PowerTeacher Pro School Set-Up | Scribe

PowerTeacher Pro School Set-Up

    📘 PowerTeacher Pro: School Setup Tutorial

    For PowerSchool Administrators


    🔧 Where to Begin: Accessing PowerTeacher Pro Setup

    Navigation Path:

    Start Page → School Management → Teacher Applications → PowerTeacher Pro

    This is your central hub for configuring how PowerTeacher Pro (PT Pro) operates at your school.


    🖥 Gradebook Display Settings

    Select options to determine how the class lists and grades (including standards and traditional grades) appear in PowerTeacher Pro.

    • ✅ Show/hide class lists

    • ✅ Show/hide traditional grades

    • ✅ Show/hide standards-based grades

    Tip: Keep the display consistent across teachers for clarity!


    📂 Gradebook District Categories for Teachers

    Categories are groups of the same types of assignments. Categories can only be created at the District Level for standardization at all schools.

    • Categories group similar assignments (e.g., Homework, Tests, Projects).

    • Only the District can create categories.

    • Schools can manage visibility of these categories in the gradebook.

    🎯 Teachers can still create their own categories, but visibility of district-level categories can be managed here.


    📊 Traditional Grade Calculation Formulas:

    🅰️ Traditional Setup-No EOC (District Wide):

    Final Grade = 50% S1 + 50% S2
    Used for most standard full-year courses.

    🧪 Traditional Setup with EOC (District Wide):

    Final Grade = 40% S1 + 40% S2 + 20% EOC
    Used for courses requiring an End-of-Course Exam.

    ✅ Do's

    • ✔️ Email the District to request a school-specific Traditional Grade Setup.

    • ✔️ Ensure Final Grade/Reporting Term Setup is complete before attempting Traditional Grade Setup.

    • ✔️ Decide if teachers can “edit traditional calculations” and “edit drop scores” in PowerTeacher Pro.

    • ✔️ Set the number of decimal places and choose whether to round (recommended) or truncate grade scores.

    • ✔️ Know that Citizenship settings are optional and can be enabled at the school’s discretion.


    ❌ Don’ts

    • Don’t attempt to set up a Traditional Grade Setup before completing the Final Grade/Reporting Term Setup.

    • Don’t use Student Grade Scales for individual students—this is not allowed in South Carolina.

    • Don’t modify traditional calculation formulas without District-level involvement— Requests for changes must be approved and updated by the district level.


    ⚙️ Admin Gradebook Controls

    As a PS Admin, you can set:

    • 🔢 Decimal place display

    • 🔄 Round or truncate grades (Round recommended!)

    • 🔐 Whether teachers can:

      • Edit traditional calculations

      • Drop scores


    🚫 Student Grade Scales

    Do NOT use individual student grade scales in South Carolina.
    This feature is disabled for compliance reasons.


    📘 Grade Setup by Section

    Grade Preferences for Sections → Add → Select Sections → Next → Configure Formula

    You can apply grading rules to specific sections by:

    • Selecting courses

    • Applying traditional formulas

    • Enabling desired grading behaviors


    🔒 Lock Reporting Term Settings

    Determines when a reporting term should be locked to prevent updating grades. Note: The School-Level PowerSchool Administrator must have the PT Pro Administrator role to make edits.

    Settings:

    • ✅ Enable Term Locks- check to enable and uncheck to disable

    • 🔒 Locking Reporting Terms in PowerTeacher Pro

      To control when grade entry is no longer allowed, you can set a lock based on the number of days after the reporting term ends. The lock activates at 12:00 AM on the specified day.

      • Example: If the term ends on June 10 and you enter 5, the term locks on June 15 at 12:00 AM.

      • To lock grades immediately after the last day of the term, enter 1 (lock engages the next morning at 12:00 AM).

      This ensures timely grade submission and maintains data integrity for reporting.

    • ⚠️ Days to Warn Teachers — Enter the number of days in advance of the lock to notify teachers that a term will be locked. When enabled, a banner message appears in PowerTeacher Pro informing teachers of the impending lock date.

    Example:
    Term ends June 10 → Enter 5 → Lock begins June 15 @ 12:00 AM


    📋 Section Readiness Report

    A quick view of which teachers have submitted final grades.

    A report that identifies which teachers have indicated that their grades are ready for report cards.

    Use this to ensure everyone is report card ready!