One exam for an academic year (its name, type, dates and grading scheme) together with its datesheet: which class sits which subject, on which day, and out of how many marks.
When to use it
Before an exam is held, once the timetable is settled. Teachers can then enter marks against it, and results can be worked out afterwards.
Before you start
- Academic Year must exist, and the exam is filed under it.
- Class / Grade and Subject must exist, and the subjects should be mapped to classes on Class Subject.
- A Grade Scale should exist if you want grades and grade points on the results.
- Students should already be enrolled for the year, since results are worked out per class.
Where to find it
Entry > School > Exam.
The fields on this screen
| Section | Field (on screen) | What to enter | Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Datesheet | Class | Class this paper is set for. Add one row per class and subject. | No |
| Datesheet | Subject | The subject this paper covers. Add one row for every subject each class sits. | No |
| Datesheet | Exam date | The day this paper is sat. It is separate from the exam's own start and end dates. | No |
| Datesheet | Full marks | Marks this paper is out of. The student's total and percentage add these up across subjects. | No |
| Datesheet | Pass marks | Lowest mark that passes this paper. Leave it at zero and nobody can fail on this subject. | No |
| Datesheet | Has practical | Tick when this subject has a practical paper for this exam. It reveals the practical full marks box, and the result engine adds it to this subject's total. | No |
| Datesheet | Full marks (practical) | The practical paper's own total marks for this exam. Shown only when Has practical is ticked, and added to this subject's full marks when results are published. | No |
| Exam | Academic year | (not explained yet) | No |
| Exam | Exam name | for example First Terminal, Final | No |
| Exam | Type | What kind of exam this is: Terminal, Unit test, Practical or Final. | No |
| Exam | Start date | First day of the exam. Each paper's own date is set on the Datesheet below. | No |
| Exam | End date | Last day of the exam. Each paper's own date is set on the Datesheet below. | No |
| Exam | Weightage % | Weight recorded for this exam, as a percentage. Results are worked out from marks alone, so it is a note. | No |
| Exam | Grade scale | Grade bands that turn a percentage into a grade. Without one the result shows no grade or grade point. | No |
| Exam | Result status | Draft while marks are still being keyed. It turns to Published once the results have been worked out. | No |
How it works
- Save the exam and its datesheet. Nothing is charged or accounted for here; this is academic setup.
- Mark Entry reads the datesheet. A teacher picks the exam, class and subject and enters theory and practical marks for each student. Those marks are measured against the Full marks and Pass marks on the datesheet row. If the subject has a practical, tick Has practical and set Full marks (practical) on the datesheet row too. If you do not, a student's practical marks are still recorded but never counted toward the subject's own total, and the percentage can run past 100%.
- When results are worked out, every student who sat the exam is scored against every subject on their class's datesheet. A subject a teacher has not yet marked for a student still counts. It counts as 0 out of that subject's full marks (theory, plus practical when ticked), not as missing from the total. Marks are added across all subjects and turned into a percentage. That gives a grade and grade point from the exam's grade scale, a division, and a rank within the class. A student who is absent in any subject, below the pass marks in any subject, or not yet marked in one, is failed and gets no grade.
- Results appear on the Result screen, which is read only. Working the results out again is safe. The exam's earlier results are replaced, so after correcting a mark you can re-run them.
- Result status on this screen records how far the exam has got.
Tips and common mistakes
- Set the grade scale on the exam. Without it a percentage is still worked out, but there is no grade or grade point to show.
- Full marks and Pass marks belong on each datesheet row, not on the exam. A row left at zero pass marks means nobody can fail that subject.
- Add every subject each class sits. A subject missing from the datesheet itself is missing from the student's total; this is the one gap that working out results does not fill in. A subject that is on the datesheet, but that one student has not been marked in yet, is different. It still counts, at 0, and fails that student until the mark is entered.
- Whenever a subject has a practical, tick Has practical and set its own Full marks. If it is left unticked while Mark Entry still records practical marks, a percentage can run past 100% with no grade to show for it.
- To fix a result, correct the mark and run the results again. Do not edit the result.
Related guides
- Academic Year, Class / Grade, Section, Subject, Class Subject, Grade Scale (the setup this exam reads); Mark Entry and Result (what happens next).