Module:
Tyler SIS My Classes
Topic:
Teacher Tasks
Teacher Attendance and Grade Book
Tyler SIS | Version 10.4
Table of Contents
OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
PREREQUISITES .................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
PROCEDURES ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
ACCESSING TYLER SIS ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
TYLER SIS LAYOUT AND NAVIGATION ................................................................................................................................................................ 4
PERSONALIZING TYLER SIS HOME PAGE WORKSPACE ................................................................................................................................... 4
MY SIS FAVORITES ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
GRADE BOOK ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
MY CLASSES PORTAL ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5
ADOPT/COPY GRADE BOOK INFORMATION ............................................................................................................................ 6
DESTINATION GRADE BOOK ................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
SOURCE GRADE BOOK ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
GRADE BOOK OPTION ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 7
PREFERENCES...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
STUDENT INFORMATION DISPLAY SETTINGS..................................................................................................................................................... 8
ASSIGNMENT/CATEGORY CONFIGURATION ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
GRADE CALCULATION ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 9
SCORES CONFIGURATIONS ........................................................................................................................................................... 10
AUTO SAVE.............................................................................................................................................................................................................10
COMMENT CONFIGURATION ...............................................................................................................................................................................10
.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................10
PARENT PORTAL CONFIGURATION ....................................................................................................................................................................11
PREFERENCE CONFIGURATION ...........................................................................................................................................................................11
CATEGORIES....................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
CREATE A NEW CATEGORY ..................................................................................................................................................................................11
COPY A CATEGORY ................................................................................................................................................................................................12
ASSIGNMENTS ................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
ADD AN ASSIGNMENT...........................................................................................................................................................................................13
DELETE OR EDIT AN ASSIGNMENT.....................................................................................................................................................................15
GRADES ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
GRADE ENTRY .......................................................................................................................................................................................................16
EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS ............................................................................................................................................................................17
STANDARDS-BASED GRADING ............................................................................................................................................................................17
CHANGING THE GRADE BOOK APPEARANCE ....................................................................................................................................................18
ADDITIONAL DISPLAY OPTIONS .........................................................................................................................................................................19
GRADE BOOK DETAILED VIEW SCREEN OPTIONS...........................................................................................................................................19
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THE GRADE BOOK ACTIONS MENU ...................................................................................................................................................................20
STUDENT OPTIONS ...............................................................................................................................................................................................21
ALERTS COLUMN ON THE GRADES TAB ............................................................................................................................................................22
ASSIGNMENT OPTIONS ON THE GRADES TAB ..................................................................................................................................................22
FORMULAS..............................................................................................................................................................................................................23
GRADE CALCULATIONS ........................................................................................................................................................................................23
ALERTS TAB ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
DEFINING AN ALERT ............................................................................................................................................................................................24
GRADE REPORTING ......................................................................................................................................................................... 25
POST GRADES TO GRADE REPORTING ...............................................................................................................................................................25
POST GRADES TO ACADEMIC HISTORY .............................................................................................................................................................27
TYLER SIS GRADE BOOK QUICK REFERENCE SHEET ........................................................................................................... 28
BASIC TASKS ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................28
SETUP......................................................................................................................................................................................................................28
GRADE MAINTENANCE.........................................................................................................................................................................................28
REPORT CARD ACTIVITIES ..................................................................................................................................................................................29
CALCULATIONS ......................................................................................................................................................................................................29
SUBMIT STUDENT ATTENDANCE ............................................................................................................................................... 30
LIST VIEW ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................30
SEATING CHART VIEW .........................................................................................................................................................................................31
GRADING PERIOD VIEW .......................................................................................................................................................................................31
STUDENT PICTURE VIEW.....................................................................................................................................................................................32
SEARCH STUDENT ATTENDANCE .......................................................................................................................................................................33
TAKING ATTENDANCE FROM THE MY CLASSES WEB PART ..........................................................................................................................34
TAKING PERFECT ATTENDANCE FROM THE MY CLASSES WEB PART.........................................................................................................34
TEACHER COMMENT GROUPS ..................................................................................................................................................... 35
ADD NEW COMMENT GROUP..............................................................................................................................................................................35
DELETE COMMENT GROUP .................................................................................................................................................................................35
EDIT COMMENT GROUP .......................................................................................................................................................................................35
TEACHER COMMENTS LIBRARY.................................................................................................................................................. 35
REPORTS ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 37
MY STUDENTS ................................................................................................................................................................................... 38
ACCESS TO MY STUDENTS VIA THE MY CLASSES PORTAL .............................................................................................................................38
ACCESS VIA THE MY STUDENTS PORTAL..........................................................................................................................................................38
MY REFERRALS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 38
ADD A DISCIPLINE REFERRAL.............................................................................................................................................................................38
ADD STUDENTS TO THE EVENT ..........................................................................................................................................................................39
SEARCH, EDIT, VIEW AND DELETE DISCIPLINE REFERRALS .........................................................................................................................40
HEALTH OFFICE REFERRALS ..............................................................................................................................................................................40
ADD NEW HEALTH OFFICE REFERRAL .............................................................................................................................................................40
SEARCH, EDIT, VIEW AND DELETE HEALTH OFFICE REFERRALS ................................................................................................................41
Overview
Teachers generate most of the important information used to process student achievement and attendance
records. Understanding how to correctly perform these functions in Tyler SIS will ensure complete and accurate
records.
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Prerequisites
Teachers must have access to the My Classes portal and should have access to the My Students portal as well.
Classes must be created and populated with students and assigned to teachers. Grading scales and grading types
must be assigned to classes before they can be used for grade book operations. Teachers should receive hands-on
training in the use of these functions.
Procedures
Accessing Tyler SIS
1. Open an Internet browser. Use Internet
Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, other browsers are
not fully compatible
2. A Tyler SIS manager will provide a web address
for accessing Tyler SIS. The live data address will
end with the word Live, designating the Live Data
database. A Tyler SIS manager may provide a
second Web address for use in training. Do not
confuse this address with the address pointing to the live data
Enter the district’s Tyler SIS Web address here: __________________________________________
3. The first time a user logs in; the user will be prompted to change his or her password. Enter the temporary
password that was provided as the Current Password. Then, enter the new password once in each of the
remaining cells
4. Click Submit to change the password and to access Tyler SIS
Note that the Password is case sensitive; the Username is not.
Should a user forget either the
username or password in the future,
contact the Tyler SIS Manager who
can reset them manually
Some school districts will permit
Tyler SIS users to manage their
passwords. This is available in User
Settings > Add User Specific
Settings
5. Once the correct Username and Password have been entered, click Login or press the Enter key. The
program will refresh to the Home Page
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Tyler SIS Layout and Navigation
1. To access the Home Page from anywhere in Tyler SIS at any
time by clicking the Home icon
2. Tyler SIS is grouped into logical menus called Portals. The home
page displays a navigation tree menu on the left side of the screen.
Each bar represents a group of menu items. These are accessed by
clicking the plus icon to the side of a portal header to open the group or
the minus sign to close the portal
3. Clicking a menu link provides access to options and data appropriate to
the selection. Only those portals and menu options assigned to a user by
the Tyler SIS Manager will be accessible. These assignments are based on job and role. If access is needed
for another portal, contact the Tyler SIS manager for assistance
4. Use the School Year and School dropdown menus to
select values of each if a user has access to more than one.
Doing so automatically redirects to the data stored for
those years and/or schools
5. Establish a default School and School Year in User Settings
 Add User Specific Settings if it is accessible
Personalizing Tyler SIS Home Page Workspace
The home page has the following web parts that are available for customization of the body of the home page:
Announcements, Classes at My School, My Classes, My Messages, Search Students, My Links, Schools Today, Events
Calendar, My Students, My SIS Favorites, My Teams, and Teams at My School. Depending on the school or district,
some of these web parts may not be activated for the users.
1. Arrange the portals on the Home Page by clicking on the portal and dragging and dropping the portal into
the desired location
2. To add more portals, click on the Available Web Parts drop down box and
select the desired portal options. If another portal is needed and there is not
an option to select it in the Available Web Parts section, contact the Tyler SIS
director within the district for assistance
3. On the left hand side of the Home Page is the portal Tree. Within the
Tree, the portals are arranged alphabetically
a. If a search is performed in the Tree menu on the New Home
Screen, the program highlights all words that match the search
b. To open a Tree option, click on the plus sign next to the portal
to enlarge the portal options and select the option under that
portal to access it
c. To close a Tree option, click on the minus sign next to the portal and the Tree will adjust
4. If the district has enabled the Slide menu, then there will be a Home tab on the left slide of any screen other
than the Home Page. Click the Home tab to display all portals. Hover the mouse over a portal to view and
click on the available menu items without having to return to the Home Page
My SIS Favorites
My SIS Favorites allows each user to select multiple portals and up to three options
within each portal as shortcuts. The user can quickly move to any of these options
from within a Tyler SIS program by clicking the Quick Links link and clicking on an
option.
1. Choose User Settings  My SIS Favorites to select the options to use for this
tool
2. Click the plus sign next to a portal name to display all of the choices within
that portal
3. Choose up to three options within a portal by clicking the checkbox next to
each choice and up to three portals. These can be changed at any time
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4. Click Submit to enter the choices
5. Log out and back in for the changes to take effect
6. This sample screen displays where My SIS Favorites fly out is
located on the screen and how it will appear when selected it.
