This organization allows you to use Gradebook simultaneously for as many courses as you like, including keeping records for old courses until you feel you no longer need them. For example, suppose you are teaching two courses this semester, history 101 and history 201. You might store grades for these two courses in two directories --
If you do a lot of work on the central UNIX machines (strauss, brahms, chopin), you may want a more elaborate scheme. For example, you might have a directory called Class and keep a subdirectory in Class for each course. Then your two Gradebook directories might be called --
With this organization you can keep your grades separate from other work you are doing with each course.
Since UNIX file and directory names may be as long as 255 characters, you can use longer names if you prefer (e.g., history_101.fall96), but remember you have to type the long name every time you want to change to the directory.
If you are not already in a gradebook directory when you start gradebook, gradebook automatically changes to the last gradebook directory you used. So, if you are using gradebook for one course, after the initial start-up, you need not change to the gradebook directory before starting gradebook. If you are using gradebook for more than one class, you may still start gradebook without first changing to the desired directory. If the directory you intend to use for the current session is the same as the one previously used, you will not need to change directories at all. Otherwise, you may change directories after starting gradebook using the cd command. Using cd in gradebook usually will save a bit of typing since gradebook will recognize a gradebook directory by any unique subpart of it. For example, you might type cd 201 to change to ~/Class/hist201.fall96/grades if you have only the two gradebook directories listed in the above example.
Each of your grades is identified by a name consisting of a maximum of eight characters. Examples include test1, test2, quiz1, assign1, lab2, paper4, etc. Also, each grade is classified as a "type." For example, test1, test2, midterm, and final may all be classified as test, or assign1, assign2, ..., assign10 may all be classified as type assign.
Your record keeping and typing will be simplified if you always assign a numeric suffix to the names of your grades, for example use test3 instead of midterm. If you do assign a numeric suffix to the name of your grade, Gradebook automatically assigns a type consisting of every character except the numeric suffix. Otherwise, Gradebook will prompt you to enter the name of the type. For example, midterm might be classified as type "test."
There are several reasons for classifying each grade into a type: (1) You may calculate a separate sum/average for each type, for example average quiz score, average test score, etc. (2) You may drop the lowest one or two (or any number) of grades for each type before calculating the average. (3) You may combine averages for each type (instead of for each grade) to calculate the final score. (4) You may produce reports (e.g., lists of student grades, frequencies, means, etc) for each type. (5) You may convert the average or total score for each type into a letter grade.
The social security number is stored in an identifier (id) variable called ssno. The complete list of id variables follows:
The main functions of Gradebook are (1) initialize for a new course, (2) add a grade, (3) remove a grade, (4) calculate the final score for the course or for one or more "types," (5) assign letter grades to one or more grades. There are several additional functions. These are shown on the main Gradebook menu, reproduced here --
*** Current working directory is: ~/hist101.fall96
*** Enter desired function from the menu ***
help: help <command>, help on this menu if no <command>
undo: Restore the Gradebook master file as it was before your
most recent change
init: Initialize Gradebook for a new class/section
add: Add/replace a quiz, test, assignment, ...
remove: Remove a quiz, test, assignment, ...
score: Find total/average scores of tests, quizzes, ...
lg: Assign letter grades
edit: Change your parameters or grades file
sort: Sort Gradebook master file
report: Print/view a report
cd: Change to another Gradebook directory
quit: Exit Gradebook (q)
Enter:
You type one of these commands at the "Enter:" prompt. Each command may be abbreviated to its shortest unique beginning letters--for example, i for init, a for add, he for help, rep for report, rem for remove. The letter h gives you a history of the last ten commands you typed, but it is not listed on the menu.
Gradebook prints the name of the current directory at the top of the main menu. Note that the ~/ is a shorthand symbol for the complete path of your home directory.
Gradebook has several functions in addition to its primary functions. For example, the first function listed is "help." Typing help brings you to a help screen that explains basic aspects of Gradebook. The second menu item, "undo," means to undo the last change you made to Gradebook. For example, suppose you intended to remove quiz4 from your grades but removed quiz1 by mistake. You could type undo to bring quiz1 back, then remove quiz4.
source ~larryh/gb/gbsetup
Normally, class rosters are sent only to the faculty member teaching the course. If you wish to have a roster sent to a teaching assistant, send mail to access@udel.edu and to Diane.Davis@mvs.udel.edu requesting that this person be added to the authorization list. (You can include both addresses in the same mail message.) Include the person's name and social security number and the course title and number. Authorization takes about a day. When it is complete, you can order the roster and have it sent to your TA, or your TA can order it directly by running the ezforms program on strauss.
