Introduction
This article clarifies the difference between entering teacher
comments in PowerGrade, PowerTeacher Gradebook, and the
PowerTeacher Portal, as well as enhancements to the Stored Grades
process and Data Access Tags (DAT).
In PowerTeacher Gradebook, teacher comments are associated with
Final Grades, stored in the [PGFinalGrades] table. In the
PowerTeacher Portal (the browser interface), teacher comments are
associated with course enrollments, stored in the [CC] table.
Entering Teacher Comments
PowerTeacher Gradebook
- Use the Score Inspector to enter comments for final
grades
- Comments are stored in
[PGFinalGrades]Comment
- Comments display in PowerSchool under Start Page > Student
> Quick Lookup when clicking on the final grade
- Comments do not display in PowerSchool under Start Page >
Student > Teacher Comments
- Final Grade comments are retained from term to term; teachers
will be able to view comments that have been entered for prior
reporting terms, and there is no need to clear comments.
- Upon storing grades, the text that exists in
[PGFinalGrades]Comment_Value is copied into
[StoredGrades]Comment.
- This is the preferred comment entry method for PowerTeacher
Gradebook users
PowerTeacher Portal
- Select the backpack for the class and select the Teacher
Comments screen
- Comments are stored in
[CC]TeacherComment
- Comments display in PowerSchool under Start Page > Student
> Teacher Comments
- Upon storing grades, the text that exists in
[CC]TeacherComment is copied into [StoredGrades]Comment
- This is
not the preferred comment entry method for
PowerTeacher Gradebook users.
Viewing Teacher Comments
Entered via PowerTeacher
PowerSchool: Comments entered via the
PowerTeacher Portal can be viewed on the Teacher
Comments screen for each student in PowerSchool. Any comments
stored in the [CC] table are viewable via the Teacher Comments
student screen.
Public/Parent Portal: Teacher comments entered via
the PowerTeacher Portal or PowerGrade can be viewed by
clicking on the "Teacher Comments" icon at the top of the page.
Entered via PowerTeacher Gradebook:
PowerSchool: Comments entered via
PowerTeacher Gradebook can be viewed via the Quick Lookup page
for each student. On the Quick Lookup page, click on the
final grade associated with a comment. If you do not see the
final grade, navigate to Start Page > School
> Current Grade Display and enter the final grade name in
the "Store Code" field. Select "Gradebook" as the
Source of Data and submit the page.
After clicking on the final grade via the Quick Lookup screen,
the Scores page appears, listing each assignment score. At
the top of this page, you will see the teacher comment. Any
comments stored in the [PGFinalGrades] table are viewable via the
Quick Lookup/Scores pages.
Public/Parent Portal: Teacher comments entered via
PowerTeacher Gradebook can be viewed by selecting "Grades and
Attendance" then selecting any one of the final grades. The
Class Score Detail page will appear with section information,
including teacher comments.
Reporting on Teacher Comments:
-
~(TeacherComment) - use with Class Roster
Reports
When this DAT is used, PowerSchool pulls the comment from
the [CC] table. This DAT can only be used for comments
entered via PowerGrade or the PowerTeacher Portal.
-
~(reportingterm.teachercomment;Q1) - use with
Class Roster Reports and in a Transcript List set to pull current
grades. When this DAT is used, PowerSchool checks the gradebook
type recorded in [PGFinalGrades]GradebookType to determine from
which table ([CC] or [PGFinalGrades]) to pull teacher
comments. This DAT can be used for comments entered via
PowerTeacher Gradebook, the PowerTeacher Portal, or
PowerGrade.
This DAT uses the final grade name. In this example,
Q1 is the final grade name for the reporting term.
-
"Reporting Term tchr cmnt" - use with Report
Card Schedule Listing
In the Report Card schedule listing use "Reporting Term
tchr cmnt" from the drop down and input the Final Grade in the
field to the right of that setting.
-
"Current tchr comnt." - use with Report Card
Schedule Listing
When this option is used in a Report card, it will pull
the comment from the [CC] table regardless whether the teacher is
set to use PowerTeacher Gradebook or PowerGrade, thus this DAT
will not pull comments entered in PowerTeacher Gradebook.
-
^(*period_info;4(A-B);teacher_comment) - use
with Object Reports
In this example, 4(A) is the schedule expression for
classes to be displayed.
This DAT pulls comments from the [PGFinalGrades] table for
PowerTeacher Gradebook users and from the [CC] for PowerGrade
users.
For PowerTeacher Gradebook users, the DAT will choose the
final grade comment that matches the "Current Grade" setting in
the Current Grade Display screen in the school setup of
PowerSchool Admin (Start Page > School Setup > Current
Grade Display > Current Grade).
If the teacher has not saved any data from PowerTeacher
Gradebook and there happens to be a comment in the related [CC]
record entered through either PowerGrade or the PowerTeacher
Portal, the DAT will pull from the [CC] record.
-
~(stored.by.course.number;MA101;Q1;comment)
DAT codes such as the store.by.course.number code that are
designed to pull comments for historical grades from the
[StoredGrades] table are unaffected.
Additional Information
The Role of [PGFinalGrade]GradebookType
- If [PGFinalGrades]GradebookType is set to 0 if the final
grade originates from PowerGrade
- If [PGFinalGrades]GradebookType is set to 1 if the final
grade originates from PowerTeacher Gradebook
Stored Grades Logic
- If [PGFinalGrades]GradebookType = 0, teacher comments are
retrieved from [CC]TeacherComments
- If [PGFinalGrades]GradebookType = 1, teacher comments are
retrieved from [PGFinalGrades]Comment