Click a link to select that menu option
Grade Book
Tyler SIS provides two options for the main Grades screen. The Classic Grade Book screen displays numerous
features which are immediately accessible via icons which appear on the screen itself. The Grade Book screen
provides the same functionality but condenses and hides most of the icons to allow the display of more students
and assignment data. Nearly all other grade book functions are identical for both grade books. This document
details the Grade Book display. If the district has selected to use the Classic Grade Book, then refer to the
documentation for that grade book. The determination of which grade book style will be used on a campus is made
by the Tyler SIS administrator in the School Policies portal.
My Classes Portal
My Classes is the primary Tyler SIS portal for teachers. My Classes focuses on
the two contributions teachers make to the Tyler SIS database, student grades
and attendance. To select an option, click it once.
1. To access the My Classes, follow one of the following steps:
a. From the Home Page, open the My Classes portal in the tree
menu and select Add Student Grades to gain access to all classes
assigned to the teacher.
b. From the Home Page, on the My Classes web part and click on the
Course Title to open grade book for that class. To access the My
Classes tab from here, click on the My Classes tab on the top left
of the screen
2. Click on the Edit pencil icon to Update Grading Scale. These classes have been assigned a
Grading Type (structure) and a Grading Scale with the numeric or alpha grade values that will be utilized
on the report card. Create categories and assignments to provide a place for grades to reside and to
calculate grades
3. The Status column displays a red circle if any assignment is past due for grade entry, yellow if grade entry
is due on the current date or green if no assignments are currently due
4. To open an individual class’s grade book, click the underlined name for the class in the Course Title
column
5. The Course Info icon can be clicked to create a nickname for a class or add an attachment if desired
6. Active Enroll indicates the number of students currently assigned to each class
7. Class Meets provides information on those time frames for each class
8. Term allows for filtering classes that are active in the selected term only to reduce the number of classes
that display
9. The Assignment Scores Added/Updated column displays the dates for the most recent updates. Before
any grades have been submitted, this field will be blank
10. The Last Grade Posted to AH column displays the last marking period that were posted to academic
history. Before any marking periods have been posted, this field will be blank. If the grade book is in an
un-posted state, this column will display the last slot posted, however, it will be displayed in bold red text
and when hovering over the text, this message The grade book needs to be posted to Academic History
will be displayed. If the program is not able to determine the last posted slot when the grade book is in an
un-posted state, Un-posted State in bold red text will be displayed in this column and when hovering over
the text a message The grade book needs to be posted to Academic History will be displayed
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Note: The options in the Actions menu are specific to the screen that is displaying. While data is always saved by
clicking Submit, a number of additional functions are found in the Actions menu. Always check this menu when
encountering a new page to see the options available.
11. The Actions menu contains several options:
a. Merge Sections for Grade Reporting purposes only
b. Split Sections for Grade Reporting purposes only. The splitting option only appears once classes
are merged
c. If the school or district are using Standards Based Grading, teachers can Copy Standards Based
Grading from the Actions menu on the My Classes tab
d. An option to Save Settings is also provided on the Actions menu to preserve any sorting or filtering
choices made
12. Hide Sections with No Enrolled Students can be checked to further reduce the list of courses
13. Select the Term from the drop down list to narrow the list of courses displaying
14. Select the School from the drop down box to display courses taught at a different school
15. The tabs along the top of the screen will be enabled once a class is selected
16. Additional teachers can be associated with a course with privileges ranging from viewing to managing
grade and attendance data. Contact the Grade Book manager to set up this scenario
Adopt/Copy Grade Book Information
The process of setting up a grade book into categories and customizing it with teacher preferences can be done in
three different ways:
1. Manually create categories and set preferences
2. Inherit categories and preferences from a grade book template set up for the school,
department, or grade level
3. Copy data from one of the current or previous grade book. From the My Classes tab, select
the icon for a selected class in the Adopt/Copy Grade Book Information column
Destination Grade Book
1. Select All Grading Periods and the program will copy all Categories
and assignments from the source grade book into all grading periods
2. By selecting Selected Grading Periods the program copies the
categories and assignments from the source grade book into a
selected grading period. Then choose the Grading Period from the
drop down box
Source Grade Book
1. Check the box Clear Grade Book’s Existing Assignments and Categories and the program the program
deletes the assignments and categories in the destination grade book when it copies information from the
source grade book. The user must select this check box if there are assignments and categories in the
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
destination grading periods in order to copy categories and assignments. The user cannot do this if there is
an existing grade for the grading period in academic history
Check the box Overwrite Grade Book’s Preferences and the program overwrites the grade book
preferences in the destination class. The user cannot select this check box if there is an existing grade for
this section in academic history. It is recommended that this option be run prior to the start of school and
that both checkboxes be checked rather than trying to blend existing data with the data to be copied.
Select one of the options for Assignment Date Options
Select Leave Assignment Dates empty if they do not fall between the grading period start and end
dates and the program leaves the assignment Assign and Due dates blank if they do not fall within the
grading period start and end dates
Select Set the Assignment Dates to the first day in the grading period if they do not fall between the grading
period start and end dates and the program sets the assignment Assign and Due dates to the grading period
start date if they do not fall within the grading period start and end dates
Select Copy Categories and the program copies the categories from the source grade book to the
destination grade book
Select Copy Assignments and the program copies the assignments from the source grade book to the
destination grade book. Only select this check box if the Copy Categories check box is also checked
Select Copy Preferences and the program copies the preferences from the source grade book to the
destination grade book
Grade Book Option
Select one Grade Book Option:
1. Select One of My Grade Books and the program copies the categories, assignments, and preferences from
one of the classes. Select the Academic Year, Course, and the Grading Period from the drop down lists.
The Grading Period list only displays the grading periods that are valid for the section selected in the
Course list
2. Select District Grade Book and the program copies the categories, assignments, and preferences from a
district grade book. Select a grade book from the District Grade Book list. This list displays the active
district grade books that qualify for this class (such as classes with a matching subject area, department,
and course type)
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Preferences
The Preferences tab covers all of a teacher’s classes with options for the appearance and behavior of the Grade
Book. This section covers those options and provides explanations and recommendations. These should be set up
first, even though it is the last tab in the Grade Book. Be sure to click Submit following any entries or changes to
any of these values.
Student Information Display Settings
1. Select the Display Options to determine which data elements will appear in the student data column and
the order of those elements. <Last Name>, <First Name> is the default display for all teachers
2. To review other possible fields, click the dropdown menu next to the Add Clear links
3. Then click Add to have them appear in the Display Options
4. Be sure to include spaces between fields added
5. To start over, click Clear
6. Then, add fields in the order and insert punctuation as needed in the form of commas, hyphens,
parentheses, spaces, etc.
7. Only Display Active Students
defaults to Yes. Check No to see all
students. Remember that even if Yes
is checked here, the Show Inactive
Students checkbox on the Grades
screen can override that choice
8. Display Future Students gives the
option to see students who are
currently scheduled to enroll in the
class at a future date during the school year such as mid-term
Assignment/Category Configuration
1. This series of options controls the details and order of categories and assignments. Display Category
contains two controls, Category Name and Weight %. Checking these enables a row at the top of the
Assignments columns to identify the category data associated with the assignments
2. Display Assignment by the Short Name (default) or Long Name. Short Name is recommended since the
length of the assignment name, regardless of which option is selected, primarily determines the width of
the column for the assignment. The longer the name, the wider the column
3. Date provides options for the display of the date to display from the drop down list
4. Select Possible Points and the program will display the possible points for grade books that are using
them
5. Select Weight %, Mean, Median and Range and the program will display those options on the grade book
grid
6. Assignment Sort Options provides a dropdown list of ways the assignments
can be sequenced. The inset to the right displays the five ways that can be
used individually or collectively provide the desired order
7. If a sort order is present, click Clear to remove it
8. Then, click on an option from the dropdown menu so that it displays in the
selection window
9. Click Add
10. Repeat for any other sorting levels desired. Assignments will sort in the order that multiple fields are
selected
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11. Show Assignments to choose from All, Most Recent, and Oldest in conjunction with a number (not
needed with the All option). Select the Most Recent option as to avoid scrolling to find an assignment.
Switch back to All as needed for review
12. Default Assignment Due Dates to the Date the Assignment is Created will code the Due Date of the
Assignment to be the same as the creation date if checked and the user can alter the date as needed when
creating it
13. Prompt User if Assigning Score Greater Than Possible Points is recommended. Even though it may be
a nuisance when entering true scores with bonus points that exceed the Possible Points, it also catches
inadvertent grade entries and brings attention to them. If this is grayed out, the Grade Book Administrator
has disabled the ability to exceed possible points in School Policies
Grade Calculation
If all options are grayed out, then these decisions are a School Policy made by the school or district. If it is enabled,
these are the options:
1. Select Assignment Rounding to Allow entry of ___ decimal places, if any, to display on assignment
grades. Zero is recommended
2. Grading Period/Course Work Rounding and Semester/Term/Final Grade Rounding each offer three
options for dealing with any decimals at the respective grading levels:
3. Round Down to the Nearest Whole Number regardless of the decimal value
4. Round Up to the Nearest Whole Number regardless of the decimal value
5. Round Scores to __ Decimal Places (5 round up) reflects traditional rounding behavior in which decimal
values of .5 and higher round to the next highest whole number while decimal values below .5 are dropped.