To obtain your roster file, logon to strauss and type --
ezformsThen select "Class Roster Request." After this selection you see a screen like the following:
Date: Sep 07 95 Thu 8:21PM EDT
To: EZforms@mvs.udel.edu
From: larryh
Subject: EZ:51, Class Roster Request
Term code: ___
Sample term codes: 95F (fall), 95S (spring), 95W (winter), 95J (summer)
Course id: _______ Section(s): ___ through ___
The course id must be in the format SSSSNNN, for example, BISC510. First
section number is required; for a range of sections, fill in the second section
number. All sections will be sent in a single file.
Send roster to: __________________________________________________
Class roster file will be mailed to the requestor unless there is an E-MAIL
ADDRESS entered in the above field. If the above field contains an e-mail
address with no @, '@udel.edu' will be appended to the e-mail address.
Arrow keys move, ^B - Prv page, ^F - Nxt page, ^V - Help, ^D - Send, ^C - Exit
Fill in the blanks (term code, course id, and section numbers) as requested on the form. You need not type anything on the "Send roster to:" line unless you wish to send the roster to an account other than your own, such as your TA.
Press CTRL-d to send (deliver) the form. A file containing your roster will be mailed to your UNIX account. So, be sure you don't have your UNIX mail forwarded.
If the form you submitted contains errors, EZforms returns it to you within a few minutes as e-mail. Use Pine to check for errors. You can identify the mail by the subject line which will contain "EZ:51." Select the message and type s to save the message. At the SAVE prompt, type form.error to save the form for resubmitting*. Then quit Pine.
Only if you have saved a form.error file, fix the error(s) in EZforms by typing --
cd mail
ezforms form.error
at the % prompt. Correct the errors and resubmit the form by pressing CTRL-d. (If you
want to see the list of errors, press CTRL-v (help).)
*If you have more than one Ezforms error message, save them as form1.error, form2.error, ....
First make a directory for your course. This could be as simple as a directory under your home directory with the name and semester of the course forming part of the directory name, for example hist101.fall96. For this example, the command is --
cd
mkdir hist101.f96
The initial cd command is a precaution to assure that you are in your home directory before making the subdirectory for the course. After about a day, logon to strauss and type pine to get your roster file. Select Folder Index (I) and press return beside the mail containing your roster. (EZforms messages concerning rosters can be identified by EZ:51 on the subject line.) Then type e, which means to "export" the mail message to a standard UNIX file instead of to a pine mailbox. You will be prompted for a file name. For our example type, --
hist101.fall96/roster.dataPine puts the data into a file called roster.data in the directory called hist101.fall96. After the file is successfully saved, exit pine by typing q. When Pine asks if you really want to quit, type y. It also will ask you whether to move the file to read-mail. Respond according to your preference. After you confirm that the file was saved properly, you can delete it from pine.
After exiting pine, make your current directory the one where you want to store grades for your course, for our example --
cd ~/hist101.fall96Then type --
gradebookand type init at the menu prompt. You will be asked for the name of the directory to use for this course. Press return for the current directory (assuming you have changed directory correctly as indicated above). If you do not want the current directory (printed above the prompt), type the name of the directory you want, preceded by a ~/, for example, ~/hist101.fall96.
At this point, Gradebook is initialized for the course with directory name hist101.fall96. This means that the roster file has been read into the Gradebook master file and four parameters have been set. The four parameters and their feasible values (default values in bold) are --
| Type of grade: | raw, per (percentage) |
| Type of cumulative scores: | sum, ave (average) |
| Missing value: | Default is none, otherwise select a numeric value to be defined as missing |
| Use plus/minus: | yes, no |
These values may be changed by typing edit at the main menu, then parm.
gradebookat the UNIX prompt. If you are still running Gradebook from the initialization step above, you can skip this step. Next, type add at the main Gradebook menu prompt. The following prompt appears --
Enter NAME of test (e.g., test1, quiz1, ...)Type the name you want for this grade, something like test1, quiz1, assign1, lab1, paper2, etc. The name may contain up to eight characters. Next, Gradebook asks you for a weight for this grade --
Enter WEIGHT (default=1);If you press return without typing a number, the weight is assigned to be 1.0 (equivalent to unweighted).
Gradebook searches for a filename in your current directory containing the name of your grade. If it finds exactly one, it takes the new grades from that file. If it finds more than one, it asks you which one to use.
