I am considering proposing to our school to use the Moodle Gradebook to take over the function of our current School Administration database for printing school reports.
I like the way that the categories can be weighted and the flexibility that the grade book has built in for calculating a final mark. At present teachers have to calculate their final mark using a spreadsheet which they (or a colleague) has designed - and then read it into the School Administration database. This method is so susceptible to errors. Teachers can so easily get it wrong - not applying formulas consistently, not using absolute referencing etc. Another problem is the exceptions - when a learner does not have a mark for a particular assessment.
By using the Moodle Gradebook, Heads of Departments can ensure that the final mark is calculated using the correct categories and the correct weighting. The Gradebook also deals very well with exceptions.
I have two requirements concerning which I am not so sure how the Gradebook can be used:
- A student's grades accross courses should be accessed and combined for an overall grade.
- The grade of each course as well as the overall grade should be displayed in a custom report to be printed for each student.
I am not familiar with PHP (although I have done some programming in other languages). I understand databases to a fair extent and have worked quite extensively with Microsoft Access.
Thank you
Marius