Setting up GradeBooks in IlluminateThe Must Dos…

In order for report cards to populate accurately, all teachers (TK-8th) must have a separate GradeBook for every subject and/or period that they teach.

o Language Arts/Literacy (Do not create separate GradeBooks for Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Spelling, etc. You can set these up as categories within your Language Arts/Literacy GradeBook).

o Mathematics o Science o History/Social Sciences o Visual & Performing Arts o Physical Education o Support/Elective courses (middle school only)

Do NOT set up one GradeBook and use the categories feature for different subjects and/or periods. This would result in only one overall grade populating on the report card, instead of an overall grade for each subject. All subjects and/or separate periods must have their own GradeBook.

Basic Set-Up (Required)

1. Log on to Illuminate Education (https://lancaster.illuminateed.com/live/?prev_page=DashboardPage&page=SisLogin)

2. Select “GradeBook”

3. Select “My GradeBooks”

4. Select “Create a New GradeBook”

5. Create a “Points-Based” GradeBook.

6. Name your new GradeBook according to your subject area (Language Arts/Literacy, Mathematics, Science, History/Social Science, Visual & Performing Arts, Physical Education, Support/Elective).

7. Select a roster to attach to your new GradeBook.

Departmentalized: Select the appropriate period/class.

Self-Contained: Select the appropriate subject. Remember, you will NOT have separate GradeBooks for “Reading,” “Written Language,” and “Spelling.” Those will all be combined, so select one of those three rosters to attach to your “Language Arts/Literacy” GradeBook. If you will be providing all grades for all students in your class, you can attach the Hrm/Ctz roster to each GradeBook. You can attach more than one roster to a single GradeBook.

Once you’ve attached your roster(s), select “Save.”

8. You will see a notification when your GradeBook has been successfully created.

Customizing your GradeBook (Optional)

9. Go to “My GradeBooks” and select “GradeBook List.”

10. You can make a GradeBook inactive (i.e., The GradeBook will not show in the parent portal or populate on the report card.) by clicking on the “yes” in the column “Show in Parent Portal.” The “yes” will change to “no” showing that the GradeBook is now inactive. This is useful if you would like to create a GradeBook solely for use in record keeping.

11. To select a GradeBook to customize, click on the GradeBook name.

12. To set your grading preferences, select “Setup” and select “Preferences.” This will allow you to select from a variety of grading, calculation, and viewing options.

13. To set up weighted categories and assignment tags, select “Setup” and select “Categories and Assignment Tags.” Both assignment tags and weighted categories are completely optional.

Assignment tags are used to organize your assignments within your GradeBook, without weighting the assignments differently. Assignments can be linked to as many tags as you would like. To create assignment tags, type in the tag name and press “enter.” You can create as many tags as you want.

Weighted categories are used to organize your assignments and weight them differently when they average into a final grade. You can set up as many weighted categories as you want, but the total weight of all categories must equal 100. If the total weight does not equal 100, your weighted categories will not show up as options when you enter assignments.

You can copy assignment tags and weighted categories to other GradeBooks by selecting the desired GradeBook(s) where it says “Also Save This To __________.”

14. When finished, select “Save.” Now, when you enter an assignment, you will have the option of linking to your assignment tags and weighted categories.