This is the recommended option
6. Final Grade Calculations also offers three options for determining the final grade:
7. Weighted Calculation are the Category and Assignment Weights, and are the traditional method of
generating an average in which weighted category and/or assignment values are considered
8. Point Calculation are based on Total Points Only in which total points earned are divided into total points
possible. Assignments are typically organized into a single category with the point values of the
assignments used as a weighting factor. In each of the Point calculation options choose whether the
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semester averages are determined by the school through a formula or by the total points earned divided by
the total points possible across all marking periods
9. Combination are the Weighted Categories with Assignment Points provides for the point calculations as
above but within weighted categories
Scores Configurations
Turn Off Letter Grades controls the parenthetical display of a numeric or letter
grade equivalent of a grade value on the Grades screen. Checking this cleans up the
Grade Book screen and does not affect final grade calculations. Leave it unchecked
to view both grade types
Auto Save
1. Auto Save in __ Minutes is recommended, typically at a relatively low
value such as 10 minutes. This protects the data that has been entered but
not submitted so that after ten minutes of inactivity, the data is
automatically saved
2. Auto Save on Time Out is also recommended in the event that prior to
auto save is inadvertently set longer than the timeout built into Tyler SIS, typically 20 minutes
Comment Configuration
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1. Show Description and Show Code both pertain to the option to display Comments in a short form (Code)
or long form (Description). Codes are sufficiently descriptive, using them is preferred due to space
limitations on the Comments screen. However, by positioning the cursor on a long description to view the
entire comment
2. Select the Use My District Comment and the program will all the comments setup at the district level
3. Use All District Comments to select from the pool of District Comments only those that are appropriate
for the subject area and/or grade level. Click on one or more district comments (hold the Control key
down to select multiple, non-adjacent comments) and click the Add Selected Items link to add them to the
My District Comments window. During Comment entry only the selected comments will appear as
options
Parent Portal Configuration
Select the Default Setting for the ‘Publish to Parent Portal’ Checkbox When Creating New Assignments is Yes
when checked and No when unchecked. The
default setting can be manually changed if
desired on individual assignments
Preference Configuration
Grade Book Preferences May Be Different for Each of My Classes when checked gives the option to customize
these preferences by section. For example, if one section is being graded on a point basis rather than the
traditional average basis, this would allow the
user to make that distinction
Categories
The Categories & Assignments screen allows the user to create categories and assignments for the grade book.
Create these before entering grades. Each class must have at least one category. When you use a single category,
you can adjust the value of selected assignments by adjusting assignment weight and/or possible points. When you
use multiple categories, the value of each assignment is impacted by the value of the category to which it is
assigned, the number of assignments in the category, and the potential to assign weights or point values to
different assignments within a category. Categories are broad groupings of assignments such as exams, homework,
class work, or quizzes. Create at least one category. Categories allow users to group assignments together and
calculate final grades.
Create a new category
1. From the Categories & Assignments tab, hover over the Actions menu and select the Add/Edit Category
option
2. Select a Grading Period from the drop down box
Note: The red asterisk * next to field labels indicates an entry is required in that field. This characteristic is
standard throughout Tyler SIS data entry screens. Fields that do not have a red asterisk are optional fields not
requiring data entry.
3. Check the box Create Categories in all Grading Periods and the program will create the new category for
all grading periods
4. Hover over the Select Courses and select the courses for the Category to be added to
a. Use the checkbox at the top to select All classes
b. Check them individually as is appropriate
5. Enter a Category Name in the text box
6. Enter a Category Weight in the text box
a. Tyler SIS handles category weights whose sum does not equal 100% by calculating an Adjusted
Weight %. However, it is recommended to simplify the grading system for students and parents by
having the weights total 100%
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7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
b. If a category is unused in Tyler SIS, it is not included in final grade calculations. However, its weight
is removed from the total. The weights of the remaining categories are then factored relative to one
another and expressed as an Adjusted Weight %. For example, a class has three categories: Daily at
50%, Tests at 30%, and Project at 20%. If the Project category has no graded assignment in it, then
the remaining categories contribute to the final grade at these rates: Daily becomes 62.5% (50% of
the 80% total) and Tests becomes 37.5% (30% of the 80% total)
Select a Category Color for that category by either entering the color in the text box or by selecting the
color from the color wheel icon, doing so will cause the header portion of all assignments added to the
category to adopt the selected color. This makes identifying assignments by category easier. Medium to
dark background colors are preferred for ease in reading any displayed text
Check the box Automatically drop the low score from the category and the program will drop the
lowest score without being prompted to do so by the teacher. Then enter the number of assignment to
drop in the Drop ____ lowest score(s) text box. These can initially be left empty and enable them at the
end of the marking period as an automatic boost to students’ averages
If this category is the one mostly used by the teacher, then select the box for Make this the default
category for new assignments
Defaults for Assignments:
a. Enter the total number of Possible Points in the text box. In classes where grade averaging is used,
this value should normally be 100. If the teacher is grading using a point scheme, choose the value
for it or leave it blank. In either case, the teacher will be able to change the value from the default
as needed
b. Enter the Default Grade for the assignments; the teacher can change the exceptions for students
who did not receive the default grade. This option should usually be left blank. Exceptions to this
rule might include classes where students typically receive the maximum points on assignments.
Doing this will create a grade entry automatically. These grades are not used in grade calculations
until the assignment is opened for editing. Even if no changes are made, click Submit, the grades
will be used in the final grade calculations
Click Submit to save the changes. Create other categories in this manner if needed
Copy a Category
1. From the Categories & Assignments tab, hover over the
Actions menu and select the Copy Category option
2. Select the Assignment Categories to copy to other
marking periods in the selected class
3. Select the Grading Periods to copy the categories
4. Click Submit
5. Click Close to complete the copy function
When multiple categories are added, the Summary Grid will look like this:
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A user can use the same Actions menu option Add/Edit Categories to make changes after they are created. Some
of these changes will not take effect until after logging out of Tyler SIS. If a user added an assignment to the wrong
category; the user will be able to change categories on the assignment itself. Tyler SIS will recalculate category and
final averages after clicking Submit to process the changes.
A user cannot delete a category with an assignment in it. The icon in the Remove column grays out when this is
true. First, move the assignment to a different category and then remove the original category. Then adjust the
Weights of the remaining categories to equal 100% even though the Adjusted Weight % will automatically
recalculate its values. It will be much easier to explain to students and parents.
Assignments
Assignments are graded tasks that fall within a category. For example, a U.S. History Test is an assignment that falls
within the Test category.
Add an Assignment
The typical way to add a new assignment is to select the Category and Assignment tab. This window opens in the
Add/Edit Assignments mode. Once an assignment is entered, they will appear in a grid at the bottom of the
screen. Edit or remove those assignments from this same screen by clicking on the corresponding icons, as well as
add new ones.
1. The Grading Period defaults to the one in which the current date falls. This is normally correct. However,
if needed to enter an assignment for a different marking period, use the dropdown menu to select the
correct grading period
2. Select the Category with which the assignment will be associated. The screen will refresh and display the
classes which share that Category, Marking Period, and Grading Type. Copy the assignment to those
courses if desired
3. The Long Name will appear on reports and in the Parent and Student Portals if the school uses those
features. Spell out the assignment names completely and carefully up to a maximum of 50 characters.
4. The Short Name appears at the top of the column in the Grade Book. A 12-character maximum means
often it will need to be abbreviated
5. If the class has been set up as standards-based, select the Standard to be addressed by the assignment.
Click the icon to the right of the field to do this and select the standards from this screen. Otherwise, leave
this field empty
6. Assign Date is required and defaults with the current date. Adjust that date as needed by either typing the
date in the text boxes or by using the calendar icon
7. Due Date is an optional field which can be turned on or off as a required field in the Preferences tab. If
either date is not within the date range defined for the marking period, the user will be alerted when
attempting to submit the assignment
8. Possible Points and Assignment Weight are usually entered by default. Change them only if one or both
of the values of the assignment are required
a. Possible Points would be likely to be changed if a teacher is using a point method to determine the
final grade. By changing the point value of an assignment, define its importance to the final grade
relative to other assignments’ point values
Note: Never enter a value for Possible Points that includes bonus points. If the ability to award grades in excess of
the Possible Points value, then the Grade Book Manager has enabled this for the teacher. However, setting the
assignment point value plus the bonus points as the Possible Points value negates the effect of the bonus points.
b. The Assignment Weight field is grayed out if points-based grading system is used. Assignment Weight
would be available for change by someone using the Weighted Calculation method of determining the
final grade. In this scenario all assignments typically have the same point value. Relative importance is
determined by adjusting the weight up or down from the 100% default value. This is the traditional
method of adjusting assignment value in determining a final grade
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9. Default Grade should be left blank in most cases. It creates grades once the assignment is submitted. The
problem is that those grades do not figure into the average unless the assignment is opened for grade entry
and then submitted. When this is done and submitted the assignment appears on the Grade Book screen
with the default grade already entered. This grade does not calculate into the final grade average until the
assignment is opened and submitted. Once that is done, even if no changes are made to the grades, it
becomes part of the final grade calculations
10. Number of Questions is an alternative method of calculating the grade for each student. Select this option,
and it becomes available for grade entry on the assignment on the Grade Book screen. Using this option
will determine the values entered in the Grade Book. Choosing the CQ or NCQ options will allow the user to
enter the number of correct or incorrect answers respectively and will let Tyler SIS calculate the average
automatically
11. The Description is an optional field. Entering information here makes it available on the Parent Portal as
an elaboration of the assignment’s contents or instructions
12. Retakes is an optional dropdown box of the number (from 1 to 5) of the possible amount of retakes. This
can be changed as needed as a teacher goes through a re-teach/re-test cycle, but it is typically 1
Note: When Retakes is enabled, following the entry of the first grades, enter another set
of grades on the same assignment. In the Grade Book right click on the assignment
header and choose the Retake the Grades option.
