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VAR Grade HELP Version 4.6
Copyright (C) 1988-1991 by Dennis Revie. All Rights Reserved.
Selecting a Class:
------------------
To select a class file, you can either type in the name of the
class, or use the cursor keys or <Ctrl>-cursor keys to select the
correct name and then press the <return> key. If you decide to type
in the name, you may enter a full path name, but the three letter
extension need not be entered (e.g., you can enter "CLASS" or "C:CLASS",
but not "CLASS.PAR"). If the extension is entered (".PAR"), it is not
used by the program.
To use a class on another drive or in another directory, you can
either enter the full path name (e.g., A:\grades\class), or you can
use the <F5> key and enter the new directory (e.g., A:\grades). If
you change the directory, all the classes in the new directory are
displayed.
Menu Choices:
-------------
The "Main Menu" is the menu listed when you first enter the program.
When you are asked for a menu choice here or at any other place in VAR
GRADE, you only need to press one key (the one listed before the choice).
When one of the choices is in reverse colors, pressing <Return> will
choose the highlighted one. You can also use a mouse to pick the
highlighted choice: the left button will select the highlighted choice.
The program will only respond to those keys listed on the menu, and
responds immediately to the key.
Entering Data:
--------------
To enter data either by name or by numbers, you type in the data, then
you press <Return> to signal the end of your data. In general, if you
are asked to "enter" a number or name, end it with "<Return>", when you
are asked to "press" a key, type only the desired key. To pick a
student name or class name, you can either use the cursor keys to select
the name and press <Return>, OR you may type in a valid name. For
student names, you only need to type enough letters to make uniquely
specify that student. e.g., type "Ken" to find "Smith, Ken". However,
if "Kennedy, John" was also in the class, the program would find that
name, instead of the desired one.
Quit the Program:
-----------------
To quit or exit the program, you can either pick "Q" (quit) on the Main
Menu or <CtrlC> from ANYWHERE in the program. If you have changed any
data for your class, the program will ask you if the data should be
written to a class file before the program quits. If you say no ("N"),
the newly entered data will be irretrievably lost.
For more Information:
---------------------
There is a more extensive and complete manual that can be viewed from
the program by pressing "M" on the main menu. You can also print it for
easier reference. You can get help at any time in the program by typing
<AltH> (the Alt key and the "H" key).
How special keys are used in this program:
------------------------------------------
Special keys are designated by bracketing the name with "<" and ">".
e.g.: <Esc> is the escape key, <Rtn> is the return key. The keys are
used in some but not all parts of the program.
Cursor keys:
There are two types of key editing modes. The default mode lets you
correct errors with the backspace key. The <Home>, <End>, <Left Arrow>,
and <Right Arrow> are used to move thru a list of students, exams, or
choices. There is a selectable mode ("edit" keys), in the "Z" option
on the Main Menu, that changes these four keys so you can use them to
correct errors. The <Home> key will then go to the first character of
a number or name, the <End> key will go to the last one. The <Left
Arrow> and <Right Arrow> move you left or right one character,
respectively. Since you need to move between data fields, the
<Ctrl-Left Arrow> and <Ctrl-Right Arrow> will then move you one field
to the left or right, respectively.
Key Name of key Program Function
-------- ------------- ----------------
<Esc> escape Exit this section or part of the program
<Rtn> return,enter Signals the end of input of a name or number
<Pg up> page up List the previous screen
<Pg dn> page down List the next screen
<Home> home Go to the beginning of a list
<End> end Go to the end of a list
<Tab> tab Go to the next entry (cell)
<ShftTab> shift-tab Go to the previous entry
<F1> function key 1 Use all the listed choices
<F10> function key 10 To erase what you have typed for the entry
<AltU> alt-U (Undo) Restores the original number or letters
when entering data for that cell only.
<AltH> alt-H Help--available at any time
<CtrlE> control E When typing in numeric data or words, it will
cause switching between using and not using
edit keys.
<CtrlC> control C Exit from the program. If data has been changed,
you will be asked if it should be written to
a class file before exiting the program.
Note: 1) When entering numeric data, a <rtn> alone, with no number can
have one of several interpretations:
(a) do not change the current value;
or (b) end current input of sections or exams;
or (c) let the program choose the appropriate number.
Which possibility (a, b, or c) that the program will use is
stated on the screen when data is requested.
2) When entering names, the cursor keys can usually be used to
select the student or class. The cursor keys <Home>, <End>,
<Pg up>, <Pg dn>, <Ctrl-Home>, <Ctrl-End>, <Left Arrow>,
<Rt Arrow>, <Up Arrow>, <Dn Arrow>, <Ctrl-Pg up>, <Ctrl-Pg dn>,
<Ctrl-Left arrow>, and <Ctrl-Rt arrow> can be used. Select the
desired name, then press <Rtn>. If any letters or numbers have
been typed before the <Rtn>, they will be used rather than the
name at the cursor.
3) When entering task scores or attendance, the cursor keys will
move you between exams, attendance, names, ID's, and section
numbers. The <Ctrl>-cursor keys move you between exams, etc.
IF you use the edit keys (<CtrlE> switches between these).
