Tutorial: How to configure Class Rank – Puredata Support Portal

How to configure Class Rank

PowerSource Article ID: 11232

Getting Started

Class Rank is used to rank students based on GPA. Setting up Class Rank involves selecting or setting up a GPA Calculation method at the District, defining a Class Rank method at the school and calculating the Class Rank at the school. Class Rank records are stored in the [ClassRank] table.

Basic features of Class Rank:

Setup at the school level.
Based on GPA.
Must be associated with a GPA calculation method setup at the district.
Sections can be excluded from Class Rank on the Edit Section page.
Historical grades can be excluded from Class Rank on the Historical Grades student page.
Students can be excluded from Class Rank on the Other Information student page.

Class Rank Method

To setup the Class Rank:

Log into the appropriate school and navigate to Start Page > School > Class Rank.
Choose Class Rank Methods.
Click New and assign the following:

Description:

Enter a name for the Class Rank Method. This name is used for internal purposes only.

GPA Calculation Method:

Select the appropriate GPA calculation method. To review the available GPA calculation methods, log into the District and navigate to Start Page > District > GPA Calculations > Calculation Methods. For more information about Class Rank GPA calculation methods, refer to the section "Which Grades are Used to Determine the Class Rank?" below.

GPA Result is:

Choose whether the GPA should display as numeric or text.

Only Include Grades:

Choose whether to only include grades associated with a course/section marked to be included in class rank. To view this course/section setting, log into a school and navigate to Start Page > School > Section, choose a course, then choose a section and scroll down to the "Include in Class Rank?" option. If the option reads "Same as course," you may navigate to Start Page > School > Courses, select a course and scroll down to the "Include in Class Rank?" option.

Exclude Students:

Choose whether to exclude students who have been marked to be excluded from Class Rank. To exclude a student from Class Rank, select the student on the Start Page, then select the "Other Information" student screen, check the box "Exclude From Class Ranking" and submit the page.

Include Early Graduates?:

This checkbox filters for students that have already exited the school using an exit code that identifies early graduation. If selected, specify the early graduation exit code in the "Early Graduation Code" field.

Early Graduation Code:

If the "Include Early Graduates?" field is checked, enter the exit code that signifies early graduation.

Calculating the Class Rank

To calculate the Class Rank:

Log into the appropriate school.
Navigate to Start Page > School > Class Rank.
Choose "Recalculation Frequency."
Choose an option from the drop-down "Recalculate current class ranks."
Submit the page.
Choose "Recalculation Frequency" a second time.
Click "Recalculate Now."
Records are now created in the [ClassRank] table.

Example [ClassRank] Record:

Which Grades are Used to Determine the Class Rank?

To determine which grade records are used to determine the Class Rank, refer to the GPA calculation method associated with the Class Rank Method.

Log into the District and navigate to Start Page > District > GPA Calculations > Calculation Methods, and select the appropriate method.
Refer to the following Knowledgebase Articles for information on GPA calculation method options:

Example GPA calculation method:

According to this GPA calculation method, the following grades are included in the Class Rank:

Current/Historical: Historical Grades only (Calculation Type = Cumulative)
Store Code: S1 (Terms = S1)
Grade level: Any
Terms: 2015-2016 School Year (School years = 2016)
Credit type: Any or none
Count in GPA: Yes
Count in Class Rank: Yes
Count in Honor Roll: Yes or No
Associated with a course with Potential Credit: Yes or No

How to add class rank in the report card?

PowerSource Article ID: 6490

Summary

The Class Rank DAT is used to return data from the Class Rank table for the student.

Format

^(*classrank method="method name" result="value" percentiledigits="decimal places")

Note: The asterisk in the ^(*classrank) DAT is required.

Method

the name of the GPA calculation method used to calculate the class rank. The name must be an exact match with an existing GPA calculation method name; if it is mismatched, the DAT will return "Not Ranked." If this parameter is simply omitted, a method named "weighted" will be used (this calculation method is a default supplied by PowerSchool).

Result

The type of data that will be returned by this DAT. If this parameter is omitted, the "rank" value is used. The values that can be passed to this parameter are:

gpa - The GPA used to determine the class rank.

outof - The total number of students on the class rank list.

percentile - The student's class rank percentile.

rank - The student's class rank.

rankof - The student's class rank out of the total number of ranked students.

rankoutof - Same as "rankof," but including the word "out."

schoolname - The school that the class rank record is associated with.

