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Overview
Some schools give students exams either once a year or each term. Here are the different ways teachers can give exams, how to indicate which classes take exams, and how to set those exam weights in Veracross.
Exam Types
Veracross knows which classes take exams and when based on the Exam Type that is set on each individual class record. This allows flexibility for some classes to take exams while others might not. Exam types can be set in batch, or individually by an administrator or teacher.
There are three possible exam type settings on the class: No Exam, Term Exams or Final/End of Year Exams.
No Exams
The “No Exams” option is used to indicate that a class does not take any exams during the year. This option is the default setting when classes are created and only needs to be changed if the class does in fact have an exam at some point during the year. In this situation, if an exam grade were to be entered in the Exam Grade field by mistake, it would still count as 0% of the student’s grade in the class.
Term Exams
Selecting “Term Exams” means that course exams are taken every term (i.e. semester or trimester), and that exam grades should calculate directly in to that term grade. When “Term Exams” is selected, any scores entered in the ‘Exam Grade’ field on the Grades page in the teacher portal will factor in to the term grade. In other words, the exam grade factors in to the semester or trimester grade separately from other calculated minor grading period (i.e. quarter or trimester) grades.
For example, if exams should count as 20% of the student’s term grade, a class which has two quarters in a semester and takes term exams would have the semester grade calculated this way:
[40% Q1] + [40% Q2] + [20% EXAM] = Semester 1 grade
Final/End of Year Exams
The “Final/End of Year Exam” option indicates that the exam grade entered will affect only the Final Grade in the class (grading period ALL). The exam grade will not be factored in to the semester or trimester grade like the example above. If the Exam Weight was set to 20% the exam grade would count for 20% of the student’s Final Grade in the class.
In other words, a class that has two semesters and takes a final exam would have their final grade calculated this way:
[40% S1] + [40% S2] + [20% EXAM] = Final class grade
Setting Exam Types
There are three ways to set exam types for classes: in batch, individually in Axiom, or individually in the teacher portal.
* Important Note: only classes that use a “Numeric” Grading Method should have an exam type set.
Setting Exam Types in Batch
If classes take the same type of exam, the Exam Type field can be set in batch from a Find Classes query. If the Exam Type field is not already in the query, add it and make sure the field appears in the query results. From the query results, use the Results drop down menu at the top of the query and select “Batch Update Records”. In the screen that pops up, choose the “Exam Type” field to update, select the appropriate exam type for the classes and click OK.
Setting Exam Types Individually in Axiom
To set the Exam Type for an individual class in Axiom, open the detail screen for the class and navigate to the “Weighting” tab*. Using the Exam Type field on the detail screen, select the exam type for the class and click “Update Class” when finished.
* Note: only classes that have a “Numeric” Grading Method will have the Weighting tab on their class detail screen.
Setting Exam Types in the Teacher Portal
Teachers can also set the Exam Type for their classes individually from the teacher portal.
To set the Exam Type for a class, teachers can navigate to the Settings tab of their class and choose the appropriate Exam Type there. When the teacher has selected the Exam Type, they can click the “Save Settings” button found at the bottom of the Settings page to set the Exam Type for their class.
Setting Exam Weights
Exam weights are also set on a per class basis. The exam weight is what determines how much the exam grade should be worth for all the student grades in the class. Exam weights can be set in batch if all exams should be weighted the same across all classes, or they can be set separately for each class either in Axiom or the teacher portal.
Setting Exam Weights in Batch
Exam Weights can be set in batch from a Find Classes query (similar to how Exam Types can be set in batch). To set Exam weights in batch, add the “Exam Weight” field to a Find Classes query so that it appears in the query results. From the query results, use the Results drop down menu at the top of the query and select “Batch Update Records”. In the screen that pops up, choose the “Exam Weight” field to update, enter the appropriate exam weight in decimal format (e.g. enter 0.2 for 20%) and click OK.
Setting Exam Weights Individually in Axiom
To set the Exam Weight for an individual class in Axiom, open the detail screen for the class and navigate to the “Weighting” tab*. In the Exam Weight field, enter the weight the exam should have as a percentage (e.g. enter 20 for 20%) and click “Update Class” when finished.
* Note: only classes that have a “Numeric” Grading Method will have the Weighting tab on their class detail screen.
Setting Exam Weights in the Teacher Portal
Teachers can also set the Exam Weight for their classes individually from the teacher portal.
To set the Exam Weight for a class, teachers can navigate to the Settings tab of their class and enter the appropriate exam weight there as a percentage (e.g. enter 20 for 20%). When the teacher has entered the appropriate exam weight, they can click the “Save Settings” button found at the bottom of the Settings page to set the Exam Weight for their class.