A new window appears for the grade entry. Enter and Submit the next set of grades first.
Then, choose from the Actions menu one of the following options for choosing
the final grade to display and use in the Grade Book:
4. Post Average of Retakes
1. Post Minimum of Retakes
2. Post Maximum of Retakes
3. Post Recent of Retakes (the most recent)
The Posted grade result will display on the Grade Book screen.
The School Policy shown below must be checked in order to include the
original grade in the calculations.
This is set by the district’s Tyler SIS
Manager.
13. Recurrence is used together to replicate an assignment that repeats periodically such as a weekly spelling
test. Using this option can dramatically reduce the time needed to create such assignments. Check the Yes
radio button to activate the recurring assignment choices. Then use the dropdown menu to choose from
Daily, Monthly, or a selected Day of the week. Choose Until or For in the second window. Until allows the
user to enter a date while For lets the user set a number of weeks the assignment will repeat. Enter a Date
or Number in the last window
14. Assignment can be posted to Grade Reporting should not be
checked unless the assignment is to appear on the report card. This is rarely done
15. Click on Student Subgroup to Add Specific Students to the assignment. Select the student from the
Student Subgroup window that opens and click Submit
16. Select Exclude assignment from calculation and the porgram will not use this assignment when
calculating the final grade
17. Publish to Parent Portal provides control as to whether and when an assignment and any associated
grade information will be accessible to parents via the Parent Portal. The default for this setting is on the
Preference tab and the exceptions can be changed from this screen
18. The Attachments allows the user to associate a document or media file with the grade book entry. It is
made available to parents on the Parent Portal with an additional permission
a. Use the Browse button to locate the attachment and add it to the assignment
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b.
Parents will be able to view the attachment from the Parent Portal, by selecting the Allow Parent
to View checkbox
19. The Courses text box gives the option to copy the assignment to other courses. To select a single course,
click on it. To select all courses, click the top course listed, then hold the Shift key down and click the last
course. To select multiple, non-contiguous courses, click on each course and press the Control key. Only
courses originally associated with the category when it was added will be visible
20. Click Submit to save the entry and return to the Grade Book screen. However, to add more assignments, go
instead to the Actions menu prior to clicking Submit and click the Save and Add More option. This will
preserve the current assignment in the grid below and clear the screen for the addition of a new
assignment
Delete or Edit an Assignment
1. To delete an assignment at any time by choosing the Category and Assignment tab. Scroll to the lower
part of the window, locate the assignment to clear and click the circled red X in the Remove column.
Confirm this action by clicking OK, and the assignment will be deleted
2. To edit an assignment, click the pencil icon in the Edit column to review and/or edit an assignment. This
edit mode also can be accessed directly from the Grade Book screen by clicking the same pencil icon next to
an assignment’s name
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Note: The zero Adjusted Weight % of the US Map assignment above, since no grades have yet been entered for
this assignment, it does not affect the average, hence, the zero value until grades are entered. Also note that once
an assignment has been opened for grade entry, the Adjusted Weight % will be enabled even if no grades are
entered.
Grades
The Grades tab is the primary screen in the outcome based grade book and displays course information, student
names, and student grades.
Grade Entry
1. Once categories and assignments have
been created, enter grades into the Grade
Book. Access this by first selecting the
class from the My Classes tab, and then
select the Grades tab
2. To access an assignment for grade entry,
click in any student’s grade cell for that assignment. To ensure consistency between the order of the
graded papers and the order of the students listed on the screen. Students are listed alphabetically by
default but can be rearranged
3. Type a grade, and press either the Enter key to move to the next student down or the Tab key to continue
entering grades across for the same student. This is similar to how an Excel spreadsheet works. If the
grade is a valid entry in the grading scale assigned to the class, the cursor will move to the next cell.
Continue this process until all students have grades have been entered. The entered grade and any
calculated grade affected by the grade will be highlighted in yellow pending grade submission
4. Right click the on the assignment and select Mass Grading of Assignment to easily edit or enter all of the
grades for multiple students
5. Click Submit to save the grades. The grades will no longer be in yellow indicating that they have been
saved
6. A few unusual grading events are worth discussing:
a. If a student was absent for an assignment, there are two options
i. Leave the grading slot empty, Tyler SIS disregards the missing grade once the user clicks Submit.
ii. Enter one of the grades listed in the Grade Override Codes dropdown menu available for
assignments. Override Grades can be defined to excuse the missing grade for the student and
exclude it from final grade calculations or to auto-calculate a zero. These also serve to remind the
teacher of missing assignments. This grade may be left to impact the average permanently or
replaced later with an actual grade
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b.
When a student earns bonus points on an assignment which causes the grade to exceed the Possible
Points. The Grade Book Manager must have previously set a School Policy which permits grades to
exceed the Possible Points for an assignment. If this is not permitted, then the user will not be able to
exceed the Possible Points on any assignment. There will be a warning that the grade exceeds the
Possible Points. This warning is enabled or disabled in the Preferences tab in the Warnings section.
Disregard the warning when certain that the value is accurate. Possible Points should never include
bonus points
7. The final method of grade entry involves setting a default grade on the assignment when it was created or
by editing it
Extra Credit Assignments
The practice of increasing a student’s final average can be handled through the creation of an extra credit
assignment. This assignment looks like a normal assignment when created with one exception.
1. Set a Default Grade for the assignment using one of the Exempt Override Grade values. This readily
identifies the assignment as extra credit
2. The value to assign to the assignment when using an average-based grading strategy depends on (1) the
number of assignments in the category to which will be added to the extra credit and (2) the degree of
bounce the average. On a points grading system, set the possible points to a typical value based on the
range of possible points that are normally enter
3. Enter grades for those students who attempt the assignment
4. Enter an earned grade in excess of the possible points up to a number that is typically a 25-50% increase
in excess of the possible points. For a 100 possible point assignment, that might be a grade of 150. For a 10
point assignment that would be a grade of 15
5. Experiment with extra credit assignments and observe the impact of the extra points on the student’s final
average. Since extra credit assignments typically occur at the end of a marking period among many other
assignments, the impact on the total points possible and total points earned tends to be minimal.
Therefore, explore these values to achieve the bump desired as opposed to a shove in the average
6. Teachers who use either of the points-based grading calculations can use an options in the Actions menu
and select the Add/Edit Student Extra Credit option to add points to the total points in a category. This is
normally done at the end of the marking period to push a student’s average up slightly
Standards-Based Grading
The concept of Standards-Based Grading brings about a
couple of changes in the way grading is done. In order to
apply this approach, standards, sub-standards, and
benchmarks must have been created or uploaded in Tyler
SIS. These are associated with grade levels and subject
areas so that the appropriate set is assigned to each class.
This will all be done at a school or district level. Once that
occurs, the first noticeable change happens when and if
assignments are to be added. This is a brief overview of
Standards Based Grading, for more information on
Standards Based Grading; see the documentation titled
“Grading – Standard Grade Book.”
1. Clicking the icon to the right of the Standards
window in the Add Assignments tab opens the
standards list assigned to the class
2. Click on the appropriate benchmark that the lesson
addresses to link it to the skill desired
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3. To bypass the entry of assignments and go straight to the entry of student success from the Grades tab be
changing the View drop down box to Standard Based Grading
4. Enter values appropriate for the standards scale assigned to the classes. These are typically in the form of
Meets Expectations or Exceeds Expectations, and these values are case sensitive
5. Click on a student’s grade cell in the column where to enter student performance
6. Mass add one of these values using the empty cell at the top of the grade column
7. To enter or change values individually as needed. Position the cursor over a grade cell, a list of the possible
grading options appears
8. By clicking the black arrow next to a student’s name allows for grading all assignment associated with that
student
9. Following all entries, click Submit to preserve the entries
Changing the Grade Book Appearance
Access to the numerous screen functions and options is found through right clicking various parts of the screen
and clicking on icons.
1. To streamline the appearance of the Grade Book is to select the default
setting of Class Summary in the View drop down box. This includes
the Grading Mode row to mass assign a grade. However, the benefit to this view is the extra screen space
acquired. This can reduce or eliminate scrolling for students at the bottom of the display. Choose this
option for grade entry for that one reason
2. To increase screen space is to press the F11 key. This hides the browser’s menus until pressed again and
opens up more vertical space
3. To have the Class Summary view to appear as the initial view when the Grade Book opens, choose the
Save Settings option on the Actions menu. Switch to another view at any time regardless of the default
view selection
4. Modify the Detailed View by individually choosing to hide or display any of the following rows or columns:
5. The LFIGNSX row is used to set the sort criteria for displaying the students. Use these singly or in
combination to arrange the student list
6. Any letter pointing down indicates it is being used to sort students. The display of the values represented
by these letters is controlled in the Preferences tab
7. The letters represent:
i. L
Student’s Last Name
ii. F
Student’s First Name
iii. I
Student’s ID Number
iv. G
Student’s Grade Level
v. N
Student’s Number (created by the teacher, not the student ID)
vi. S
Student’s Sex
vii. X
Click this to clear an existing sort sequence
8. Even though the position of the letters does not change, Tyler SIS sorts in the order in which the multiple
letters have been selected. For example, click S, L, and F to sort students by sex, last name, and first name.