Starting a new class:
---------------------
You must first set-up the class. You can do this in three steps:
1) Choose the number of different SECTIONS of students:
---------------------------------------------------
The default number of sections is 1. If there is more than one
section of students in your class, press "Z" on the Main Menu. On
the second menu, press "S" (change the number of sections). Type
in the new number, ending with a <Rtn>. Then exit back to the Main
Menu by pressing "E".
2) Enter the NAMES of students: ("N" on the Main Menu)
----------------------------
There is very little that you can do with the program if no students
have been added to your class. Enter the NAMES by pressing "N" on the
Main Menu. You can enter names either of several ways. You can
prepare a file of names, as explained below, or you can type each
directly into the program. You can also enter them in the "D" or "I"
sections of the Main Menu by pressing <AltI>, then typing in the name.
Lastly, you can enter them in the "A" option of the Main Menu.
Loading Students: (Add Students Menu)
-----------------
The program can load students from a file directly into a VAR Grade
class. This can save lots of typing if your school or college can
give you class rosters via computer files. The loader is relatively
dumb: it cannot recognize student names or ID's. You need to prepare
the file before using the loader. NOTE: You can also load students
from a batch file by using the VAR Grade utility "GrUtil".
Flat File ("F"):
Steps:
1. Use a word processor to delete lines in the file that do not
contain student names and ID's. Each file should contain ONE
section of students. If you have multiple sections, separate
the class into one file per section. Each line of the file(s)
contain one student name and ID (if there are ID's).
2. Tell the program the name of the class AND the name of the
student file (see the directions for selecting a file, below).
3. Tell the program where the student names, notes, ID's, section
numbers, and tasks start and end. If the names or notes are
longer than 20 letters, they will be truncated to 20. If the
ID's are longer than 15 letters, they will be truncated. The
names and/or ID's can be anywhere on the line. Each line
should contain a different student. If ID's, sections, or
tasks are not used, tell the program to use "0" as the
position of the first character of that item.
Comma and Quote File ("C") and Automatic loading of Flat File ("A"):
Steps:
1.
(1C) Comma and Quote file: Prepare a file of Names, ID's,
notes, sections, and tasks. Only the names are required.
Each item should be separated by commas. If the Names or
ID's contain commas, you need to put quotes around that item.
(1A) Automatic flat file: Prepare a file of Names, ID's,
notes, sections, and tasks. Only the names are required.
Each item should be separated by spaces. If the Names or ID's
contain spaces, they will be read as two different columns
unless you need to put quotes around the items.
2. The first line of the file can have the names of the items.
The line: "Name", "ID", "Section", "Exam 1", "Homework 5"
as the first line will tell VAR Grade to load the next lines
with the name as the first field, ID as the next, etc. Exam
1 and Homework 5 will be the names of the first two unused
tasks. The line: "Name", "ID", "Section", 1, 5
as the first line will tell VAR Grade to load the next lines
with the name as the first field, ID as the next, the section
number as the next, then tasks 1 and 5 (with "Number task" as
the name). The program will try to determine if the task uses
numbers or letters, and load the exam accordingly.
3. If the first line does not contain "Name", VAR Grade will guess
how to load the fields. It will take the first non-numerical
field and call it the name, the next as the ID. The first
number will be loaded as the first unused task, etc. All the
students will be loaded into section 1.
One task imports ("G"):
Steps:
1. Prepare a file listing with two fields: (1) either the names
or ID's of the students in the class. (2) list the scores
of a task. The two fields should be separated by a comma.
If the names have a comma in them, surround the name with
double quotes (e.g., "Darwin, Charles").
2. Tell the program the name of the file, whether the file
contains names or ID's, and the task number.
3. The program will compare the names or ID's with the students
in the class. The new grades will take precedence over the
old ones.
Selecting a Student File:
-------------------------
To select a student file, you can use the cursor keys to select the
correct name and then press <Rtn>. The file should previously have
been prepared by deleting any lines without student names. Lines
with blank names are ignored. If the name of the student already
exists, the new data is merged into the data for that student.
Direct Entering of Students: ("N" or "I" on the Add Students Menu)
----------------------------
You can type the names of students into the program, as well. If
you want to enter ID numbers as well, you may do so by choosing "I"
on the Add Students Menu, otherwise, enter an "N". ID's can be
added later, if desired, in the sections of the program for
entering task scores or attendance. If there is more than one
section in the class the program will prompt for the correct
section of the students. After a section has been chosen, enter
the names (ending each name with <Rtn>). Each name can have up
to 20 characters, while the ID's can be up to 15 characters. Use
the cursor keys to move around the screen. To add more lines,
type a <Rtn>. When you are finished, exit by pressing <AltS>.
CAUTION: The program can sort the students by their names, so if
you want the students alphabetized by last name, enter the names LAST
name first. You can also sort the class by ID, by the score on any
task, or turn off the sorting of students.
You can also add students in the task scores or attendance sections
of the program. See below for details.
To check whether the students have been entered into the class,
press "D" on the Main Menu. All the students in the class will be
listed on the left side of the screen.
3) Define some exams or tests: ("T" on the Main Menu)
---------------------------
There are two types of exams: regular and special. Regular exams
are those used to enter exam or test scores.
