Engrade {Tried it Tuesday}

Happy Tuesday, friends! I'm hoping your week is going smoothly! Today will be my last full day before break! Woo hoo! We are watching the Polar Express and comparing it to the book, of course! 

I'm linking up with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper for a Tried it Tuesday that has been a long time in the making. 

I have been using Engrade, an online gradebook since school started. I wanted to give myself enough to time to really use the program before I shared my thoughts on it. 

With teaching three different classes and two different subjects, I've found it easy to keep up with everything. One of my favorite features is the ability to print missing reports. I frequently print these reports and send them home in Tuesday Folders so parents are aware of any assignments their child hasn't turned in. 

Another neat feature is the ability, with just one click, to have a report that lists all the assignments for a grading period and the child's grade on each one. I have found this really helpful and time saving when prepping for meetings and calls with parents. 

When entering a new assignment you are taken to a new page. There you enter all the information about the assignment AND you also enter the grades on that page. I like this because there is only one column of grades on that page and I know I won't accidentally put a grade in the wrong column. I've used other grading programs where it was all too easy to accidentally add grades to the wrong assignment. 

A few more things I like: 

• at-a-glance class statistics (class average and missing assignments)
• easily begin a new grade period 
• give parents/students access to their grades anytime
• categorize assignments
• weight categories
• drop lowest grade

Do you use Engrade? Any tips or tricks you can share with me to make it even better?