Choosing a different order would result in a different sequencing of the students
9. It is not necessary to see a field value in order to use it for sorting. Displaying the field values is controlled
in the Preferences tab
10. Assigned Date and Due Date allows for organization of assignments by one or the other date. A
Preferences setting can disable the Due Date if desired
11. Possible Points displays this value for each assignment. Calculating the final grade by using the Points
system, displaying Possible Points makes sense
12. Grading Mode will display, click in a grade cell to begin grade entry
13. The Attendance column shows days present and absent in the class for each student. Click on the P or the
A to list the dates when the student was present or absent
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14. The Total column displays the total points earned value for the student. This would be useful for teachers
using the Points system for calculating the final grade
15. Mean displays the average grade for each assignment
16. Median displays the midpoint grade for each assignment
17. Final displays the current final average. It updates automatically as new grades
are entered and Submitted
18. Click the Lock icon to make the column also visible when scrolling
19. Click the Revert edited final score to system calculated score icon if the original score has been edited
but needs to be reverted to the original score
20. Click the Final Grade
Calculation
Summary icon to
view the final grades
for the class
Additional Display Options
To access these options, change the View to Class Summary.
1. The double arrows are used to expand the size of the grade book window. Click multiple times on an
arrow to move the window in the direction of the arrows. After making these adjustments, then on the
Actions menu, select Save Settings, to save these changes
2. Grading Period can be changed from the dropdown menu to enter assignments or review grades from
different marking periods. Tyler SIS automatically changes the Grading Period based on the current date
and date range for each marking period
3. Default also should be saved whenever it is changed. Four options are available here, two for traditional
alpha or numeric grades and two for standards-based grading
a. Detailed initially displays all rows and columns
b. Summary initially hides all rows and columns except for assignment names
c. Standards Summary displays each student’s average
d. Standard Based Grading displays the standards details for each student
4. Grade Override Codes displays a dropdown with all of the grades that can be used to replace a typical
student grade on an assignment. These codes are used to identify incomplete assignment grades, excused
assignments, late assignments, and others. The Tyler SIS Grade Reporting administrator can supply the
codes and under what which circumstances each should be used
5. Show Inactive Students displays grade data for any student who has withdrawn from the class
6. Use the Show Inactive Students option in the Preferences tab to create the default display value. Use this
flag to override that choice
7. Edit All Grades enables all assignment and final grade columns for entry or editing
8. Show Future Enrollee
shows students
scheduled for later
entry into the class
Grade Book
Detailed View
Screen Options
From the Grades tab, select Detailed from the View drop down box.
1. Class allows the user to choose a different class without having to leave this screen
2. Post is to be selected at the end of a marking period. Select the grades to be posted and post them to Grade
Reporting. From there, add Comments, Behavior grades such as citizenship, and course exam grades
before posting to Academic History
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3. Grading Period always opens to the current marking period. Use the dropdown menu to select a different
marking period
4. View, as noted earlier, should be left on the Detailed option in order to retain this grade book screen
appearance
5. Category can be used to limit the assignments that display to a selected category or to all categories
6. The Drop Lowest Scores of This Category icon opens a window to choose to either do what the
title says or undo a prior dropping of the lowest grade
7. The Quick Add Assignment icon opens a window described in the preceding topic for adding a
new assignment without having to go to the Categories and Assignments tab
8. The Additional Display Options icon opens a menu of options for determining several screen
behaviors
a. Include in the Student Column to choose whether to display or hide Inactive Students,
those who have withdrawn from this class, or Future Students, those who will be a part of
the class on a future date
b. Hide the Following Columns to determine whether to display the Attendance column, previously
described, a Total Points column, and Mean, Median, and Final grade columns for each student
c. Lock Gradebook at This Column will keep all columns from the selected column to the leftmost
column visible when the assignments portion of the screen must be scrolled to view all assignments
d. Number of Assignments to Display provides the options for All assignments or the value selected
in the Preferences settings
The Grade Book Actions Menu
The Actions menu from the any View on the Grades tab has several functions:
1. Save Settings should be used to preserve any of the
screen adjustments previously described
2. Student Contact List displays the primary contact and
his/her phone number for each student. This can be
printed as well
3. Add/Edit Student Extra Credit to provide extra credit
for student’s final scores
4. Add/Edit Categories provides access to category
maintenance options
5. Add/Edit Assignments provided access to the
assignment maintenance options
6. Add Grading Period Comments provides access to
this marking period’s report card comment option
7. Add/Edit Student Nick Names allows the teacher to
create nick names for students in those situations
where needed. These can then become a part of the
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8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
student information display that is set up in the Preferences tab
Add/Edit Student Numbers can be used for any numeric data. However, the most common uses are
assigning student’s seat numbers, seating chart or using it for book numbers. If it is to be used for seat
numbers, use a two digit number where the first digit represents the row and the second the seat on the
row. Display this information and sort by it if desired
View Grading Scales/Grade Override Codes displays all of the possible grades that can be used for
assignments in the class including Exempt Grades
Create Student List allows the teacher to create a group of students
Color It or Remove Color activates the Alerts that had been previously set up by coloring the cells that
meet the alert criteria or removing the color for those cells
Teacher Profile for Parent Portal allows the teacher to create a profile about his or herself that can be
viewed on the parent portal. There should be some standards set up at the school or district level that the
teachers should follow when creating the profile
Class Profile for Parent Portal allows the teacher to create a profile about the class that the parents can
view on the portal. This can include objectives, expectations and a syllabus
Announcements for Class/Section allow the teacher to send announcements when an assignment is due
or when there has been a change in the class or section
Student Options
Two icons next to a student name offer four options regarding students.
1. Click the right-facing, black arrow to display the selected student’s grades and hide all
other student grades. Click it again to restore all grades, then click the arrow for a
different student to display that student’s grades
2. Click the Student specific actions icon to open the four options
shown:
a. Go to My Students opens the My Students screen for access to
information on the selected student. See a later topic in this
manual regarding this portal
b. Import Grades from Another
Section is activated if the school
policy allows. Teachers can obtain
grades from another section that the
student was previously enrolled in to
the section that they transferred to
c. View Student Assessment Details
opens a summary screen to review
the student’s assignment grades
easily, or enter Internal Notes. Click
Submit if any changes have been
made
d. View Parent Portal Pages allows
the teacher access to the parent
portal for student. There are certain
items associated with this new option:
i.
The teacher must be assigned to a role in which the privilege for this option is selected for the
School Teacher permission
ii.
When this option is selected from the Student specific actions menu, it will open the parent
portal pages that the primary contact has access to for that student. If the student does not
have a primary contact, the program will remain on the Grades tab
iii.
If the primary contact of the student does not have access to parent portal, a message The
primary contact for this student does not have access to parent portal. will be displayed
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iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
If the student does not have a primary contact, a message This student does not have a
primary contact, therefore you cannot access parent portal pages for this student. will be
displayed
If the primary parent has access to any update pages, the teacher will only be able to view those
pages
The teacher will only view the parent portal information related to the selected student. They
will not see other students the contact has access to
Click on the link Return to Previous User at the top of the parent portal windows and the
program returns to the Grades tab for the selected course for the teacher
Alerts Column on the Grades Tab
The Alerts column on the Grades tab gives the teacher some basic information
about the student without needing to navigate to the My Students page. The
school or district must activate these alerts for the teachers to see them on the
Grades tab. Some of the Alerts available are health alerts indicated by the red
cross icon and programs and services associated with the student indicated by a
letter in a red circle icon. Hover over the icon to view more information on alert.
For more specific information, navigate to My Students screen.
Assignment Options on the Grades Tab
Right clicking on any assignment header opens the menu shown to the right.
1. Sort arranges the student list according to the assignment grade in
Ascending or Descending order
2. Mass Grading of Assignment opens a window to enter a single grade
for assignment to all students or perform one of several calculations to
enter or change grades
3. Edit Assignment moves to the Categories and Assignments tab to edit
the selected assignment. Make any corrections or additions, click
Submit to save changes
4. Unpublish Assignment to Parent Portal removes the selected assignment from the Parent Portal
5. Add Assignment Comments to one or more students that are specific to the selected assignment. These
comments are visible on the Parent Portal, make sure to keep all comments accurate and professional.
