Assignment configuration & type

MySchool caters for many assessment types, and allows Administrators to create custom assessment builds for their schools. Some options can be set using subject management, so individual Teachers/Heads of School can control certain parameters for individual courses. The assignment configuration screen allows you to apply settings across your school system.

How to access

The configuration screens can be located in the Advanced options, under the Assignments menu feature. Look for Assignment Configuration and open the screen. 

Adapting your Assignments and Assessments

1. Grade average calculation method

You can decide how best to calculate your term average. We can provide you with help regarding these calculations, and show you the formulas used in the grade grid. The types are:

• Normalised either by term or over all terms, and averaged by or across assignment type
• Normalised Learning outcomes
• Sums either by term or over all terms, and averaged by or across assignment types.

The most common and the closest to a simple average calculation (mean) would be to use Normalises active term grade across assignment types. This will allow for changes in scale per assignment and represent the closes to the mean value. Sums are mostly used when the score (out of) is the same for ALL the assignments during the period. 

There is a new feature within subject management, if you choose the average of learning outcomes, a non weighted average is calculated and then shown as an achievement scale according to the nearest point in the scale.

2. Assignment categorisation

This allows Teachers to create a topic to be used in VLE resources or when creating assignments. It is a great way to organise you grade grid either by 'teaching topic' or even date format. Click on the link to apply the setting to your subjects.

3. Assignment Types

You can add your own via the Add Type link under the page slider, or change the default types. Be careful when changing the description of existing types if you already have used them on the system. This will change for all historic data as well. 

Set the description, and open the folder icon in the Subjects field to attach the assignment type to a subject. In the parameters, you can include the assignment type within the averages, and also set it as active meaning that Teachers can select it when creating assignments. If you wish for the assignment type to have a colour then please enter a  #hex code here. This will show on the marking grid.

4. Assignment Submission

When you have created your assignments, Teachers can enter a grade using the grade grid, or use the assessment tab of an assignment. These can be configured to suit your schools needs and assessment system.

Many schools use discussed in class, and do not include the grades in their overall term average. It allows Teachers to still keep track of scores and evidences, but will not apply to the term end average. 

Again please note that if you change the text label of an existing status this will change all historic data attached. 

5. Scales

MySchool allows you to create your own scales for use within the assignment reporting and grade reporting modules.  When creating an assignment, teachers choose from the scales applied to their subject. You can set a numeric scale (out of), or an achievement scale (Alpha numeric)

• Numeric scale

Enter a number in the maximum scale to restrict the maximum out of score possible. Over grading allows Teachers to enter grades above this if needed. Apply the grade to the subjects, and select it as the default scale if it si to be used most often.

• Achievement scale

Achievement scales can be used when using a formative or continuous assessment model. They can also be used for drop down assessment lists when building subject assessment reports and grids. (e.g. Behaviour, Attitude, or a simple Yes/No, Pass/Fail)

1. A short code is needed for each achievement scale. This cannot be amended once saved. if you wish to change the Short code, you must create a new scale.

2. The full label will appear on the Assignment grade grid, Assess grid, and assessment reports when selected. Be careful to not make the labels too long as this can affect how they render on report cards and mobile devices.

3. Points are needed if you wish to use the scale for continuous assessments and average by learning outcome. The points will be normalised in most of the averages used in MySchool, so choose a simple point system.

4. % High/Low are used with calculated scales. These can be assigned to a subject for assessment purposes to translate a numeric entry into a achievement scale. i.e. In the above example, the teacher can enter 85, and the system will show Exceeded objective based on the parameters in % High low fields. 

5. Choose a colour for the grade grid and reports. When using colours, try to research how they affect performance and interpretation. (Red = negative, Green = positive). Think about using lighter colours rather than pure primary colours. Don't forget to check the active box. You can also change the order by click/drag on the + icon at the end of the row.

6. Submission types

In Myschool students can submit completed homework and tasks either via attachments or within a set text box. These features are widely used in VLE resources. Choose here if you wish to make these options active or compulsory for assignments created within MySchool. Check out this article outlining this feature.

If you wish for the Assignment average to show as an achievement scale, then this is set on a subject level. Check out the subject management article, and enable this to show on the Assignment grade grid instead of a number.