Percentiledigits

Can be used to define the number of decimal places to be used when passing the "percentile" value to the result parameter.

Source of Data

The values from the parameters above are stored in corresponding fields of the [ClassRank] table.

Examples

^(*classrank)

Returns the student's rank value using the weighted class rank method, such as "26."

^(*classrank method="High Honors" result="gpa")

Returns the GPA calculated for the student by the High Honors class rank method, for instance, "3.92."

^(*classrank method="AP" result="outof")

Returns the total number of students included in the class ranking list as determined by the AP GPA class rank method, for example, "336."

^(*classrank method="Honors" result="percentile")

Returns the student's rank percentile, as determined by the Honors class rank method, for example, "94.12."

^(*classrank method="Honors" result="percentile" percentiledigits="4")

Returns the student's rank percentile, as determined by the Honors class rank method, using four decimal places, for example, "26.1748."

^(*classrank method="Simple" result="rank")

Returns the student's rank value using the Simple class rank method, for instance, "42".

^(*classrank method="AP" result="rankof")

Returns the student"s rank using the AP class rank method and the total number of ranked students separated by the word "of," for example, "15 of 206."

^(*classrank result="rankoutof")

Returns the student's rank value using the Weighted class rank method and the total number of ranked students separated by the words "out of," for example "4 out of 157."

^(*classrank result="schoolname")

Returns the name of the school where the class rank using the Weighted class rank method was calculated, for example, "Apple Grove High School."

How to troubleshoot GPA

You can use PowerTools or
Follow the steps in article ID: 11148

Definition

GPAs are based on a GPA calculation method, which is a formula set up at the District. There are many different query options/parameters in addition to the GPA formula, such as including grades for a particular school year, term, credit type, etc. Note that these parameters can be set up in one of two areas:

Within the GPA calculation method at the district
Within the DAT (data access tag) used to include GPAs in reports [leave the parameters blank at the District]

Leaving the parameters at the District blank enables you to change the parameters on the fly, each time the DAT is used. Populating the parameters at the District provides for a consistent GPA calculation method whenever it is used.

Database Tables

Database Tables:

Potential Credit is stored in [StoredGrades]PotentialCrHrs.
Grade Percent is stored in [StoredGrades]Percent.
Historical grades are stored in [StoredGrades]Grade.
Grade points are stored in [StoredGrades]GPA_Points.

Potential credit is the amount of credit assigned to a course -- the amount that a student can potentially be earned by completing the course.

Earned credit is the amount of credit that a student earns when completing a course. The student may earn the amount of credit assigned to the course (potential credit), or a less, depending on the student's performance.

Note: GPAs are calculated on the fly; they are not stored in the database.

Troubleshooting GPAs

The first step in troubleshooting a GPA is to determine the GPA calculation method used to calculate the GPA. The second step is to understand which grades are used in the GPA. The final step is to understand the GPA formula so that you can calculate the GPA.

Use the following steps to troubleshoot GPAs:

Determine the name of the GPA calculation method used to calculate the GPA.

Location of GPA	Location of GPA Calculation Method Name
Reports	Refer to the DAT (data access tag) used to render the GPA. The tag should be similar to: ^(gpa method=" simple" term="S1" year="2009") The GPA calculation method name in this example is Simple*
Cumulative Info Screen	Navigate to Start Page > School > GPA Student Screens to locate GPA Calculation Method. If any DATs are used, see the entry above to locate the GPA Calculation Method name.
Quick Lookup	Navigate to Start Page > School > GPA Student Screens > Type of Current GPA to display under schedule.
Class Rank	Navigate to Start Page > School > Class Rank > Class Rank Methods > Method Name > GPA Calculation Method. See Class Rank Tutorial for more information.
Honor Roll	Navigate to Start Page > School > Honor Roll > Levels > Honor Roll Level > GPA Calculation Method. See Honor Roll Tutorial for more information.

Identify the formula associated with the GPA calculation method. - Jump to GPA Calculation Method
Identify the grades used to calculate the GPA. Jump to Grade Data
Calculate the GPA based on the formula and the grades.
Review the additional settings in this article.

