Part 3 A Pristine Roster is Still Not a Safe Roster
Let's say you have treated your grade roster with the respect it deserves. It has been turned in on time with no stray marks on the front, no mutilation, neatly filled in with a #2 pencil. All is well. SURPRISE. There are still things that can go wrong.
After twelve years undercover in R&R, hair pulled back in a bun, glasses perched at the end of my nose, sensible shoes, support hose, lavender scent, broaches, drinking tea from a china cup, and using only the most discrete of expletives, I stumbled upon the following rumors. It's amazing what twelve years of careful groundwork will get you once you've earned their confidence.
Pristine Roster Rumor #1
It's OK not to write the letter grades in the right hand column if I bubbled them in.
(semi) FALSE
The roster will still scan if you don't write the grade in the grade column. But each scanned roster produces a diagnostic and it is easier to check the diagnostics if the letter grades are written in. Also, if your roster does not scan and we need to manually input it, it is easier and more accurate to do it from the written letter grade than to have to translate each bubble to input the grade.
Pristine Roster Rumor #2
I know I withdrew a student but his name is still on the roster without a "W." R&R screwed up.
(usually) FALSE
Remember that the grade rosters are run a week before classes end. The 115 screen is frozen then also. Therefore, a "W" that was not in the system by the time the grade rosters were run will NOT appear on the grade roster or the 115 screen with a "W" grade. Just leave the grade blank and write, "I withdrew the John Smith" on the back. If, for some reason, the student's name is NOT John Smith, please use the appropriate name.
If you are grading on-line, you cannot leave any lines blank. You need to write in "JJJ" for the grade that you think should be a "W." If you leave a grade blank, no one on that page will get a grade.
Pristine Roster Rumor#3
If a student never attended I don't (ever) need to grade them.
(please say you already know this is) FALSE
You should leave the grade blank on the grade roster or put "JJJ" in on the 115 screen, and write on the back of the roster "Student never attended." We will run that by the Bursar's Office. If they say it's OK to drop the student, we will. End of issue. If they say the student cannot be dropped, then we need a grade and will pursue you until we have one. We cannot leave the course on the transcript with no grade.
Pristine Roster Rumor #4
No one reads what I write on the back
(unless we can't read what you wrote) FALSE
We actually have a fairly elaborate routine we go through to make sure that every notation on the back of the grade roster has been seen and researched. The research takes place after we have submitted the grades so there is the chance that a grade report may go out prior to the research being done. If this happens, an updated grade report always follows.
Pristine Roster Rumor #5
I don't need to check my grade roster/115 screen.
(are you insane?) FALSE
In this day and age when we crawl under our cars and check for bombs before we start them, when we have explosive sniffing dogs race through our house before we enter, when we have a private food taster to check out everything we eat and drink...oh, not everyone does this? Sorry. Anyway, YES, you do need to check your roster. There ARE mistakes on it.
Next we will look at tying up our loose ends. Now THAT is a visual to get all of our days off to a good start!
Deborah Benjamin
Registration and Records
05/07/2004 |