This lesson will guide you through explaining the major differences of Illuminate Gradebooks. The purpose of this video is to give a better understanding of how Illuminate can support your grading practices. If you have any questions, please reach out to your Implementation Manager or District Illuminate Administrators. To review how to use Gradebooks, refer our help manual Gradebooks.
Use this as a guide to facilitate the training in a computer lab. Show the videos before users log in or view one video at at time for users to follow along.
Before You Get Started
- Grading Periods must be created prior to training.
- Gradebook permissions need to be enabled by a member of your Illuminate Admin Team to users using Gradebook. Please refer to your Illuminate Admin Team or Implementation Manager for permission details.
What's the Difference? Points-Based vs. Standards-Based Gradebooks
Before choosing to use Illuminate Gradebooks, it is important to understand the difference between a Points-Based and Standards-Based Gradebook. Such selection will assist in the grading practices and policies that your site and/or district agree upon.
Once a Gradebook is created, it cannot be changed. For example, if a Points-Based Gradebook is created it cannot be switched to a Standards-Based Gradebook at a later time.
Overview of a Points-Based Gradebook
Some highlights about the Illuminate Points-Based Gradebook:
- Most common or traditional Gradebook of choice where a point-based grade is given to each student, for each assignment
- Assignments can be linked to multiple standards
- Weighted descriptors or Categories can be aligned with assignments to give a weight or percentage of how the assignment contributes to the overall grade
- Tags or unweighted descriptors can be aligned with assignments for more efficient teacher organization
- Assignments are organized by date, name, and/or due date
- Grading Scale can be modified at the teacher or site level, controlling the display and calculation of the overall grade
- Assignments and/or overall Gradebook grades can be linked to Illuminate Report Cards
For more information, visit the Create, Modify, or Delete Points-Based Gradebooks lesson in our Gradebook Manual.
Overview of a Standards-Based Gradebook
Some highlights about the Illuminate Standards-Based Gradebook:
- Supports the practice of mastery-based or skills-based grading where students receive a set value of 1 through 4 based on level of mastery or skill
- Assignments are linked to a single standard
- Calculations are assigned to two areas: Overall Standard Score and Overall Gradebook Grade
- Tags or unweighted descriptors can be aligned with assignments for more efficient teacher organization
- Assignments can be organized by standard, date, name, or due date
For more information, visit the Create, Modify, or Delete Standards-Based Gradebooks lesson in our Gradebook Manual.
Additional Resources
Ready to being creating an Illuminate Gradebook? Check out U405 Getting Started with Points-Based Gradebook and U410 Getting Started with Standards-Based Gradebook.