Comments can be up to 1000 characters
6. View Graphs displays a simple bar graph of the grades on the selected assignment. This can be printed as
well
7. Show Only This Assignment hides all other assignments temporarily
8. Quick Add an Assignment provides an option to quickly add a new assignment without navigaing to the
Categories & Assignments tab. Only the required information is avaialbe on this screen
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Formulas
1. Open an assignment or final grade for grade entry or editing, hover over the Grading Mode cell displays this
formula window
2. Formula +- [Value] would cause all of the grade values for the column to be uniformly increased or
decreased by a percentage of the average,
maximum, or minimum grade value on the
assignment
3. Copy/Paste is the typical use of this window.
Enter a value and click outside of the cell to enter
that value for all student grades on that
assignment. Change any exceptions
4. Replace changes one value to a second value
using the format ## rw ##. For example, B rw A
changes B’s to A’s while 78 rw 88 changes 78’s to
88’s
5. Conditional Replace can be effectively used in districts where there is a minimum grade for report cards
other than zero. Some schools that use numeric grades have a policy to post no grade lower than 50. If that
is the case, teachers can enter, preferably at the end of the marking period, the following formula: <50 rw
50. This will cause any grade below 50 to be reported as a 50. This function is supplemented by an
optional School Policy that can establish minimum and maximum grades
Grade Calculations
Here is an example which explains how Tyler SIS calculates grades:
Vocabulary Exam .................. 100
Oral Exam.................................... 90
Grammar Exam ......................... 84
Grammar Homework ............. 84
Vocabulary Homework ......... 80
Dialog Homework.................... 80
Project ...................................... 100
Project 2.................................... 100
Categories are: (1) Exams [50% weight], (2) Homework [25% weight], and (3) Project [25% weight].
To calculate grade manually, first add each category assignment grade then times that by the weight of the
category. Add each total to get the final grade.
Exams total ............. 274 (100 + 90 + 84)
The average of this ........... 91.33333333
Times the average by the category weight (50%) = 45.66666666
Homework total ...... 244 (84 + 80 + 80)
The average of this ........... 81.33333333
Times the average by the category weight (25%) = 20.33333333
Project total................... 200 (100 + 100)
The average of this ............................... 100
Times the average by the category weight (25%) = 25.0
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Now add these totals together:
45.66666666 + 20.33333333 + 25.0 = 90.99999999
.........................................Final Grade = 91.0
These calculations can appear to be more complex when point values and/or weights vary dramatically, but the
process is the same.
Alerts Tab
The Alerts tab provides the teacher the ability to automate notifications concerning poor or excellent student
performance. Once these are created, any or all of the following groups can be notified electronically as soon as a
triggering grade event occurs: the teacher, the student’s parents, the school administrator, or the student’s
primary counselor. Use of these alerts is completely optional. However, timely notice may prevent long term
injury to a student’s ability to succeed.
Defining an Alert
1. A new alert begins by selecting any combination or none of the four groups will be notified in the event an
alert is triggered. Check the box to notify Teacher, Parent, School Administator, or the Primary
Councelor; and combination can be selected
2. Enter an Alert Name that is a descriptive name
3. Choose to have the alert look for Assignment Grades or Category Averages. Have the option to choose
selected or all assignments by selecting the option from the drop down box. The ALL option on
assignments would apply to every assignment. This might be a good alert for a teacher but would
overwhelm any other alert group
4. The Alert Boundaries identify the numeric grade range that would trigger an alert. If the final grade is an
alpha grade rather than numeric, it converts the alpha grade to its numeric equivalent to determine
whether an alert should be triggered. Enter the From and To range
5. Select a Background Color and Text Color for the alert by wither typing the color name in the text box or
by selecting it from the color wheel. Select a combination that will stand out from the normal black and
white grade color combination. Avoid using the color yellow because on the Grades tab, unsubmitted
grades appear in yellow until submitted
6. Click Submit to complete the alert
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7. In order for a teacher alert to be activated, select the Color it option from the Actions menu on the Grades
tab. Once this is done, any grade which meets the criteria entered will adopt the color combination
selected
8. There is the option to leave these alerts enabled all the time or to turn them on and off periodically. To
disable alerts, choose the Remove Color option from the Actions menu again
9. To set additional alerts, perhaps one for students whose grades are not failing but are in the concern area
from 60 to 70. Color this one with an orange background and dark text
to indicate this state
10. For the alert to notify another group or groups, associate the alert with
an e-mail message and identify the groups to include in that message.
Add one or more groups in the Alert To
checkboxes. Then, in the Alert Note
window, select an existing Alert Note
by checking the radio button next to its
name. Click the Edit icon to edit the
selected Alert Note, or click Add New to
create a new note
11. Provide an Alert Name to begin. Enter
the body of the email message in the
space below the icons. Use the icons to
provide special formatting to parts of
the message if desired. Use one of the
fields available in the Alert Data
Salutation area, by clicking the value to
add it to the message
12. To include one or more personal pronouns, surround the pronoun with the arrows < > as shown above.
Tyler SIS will then adjust the pronoun to the appropriate gender-specific pronoun based on the gender of
the student
13. When the message is complete, click Submit and then Close. When the alert is triggered by Grade Book
entries, the checked persons will be notified with the associated email automatically within the Tyler SIS
email function. Be judicious in the use of the notification emails
Grade Reporting
Teacher involvement in Grade Reporting, the generation of report card and Academic History grade data, is
relatively simple. It involves, at most, three actions for preparing the data for submission.
Post Grades to Grade Reporting
Once assignment grades are complete, review the final grade averages on the Grades tab. To override a final grade
for one or more students, do this on the Grades tab before posting grades. This ensures consistency between the
Grade Book grades and the posted grades on the Grade Reporting tab.
1. Click the Post Grades icon on the Grades tab
2. Click those radio buttons as directed by the Grade
Book Administrator. Select only those buttons
necessary for the current marking period
3. Click Submit
4. A message will appear stating that the grades have
been successfully posted to Grade Reporting but
they will still need to be posted to Academic
History. Click Close to return to the Grade Book screen
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5. Click the Grade Reporting tab to continue processing the report card data
6. The entry of Comments is optional. to enter
comments, click the Comments icon. Comments
serves two purposes. It is the storage container for
any Teacher or District Comments. Also type
custom comments in this area regardless of any of
the predefined comments
7. Enter comments on a student in three ways:
8. Teacher Comments are created by the teacher in
the My Classes - Teacher Comments menu option.
This is a very efficient way to quickly provide information to supplement the grade data. Click the icon just
above the Teacher Comments heading to see the full listing of the comments. To add the comments, click
on the comment and it will appear in the Comments to Assign window. Hit the Space bar when adding
multiple comments. This window holds up to 1500 characters and the limit is set up by the school policy.
100 Characters is acceptable for reports cards
9. District Comments are available to all teachers. They will typically include most of the standard
comments appropriate across a wide range of classes and grade levels. Click the icon above the District
Comments heading to see the complete list of comments. To add the comments, click on the comment and
it will appear in the Comments to Assign window. Hit the Space bar when adding multiple comments.
This window holds up to 300 characters. 100 Characters is acceptable for reports cards
10. The Assign Comments to All Students window to select a comment to add to each student. Click the
Revert icon to the right of the Comments field to clear any comments inadvertently entered. Use the
Delete key to remove selected entries
11. Click Submit to save the comments
12. Click Cancel to navigate back to the Grade Reporting tab
13. If behavior or conduct are also being graded, an Assign Behavioral Marks icon
appears at the top of the grade column. Click it to access the behaviors that are
being monitored. Enter values from the Behavior Scales for each student
14. Position the mouse over the empty cell for a Behavior to display the Behavior
Marks available for that Behavior. These are set by the Tyler SIS Grade Book
Administrator
15. Enter a Behavior Mark in the empty cell. Click outside that cell to populate all
students with that mark. Change any exceptions. Do this for each Behavior
16. Behavior Marks are case sensitive and Tyler SIS will highlight the cell red when an incorrect marks has
been entered in cell
17. Click Submit to record the entries
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18. Click Close to naviage back to the Grade Reporitng tab
19. To exempt all students from a particular grade, such as an exam, select an Override Code from the list and
then click the black down-facing arrow at the top of the grade column to be
exempted
20. Changes to any Final grade on this screen will have a red ! next to it to indicate that the grade has been
changed and will not match the grades on the Grades tab or any manual calculations of the the work done
for the marking period
21. Select the Class from the drop down list or navigate to another class
22. Select the Grading type from the drop down list
23. Select the check box to Show Inactive Students
24. Select the checkbox to Show Future Enrollees
Post Grades to Academic History
1. To complete grade entry, in the Actions menu select Save Changes and the Grades, Comments, or Behavior
data have been added or altered will be maintained
2. From the Actions menu, select Post to Academic History
3. Once posted to Academic History, this message will appear. It alerts the user to click Save Changes if any
edits are made after posting to Academic History and to Post to Academic History again to update those
changes. This is very important so that the grade book and Academic History are consistent
4. From the Actions menu, select Final Grades to view and edit these
calculated grades at the end of a course
5. From the Actions menu, select View Grading Scales/Grade
Override Codes to display the possible grades and minimum
grade values for this class
6. From the Actions menu, select View Grade Posting History to
show the first and latest dates and times the grades were posted to
Academic History
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Tyler SIS Grade Book Quick Reference Sheet
Basic Tasks
Access Grade Book – Click My
Classes Portal and the Add Student
Grades option
Access a Class – Click the Course
Title link or Course Info link
(Nickname) if created
Add a Course Nickname – Click the
icon for the class in the Course Info
column
Setup
Create a Category – Click the
Category & Assignment tab, then
click the Actions - Add/Edit
Categories option on the Grades
screen
 At least one category must exist
 If multiple categories are used,
have the weights equal 100%
 Associate the category with
other Classes
 Usually set Possible Points to
100
 Color coding extends to any
assignments added to the
category
 Copy to other classes (Select
Courses dropdown) before
clicking Submit and other
Marking Periods (Actions menu
Copy Category option) after
clicking Submit as needed. Do
this for each class.
