Grades.  A CHS parent obsession.  Powerschool.  The stressful portal of data that is constantly checked by parents, much to student chagrin. In an attempt to make grades readily accessible, Clayton High School may have inadvertently created a source of stress for students and parents.

Powerschool, the online program to keep students and parents up to date on grades, fails to give an accurate portrayal of where a student actually stands in many of his or her courses.

The problem stems from the fact that teachers update the grades with infrequency. Teachers are only required to update the Powerschool portfolios by the end of the quarter, but are encouraged to update it during the course of the school year.

However, in some cases it could take weeks for teachers to update Powerschool, and small discrepancies could make or break a student’s grade when it comes down to the quarter.

Many students also check their Powerschool daily, trying to find out if they did badly on an assignment, and to check in with the teacher if they did.  The lack of updating is leaving students feeling unfulfilled, and worried for when the teacher finally does post their grades online.

Many parents also check Powerschool and look for individual assignment grades. They become concerned if their child’s grades are low, but the child has turned in all the homework and projects for the class.

If this happens long enough, the parents will believe that Powerschool discrepancies are valid due to enough mistakes, even if the student hasn’t turned in multiple assignments.

The school should develop regulations for teachers to update their Powershool accounts, and force them to update at regular intervals, like the first of the month, for example. This would allow parents to see accurately what their students are turning in, and, as a result, be able to get more involved when there actually is a problem.

Students need a way to see their grades. That is where Powerschool comes in, but because of human input, grades are placed in later. And, unfortunately, for too many classes, this happens the last day that the teacher can post grades.