Markbook

Track coursework and exam marks for your teaching groups with comprehensive grade analytics.

What is the Markbook? The Markbook is Craft Cart's digital gradebook where teachers record assessments, track student progress, and analyze performance. It automatically calculates averages, generates grades, and integrates with the report card system.

Table of Contents

Accessing Your Markbook

Step 1: Navigate to Markbook

  1. Click Academic in the main sidebar menu
  2. Click Markbook
  3. You'll see a list of your teaching groups

Who Can Access Markbook?

Role Access
Subject Teacher Full access to markbooks for their assigned teaching groups
Department Head Full access to all markbooks in their department + their own teaching groups
School Admin No access - markbooks are for teaching staff only

Step 2: Select Teaching Group

Click Open Markbook next to the teaching group you want to work with.

Each teaching group card shows:

  • Teaching Group Name: e.g., "Y7 Maths Set 1"
  • Subject: The subject name
  • Year Group: e.g., Year 7
  • Student Count: Number of students
  • Assessments: Number of assessments created

Creating Assessments

Assessments are individual pieces of work you want to grade (tests, homework, projects, exams, etc.).

Step 1: Create New Assessment

  1. Inside a teaching group's markbook, click Create Assessment
  2. Fill in the assessment details form

Step 2: Enter Assessment Details

Field Description Example
Assessment Name Brief title for the assessment "Chapter 3 Test", "Algebra Homework 5", "End of Term Exam"
Assessment Type Category of assessment
  • Coursework
  • Homework
  • Test
  • Exam
  • Project
Date When the assessment was taken/submitted 2025-03-15
Term Which term this assessment belongs to Term 1, Term 2, Term 3
Max Mark Total possible score 50, 100, 25
Weight (%) How much this assessment contributes to final grade 10%, 20%, 50%

Understanding Assessment Types

Coursework

Regular assignments, classwork, projects completed during term.

Typical Weight: 40-60% of final grade

Exam

End-of-term formal examinations.

Typical Weight: 40-60% of final grade

Homework

Take-home assignments.

Typical Weight: 5-15% per assignment

Test

In-class quizzes or short tests.

Typical Weight: 10-20% per test

Weight Calculation: The system automatically calculates weighted averages. If you have 60% coursework and 40% exam, make sure all your coursework assessments' weights add up to 60%, and exam weight is 40%.

Step 3: Save Assessment

  1. Review all details
  2. Click Create Assessment
  3. The assessment appears in your markbook list
  4. You're ready to enter marks

Entering Marks

Step 1: Open Assessment for Marking

  1. From the assessments list, find the assessment you want to mark
  2. Click Enter Marks
  3. A table of all students in the teaching group appears

Step 2: Enter Student Marks

For each student, you'll see:

  • Student Name: With profile picture
  • Admission Number: Unique ID
  • Mark Input Field: Where you enter their score
  • Percentage: Auto-calculated (mark / max mark × 100)
  • Grade: Auto-assigned based on school's grading scale

Entering Marks Efficiently

Keyboard Navigation
  • Type mark and press Enter to move to next student
  • Press Tab to move forward
  • Press Shift + Tab to move backward
  • Use ↓ and ↑ arrow keys to navigate
Auto-Save
  • Marks are auto-saved as you type
  • No need to click a save button
  • Green checkmark appears when saved
  • You can close the page and return later

Special Cases

Scenario How to Handle What Happens
Student Absent Leave field blank or enter "0" Shows as "N/A" in reports, excluded from class average
Late Submission Enter the mark, add comment "Late submission" Mark is recorded normally (apply penalty manually if needed)
Excused (Medical) Leave blank, add comment "Excused - Medical" Not counted against student, excluded from average
Decimal Marks Enter decimals (e.g., 42.5) System accepts decimals, calculates percentage accurately

Viewing Entry Progress

At the top of the page, you'll see:

  • 25 Marked / 30 Total
  • Progress bar showing completion percentage
  • Students without marks highlighted in yellow

Viewing Results & Analytics

Assessment Summary

After entering marks, the assessment shows:

Metric Description
Class Average Mean percentage across all students
Highest Mark Top score achieved
Lowest Mark Lowest score (excluding absences)
Median Middle value when sorted
Grade Distribution Chart showing how many students got each grade (A, B, C, etc.)
Completion Rate Percentage of students who have marks entered

Student Performance View

Click on any student's name to see their individual performance:

  • All assessments for this teaching group
  • Marks, percentages, and grades for each assessment
  • Average coursework mark
  • Exam mark(s)
  • Overall weighted average
  • Final grade for the term
  • Trend chart showing performance over time

Exporting Results

  1. From the markbook view, click Export
  2. Choose format:
    • CSV: For Excel analysis
    • PDF: For printing or archiving
    • Excel: For advanced filtering
  3. The export includes all assessments and student marks

Matrix View

The Matrix View shows all students and all assessments in a single grid - perfect for getting a complete overview.

Accessing Matrix View

  1. From your teaching group's markbook page
  2. Click Matrix View
  3. A spreadsheet-style grid appears

Reading the Matrix

Example Matrix (simplified):

Student HW1
(10)		 Test 1
(50)		 Project
(100)		 Exam
(100)		 Avg Grade
John Kamau 8
80%		 42
84%		 78
78%		 85
85%		 82% A
Mary Njeri 9
90%		 45
90%		 92
92%		 88
88%		 90% A
David Ochieng 6
60%		 30
60%		 65
65%		 58
58%		 61% C

Matrix Features

  • Color Coding: Cells are colored by grade (A=green, B=blue, C=yellow, D=orange, F=red)
  • Sorting: Click column headers to sort by that assessment
  • Filtering: Filter to show only students with certain grades
  • Print View: Optimized layout for printing
  • Export: Download as Excel for further analysis

Using Matrix for Analysis

The matrix helps identify:

  • Struggling Students: Students with consistently low scores across assessments
  • High Achievers: Students excelling in all areas
  • Difficult Assessments: Columns where most students scored low (may need reteaching)
  • Missing Data: Blank cells show which students/assessments need marks entered
  • Trends: Improving or declining performance over time

Integration with Reports

Automatic Data Flow

Your markbook data automatically feeds into the report card system:

  1. You Enter Marks in the markbook throughout the term
  2. System Calculates:
    • Coursework Average (average of all coursework-type assessments)
    • Exam Mark (from exam-type assessment)
    • Weighted Overall Percentage
    • Final Grade (based on grading scale)
  3. Data Appears in Report Comments: When writing report comments, teachers see the calculated marks and grades
  4. Reports Generated: Final report cards include marks, grades, and comments

Coursework vs Exam Split

Report cards typically show:

  • Coursework Mark: Average of all homework, tests, projects marked as "Coursework" type
  • Exam Mark: Score from the end-of-term exam marked as "Exam" type
  • Overall %: Weighted average (e.g., 60% coursework + 40% exam)
  • Grade: Letter grade based on overall percentage

Example

John's Mathematics Assessments:

  • HW1 (Coursework): 80%
  • HW2 (Coursework): 85%
  • Test 1 (Coursework): 78%
  • Project (Coursework): 88%
  • End of Term Exam (Exam): 75%

Report Card Shows:

  • Coursework: 83% (average of 80, 85, 78, 88)
  • Exam: 75%
  • Overall: 80% (if 60% coursework weight: 83×0.6 + 75×0.4 = 79.8 ≈ 80%)
  • Grade: A

Best Practices

Markbook Management Tips:
  • Enter Marks Promptly: Add marks within 1 week of assessment to give students timely feedback
  • Plan Assessment Weights: Decide coursework/exam split at start of term and stick to it
  • Use Consistent Max Marks: For similar assessments, use the same max mark (e.g., all homework out of 20)
  • Regular Checkpoints: Create assessments throughout the term, not just at the end
  • Review Class Averages: If class average is <60%, consider reteaching that topic
  • Monitor Struggling Students: Use matrix view weekly to spot students needing intervention
  • Archive Old Terms: Export previous terms' data before starting a new term
  • Double-Check Exam Weights: Ensure exam weight matches your department's policy
  • Verify Before Reports: Check all marks are entered 1 week before report deadline
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