eSchoolPlus Options Affecting the GPA Calculation

GPA Setup

The GPA setup determines:

• How often the GPA is issued. This setting determines the number of GPA records created per year and the marks and credits to include for a GPA record.
• Which student grades should have a GPA record for the GPA type. For example, students in grade 9 - 12 should have a GPA record.
• The mark type that the GPA is based on. If the mark type selected is issued once per year, the GPA cannot be calculated until at least one course is ended. If multiple mark types are listed, the calculation uses the first mark type selected that is issued in one of the report card runs included in the GPA.
• The credit value to use for courses. You can select to use the Master Schedule Credit value or 1.0. If you use the Master Schedule credit, the calculation actually uses the student's attempted credit value as stored in mark reporting records.
  Additionally, the GPA can use the full credit or partial credit for the course for all marks included. This setting has different affects on the GPA based on whether the GPA is based on a mark issued multiple times per year or once a year. Partial credit is calculated as (Attempted Credit / number of times that the mark type is issued for the course).
• Whether blank marks affect the student's GPA. If included, then the credit associated with the mark will be included in the GPA calculation even though the student will have earned no quality points for the mark.
• Whether courses that are not yet complete affect the students GPA. For example, if you calculate a seventh semester GPA for seniors, do you include the marks received in semester 1 for courses that end in semester 2?
  For more information, refer to GPA Setup Page.

Level Table

The level table determines:

• Whether a is mark excluded from the GPA calculation. If a mark is excluded, then the student's credit for the mark is also excluded.
• The point value to use for a mark. You can define a non-weighted level (an A may have a point value of 4.0) and a weighted level (an A may have a point value of 5.0). Then in the Master Schedule, you can assign the weighted level to advanced courses, like honors and AP courses, where the student's GPA should reflect that the course work is harder.
• Whether add-on points are added to the student's calculated GPA. Add-on points are an alternative way to adjust student GPAs for honors and AP courses. If add-on points are entered, you can select to weight the points by credit.
  For more information, refer to Level Table Page.

MR Building Configuration

Make sure the correct current report card run is selected. The calculation compares the current run in the configuration to the marking periods of a course to determine if the course is ended.

Additionally, the selected report card run is used to determine the mark type to use for the GPA calculation. If the GPA Setup is defined to use a mark issued once per year, the once per year mark type will be used if a mark has been entered for the mark type. Otherwise, the mark type will not be used until the course is ended.

For more information, refer to MR Building Configuration Page .

Mark Types

Review when the mark types selected for the GPA type are issued for a building. If the mark is issued once per year, then the calculation only includes the mark type when the student has a mark or when the course is completed.

For more information, refer to Mark Types Page .

Marking Periods

Review how marking periods are associated with report card runs and terms for buildings. This information determines how marks and credits are included in GPAs issued by report card run or term.

For more information, refer to Marking Periods Page.

Master Schedule

The Master Schedule determines:

• If the course is included in the GPA calculation for a GPA type.
• If the course is included, then the level to use for the course. For example, does it use a non-weighted or weighted level? Refer to the Level Table in this chart for more information on how the level is used.
• The course credit that is used. Note that a student's attempted credit value for a course may be different from the Master Schedule's value if the student has added or dropped the course or is resolved out of some marking periods. For example, a student's credit may be 0.5 for a course that has 1.0 credit if the student is only taking two marking periods of a full year course.
• The mark types issued for the course.
• The marking periods the course meets.
  For more information, refer to Master Schedule Page.

Student Demographic > Academic

The student's Academic record determines whether the student is excluded from being ranked for a GPA type. You would exclude students if some student populations should not receive a GPA record. To exclude a student from a GPA type, add the GPA type in the Rank Type field of the Academic page's Exclusions panel.

Additionally, you can choose to not rank the student for the GPA type, but still include the student in the class size for the grade.

For more information, refer to Academic Page.