A second menu will ask you to define a task, or to take an action
on a task (move, copy, etc.). After choosing a type of task, you
need to choose the number. The tasks listed are all the tasks
that have been defined (initially, none). After choosing a task
number, you need to enter the task name and, if it is a number task,
the total points for it. Note that for a number task, student scores
must be less than or equal to the total points of the task and
greater than or equal to the minimum possible points. If it is a
letter task, only letter grades can be entered. The default grading
system is A to F with + and - grades. You can change this to just
about ANY grading system in the "Z" option on the Main Menu. You will
be able to pick the names and point values for up to 50 grades.
To define special tasks, see the section tasks definitions, below.
When a number, extra credit, or letter task is defined, the task is
automatically added to the list of tasks to display in the "D" section
of the Main Menu.
4) Define some attendance days:
----------------------------
If you record attendance, the "A" option on the Main Menu can
be pressed for defining and entering attendance. See the section
below on attendance.
5) Enter task scores:
------------------
Scores can be entered either by individual students ("I" on the Main
Menu) or by the whole class ("D" on the Main Menu).
From the "D" option, you can tell the program which regular tasks
you would like to use for entering student scores by pressing <AltC>
(change list of tasks). Regular tasks are letter, number, or extra
credit tasks. If no regular tasks have been defined, there will be
a list of students, ID's, and/or sections, but no tasks. After
defining new tasks, they will be automatically added to the list of
tasks to display. The program will "remember" the last set of tasks
you chose and keep displaying the list until it is changed. When
picking tasks to list, you can pick the task number(s) in ANY order,
ending with the list with a zero. When you list the tasks to use, you
can enter them one at a time, or as groups of consecutive scores by
using a colon (e.g. 1:5 is a valid way to tell the program that you
want to pick tasks 1 to 5). You can then use the cursor keys to move
between the task scores, student names, ID's, or sections.
If there is more than one section of students in the class, you
can list only the sections you want for data input by pressing <AltZ>.
The "I" option lists all the regular tasks for a student. You
can move between the student name, ID, section, and tasks with the
cursor keys. Other students can be listed by using the <Alt> keys
listed on the screen. You can also add new students by using the
<AltI> key (insert new student). <AltF> lets you quickly find
any student in the class. Only regular tasks (those that accept input),
will be listed.
In either option, you can make a student task score be undefined
(unused) by making the score blank. Student scores that are blank
are ones that have not yet had a score entered.
File Maintainance: ("F" on the Main Menu)
------------------
1) Changing the Class file name: ("F" on the Main Menu, then "A")
-----------------------------
This option will let you change the class name. The current
name of the class will be listed. To change the name, just type
in the new one, up to eight letters. All the class files with
the old name are changed to the new name. Note that this changes
the class FILE name, not the name of the class that is listed on
the printouts. To change that, go to the "Z" option on the Main
Menu.
2) Updating to another Disk: ("F" on the Main Menu, then "W")
-------------------------
At any time, you can easily backup the current class data to a
second disk. After pressing "W", a file name will be listed, along
with a message to specify the new drive (and directory). The
program will suggest a default drive to use. If that is acceptable,
just press <Rtn>. Otherwise, change the drive and/or directory to
one you prefer. The difference between this option and the "S"
option on the Main Menu is that the name and directory of the file
is not changed in this option. If you use the "S" option and change
the directory or file name when you write the class data, that new
name will be used by the program from then on.
3) Modifying other classes: ("F" on the Main Menu)
------------------------
You can do complete file maintainance with the other options. For
all of them, you can use the DOS wildcards ("*" and "?"). You can
also move around the directories on your drives. The options are:
Rename: changes the names of all the classes you pick.
Update: checks all classes in the first directory or drive and
copies any classes saved LATER that are in a second
directory or drive.
Copy: copies the classes to new directories, drives, or names.
Move: move the classes from the one directory or drive to
another one.
Delete: removes all class files (ending in ".DAT" or ".PAR") that
you have chosen. It will not remove any other files.
WARNING: this is a destructive command. Make sure you
do not need these class files any more.
4) File Protection: ("F" on the Main Menu, then "P")
----------------
The student files are, by default, written as read-only files.
This prevents deletion of the files by normal procedures like the
DEL command of MS-DOS. You can change these defaults to "normal"
or "hidden". Normal allows deletion of the files with DEL. This
is not as safe, as you could accidentally remove them. Hidden files
are prevented from being seen by the MS-DOS DIR command--this is a
method of extra protection. NOTE: Some programs (back-up, etc.) may
not like hidden or read-only files. If the program complains about
VAR Grade class files, try changing them to "normal" files.
Save the class data: ("S" on the Main Menu)
--------------------
After entering data, it is STRONGLY recommended that you IMMEDIATELY
save your data by pressing "S" (Save) on the Main Menu, or by exiting the
class with the "Q", "E", or "X" options. When data is changed, the program
will not allow you to exit the program without your telling it if you want
to save the altered data. However, if a power or computer failure occurs
before you finish using the program, you may lose a LOT of work if you
have not yet saved the data.
After pressing "S", you will see a prompt asking if you want to save
the file to the one listed (the current class), or to a new name. If you
change the name for saving the data, the program will retain the new name
as the revised file name for the class.
