Live Gradebooks Allow Students Real Time Access to Their Grades

The idea of a live gradebook which is what Schoology provides schools can be really helpful for students, especially those who want to stay on top of their grades and track their progress throughout the semester. One of the biggest advantages of a live gradebook is that it allows students to see how any assignment impacts their grade as soon as a teacher inputs a grade, which can be really helpful for identifying areas where the student might want to improve. This can be particularly useful for students who struggle with certain subjects or who are trying to maintain a certain GPA.

Another advantage of the live gradebook is that it can help to promote accountability and responsibility among students. When students are able to see their grade on a regular basis, they are more likely to take ownership of their academic performance and to work harder to achieve their goals. Sophomore Jaelynn G finds the live gradebook helpful. “I monitor my grades daily and if I see my grade slipping I can take action to bring it back up,” she shares.

Here at Kenwood “updating the gradebook every two weeks is a best practices” recommendation for teachers, shared Principal Powell. The hope of a live gradebook too is “to encourage students to keep better tabs on their grades to avoid procrastination,” he adds. 

By teachers providing students with timely and regular feedback on their academic performance, a live gradebook could help to promote accountability and responsibility, while also helping students to identify areas where they need to improve. However, teachers have around 150 students each so it’s a lot of grades to update on a biweekly basis so just as some teachers get frustrated with students submitting assignments late, some students get frustrated with teachers taking too long to update their grades.

Kenwood sophomore Adam W, wishes Schoology would add a time stamp to show when teachers grade work just as it does for when students submit work. “Sometimes parents want to know why your grade isn’t so great but you’re waiting on a teacher to update grades to reflect work you’ve submitted. I understand they have a lot to grade but sometimes they’re not always the most up to date,” he adds.

Overall, a live grade book is meant to be a valuable tool for students and teachers, to encourage more open communication about their grade.