If it finds none, it gives you the following options:. (1) type in a new filename, (2) type in a new variable name, or (3) hand enter the grade. The exact menu is --
file: New name for the update file
vname: New variable name
hand: Hand enter grades
Make your choice by typing one of three keywords: file, vname, or hand.
If you select hand, you are placed in the pico editor. For hand entry, Gradebook produces a file which conforms to the Test Scoring format but without the grades. Go to the end of the first line by pressing CTRL-e*, enter the numeric score for the first student, then use the down arrow key to go to the next student -- until you have finished entering the numeric score for all students. Blanks are assumed to be zero unless you have assigned a missing value in which case the missing value is assigned. When you are finished, exit pico by pressing CTRL-x. Gradebook will add the grades to the Gradebook master file, matching students by their social security numbers.
*CTRL-e means to press the control key and the letter e simultaneously. In general, CTRL stands for the control key, to be pressed at the same time with the character following the dash. Note: In pico and Pine mail, the symbol ^e stands for CTRL-e.
Hand-entered grades are kept in two places: (1) the Gradebook master file, and (2) the update file you edit with pico. For a grade called quiz1, the update file will be called quiz1.data, for a grade called lab2, the update file is lab2.data, etc. These update files can be viewed on your screen or printed, whereas you cannot interpret the Gradebook master file which is stored in binary format.
If you hand-enter grades, there should be no incorrect social security numbers, since Gradebook uses social security numbers from its master file to produce the update file. If a student took the test but does not appear in the update file, add her/his complete entry, including social security number, name and grade. Make sure (1) the first and last digits of the new social security number align with the first and last digits of the other social security numbers, (2) the first letter of the new name aligns in the same column as the first letter for other student names AND the name does not take more than 20 characters (including blanks, periods, and commas), and (3) the grade aligns in the same locations with grades for other students.
If you use Test Scoring, you are dependent on students to enter correct social security numbers. In case of error (either on the scan sheet or the roster file), Gradebook will not match student records correctly. Additionally, any students who did not take the test will not appear in the update file. Gradebook will not find a match in this case either. Frequently students do not code the social security numbers on the scantron sheet. These are recorded as nine zeros -- 000000000.' Gradebook identifies these social security numbers and asks you whether you want to fix them now or exit the add program, fix them later then add the grade again at a later time.
In case of mismatches between students in you master gradebook and those in the update file, Gradebook produces a file called mismatch.lst which lists the mismatches. Those appearing in your Gradebook master file but not in the update file appear in the left two columns. Those in the update file but not in the Gradebook master file appear in the next two columns. The grade recorded for each of the student listed appears in the rightmost column. By default, these grades are zero for students not appearing in the update file. An example of this file is reproduced here --
Mismatches for adding: quiz1
Entries under the column labeled 'Master Grade File' came from your
gradebook masterfile but not your update (new grade) file.
Entries under the column labeled 'Update File' came from your update file
but not your master gradebook file
Entries under the last column, labeled 'Grade' are the grades recorded for the
listed students.
Source
Master Grade File Update File Grade
321212121 PERKINS FRANCIS 0
234567890 ADAMS, ABIGAIL 22
421212121 SANDBURG CARL 0
521212121 DU BOIS W.E.B 0
In this instance, three students didn't take quiz1 -- Perkins, Sandburg, and Du Bois. These correspond to blank entries on the column labeled "Update File." Since the missing option was not set, they all were assigned 0 for quiz1. Additionally, a record for Adams was taken from the update file and added to the master gradebook file, but Adams did not appear in the master file before quiz1 was added.
You can view the mismatch.lst file from within Gradebook by typing report at the main-menu prompt, then mismatch. Type q when you are finished viewing the file.
report
list
You will be prompted to list the names of the variables you want to see. The list of all your variables appears on the screen, including the identifiers. For example --
ID vars: name ssno class sect maj
Types: quiz assign
Vars: quiz1 quiz2 assign1 assign2 assign3
Enter one or more variables or types (<return> for all) --
Enter:
If you press return you will get default variables from the ID variables and all other variables. Usually there is only one default ID variable, name, but the default becomes the list you most recently used. For example, if you wanted to view both name and social security and all the other variables, type --
name ssno -allThe next time you view a list, name and ssno will be the default ID variables.
Gradebook produces a file containing your list of grades. The file is called gbook.lst; it is placed into aUNIX program for viewing on screen. Press the f (or SPACEBAR) to go forward one screen, b to go back one screen, and q to quit the listing. These commands, except for SPACEBAR, are listed as prompts at the bottom of the screen. Other useful commands are: <return> to go down one line, k to go up one line, /<string> to search for <string> (e.g., a student's name. The searches are not case sensitive.