Each time the data is saved, the previous data file is renamed as a
back up. The new data is written as a Read-Only file. Read-Only files
cannot be deleted from DOS by the "del" or "erase" command. The back up
file and read-only main file are done to take every precaution to prevent
the loss of your class data. You can, however, prevent back ups and/or
have the data written as normal DOS files. In the File Maintainance ("F"
on the Main Menu) part of the program there are options that allow either.
You can tell the program to write your files "read-only" (which is the
default value), as "hidden" (the DOS dir command will not even list the
file--this gives extra safety from prying eyes), or as "normal". Normal
files can be deleted by DOS. VAR Grade back-ups are written with
"normal" attributes, hence can easily be deleted. If you do not have
much disk space, you can prevent backup files being made of your class
data. It is recommended that you do not change the default values of
making back up files and making the class files as read-only.
Picking a Printer: ("Z" on the Main Menu, then "P")
------------------
You can pick different types of printers. Each printer that has been
installed (up to 5) is listed on the "Printer Menu". The file GRADE.PDT
contains the needed information. To install different printers, you can
press "P". VAR Grade will search for INSTALLP.EXE and GPRTDRV.PDT. Note
that the program only fully supports the printers for graphs and plots.
An option is included in the program that allows you to enter the print
codes for your printer for pica, elite, bold, etc. The program will then
print in pica, elite, etc, for your printer! You can also specify whether
to use single or double spacing and whether to use draft or high quality
printing when printing the information. Note, however, not all printers
are supported for type sizes other than pica.
If you do not select a printer, you will not be able to print the plots
on a printer. If your printer is not listed by INSTALLP, your printer may
emulate the printer commands of another printer. Consult your printer's
manual for further details.
Printer codes can be changed, as well. Several keys work differently
if you do change the codes, as they are needed to put in printer codes.
Type in the new codes with the <Esc>, <Alt><keypad numbers>, and
regular keys. To delete the previous character, instead of using
backspace, use the <F2> key. Exit with <AltS>.
Print Menu:
-----------
When you analyze the scores or wish to print them, a menu will appear
on the screen. This menu allows you to specify where to print the
information (the disk, printer, and/or screen), to alter the
specifications for printing, or to make other changes. If you are writing
to a disk file, you will be asked for the file name. If you are writing
to a disk that fills up, the file will be truncated. Other changes can
be made.
Ignoring Students:
You can tell the program to "ignore" some students when analyzing
the class performance. These students will only be ignored when
calculating statistics or for plots. Note that students with
unentered scores are also ignored for the statistical measures.
These students are ignored for the current session of VAR Grade
only.
Student Ranks:
You can also change whether or not you want "rank" numbers written
when listing the students. The ranks will be listed in order of
the method you used to sort the students. For instance, if you tell
the program to sort the class by the score on a task, the rank
numbers that can be printed will be by their score on that task.
Show Notes:
To print out the notes you have entered on students, you need to
make sure that you have the program lists "show notes" as "yes".
You can also change the sections of students to use for your analysis
or listing or change the printer characteristics.
You can stop printing any time you are writing data to a printer or
to a disk file by pressing <CtrlS>. You will be asked if you want to
stop printing.
Undoing student data:
---------------------
You can move a student from one section to another, add or change the
student ID, or delete a student from the class. These changes can be
made while entering the attendance or task scores. To delete a student
from the class, delete the student name. When the screen is changed,
the student will be deleted from memory. The only way to "undelete" the
changes made are to quit the program without saving the changes or, if
you already saved the class data, to use the back up (previous) class
data.
Define Tasks: ("T" on the Main Menu)
-------------
You can designate a task as a "special" task. There are several types
of tasks that can be defined. If you use letter grades, however, some of
these types of tasks may not have any meaning (for example, "summing"
tasks).
Note that when selecting which tasks to use, you may use a colon for
"inclusive"--e.g. "1:5" translates to "tasks 1 to 5", while "16:5"
translates to tasks 16 down to 5. You can list the tasks in any order
(e.g., "1 5 2 20"). You can redefine a special task by just telling the
program to use a different set of tasks for the calculations. To remove
tasks that have previously been defined, use the "R" (remove) option in
this part of the program.
Types of regular tasks:
Number: Tasks that use numbers for student scores (e.g. 90).
Letter: Tasks that use letters for student scores (e.g. A, or B-).
Extra Credit:
When added to another task, it will not add to the total
points for the task. This allows scores above 100%, but
only when the extra credit and regular tasks are summed
together. WARNING: If the special task "highest" of several
tasks includes an extra credit task, it will discards an
additional task (presumably the extra credit, if it is one
of the lowest tasks).
Types of special tasks:
Sum: Adds up the scores for all the tasks in the list.
Average: Calculates the average for the tasks on the list.
If a score has not been entered, the task is not included
in the average.
Percent: Calculates the percent of the tasks on the list.
If a score has not been entered, the task is not included
in the percent.
High: Throw out the lowest scores of summed, averaged, or percent
tasks, then calculates the sum, average, or percent
(respectively) of the remaining scores.
Weight: Weighted average. Adds up a list of tasks and their weights
(e.g., task 1 with weight 0.2, task 2 with weight 0.4, and
task 3 with weight 0.4). Use this task if you want to use,
for example, 50% of the final points as Task 1, 25% as
task 2, and 25% as task 3.
