Teachers using jmc's Competency Based Grading module to record formative assessment results and report end of term course grades (as is common in most middle school and high school settings) will need to set up grade cutoffs appropriately. CBG results will then be calculated to produce an end of term course grade which is helpful for determining class rank and GPA for college admission.
Log in to jmc Teacher, and head to Scores > Grade Cutoffs to get started.
Step One: Select the course for which to enter grade cutoffs from the "Courses" list.
Helpful Tip: If your administration has dictated grade cutoffs for the entire school, click the "Add Default Cutoffs" link to add that set of cutoffs to your class and skip the remaining steps!
Step Two: Click the "Add Grade Cutoff" link to enter a new cutoff row.
Step Three: Select the "Grade" a student can earn from the drop-down list and enter the minimum point value to earn the grade in the "Cutoff" field.
A few helpful tips:
When converting 12 letter grades (A,A-,B+,B,B-,C+,C,C-,D+,D,D-,F) to match competency based grading proficiency scales with 4 values in the CBG results box, the grade cutoffs should equal those ratios with F having a grade cutoff of 0.00. An "A" would have a grade cutoff of 3.75 (or whatever value your district decides should equal an "A") and everything else would fall in between.
For an example of a Standard Based Grading to letter grade conversion scale, check out this resource: Marzano, R. J. (2010) Formative assessment & standards-based grading. Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.
Step Four: Click the "Save" link to record the new cutoff or the "Cancel" link to discard your changes.
Step Five: Continue adding grade cutoffs until all letter grades and and point values have been entered for the class.
Fun Fact: The final grade cutoff should be zero and is typically a failing grade.
Step Six: Place a checkmark in the "Use Point Value Grade Scale" checkbox to calculate using formative assessment point values instead of percentages.
Step Seven: Enter the highest CBG value in the "Grade Scale Max" field to enter the maximum score allowed in CBG formative assessments.
Step Eight: Click the "OK" button to save your CBG changes.
Step Nine: Click the "Copy..." button to duplicate the current grade cutoffs to your other classes.
Step Ten: Select the classes to which to copy the current grade cutoffs using the pop-up list of classes.
A few helpful tips
To copy the grade cutoffs to all of your other classes, place a checkmark in the "Select All" checkbox.
To select multiple classes, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) / Command key (Mac) while clicking a class. To deselect a class, hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) / Command key (Mac) while clicking a class.
Step Eleven: Click the "OK" button to copy the grade cutoffs to the selected classes or click the "Close" button if you'd like to cancel.