After viewing the list, you can (1) return to the main Gradebook menu (<return>), (2) print the file (p), or (3) save the file to one with a name you choose (s).
scoreat the main menu. Gradebook will calculate scores for any "type" as well as for the entire course. It prompts for the type --
Enter type' (default is all including final course grade):Press <return> to calculate the final score. A new variable called finalsc is added to your Gradebook master file. Additionally for each "type," a variable with the name of the type as the prefix and "sc" as asuffix is added to the Gradebook master file. These variables are not displayed as defaults with the report list function.
To view grades, including the final score, type report then type list and press <return>. An example of a listing is --
Mon Aug 28 18:04:10 1995 Page 1
G R A D E B O O K
University of Delaware
course: stat100
dir: /home/strauss/usrc/7d/32007/Gbtest/stat100
------------------------------------------------------------------
name quiz1 quiz2 quiz3 test1 test2 finalsc
EARHART, AMELIA 80.00 88.89 55.56 96.00 76 79.29
HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL 93.33 77.78 72.22 90.00 90 84.67
DU BOIS, W.E.B. 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 92 18.40
DA VINCI, LEONARDO 86.67 83.33 72.22 78.00 72 78.44
POE, EDGAR ALLAN 86.67 83.33 66.67 80.00 58 74.93
CURIE MARIE 73.33 55.56 66.67 98.00 86 75.91
ADAMS, ABIGAIL 100.00 88.89 100.00 100.00 92 96.18
WASHINGTON, GEORGE 73.33 83.33 77.78 70.00 76 76.09
MCKINLEY, WILLIAM 93.33 66.67 77.78 97.96 70 81.15
PATTON, GEORGE S 100.00 72.22 61.11 60.00 72 73.07
MARSHALL, JOHN 0.00 61.11 55.56 90.00 80 57.33
PERKINS, FRANCIS 80.00 94.44 66.67 50.00 84 75.02
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM 86.67 72.22 66.67 72.00 70 73.51
OWENS, JESSE 93.33 55.56 55.56 88.00 82 74.89
MACARTHUR, DOUGLAS 86.67 88.89 77.78 68.00 86 81.47
ROCKWELL, NORMAN 93.33 94.44 55.56 84.00 68 79.07
HEIFETZ, JASCHA 93.33 55.56 77.78 86.00 88 80.13
ROOSEVELT, ELEANOR 73.33 66.67 72.22 92.00 82 77.24
HAMILTON, ALEXANDER 60.00 61.11 61.11 76.00 80 67.64
DE GOYA, FRANCISCO 86.67 77.78 72.22 78.00 74 77.73
SANDBURG, CARL 66.67 72.22 50.00 80.00 82 70.18
In this case, the percentage and average options are set. Hence, the numbers refer to percentage correct, and the final score is the average percentage of correct answers for all tests and quizzes. (Defaults would be raw score and sum or total). Note that both the name of the course and the directory are printed at the top of the listing.
Tue Aug 29 15:03:10 1995 Page 1
G R A D E B O O K
University of Delaware
Course: STAT100 010
Dir: /home/strauss/usrc/19/06442/stat100
------------------------------------------------------------
Variable: finalsc
Cumulative
Value Frequency Percentage Percentage
14.00 1 4.5 4.5
46.00 1 4.5 9.1
105.00 1 4.5 13.6
106.00 1 4.5 18.2
108.00 1 4.5 22.7
109.00 3 13.6 36.4
113.00 2 9.1 45.5
116.00 2 9.1 54.5
117.00 1 4.5 59.1
119.00 1 4.5 63.6
120.00 1 4.5 68.2
123.00 2 9.1 77.3
124.00 1 4.5 81.8
125.00 2 9.1 90.9
131.00 1 4.5 95.5
145.00 1 4.5 100.0
Total 22 N missing: 0
Type q to exit this report. The report may be printed at Smith Hall by selecting p at the next prompt, or you can save it to a file (s), or press <return> to return to the main menu. After you decide on cutoffs for each letter grade, start the letter-grade procedure by typing --
lgat the main menu.
Gradebook will assign a letter grade to any variable in your master file, for example, quiz1, test3, or finalsc. Choose a variable by typing its name or press <return> to accept the default, finalsc. If you have never assigned a letter grade to the selected variable, you will be prompted to assign cutoffs for each grade. Assign the lowest score associated with each letter grade. Here is an example of the prompts and the cutoffs assigned --
Enter grade cutoffs at each prompt (q to quit).
