How to Setup Markbook
This checklist is designed for Academic Reporting Administrators to complete in preparation for entering Assessment Activity and/or Academic Reporting Results and Comments into the Staff Kiosk Assessment > Markbook program.
'Markbook' is the default name used by TASS, but your school may call it something else. An alternate name can be set in Staff Kiosk Assessment > Parameters (Setup). This document refers to the program as 'Markbook'.
Certain steps must be completed by Teachers, Heads of Departments (HODs), or Department Administrators. Understanding these steps is important for an administrator to apply correct configurations and coordinate the Academic Reporting process.
The checklist below outlines the ‘general process’ to follow when setting up Markbook. Schools will have their own processes to follow, so some steps may not be required, or alternatively, other steps may be required.
Step | Menu Path | Details | |
1 | TASS Knowledge Base > Staff Kiosk
| Read the Staff Kiosk Assessment and Markbook program overviews. It is very important that you read and understand the concepts that are outlined before attempting to set up this program. | |
2 | TASS Knowledge Base > FAQ > Assessment FAQ | Determine your school's Academic Reporting and Assessment requirements. For more information, refer to: What should my school consider before setting up Academic Reporting and Markbook? Our dedicated Professional Services team can provide expert services for a chargeable fee. Contact our Professional Services team for personalised support tailored to your school’s needs. | |
3 | TASS.web program System Admin > Users | Assign staff member(s) to the role of Academic Reporting Administrator(s) to complete the next steps in this checklist. Ensure each Academic Reporting Administrator has the appropriate User Permissions to set up Academic Reporting, Markbook, and troubleshoot any related issues. | |
4 | TASS Knowledge Base > How To / Checklists > HOW – Academic Reporting | Set up the Academic Reporting Period(s) that Teachers will use to enter academic results. To complete this step, follow steps 1 to 16 of the ‘Academic Reporting Checklist - Beginning of Reporting Period’. It is very important that you follow all of the steps from 1 to 16 in this checklist before proceeding to the next step. | |
5 | TASS Knowledge Base > How To / Checklists > HOW – Assessment | Select a Markbook configuration: Use this checklist alongside your preferred configuration link to set up and use your Markbook throughout each Reporting Period. When using a Progressive Assessment configuration, Markbook relies on Timetable information to assign Activities and Assessment Criteria Objectives to Teachers and Students. For example, you cannot allocate Assessment Activities to a Subject Class if no Teacher or Students are assigned to it. You can create Assessment Activities before the Timetable is finalised, but you cannot assign them until after the Timetable rollover has occurred. | |
6 | Staff Kiosk Assessment > Parameters (Setup) | Review the ‘Assessment Parameters’ and ‘Markbook Options’ in Staff Kiosk Assessment > Parameters (Setup).
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7 | TASS Knowledge Base > How To / Checklists > HOW – Assessment
| Review the allowable maximum file size limits for:
Modify if required. Refer to 'How to Modify the File Size Limits for TASS.doc (Including Staff Kiosk Assessment' for details. | |
8 | TASS.web program System Admin > Users > Reporting User Maintenance or TASS.web program Student Admin > Academic Reporting > Setup Information > Reporting User Maintenance | Assign Teachers to the ‘Reporting Period’ (also known as ‘Result Period'). Teachers must be assigned to a ‘Reporting Period’ to access the appropriate Subject Classes in Markbook. Assign Access Levels to Teachers. Teachers must be assigned the appropriate Access Level to access create, assign and assess Activities and enter results and comments in Markbook, based on a ‘IA Lock’ set for each Reporting Period in TASS.web Student Admin > Academic Reporting > Setup Information > Assessment Setup on the 'Result Periods' tab. For more information about user access refer to: What user permissions and access levels are required for Staff Kiosk Assessment? | |
9 | TASS Knowledge Base > FAQS > Assessment FAQs |
This step is essential for Progressive Assessment configurations and optional for Final Assessment configurations. Determine how you wish to calculate your:
