Minnetonka Middle Schools Switch to Schoology Gradebook Increasing Clarity & Understanding of Learning

Parent Tutorial Video created by Instructional Technology Coach Sara Hunt

Parent Grade View

This school year all grade 6, 7 and 8 students’ current grades will be in Schoology. For the past eight years Schoology has been our Learning Management System (LMS), our daily space for learning. Until now we had our grades housed separately in our Student Information System (SIS). Now by using Schoology, all assignment details will be in the same place as the scores, making it a one stop shop for this information. Schoology offers much more detail behind each score than possible in our SIS, letting users actually view assignments, the students' work if done electronically, teachers’ comments and feedback, rubrics, view any missing homework or incomplete assignments, even see some assessment answers and more. Scores are posted in real time and questions about what has been graded or is missing will be greatly reduced.

Mobile App View

The easiest way for parents to stay informed of grades is to sign up for a daily or weekly email digest which pushes information to them without having to login to look for it. Parents can also access Schoology grades through the same mobile app available in both iOS and Android platforms that our students use on their iPads (which saves your login info), or on a computer through the district website (which requires a login each time). We encourage parents to use these tools to stay connected to their child’s learning in Minnetonka.

At the end of each quarter grades will recorded in in our SIS as well for each child’s transcript.  Students at elementary and/or high school will still use our SIS for grades and Schoology for learning information. Next year our high school will use the Schoology grade book, too. This year the instructional technology coaches at our high school are working to help teachers prepare for this transition.

During the second semester last year, students, parents, and teachers at Minnetonka Middle School West tested out the Schoology grade book to compare it to our SIS. Feedback was very positive and parents liked the depth of information they received through Schoology compared to the limits of our SIS. We know that this one location for all of a student's learning content and achievement scores will provide both students and parents with a greater insight and understanding of learning and look forward to the benefits of this increased clarity of information.

Related posts: 

• Don't Miss It: Annual Minnetonka Educator Site Visit October 25, 2018 or April 4, 2019
• 7 Years & 7 Lessons for Success with Schoology
• Six Years with Schoology: Setting Expectations for the Future
• Tip #3 for a Successful 1:1 Implementation: Use Schoology as the Classroom Hub
• Home Sick? Absent Minnetonka Students Caught Up Before They Return
• Tonka Online High School Starting Year Five with 40+ Courses & 1200+ Students
• Minnetonka Teacher Instructional Technology Coaches
• Minnetonka Top 100+ Ideas for 1:1 Integration in 5th grade, English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Language 
• Watch a 2011 video about Minnetonka's use of Schoology 
• Read a case study on Minnetonka's use of Schoology in the iPad Program