Teachers have the responsibility of maintaining data related to the students in their classrooms. SPARCC has installed the Pinnacle Gradebook on its servers and offers the product as a service to the districts. The software is a web based application which can be accessed from any Internet ready device. It provides the tools teachers need to enter assignments, record grades, maintain attendance, track standards mastery and complete a number of classroom tasks.
The tracking of student mastery of academic content standards can be a very difficult and time consuming task. The Pinnacle Gradebook software facilitates this process for teachers. The standards are preloaded into the gradebooks and teachers can tie their assignments to the standards. After entering the student assignment and test scores, the software can display student mastery results and teachers can provide focused attention to students.
A special module known as the Parent Internet Viewer enables parents to have access to the gradebook data for their children from any Internet ready device. Using the software, parents can set triggers so that they are notified when a selected event occurs as indicated by the data in the gradebook. For example, a parent may want to know when their child is absent from class or their grade falls below a ‘C’. If this occurs, the software sends an electronic mail message to the parent with the needed information.
District administrators have special access to the student information tailored to their different needs. There is a Principal Viewer module which enables the principal to see summarized information for their building and dive into the data to gain a better understanding of their students. There is an Attendance Viewer designed specifically to maintain student attendance data. In addition, there are special features designed for Athletic Directors and Curriculum Directors.
The Pinnacle Gradebook is integrated with other software systems so that data flows from application to application. The SPARCC has created routines so that data moves between the DASL student information system and the Pinnacle gradebook. For example, as schedule changes occur in DASL, the class lists are updated automatically in the gradebook.
SPARCC provides a team of employees to provide the support and training needed to effectively use this software in the classroom.