GPA Calculation Method

A GPA calculation method is a formula defining the parameters used to calculate a GPA. PowerSchool includes four standard calculation methods: Simple, Simple Percent, Weighted, and Weighted Percent. Simple and Weighted use grade points (GPA points) from the grade scale to calculate the GPA. Simple Percent and Weighted Percent use the percent value associated with the grade record to calculate the GPA.

You can modify the standard methods to meet your needs or create an unlimited number of additional calculation methods. For information about setting up GPA parameters, refer to article:

7182, GPA Query Options

A common issue is that the mathematics of the formula are not understood. For information on the mathematics of the Simple and Weighted GPA calculation methods, refer to the following articles:

55371, Tutorial: Calculating the GPA using the "Simple" GPA Calculation Method
55379, Tutorial: Calculating the GPA using the "Weighted" GPA Calculation Method

Grade Data

One of the main reasons a GPA is incorrect is that the grades used to calculate the GPA are not those expected. Before troubleshooting the GPA, determine the grades used in the GPA calculation. For information on determining which grades are included in the GPA, refer to the following article:

55348, Locating the Grades Used in a GPA Calculation

Credit Data

The Weighted and Weighted Percent calculation methods both use potential credit to calculate the GPA. Potential credit is the amount of credit assigned to a course -- the amount that can potentially be earned by completing the course. Verify that the correct amount of credit is assigned to courses at Start Page > District > Courses >Select a Course > Edit Course District Information > Credit Hours.

Section - Include in GPA

In order for grades to be included in the GPA, the section associated with the grade must be set to Include for the settingExclude from GPA. Or, if the setting is set to Same as course, the course must be set to include the grade in the GPA. Configure this setting at Start Page > School > Sections > Select course > Select section > Exclude from GPA

Start Page > School > Courses > Exclude from GPA.

Grade Scale - Counts in GPA

The grade awarded to the student must be marked to Counts in GPA in the grade scale in order to be used in the GPA calculation method. To mark the grade scale item to be included in the GPA, navigate to Start Page > District > Grade Scales > Edit Scale > Edit Grade > Counts in GPA.

This setting is connected to the GPA calculation method -- you can determine whether the GPA is calculated using grades "marked" to be counted in the GPA.

1st Image: Marking the grade scale item to count in the GPA, 2nd Image: Marking the GPA calculation method to use grades marked to count in the GPA

Grade Scale - Grade Points

The Simple and Weighted GPA calculation methods both use grade points to calculate the GPA. Each grade in the grade scale is associated with grade points. Traditional grade scales include grades such as A, B, C, D, F. In a traditional grade scale, an A is worth 4 grade points, a B is worth 3 grade points, etc.

When calculating the GPA, determine which grade scale is used in the calculation. The grade scale can be assigned to the GPA calculation method, or left blank. Populating the grade scale for the GPA calculation method forces every grade to be converted using the specified grade scale. If the grade scale is left blank, the GPA calculation method uses the grade scale associated to each section or course. The grade scale can either be associated to the course and the section set to Same as Course, or each section can be assigned a different grade scale than the course.

Refer to the following resources for more information:

8085, Creating a Weighted GPA using a Weighted Grade Scale
55380, Tutorial: Calculating GPA with a Specific Grade Scale
55360, How it Works: GPA Calculation Type and Grade Scale Settings
5931, How it Works: Creating a Grade Scale

Added Value

Added value is helpful in creating a weighted GPA. Added value allows you to add grade points (GPA points) to each course individually, as opposed to assigning the same weighed grade scale to each course. To configure a course to use added value, navigate to Start Page > School > Courses > Edit Course [District Information] > GPA Added Value Points.

The grade scale needs to be modified so that each grade is marked to "use added value," however, the value is added individually at the course level, rather than universally in the grade scale level. To configure grade scale items to use added value, navigate to Start Page > District > Grade Scales > Edit Scale > Edit Grade > Receives Added Value? To assign the correct grade scale to a course, navigate to Start Page > School > Courses > Edit Course [District Information] > Grade Scale.

For information about creating a weighted GPA using added value, see 5720, Creating a Weighted GPA using Added Value.

Current GPAs

The grades used to calculate a current GPA are determined by the Current Grade term entered at Start Page > School > Current Grade Display > Enter an abbreviation for a grading term. Grading terms are set up at Start Page > School Setup > Final Grade/Reporting Term Setup