Create an Assignment - Click the
Category & Assignment tab
 Use descriptive Long Names for
reports and the Parent Portal
and a maximum of 12
characters for the Short Name
used in the Grade Book
 All fields with a red asterisk
must be completed
 Most assignments will have 100
Possible Points and an
Assignment Weight of 100%.
Adjust one of these to increase
or decrease an assignment’s
value relative to others in the
category. If grading by points,
adjust the possible points
accordingly
 Use Number of Questions
calculate a grade based on
number right or wrong
 Use Recurrence for repeating
assignments such as weekly
tests
 Retakes gives the option to
average or select grades if an
assignment is to be graded
multiple times
 The Actions menu option Copy
Assignments can be used to
duplicate an assignment to
other classes and/or marking
periods
Grade Maintenance
Grade Book Display – Choose from
the following options to adjust the
look of the grade book screen:
 Use the + and – options next to
various rows and columns to
reduce or expand grade-related
data
 Use the Default window
dropdown to choose between
simple and complex screen
views
 Use the Preferences tab to select
student data order and screen
display
 Click the arrow by student or
the student’s name to limit
displayed records to the
selected student
 Click either icon a second time
to display all records
 Click the Edit icon by a student
name to edit any of his/her
grades
 Click the double-headed arrows
to expand the grade book
screen
 Click Actions - Save Settings to
preserve changes
 Blank grades initially do not
have an effect on the average
 Once an assignment is opened, if
left blank, it does not affect the
average
 Use an Exempt grade (defined
in the Exempt window) to
exclude a missing grade from
the average
 Manually changing a calculated
grade makes a red asterisk
appear beside it noting the
override
 A grade entered by the grade
book manager will cause a face
icon to appear
 Mass enter a grade on an
assignment by clicking the
assignment’s Grading Mode cell
and entering a grade; change
any exceptions
 A cell with a gray background
indicates that the grade is the
lowest grade in a category
where one or more lowest
grades are being dropped
 Use Preferences to hide or
display the alpha or numeric
equivalent of a grade
 Inactive students will display a
red asterisk next to their names
 The Actions item “Color” will
invoke any teacher alerts
created on the Alerts tab to
display or not to display
Grade Entries and Changes – Enter
or change grades according to these
rules
 Click a grade cell for an
assignment to begin entering
grades; press Enter to move
down the column
 Click Submit to save the entries
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Report Card Activities
Post Grades to Grade Reporting –
To post the Final Grade for a
marking period:
 Click the icon with the rightfacing arrow in the Final Grade
column
 Select one or more report card
grades for posting as instructed
by the Grade Book
Administrator. Click Submit
and Close
 Click the Grade Reporting tab to
access the posted Final Grades
 Click the document icon to
access Teacher, District, and
free-form Comments to add to
the report card
 Click a pre-defined comment
once to add it to the Comment
area. Enter spaces between
multiple comments. Type a
custom comment in addition to
or in place of predefined
comments
 To report Behavior categories
such as citizenship, click the
icon to the left of the grade
name and mark them
accordingly
 Use the down-facing arrow to
exempt an entire grading
column. This is rarely used and
then typically only on a
semester exam that is not
applicable
 Click Actions > Save Changes to
finalize the submission, then
click Post to Academic History
 To make corrections and repost grades, usually for several
days after the initial posting by
repeating these steps
Calculations
Calculating a Final Grade – Use the
average option, the Final Average
for a grading period is determined
by this formula:
 (The sum of the grades in a
category) / (the sum of the
possible points in a category) X
the Adjusted Weight of the
category X 100) PLUS the same
calculations for each additional
category. If any category does
not have any assignments, it is
excluded from the calculations
 The Possible Points of
assignments added without
grades being added are not
initially included in calculations
When using points option, the Final
Average for a grading period is
determined by this formula:
 ((Sum of the earned points in a
category) / (the sum of the
possible points in the category)
X 100) PLUS the same
calculations for each additional
category
 When reporting alpha grades
but use numeric assignment
grades, that average is
compared to a Grading Scale
and converted to the grade that
corresponds to the grade range
in which the calculated grade
falls
 To report alpha grades for
assignments in the grade book,
those alpha grades are
converted internally to a point
value. All point values are
added together and an average
is calculated based on either the
averaging method or the point
method as identified in the
Preferences tab. That average is
then reconverted to an alpha
grade based on values entered
on the Grading Scale assigned to
the class




using the Actions > Add/Edit
Student Extra Credit option
When entering grades, enter
them only on students
completing the assignment. Use
an Override Grade to nullify any
impact on the average for
students not completing the
extra credit assignment
For Bonus Points create an
assignment, typically worth 100
points or a lesser value for
points-based final grade
calculations. If the assignment
has bonus points possible, enter
a grade in excess of the point
value entered Confirm the
entry
Use the category option to Drop
the Lowest __ Grades, the
dropped grade’s cell displays a
gray background. Open the
same assignment for grade
entry, the letter L appears in
place of the grade to show it is
currently excluded from
calculations
If a lower grade is later entered
in the same category, the
original grade will be restored
and the dropped grade coloring
and ‘L’ will go to the new
assignment
Utilizing Extra Credit and Bonus
Points
 Extra Credit and Bonus Points
require the Grade Book
Administrator to set a school
policy that Assignment Grades
Can Go Over Possible Points.
 To set up an extra credit
assignment using the average
method of calculating a final
grade, create an assignment.
Set the Possible Points at a
value of 1 and the Weight at
100%. Enter a grade for
students sufficiently higher than
the possible points to limit the
impact of the points earned to a
bump instead of a shove.
Experiment with these values to
find extra credit values
appropriate for the classes
 Extra credit points in a pointsbased system can be added
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Submit Student Attendance
The program displays a green check mark for posted, which means every student on the team has
an attendance code entered for the date. The program displays a yellow triangle for partially
posted, which means that at least one student on the team is missing an attendance code and at
least one student has an attendance code entered for the date. The program displays a red circle
with a line through it for unposted, which means that no students on the team have an attendance
code entered for the date. In the Periodic Attendance grid, the program displays merged sections
for any attendance date if one of the originating sections meets on that attendance date. Tyler SIS
provides four choices to display the students from the Actions menu List View, Seating Chart View,
Grading Period View and Student Picture View
1. From the My Classes portal, select Submit Student Attendance
2. Periodic Attendance selection options appear on the Submit Student Attendance screen
List View
Teachers generally find List View to be the easiest to use, but try all three views. Tyler SIS will
maintain the last view used on a specific class and open in the last view the next time this screen is
accessed.
1. This screen appears showing the current Attendance Date. Change this in unusual
circumstances, but the current date is normally the defualt
2. All students have a default attendance record when the window is opened. Most districts
elect to pre-mark all students present. Mark exceptions, absent or tardy
3. Identify any who are absent or tardy, by clicking the appropriate radio button across from
the student’s name. The Attendance options that display on the screen will vary depending
on the school’s preferences as to which codes teachers will be able to use. At a minimum
there will be an entry for Present and Absent
4. Enter a Tardy Time and/or Comments if desired or required by local policy
5. Click Submit to process the entries, even if no one is absent or tardy. An Attendance
Taken notation will display in the upper right portion of the window to notify that
attendance has been submitted
6. Teachers with multiple classes that meet during the same period will see students in all of
those classes on a single roster if they have merged the sections
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7. If submitted attendance requires alterations, re-submit within the first few minutes of class.
Schools usually lock attendance after a number of minutes into the class period, so be sure
to submit early in the class period
Seating Chart View
A seating chart must have been previously set up for this view to function.
1. On the Actions menu, select Seating Chart View
2. As with the list view option, students are typically pre-marked present. Mark individual
exceptions using the radio buttons next to each student’s picture
3. Click Submit to record the attendance entries even if no one is absent or tardy
Grading Period View
Grading Period View allows the user to view and/or edit attendance across one or more dates
within the selected Grading Period.
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1. On the Actions menu, select Grading Period View
2. Click the View or Edit Column icon for the date to record or correct attendance. Dates
when the selected class does not meet are coded either with an exclamation mark for school
days or with a blue fill for non-school days
3. From the Select menu under the date, choose Present when making the initial attendance
entry. Then, change the exceptions by selecting from the dropdown next to each student
who is an exception
4. Click on the Student Name entry, the row for that student will be made available to enter or
correct attendance for any current or previous date in the grading period
5. On the Actions menu select Student Detail Information to view, print, or export student
contact information
6. Click Submit to record the entries even if no one is absent or tardy for the day. This button
is located on the far right of the display and will likely involve using the horizontal scroll bar
Student Picture View
This view is similar looking to the Seating Chart View except that the students are in alphabetical
order
1. On the Actions menu, select Student Picture View
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2. As with the list view option, students are typically pre-marked present. Mark individual
exceptions using the radio buttons next to each student’s picture
3. Click Submit to record the attendance entries even if no one is absent or tardy
Search Student Attendance
Search Student Attendance can be used to locate student records which meet various search
criteria. The results of the search may be viewed, printed, or exported as needed.
The Search window provides three types of search parameters which can be used singly or in
conjunction with each other.