For more information refer to: How do I select a Calculation Rule and Calculation Method that is compatible with my Markbook Assessment Methods? | |
10 | TASS.web Student Admin > Academic Reporting > Setup Information > Assessment Setup on the ‘Calculation Rules' tab. or Staff Kiosk Assessment > Assessment Setup on the ‘Calculation Rules' tab. |
This step is essential for Progressive Assessment configurations and optional for Final Assessment configurations. Review the ‘School Calculation Rules’ and determine which options will be available to all Teachers. Add/edit as required. Calculation Rules must be established if you intend to use non-numeric results and the 'Calculate Results' function in Staff Kiosk Assessment > Markbook to calculate Activity Total Scores, Final Results and Overall Subject Grades and also in Staff Kiosk Assessment > Activity Planner for Activity Total Scores only. | |
11 | TASS.web Student Admin > Academic Reporting > Setup Information > Assessment Setup on the ‘Rounding Rules' tab. or Staff Kiosk Assessment > Assessment Setup on the ‘Rounding Rules' tab. |
This step is essential for Progressive Assessment configurations and optional for Final Assessment configurations. Review the ‘Rounding Rules’ that can be used when calculating results. Add/edit as required. Rounding Rules allow Final Results and Overall Subject Grades containing decimal numbers to be calculated and rounded according to your preferences. | |
12 | TASS Knowledge Base > How To / Checklists > HOW – Assessment (Optional) | Setup Academic Analytics. This step is optional.
If you prefer not to activate Academic Analytics, visit the menu paths mentioned in the setup guidelines to ensure that analytics are disabled in the relevant areas. | |
13 | TASS.web program System Admin > Users > Portal Security Permissions > Teacher Kiosk | Go to the Portal Security Permissions and review the user permissions under the ‘Assessment' section for each relevant ‘User Role’ group or 'Individual User’. Assign Staff Kiosk menu access to users involved in the Academic Reporting process. Consider each role and the access they need to perform their tasks by referring to What user permissions and access levels are required for Staff Kiosk Assessment? User permissions may vary based on the Markbook Configuration Option selected above in Step 5. | |
14 | TASS.web program Student Admin > Academic Reporting > Setup Information > Assessment Setup on the ‘Result Periods’ tab. | Set the 'IA Lock' to 'Unrestricted Supervisor Access' or 'Restricted Supervisor Access', to enable an appropriate user/s to perform some quality checks in the Staff Kiosk Assessment and Markbook programs prior to opening reporting to Teachers. For more information on ‘User Access Types’ and ‘IA Lock’ access, refer to Reporting User Maintenance.
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15 | Staff Kiosk program Assessment | Perform some quality checks in the Staff Kiosk Assessment program to ensure the Academic Reporting Period is set up correctly to meet your expectations. Ghost into Staff Kiosk as a user who has been granted ‘Unrestricted Supervisor Access' and navigate to Markbook. Perform some checks. See Staff Kiosk Toolbar 'Ghosting’ section for more information about ghosting. You may also like to perform some quality checks on users with ‘Restricted Supervisor Access' and 'Teacher Class Access', changing the 'IA Lock’ accordingly. This step could also be completed by individual Teachers, Heads of Departments (HODs), Department Administrators, Reporting Users with ‘Restricted Access’ and ‘Unrestricted’ Supervisor Access, Academic Administrators or a combination of roles. Each school is likely to have its own procedures in place for this. Please refer to your school’s Academic Reporting guidelines for further details. Your quality checks may differ based on the Markbook Configuration Option that you selected above in Step 5. To access the Markbook ‘Activity Assessment’ screen:
The Subject Classes and Class Lists that appear for each Teacher in Staff Kiosk Assessment come from the Timetable. Ensure the Timetable has been rolled over before opening the Reporting Period to Teachers. | |
16 | TASS Knowledge Base > How To / Checklists > HOW – Assessment | Follow the instructions outlined in your preferred configuration guide (selected during Step 5 above) to use your Markbook throughout each Reporting Period: |