Schools are using Web to post teachers’ grade books

Parents can log in and track their child’s progress online

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006

Paul Ajamian’s son had a rude awakening last year.

‘‘His mom would be on the computer before he got up in the morning to check the poor kid’s grades,” Ajamian said.

When the boy got out of bed, his mother would have a list of assignments he needed to complete and teachers he needed to talk to, his father said.

As a parent, Ajamian had some sympathy for his son and his classmates, who like students at most county secondary schools this year will be subjected to a new online grade reporting system that allows teachers to post grades daily, making report card day every day.

As an eighth-grade math teacher at Shady Grove Middle School in Gaithersburg, Ajamian sees the value of the technology. It creates ‘‘a no-secrets classroom where parents and students are continuously informed,” he said.

The tool, known as the Online Achievement and Reporting System (or OARS), was made available to all secondary schools this year, following a one-year pilot by some schools and teachers last year. It is being used in 28 of 38 middle schools and 22 of 25 high schools. It will be used in all secondary schools next year.

The system has two software pieces: Pinnacle allows teachers to post grades online as they record them in their grade book. EdLine allows parents to log on to the system, where they can see their child’s grades and find out about lessons and assignments.

Together, the software gives parents ‘‘almost real-time” feedback about their student’s progress, said Michael J. Doran, principal at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville.

School officials hope it will eliminate any surprises on report cards. ‘‘It’s a tool for you to stay connected with your student,” Doran said. ‘‘Not that you don’t believe your kids, but your kids often won’t tell you when they’re struggling. They won’t tell you that there’s a D hanging out there somewhere.”

On OARS To learn more about the Online Achievement and Reporting System, go to www.mcps.k12.md.us⁄ departments⁄oars⁄about⁄

The system allows students to see the link between doing well on their assignments and getting a good overall grade in a class, said Chrissy Jacobs, an eighth-grade U.S. history teacher at Shady Grove. ‘‘A poor grade really spurs some action in a middle school student ...,” she said. ‘‘They don’t realize missing three homework assignments is the same as doing poorly on a test.”

The school system’s Division of Student Data Management, which is responsible for updating class rosters and uploading grades to EdLine each night, has been troubleshooting glitches in the Pinnacle system. There are minor issues with ‘‘speed and accuracy,” Doran said. Some teachers have had problems posting grades for their entire class.

Parents and students at all schools should be able to see all grades this week, said Elton Stokes, director of information and organization systems. ‘‘The caveat there is teachers aren’t going to update the grade book every day,” he said.

While teachers could post grade updates daily, the school system suggests that teachers upload grades to the grade book within three weeks of an assignment’s due date, Stokes said.

Teachers have been trained to use the system, and each school has three to seven teachers who serve as grade book advisers and can help troubleshoot problems.

As teachers grow more comfortable with the system, assignments could go online with parents able to log in and get answer keys, so they can help their children with homework.

Along with homework assignments and due dates, teachers often post their e-mail addresses on EdLine, so parents and students can ask questions.

Schools such as Shady Grove Middle are opening their doors in evenings to allow parents without computer access to use school computers to access their students’ grades.

‘‘What we’ve found is [the system has] cut down on the number of parent-teacher conferences,” Stokes said. ‘‘There’s less need for it because they have a more direct line of communication.”