Attendance: Task for converting attendance to grades. You need to
specify the weights for the different types of attendance,
the days (and how many to drop), and the total points.
Final: Task for keeping track of the final grades. This task score
can only be entered by computing the final grades ("G" option
on the Main Menu, or automatically). Final tasks
reassign the grades whenever new scores are entered.
NOTE: Tasks will either ignore unentered scores or count them as
zero points. You can change this in the "Z" option of the
Main Menu.
You can also move, copy, and transfer task scores, as well as change the
task name or remove tasks:
Transfer: This copies the scores of a task to another task (2nd) with a
higher number. The second task will be defined as a Number
or Letter task, with the total points the same as the total
points of the first task. For transferring definitions,
the "Y" (one definition) and "J" (several), the student
scores are not transferred, only the task definitions.
Special tasks that are transferred have their definitions
adjusted for their higher numbers.
Copy: This option will copy the task EXACTLY as the task you choose;
the new task must have a higher number than the first one.
You will be asked the new name of the task, but everything
else is the same.
Move: You can move one or more tasks to higher numbers. The task(s)
will be EXACTLY the same as the original tasks. If the tasks
that are moved have been referenced by special tasks, they
will still be used by those tasks (e.g., if task 10 is the
sum of tasks 1 thru 3, and you move them to 5 thru 7, task
10 will be the sum of tasks 5 thru 7). If you move a group
of tasks, the new task numbers can overlap the old ones (e.g.,
if you move tasks 1 thru 5 to 3 thru 7, everything will be
moved correctly). If you move a group of tasks and they will
overwrite an old task, you will be warned.
Clear: This will remove all the student scores for the designated
task(s). The tasks will still be there, but all student
scores are "unentered".
Remove: You can remove a task or set of tasks by specifying the
task(s), then, when asked, pressing "D" to delete them.
Rename: Changes the name of the task, only.
Show definition: Displays the current definition for a task.
Attendance: ("A" on the Main Menu)
-----------
You can keep track of attendance. If you do not use attendance, the
program will skip the sections referring to it. If you decide to use
attendance, after you define at least one day, you will be able to
list the attendance, etc.
Changing Attendance Defaults: ("Z" on the Attendance Menu)
-----------------------------
Two defaults can be changed for attendance. First, you can tell
the program to set student attendance for a newly defined date as:
present, excused, unexcused, late, other, or not entered. When you
first use the program, the students are set to "not entered". Changing
this default to "present" will cause all students to be set to that
value when a date is newly defined.
Second, you can change the letter for each type of attendance.
You can, for example, change "P" for attendance to " ". Since " "
is the default letter for "not entered", you should then change
that value to something else, e.g., "N". WARNING: If two attendance
types are designated by the same letter, the program may assign the
wrong type to a letter.
Note that the new defaults are used for ALL classes that you have.
Defining Dates: ("D" on the Attendance Menu)
---------------
You first must define one or more attendance days. To make it
easier, if you type <F1>, the program will find the next undefined
task. You need to enter a name for the day (usually the date) to
define it. The <F3> thru <F8> keys will make it easier to enter
dates. If you define day 10 before 5 thru 9, those intermediate
days will be listed, but will have no names for the day (hence are
still undefined). After a date has been defined, it is automatically
added to the list of dates to display when doing class attendance.
There are 6 possible types of attendance. Present, Late, Excused
Absent, Unexcused absence, Other (which can mean anything you want),
and Not entered (no attendance has yet been entered).
You can then enter the attendance for an single student or for
a section or class of students.
Removing Dates: ("D" on the Attendance Menu)
---------------
Follow the instructions, immediately above, for defining a date,
except make the date have a blank name (e.g., by pressing <F10>
when the date name is asked).
Attendance by Name: ("N" on the Attendance Menu)
-------------------
This section is analogous to entering tasks by student names.
All the defined attendance dates are listed, as well as the
student name, ID, and section. At the top of the screen, you
see the letter designations for each type of attendance. You can
use the cursor keys to move around the screen. When entering
attendance, the program responds immediately when you press a valid
key. The <Alt> keys listed on the screen can be used to move between
students. You can also add new students to the class by using the
<Alt> keys.
Attendance by Section: ("S" on the Attendance Menu)
----------------------
This section is analogous to entering tasks by sections.
You can pick which days you want to use with the <Alt-C> key. The
program will remember the most recently picked days. All the students
will be listed. You can move between students and dates with the cursor
keys. At the top of the screen, you see the letter designations for
each type of attendance. The program responds immediately when you
press a valid key.
Write Scores and Attendance: ("W" on the Main Menu)
----------------------------
One important function that the program does is allow you to write the
student scores and attendance to a printer. You can print scores,
attendance for each day, or an attendance summary. You can print all the
scores for one student OR whichever tasks scores you want for any
section(s) of the class. The attandance summary adds up the totals for
each type of attendance (there 6 are types).
