Virtual Record Keeping: Should Teachers Keep Online Grade Books?

Childhood Education, Summer 2006 by Lacina, Jan

Teaching and learning radically changed with advances in technology. Research shows that the computer can be an effective tool in both teaching and learning (McFarlane, 1997; Migliorino & Maiden, 2004), and for that reason, school districts throughout the United States support schools by purchasing computers and software for individual classrooms. As a result, many school districts are using real-time Internet informational systems to manage student data (attendance, grades, homework, etc.). While using such an online management system offers many benefits, these management systems are not necessarily designed to meet the developmental needs of young children. In this column, I will address the pros and cons of using electronic grade books or management systems.

Pros and Cons of Electronic Grade Books

As an online educator for five years, I understand the benefits, and the frustrations, of using an online grading system. The benefits are numerous. Students have immediate access to their grades, and they can even read detailed feedback from essay exams online. Students can view their online grades anywhere in the world, any time of the day. As a college student, I always dreaded the Christmas holiday, since I waited in great anticipation for my final course grades to arrive in the mail. Of course, my father always opened the grade report first, and that seemed to be the worst part of receiving my grades. College students today likely know their course grades soon after final exams, and they do not have to wait weeks to find out course grades, let alone an exam score. Li (1998) explains that using online grade books allows instructors to keep up-to-date records, and online grade books allow instructors to communicate student progress to parents more effectively. "Perhaps the greatest advantage of these grade books is the flexibility they allow educators in reporting student progress. They possess the ability to print class averages, individual student grades, lists of assignments, and even missing assignments" (Li, p. 62). Online grade book formats vary, depending on the platform system. For example, as a college instructor, I have used both the webct (www.webct.com/) and Ecollege (www.ecollege.com/ indexflash.learn) systems. Both of these platforms typically house a course shell, which includes course notes, discussion boards, E-mail, chat rooms, and an electronic grade book. Ecollege is an easier system when one knows a little about html, and the grade book system, in my opinion, is easier to navigate. Ecollege and webct platforms are more often used atthe secondary or higher education levels. Students may take Web-enhanced courses or a 100 percent Web-delivered course through either of these platforms.

Online information systems, such as PowerSchool, offer school districts the ability to keep track of school district attendance and to manage all aspects of student data, including an electronic grade book (www.apple.com/education/ powerschool/technology/). There are numerous benefits to using a system such as PowerSchool. For example, school districts do not need to maintain a server, and the system is accessible through either a Mac or PC. Most important for school administrators, database maintenance is centralized and money may be saved since multiple servers do not need to be synchronized. As with Ecollege, teachers using PowerSchool enter grades and attendance records online through PowerSchool's online grade book, known as PowerGrade.

Grading programs, like those supported by PowerSchool and Ecollege, allow teachers to spend more time planning instruction instead of figuring grades by hand (Migliorino & Maiden, 2004). Such systems automatically average students' grades, and students and teachers can keep track of grade averages and percentile scores. Likewise, online grade books produce professional looking documents that can be viewed either online or printed out for parents to view. For those teachers who prefer to use authentic assessments, writing portfolios can be kept online easily, and grading rubrics and assessment checklists also can be posted online. Overall, online grading systems allow teachers to easily keep track of student progress while maintaining professional documents.

Despite the numerous benefits of using online grading software, electronic grade books do have drawbacks. While electronic grade books are extremely useful at the secondary level, assessment at the early childhood, or even at the elementary school, level is very different than assessment at the secondary school level. Examples of online grade books from the systems I examined all showcased secondary examples of online grade books. Electronic grade books can work at the elementary level, but they must be conceptualized and designed with the developmental needs and abilities of the young child in mind. For example, factors such as the student's culture, language, and ability must be taken into consideration when designing assessments. Although Donald Graves says, "Grading is a fact of life" (1983, p. 93), he also points out that teachers should use grades to encourage students. Assessment procedures should document what students can do, not merely keep record of what they cannot do well. Since early childhood teachers often document student progress through authentic assessments, such as through student observational checklists or anecdotal records, requiring early childhood teachers to use electronic grade books to note numerical grades, means, and percentile scores is not realistic or even appropriate. A concerned early childhood teacher, whom I will call Mary to protect her identity, corresponded with me to voice her concerns about electronic grade books. Mary's school district recently decided to purchase the PowerSchool system. Mary wrote: