print.
- Keep in mind if a field is marked required and data is pulled from Custom Reports, Gradebooks or Assessments, this may not want to be an option selected because of the chance there is no data for a student.
In the entry page, is this field one that the will Show On Entry Screen (2) meaning can the user see the field and data, when available?
- Some fields have data populating from a different data sources like a custom report where no entry or editing by the user is necessary.
- Data and field will NOT show on the user's entry screen but if data is available for the student, will print on the report card
- For example, when pulling attendance information from a custom report, it may not be necessary to show on the user's entry screen.
Does the teacher have the ability to change the grade or is Overwritable By Teachers (3)?
- This means any data present can be edited or changed by the user and any changes are noted or recorded for reference.
- In the entry screen, the user will see the original value if available, and given the ability to change it based on the value set or scale setup and assigned.
- For example, when linking from Gradebooks, this would allow users to edit the overall mark that displays in the entry screen.
Do you want this field to auto-populate or automatically display a Default Value to Previous Grading Period (4)?
- This will keep the same value for this field that you used in the previous grading period.
- Typically, this is a great option for behavior or effort grades, to show the previous value given to the student as a default, then the user is able to edit and revise for the current grading period
- This would NOT be recommended for field types such as Custom Report, Assessment or Gradebook score.
Do you want this field to Allow Printing of Current Value Only (7) where it allows the user to print the fields current value from any grading period or term in a single space on a Report Card template?
- This is best selected for a field type that is NOT manual entry but from a linked Gradebook, Custom Report or Assessment.
- The above example displays at any point of the year, a user can apply Special Education Services to a student when applicable.
- Another example is a field titled 'EL Level'. If this value was pulled from a custom report and in trimester 1 the report indicated a student was categorized as EL and in trimester 2 the same student was categorized as RFEP. Setting this box to yes would update the student's value appropriately to RFEP for the EL Level in trimester2.
Once you have completed the field's settings, you have some available next steps:
- Select Save to save your progress and stay within this field.
- Select Save & Add Field to save and continue adding a new field, which will refresh this page and allows you to continue adding additional fields.
- Select Save & Copy will allow you to copy this field up to up to 10 times with one click! This is a great tool for fields that are the same field type.
- Select Cancel to stop any changes and work will be unsaved.
- You can always review and be reminded of the Field Group the field is part of in the breadcrumbs at the top of the page.
- By selecting Field Group List you can go back to review the list of Field Groups in the Overview page.
- To see and review the fields within the Field Group only (as opposed to returning to the list), select Manage Fields.
Next Steps
Now that Field Groups and Fields have been created, you are ready to start Mapping and Laying out the Report Card!