List by name: ("N", "L" on the Write Data Menu)
-------------
Listing the tasks for one student lists all the defined tasks and/or
attendance days and/or attendance summary for that student. Listing
the students by section will list the scores or attendance days or
attendance summary for everyone in the section or sections that you
choose. You must specify which tasks or attendance days to list for
the section(s). Note that after choosing which method for listing the
scores, the Print Menu will be displayed, which will list a number of
options for printing--sections to use, printer, and whether to write
them to the screen, to a disk file, or a printer. This menu appears
whenever printing is done to allow you great flexibility in how you
want to view the student data.
If you want to list all the students in your class individually,
pressing <F1> when asked for the student name will print all the
students in the sections listed on the Print Menu. Each student will
start on a new page.
List by section: ("S" on the Write Data Menu)
----------------
When you list the students by section, as many scores or dates will
be printed on a line as will fit on a print page. The characters per
line and lines per page can be set in the printing menu mentioned
above. If more tasks or attandance days need to be printed, the whole
section will be listed using the first tasks or dates are listed, then
the whole section will be listed for the next set of tasks, etc., until
all have been printed. A key is listed at the beginning of the list,
with only the task numbers or date numbers used when they are listed
(having a key allows more to be listed per line).
You will first select whether to list just the names, ID's, or both.
Then you will be able to select which task scores or attendance days
to display. Finally the results will be displayed.
You can alter the number of decimal places the data will be written.
On either the Print Menu (which pops up before viewing the data), or
in the "Z" option of the Main Menu, you can change the number of decimal
places to be written to between 0 and 5.
Print Grids: ("G" on the Write Data Menu)
------------
This option will allow you to print empty grids to a printer so that
you can more easily enter data. Since the students will be listed in
the same order as in the program, updating the data in the program can
be done very easily.
Export Data: ("Q", "P", and "B" on the Write Data Menu)
------------
If you want to export data to be used in another program, VAR Grade
lets you do it three ways.
First, you can write data that is in a form that can be imported by
spreadsheets like Borland's Quattro (TM). The data is written as
numbers or quotes and is delimited by commas. The data is written
for each student by (a) name, ID, or both; (b) notes, if desired;
(c) if there is more than one section of students, the section numbers
are written; last (d) the task scores that you choose are written.
Letter or Final grades are written with letters, the others as numbers.
The tasks are written in the order that you specify. The data can then
be imported directly into some spreadsheets.
Second, you can write the data as plain text. The data is written
with the data in nicely formatted columns in the same manner as for
the quote and comma delimited data.
Third, you can write the data as bytes. This option lets you write
or use other prorams that can import non-ASCII data. The data for each
student is written as (a) name, ID, or both (as picked by you), 20
characters for names, 15 for IDs; (b) notes, if desired, with 20
characters; (c) if there is more than one section, the section numbers
are written as a two byte word, then, (c) the task scores are written
as either a two byte string if it is a letter or final score or as an
eight byte floating point number. The tasks are written in the order
that you specify.
Reports and forms
-----------------
Editing:
You can edit forms from VAR Grade. However, you must first
pick an editor with the "D" option of the Write Scores Menu. Then
press the "F" option to edit and write forms. It is recommended that
you use FRM as an extension of files, but VAR Grade can use any file
name. Details on what the report form commands mean are listed in
the manual.
Printing reports:
There are two options, individual reports ("I"), and class reports
("C"). If you choose the "I" option, you will be asked to pick the
student(s) to list. There are three options: (1) list the students
you choose, (2) list students above a score on a task, or (3) list
students below a score on a task. These let you print reports on good
or bad students. If you choose the first, the program will ask for the
name(s). If you choose the last 2, the program will ask for the task
and the cutoff score. The program then uses the names or score you
chose for inserting into the form.
If you choose the "C" option, it is assumed that only the whole class
is to be used for the report, so you do not choose names or cutoffs.
The program just prints the report. Interactive commands (question
marks) can be placed in the forms that ask for tasks or students.
Plotting: ("P" on the Main Menu)
---------
This option on the Main Menu allows several types of plots. For those
with display adapters that allow graphics (any but the Monochrome adapter),
you can also change the fonts the graphs will be displayed. If you can
display graphics, you can also choose to display 2D or 3D bars on the
screen.
Plotting the scores: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "P" or "T")
--------------------
You can plot the scores for the class of any defined task. Unless it
is a letter or final grade, you can choose the low and high cutoffs for
plotting. Note that the statistics listed are calculated for only those
scores that are plotted. You can also tell the program to "ignore" certain
students before it calculates the plot. Students that have not had scores
entered for the task are also ignored.
When you enter the cutoffs values, the default value is picked by
typing a <Rtn>, without any number. The default is the highest or lowest
score for the class, whichever is appropriate. The scores are plotted
and the mean, median, and standard deviation from the mean are calculated
for the class. Looking at only part of the distribution can spread out
the plot of the scores, allowing a better analysis of the distribution.
After the plot, you can also list the students used for the plot.
They are listed alphabetically AND by the high to low score by
answering "Y" when the program asks if it should list the students.
Correlate two tasks: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "C" or "3")
----------------------
To see if scores on any two tasks are related to each other, you can
calculate the correlation coefficients. The correlation coefficient
varies between -1 and +1. The closer the number is to zero, the less
predictable the scores on the two tasks are. A score of 0 means that the
score on the first task has no relationship to the score on the second
task. If this is the case, something is probably wrong in one or both
tasks. A score of +1 means that the score on the first task can be used
to perfectly predict the score on the second one. The MANUAL explains
in more detail what correlation coefficients mean and what their use can
be.
