by Laura Katz
Teachers, are you looking for a free grading program? Do you have Microsoft Works? Look no further, you already have one. It has a grading program as part of the package. The nicest thing about it is that as you put in the grades it averages automaticall y. You can pick up an old version for about $25.00. It is also sold as part of the Home Essentials package. Look for the grade book feature.
When you first enter the names of the students, use the last name, first name method. Then you can just sort automatically by the sort feature. It comes in very handy if you get a new student in the middle of the semester. Make sure you include “sort all rows” so you don’t leave the grades with the wrong name.
Use the “save as” feature to duplicate the list of students for each subject. In other words, “save as” math, then save as reading etc. To keep the list of students in front of you, remove the protection feature and then find the freeze tool. It’s probab ly under options. Highlight the E column and the names will not move when you get past the columns visible on the screen. Just make sure you return to the E column to put the first grade for the next student.
When you are finished putting in all your grades you can print out your grade sheets two different ways: either with all the grids colored green, or as a draft copy. If you don’t want to use the sheets for permanent records, the draft copy is good enough .
Laura Katz, a HAL-PC member, is a third grade teacher at A. A. Milne Elementary School and she can be contacted at laurak@hal-pc.org.
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