If you want to reenter a cutoff you have already entered, type the
letter grade, followed by an = sign, followed by the revised cutoff.
For example: A- = 92.
Enter lowest score for A: 95
Enter lowest score for A-: 90
Enter lowest score for B+: 88
Enter lowest score for B: 85
Enter lowest score for B-: 80
Enter lowest score for C+: 78
Enter lowest score for C: 75
Enter lowest score for C-: 70
Enter lowest score for D+: 68
Enter lowest score for D: 65
Enter lowest score for D-: 60
When you press <return> after D-, Gradebook assigns the letter grades and returns to the main menu. To view the result, type report then list.
The resulting listing looks like this --
Aug 29 13:00:46 1995 Page 1
G R A D E B O O K
University of Delaware
course: STAT100 010
dir: /home/strauss/usrc/19/06442/stat100
------------------------------------------------------------
name quiz1 quiz2 quiz3 test1 test2 finalsc
ADAMS, ABIGAIL 15 16 18 50 46 145 A
CURIE MARIE 11 10 12 49 43 125 B-
DA VINCI, LEONARDO 13 15 13 39 36 116 C
DE GOYA, FRANCISCO 13 14 13 39 37 116 C
DU BOIS, W.E.B. 0 0 0 0 46 46 F
EARHART, AMELIA 12 16 10 48 38 124 C+
HAMILTON, ALEXANDER 9 11 11 38 40 109 D+
HAWTHORNE NATHANIEL 14 0 0 0 0 14 F
HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL 14 14 13 45 45 131 B
HEIFETZ, JASCHA 14 10 14 43 44 125 B-
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM 13 13 12 36 35 109 D+
MACARTHUR, DOUGLAS 13 16 14 34 43 120 C+
MARSHALL, JOHN 0 11 10 45 40 106 D+
MCKINLEY, WILLIAM 14 12 14 48 35 123 C+
OWENS, JESSE 14 10 10 44 41 119 C
PATTON, GEORGE S 15 13 11 30 36 105 D+
PERKINS, FRANCIS 12 17 12 25 42 108 D+
POE, EDGAR ALLAN 13 15 12 40 29 109 D+
ROCKWELL, NORMAN 14 17 10 42 34 117 C
ROOSEVELT, ELEANOR 11 12 13 46 41 123 C+
SANDBURG, CARL 10 13 9 40 41 113 C-
WASHINGTON, GEORGE 11 15 14 35 38 113 C-
Suppose you want to produce a list with social security numbers, the last test (test2 in this example) and only the letter grades for the final score. Type report then list and --
ID vars: name ssno class sect maj
Types: quiz test final
Vars: quiz1 quiz2 quiz3 quizsc test1 test2 testsc finalsc
Enter one or more variables or types ( for all)--
Enter: ssno test2 finalsc -lg
Note the use of the -lg flag to get only the letter grade for the final score. The result looks like this --
Tue Aug 29 14:35:00 1995 Page 1
G R A D E B O O K
University of Delaware
course: STAT100 010
dir: /home/strauss/usrc/19/06442/stat100
--------------------------------------------------
ssno test2 finalsc
234567890 46 A
223344556 43 B-
123456789 36 C
901234567 37 C
121212121 46 F
000111000 38 C+
890123456 40 D+
111111110 0 F
111111111 45 B
789012345 44 B-
567890123 35 D+
678901234 43 C+
456789012 40 D+
345678901 35 C+
666666666 41 C
444444444 36 D+
555555555 42 D+
222222222 29 D+
777777777 34 C
888888888 41 C+
999999999 41 C-
333333333 38 C-
| help: | View a help file on your screen |
| undo: | Discard the last change you made to your Gradebook master file. For example, you may have removed a grade which you did not intend to remove. You can get it back by typing undo at the main menu. |
| remove: | Remove a grade from your Gradebook master file. Gradebook prompts you for the name of the grade (e.g., quiz5). |
| edit: | You may edit three parts of Gradebook (1) the grades file (grade) -- the file that contains student ID and grades data, (2) the parameter file (parm) -- the file that indicates your parameter settings (e.g., average or sum for your finalsc), (3) a letter-grade file (lg) -- a file which contains cutoffs for letter grades. There may be one for finalsc or any other grade variable in your master file. |
| sort: | Sort your grade file by any variable or combination of variables. For example, you may want to sort by social security number (ssno) before producing a list to post for students to view. Gradebook prompts you for the name(s) of variable(s) by which to sort. |
| cd: | Change directory to another Gradebook directory. Gradebook keeps a record of your course directories, so you usually can use cd and a short abbreviation for a course directory. For example, cd chem100 instead of cd ~/Class/chem100.fall96 |
Gradebook: Editing Master Grade File
Enter function from the menu.