Individual Plot: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "I" or "B")
----------------
If you need to see how one student is doing, but need visual and
quantitative evidence, just printing out the scores may not be enough.
You can plot the scores on any combination of tasks for a student.
You can tell the program to plot four ways: via the task scores,
task percentages, by T-scores, or by the students' standard deviations.
The trends can be seen visually. In addition, the trends are calculated
three ways. First, the program assumes that the trend is a straight
line (which frequently is not correct), and calculates the task "0"
intercept and the slope of the line by the least squares method.
Second, VAR Grade calculates the standard deviation from that line.
The larger the deviation, the more scattered the points, hence the
worse the trend predicts the scores. Third, the program calculates
the correlation coefficient of the tasks. A high correlation
coefficient tells you that the student has been consistent, a low
one says that the scores jumped around a lot. Some or all of these
three measures may help you or may be completely meaningless, depending
on the task scores for the student, so interpret the results with
caution.
Class Statistics: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "S" or "1")
-----------------
This option is ONLY available if you have a graphics capable display
adapter. It will plot the range of scores for each task that you choose,
as well as the mean (a bar the width of the bar), one standard deviation
above and below the mean (the half width lines connected vertically to
the mean), and the median (the "checked" half bar). If you pick the
"1" option, VAR Grade will use an arrow to display the position of one
students' score on each of the chosen tasks. These are graphic displays
of the statistics you can get in the "G" option on the Main Menu (see
below).
Changing Fonts: ("P" on the Main Menu, then "F")
---------------
When in the graphics mode, you can choose the default font or ANY
other font compatible with the Borland Graphics Interface (BGI). Several
fonts are included with the program, but you can add any you wish. After
choosing this option, you will be asked for the file specifications.
Normally, you will let the program pick any CHR files with "*.CHR". The
program will find any files in the DOS path that match the file
specifications. If you choose file specifications that change the drive
or directory (e.g., "a:*.CHR"), these files will be listed, instead.
Pick the desired font with the cursor keys and <Rtn>, or with the
mouse and left mouse button (select). To select the default font (the
first one), press <Esc> when in this part of the program.
Final Grades: ("G" on the Main Menu)
-------------
At the end of a task or semester, you can assign grades and have the
grades and grade cutoffs neatly printed. If you use a grade system other
than A to F, with +/- grades, you may want to redefine the grade system.
See the next section for details. Final grades are continuously
recalculated. This way, if you add in make-up scores, or correct grades,
the final grade will reflect the changes. NOTE: If you do not want them
to be recalculated, after assigning final grades, change the task to a
letter task (when the program asks whether to delete the existing scores,
say NO).
The program needs the LOW scores (cutoffs) required to obtain each
grade (except the worst). If you have not chosen "automatic" (permanent)
cutoffs, the program will ask for them. You can cycle thru the cutoffs
as often as you like before leaving this section. You can tell the
program to automatically pick the low scores with the "C" option on
this menu. You can tell the program to use the numbers as percentages
for each grade OR to use them as total points. These cutoffs will be
in effect when assigning grades unless you remove the low cutoffs or
change the points. These cutoffs are saved by the program when class
data is saved. The grades are then automatically assigned according
to the cutoffs when the task was defined or from when you assigned the
cutoffs in the "G" option.
When assigning grades based on Sum, Average, or Percent tasks, any
unentered scores may be ignored (or set to 0, depending on your wishes).
The grade is based, therefore, on only those scores that have been
entered.
The number of students with each grade is totaled for you after
listing all the scores. The final grades are assigned ONLY if you have
previously defined a task as a Final grade (task type "F"), otherwise
they are NOT saved by the program. If the grade has been assigned to
the students, you can then list the grade in the "W" option of the
Main Menu.
Grade System: ("G" on the Main Menu, then "G")
-------------
The program was written for the standard American grading system.
If you use a different grading system, you can redefine the grade
names and points for each grade, for up to 50 different types of grades
(plus a "not entered" or incomplete grade). The program defaults
to the A to F, with + and - grades. If you do not use +/- grades,
you could, for example, tell the program to use only A thru F. The
point values for each grade are also needed by VAR Grade, as they are
used for calculating grade averages. The standard US point values are
4.0 for an A, 3.0 for a B, etc. You can also have the program auto-
matically assign certain student scores certain grades (see the Final
Grades section). When changing the grade names, enter them in
numerical order of the grade values.
Scaling grades: ("G" on the Main Menu, then "S")
---------------
If you use number grades, you also can scale tasks differently by
adding/subtracting or multiplying the scores by a number. These weights
permanently change your student grades. For example, you can add 10 points
to everybody in Section 2 of your class. The total points for the task
are not changed. Any students that end up with scores above the total
points for the task are reduced back to the total points.
Calculating Statistics: ("G" on the Main Menu, then "M")
-----------------------
You can calculate the mean, median, and standard deviation of any
combination of tasks and sections. This section bypasses the plotting and
listing of students. At the end of the semester, this section very easily
can be used to calculate these statistics for every task you gave for the
whole class, thus allowing an easier comparison of the scores. Since
some students may have missed tasks, you can have the program ignore
certain students when doing the calculations. Any students with unentered
scores will be automatically ignored when calculating statistics.