1. From the My Classes portal, select Search Student Attendance
2. Primary Search at the top of the screen is the most basic search. Look for attendance data
for a student or group of students by entering one or more seach criteria. Enter values in
the fields appropriate to the search information
3. Advanced Search is to search for a group using other demographic criteria such as
ethnicity, age, grad plan, and others
4. Program Search offers filters pertinent to student programs such as special education,
gifted and talented, etc
5. Class Attendnace Search appears on the bottom of the screen and contains requried fields.
Click on the Class Attendance Search to open those fields
6. Enter the Start Date
7. Enter the End Date
8. On the Actions menu, click Search
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9. The results will appear in the grid below the search criteria. The Results grid will
sometimes have multiple pages of results. This is indicated by the numbers between the
chevrons above the grids. Click an underlined number to move to that page. Click the single
chevron to move forward or backward a single page or the double
chevrons to move to the beginning or end of the results
10. In this grid the ED stands for Enrollment Days for the student in the time range set in
criteria. P and A column values represent the days present and absent. The exclamation
mark denotes a student not being scheduled in a first period class on the days shown. This
can also indicate that a class does not meet on the days with these marks as in a block
schedule
11. Enter a value in one or more cells above the result columns and click the filter with the + to
limit the results further. Click the filter with the X to clear the criteria and
restore the original list
12. Export the results or Print them by clicking the last two icons respectively
13. By clcicking on the red circle with a line through it, the program moves to that section on
that date where the teacher can take attendance
14. Click Submit to save the changes
Taking Attendance from the My Classes Web Part
Attendance can also be taken direct from the My Classes Web Part on the home page in a similar
format that has been previously described above.
1. In the My Classes Web Part, click on the Actions icon
and select Attendance
2. The program will refresh to the attendance screen for
that class. Indicate the attendance for the students in
this class
3. Click Submit to save the changes
Taking Perfect Attendance from the My Classes
Web Part
Perfect attendance is defined as all students for the class being present.
1. In the My Classes Web Part, click on the Actions icon and select Perfect Attendance
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2. The program will display a perfect attendance pop
up. Indicate Yes to mark all students as present for
that section or click No if this class does not actually
have perfect attendance
3. The pop up will refresh with verification that
Attendance has been submitted successfully. Click
Close to navigate back to the Home Page
Teacher Comment Groups
Teacher Comment Groups are an option that can be created at the district level. The purpose of
these groups is to organize comments which may be specific to one or more subject areas. This
simplifies the selection of comments by restricting those who may choose from to ones pertinent to
the subject area(s).
Add New Comment Group
1. On the Actions menu, click Add New Comment Group
2. Type the name in the Teacher Comment Group name box
3. Indicate if these comments will be Used for Grade Reporting and/or Used for
Assignments by selecting the corresponding check box
4. Select one or more Valid Subject Areas
5. Click Submit to save the information
Delete Comment Group
1. In the grid at the bottom of the screen, find the Comment Group to delete. Click on the
Delete icon
2. The program displays a warning message. Click OK to delete or click Cancel to keep the
Comment Group
Edit Comment Group
1. In the grid at the bottom of the screen, find the Comment Group to edit. Click on the Edit
icon
2. The program refreshes the screen with the Comment Group information in the appropriate
fields. Update one or more fields
3. Click Submit to save the information
Teacher Comments Library
The Teacher Comments Library provides a means for creating comments for use on report cards
and in the Grade Book. The purpose in putting them here is to avoid repetitious and time-
35
consuming entry of common statements concerning student performance pertinent to the subject
area. Once they are created, they will display in a dropdown menu in the Comments sections of the
Grade Book and in Grade Reporting. Review any District Comments that have been added for all
teachers before populating this table to avoid unnecessary duplication.
1. Access the Teacher Comment Library directly from the My Classes portal by selecting
Teacher Comments Library
2. Enter a Code that triggers the meaning of the comment
3. Enter a Description which is the body of the comment. The number of characters allowed
is defined by the school policy. Teachers have the ability to add additional "smart
pronouns" and "smart nouns" to these comments. These will now be accepted in the
comment section:
a. <him> = him/her
b. <himself> = himself/herself
c. <Name> will pull first name only
4. Use Spell Check as needed
5. Associate the comment with a Teacher Comment Group
6. Click Submit to preserve each comment
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Reports
The View Reports screen displays a list of all reports in the portal.
1. Open the My Classes portal and click on Reports. From the My Classes portal, reports are
available for teachers to print are located in the grid as well as on the left hand side
2. Click the View icon next to a report name to access the options screen for a report
3. Depending on the report, the user may be prompted to enter one or more values to refine
the report parameters as needed
4. Click the Run Report icon to generate the report. It will appear on the screen so for review
5. Print all or part of the report, save a copy, export the report, or delete it
37
My Students
My Students is a portal that is accessible both from the Home Page and from within the My Classes
portal. Its function is to provide read-only access to student information for any student with
whom the user is associated. For teachers this would be only students in classes they teach; for
counselors this would be students assigned to them; for administrators this would be all students
on the campus; for staff identified with a team this would be all students on the team.
Access to My Students via the My Classes Portal
1. From the Grade Book screen click the My Students icon
to access My Students data for the selected student
2. On the Class Attendance screen, click the My Students icon next
to a student’s name
Access Via the My Students Portal
1. Open the My Students portal and select Search Student menu option or click on the My
Students Search icon on the Home Page
2. Use the primary search, Advanced Search, or Program Search options singly or in
combination to identify one or more students’ records to review
3. On the Actions menu select the Search option to return the student list results
4. Click the icon in the Home column next to the student to review. The student’s Home
screen will appear
5. Selected any fields right to view the brief student’s information
6. To access more detailed information on any of these topics, click one of the links shown to
the left in the My Students menu on the left
7. The Student Profile provides additional information in a compact format and may include
options in addition to the ones shown here
My Referrals
The My Referrals portal gives access to creating, editing, and viewing discipline and health clinic
referrals. Some schools or districts may choose not to use this portal to track this information
Add a Discipline Referral
Use this option to search and review or edit the status of discipline referrals made to the office as
well as add new referrals using the Actions menu Add New Discipline Referral option. Depending
38
on district policies, there may be the ability to add referrals for students not on the current campus.
This could be useful when incidents occur involving students from other schools such as on a bus or
at an athletic event.
1. Open the My Referrals and select Discipline Referrals. The program opens to the Search
Discipline Referrals screen
2. On the Actions menu select Add New Discipline Referral
3. Enter the Event Description
4. Enter the Event Date/Time. These both default to the current date and time but can be
adjusted to the actual date and time of the incident
5. Select the Event Location from the drop down box. These locations are set up by the
school or district
6. Select the Event Context from the drop down box
7. Select an Involving Type from the drop down box
8. Select the Event Reported By from the drop down box
9. Select Event Comments by clicking on the comments and moving into the right hand side
box using the double black arrows
10. Select the Status of the event from the drop down box
a. In Progress: started, but the teacher still needs to input information. The discipline
administrator will not be able to accept it
b. Submitted: the referral is complete and the discipline administrator will be able to
accept it
c. Returned: required information missing that the discipline administrator requires.
Am email will be generated notifying the teacher and the teacher will need to revise
the referral and submit it again
11. Add any necessary Administrative Comments
12. Click Submit to save the changes
Add Students to the Event
1. After a discipline event has been entered, on the Actions menu select Add Students. Add
Non Student and Add Unknown student can also be selected to add parents, teachers or
community members as well as students from another school
2. Use the search criterion to identify offenders, victims and/or witnesses. On the Actions
menu select Search
3. Use the grid filter functionality to identify students
39
4. Select the box next to the student’s number
5. Identify the student’s involvement type by selecting the corresponding radio button for
Offender, Victim or Witness
6. Click Submit to attach the students to the discipline event. The record will proceed to the
campus discipline administrator
Search, Edit, View and Delete Discipline Referrals
1. Review the status of the referrals by choosing the Discipline Search Option and entering a
Date Range or Event Status
2. On the Actions menu click Search
3. From here Edit, View, or Delete any referrals listed in the My Discipline Referrals list
Health Office Referrals
The Health Office Referrals screen is used to add a health office referral and submit it to the Health
Administrator. The Health Administrator can turn the referral into a Health Office Visit record.
Add New Health Office Referral
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Open the My Referrals portal and select Health Office Referrals
On the Actions menu select Add New Health Office Referral. The screen will refresh
On the Actions menu select Add Student
Enter any search criterion and on the Actions menu select Search
Select the students by checking the box
Click Submit to attach the students
40
7. Enter the Incident Date/Time. These both default to the current date and time but can be
adjusted to the actual date and time of the incident
8. Enter an Incident Description in the text box. Use Spell Check as needed
9. Select a Visit Reason from the drop down box
10. Select who the student was Referred To from the drop down box
11. Select who the student was Referred By from the drop down box
12. Enter any Incident Comments in the text box
13. Select the Status from the drop down box
14. Enter any Administrative Comments in the text box
15. Click Submit to save the Health Office Referral
Search, Edit, View and Delete Health Office Referrals
1. Open the My Referrals portal and select Health office Referrals
2. Enter any necessary search criterion in the Health Office Referrals search screen
3. On the Actions menu select Search Health Office Referrals. The results will be displayed
in the grid at the bottom of the screen
41
4. Click the Edit/View icon
5. Review the referral and make changes as necessary
6. Click Submit to save any changes
42