/<string>: Search for <string> in student name and ssno
all: Go through the entire list of students (al)
addgrade: Add a new grade -- quiz, test, assignment, ... (addg)
addstu: Add a new student (adds)
sort <vars>: Sort by <vars>
repeat: Repeat last function (r)
quit: Quit, save changes (q)
cancel: Quit, don't save changes
Enter:
You will perform most functions after a listing of the data for a student. To view/edit each student, type all at the main menu. To edit the entry for one student, use the search function. For example suppose you want to change a grade for a student whose social security number is 111111111. Enter a forward slash (/) followed by all or a unique part of the social security number. You may also search for student names. Here is an example using 1111 as a unique part of the 111111111 social security number.
Enter: /1111
Select an option from the menu:
<vname> =<value>: Change specific variables
p <var>: Edit variables with prompts, start with <var>
delete/undelete: Delete/undelete (keep) this student
<return>: Continue to a new student
quit: Return to main menu (q)
ssno=111111111 name=HAWTHORNE NATHANIEL class= sect= maj=
quiz1=14 quiz2=0 quiz3=0 quizsc=14
test1=0 test2=0 testsc=0 finalsc=14
STATUS=keep
Enter:
Gradebook prints the information shown after the /1111. To change Nathaniel Hawthorne's score for quiz2 to 15, type --
quiz2=15Gradebook makes the change and reprints all the data for Nathaniel Hawthorne, giving you a chance to make more changes. Type q to return to the main menu. (If you press<return>, Gradebook continues the search, printing "Not found, press <return> to continue" if it reaches the end of your grade file without finding any more instances of 1111. When you press <return> here, you are returned to the main menu.)
The other editing functions allow you to add a new student, add a new grade, and sort the cases by any variable. We will not review them in this short document, but you may try them if you wish and direct questions to Larry Hotchkiss (larryh@udel.edu, x-1989) or Evelyn Stevens (evelyn@udel.edu, x-4240).
Make desired changes in your parameters.
Permissible changes are marked by '*'.
--------------------------------------------------
Title of course: STAT100 010
Number of variables = 8
Number of students = 22
Type of cumulative scores = sum * (sum, ave)
Type of numeric grades = raw * (raw, per)
Missing value = none *
plus/minus = yes * (yes, no)
type = quiz * drop = 0 *
1 var name = quiz1 * weight = 1 *
2 var name = quiz2 * weight = 1 *
3 var name = quiz3 * weight = 1 *
4 var name = quizsc * weight = .6 *
type = test * drop = 0 *
5 var name = test1 * weight = 1 *
6 var name = test2 * weight = 1 *
7 var name = testsc * weight = .4 *
type = final * drop = 0 *
8 var name = finalsc * weight = 1 *
Change parameter settings like "Type of cumulative scores" by using pico to change the value, for example, change "sum" to "ave". Be sure to use the exact spelling of the options enclosed in parentheses. To set a missing value, change "none" on the line labeled "Missing value = " to a number which you want Gradebook to interpret as missing. Gradebook will omit grades with this value from its accumulations. For example, suppose you have "ave" set, and most students have 4 quiz grades, but Nathaniel Hawthorne has only 3 -- the fourth is the missing value. In this case, Gradebook calculates the average of the three nonmissing quizes. But, if you have "type of cumulative scores" set to sum, the missing value has no effect. Similarly, you can change the drop and weight numbers by changing the values in the usual way with pico.
To change variable names or type names, change the text that appears. To reorder variables and/or associate a variable with a different type, use the pico CTRL-k CTRL-u functions to cut and then paste a line. For example, suppose you entered quiz3 before you entered quiz2 and want to reorder the variables so quiz2 appears before quiz3. Place the cursor on the line for quiz2, press CTRL-k, then position the cursor on the line for quiz3 and press CTRL-u. Pico places the cut text on the line just before the one where you press the CTRL-u.
Renaming and reordering variables are done when you exit the edit function, but you must rerun other gradebook functions to implement changes in type of cumulative scores, type of numeric grades, missing values, drop, and weight.
March, 1996