Adjust Statistics: ("G" on the Main Menu, then "A")
------------------
On occasion, you might want to change the mean, median, and/or the
standard deviation of a task, or you might want to "save" the current
values of these statistics. You can do this by adjusting the statistics.
Regrades and other changes sometimes alter the means, etc., but you need
to grade using the "original" values. If you save the values by
"adjusting" them, the old values will be permanently stored and used by
the program. You can also use this option to alter the values to conform
to what you think the class should have done. You can delete the new
values in the "D" option on the "G" menu, or, if you make a value blank
(e.g., with the <F10> key), the true value for the statistic will be used
by VAR Grade.
Assigning T-Scores and Standard Deviations: ("G", then "T" or "V")
-------------------------------------------
To calculate and assign T-scores or standard deviations, you will need
to (a) pick the task on which to calculate the statistics, and (b) pick a
Number task to assign the scores to. The scores can only be assigned to
a number task (a "regular" task that will accept numbers for input). The
total points for the number task will be set to equal the whole number
immediately higher than the highest student T-score or standard deviation.
The scores can be altered in the "D" or "I" sections on the Main Menu.
Adjusting the Fewest Allowed Task Points: ("G", then "L")
------------------------------------------
The fewest points allowed is initially set to -1000000. You can adjust
this value to any number up to zero. If you set the low to 0, you can
still enter point totals less than 0, but the program will ignore the
score when calculating statistics or plotting graphs. This option allows
you to make up your own codes, in negative numbers, for different reasons
a task might be missed.
Unentered scores: ("G", then "Z")
-----------------
Unentered scores can either count as zero points or as undefined. If
they are undefined, the total points of sum, average, and percentage
tasks are reduced for those tasks. If you count them as zero, you can
still enter undefined task scores by making the scores LESS than the
fewest allowed task points.
Change Program Parameters: ("Z" on the Main Menu)
--------------------------
You can change many of the default values for the program. Some of
these are listed above (passwords, read-only files, numbers of sections,
printer, etc.). Others include changing the name of the class (the default
name is the 8 letter classname you use when starting the program) and
changing the ways the current dates are written to the printer.
Passwords: ("Z" on the Main Menu, then "W")
----------
If you keep your grades on a computer that is accessible to others, you
can prevent most people from "browsing" in your data by telling the program
that you want to use a password. The password can be up to 15 characters
long, and can include spaces and punctuation marks. Note that the system
used by the program will prevent most snoopers but is NOT fool-proof.
Should you forget your password, you can write for details about how to
"break-in" to the program by bypassing the password.
Program Colors: ("Z" on the Main Menu, then "C")
---------------
You can set the colors of the normal text, the background colors,
the "graph" colors, the error colors, and the Help Screen colors (that
you are now reading). The program will not allow text and the background
colors to be the same, as that would prevent your seeing anything.
EGA, VGA modes: ("Z" on the Main Menu, then "V")
---------------
If you have an EGA or VGA monitor and graphics board, you can tell
VAR Grade to display 43 (for EGA) or 50 lines of text (for VGA), or
more if you have Super VGA. The new value is used for all classes on
that computer.
Mice, Mouse:
------------
The program will automatically support mice that conform to the
Microsoft specifications (e.g., the Microsoft and Logitech mice).
Mouse button(s) Meaning
--------------- -------
<Left button> Select. If the button is pressed while the mouse
cursor is at a menu choice, that choice will be
selected. If the mouse cursor is at a number or
name, the cursor will move to that place. If the
mouse cursor is outside the current window, this
will usually cause that window to close. If the
mouse cursor is inside a window, but at no choice,
number, or name, nothing will happen. If there is
more information than can be seen on one screen,
"mouse bars" will appear on the right and/or bottom
of the current window. Pressing on these bars will
move you the screen to a different part of that
information.
<Right button> Escape. This is the same as pressing <Esc>.
<Left & right buttons> Return (enter). This is equivalent of pressing
the <Rtn> key. Where the cursor is located
determines what action is taken by the program.
<Center button> [Three button mice, only.] Clear the name or
number. Equivalent to pressing the <F10> key.
Beeps or Noises:
----------------
When entering numeric data, a beep indicates that the value entered
was out of the range of allowed numbers. You can change the sound of
the beep, or turn it off, in the "Z" option of the Main Menu.
Any other time the computer beeps or makes a noise, the memory is
quite low and the information in a window could not be saved. When the
current window is finished, it probably will not be able to redraw the
underlying window correctly. Other than this, the program will run
correctly. However, since memory is short, you should probably exit
the program, free up some memory, and re-run it.
VAR Grade tries to load as much of the program as it can into memory.
You can increase or decrease the amount of the program in memory by
typing "SET OMEM=xxx;", where xxx is any number between 0 and 200000.
The smaller the number, the less memory used by the program, but also
the more disk accesses it needs. VAR Grade will also take advantage
of EMS memory (version 3.2 or later), if you have it. Only parts of
the program, however, use EMS. This help file is loaded into EMS
memory, if you have it, and the overlays are also loaded into EMS.
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