How it Works: Teacher Comments

Introduction
This article clarifies the difference between entering teacher comments in PowerGrade, PowerTeacher Gradebook, and the
PowerTeacher Portal, as well as enhancements to the Stored Grades process and Data Access Tags (DAT).
In PowerTeacher Gradebook, teacher comments are associated with Final Grades, stored in the [PGFinalGrades] table. Comments
entered in the PowerTeacher Portal (browser interface) using the Teacher Comments screen are associated with course enrollments
and are stored in the [CC] table.
Important Note: The method of entering comments via the PowerTeacher Portal Teacher Comment screen is no longer available for
versions 6.2.x and higher. Comments can still be entered in the PowerTeacher Portal using the Final Grade Entry screens.

Entering Teacher Comments

PowerTeacher Gradebook
Use the Score Inspector to enter comments for final grades.
Comments are stored in [PGFinalGrades]Comment.
Comments display in PowerSchool under Start Page > Student > Quick Lookup when clicking on the final grade.
For versions 6.2 and higher, comments entered here will also display in PowerSchool under Start Page > Student > Teacher
Comments.
Final Grade comments are retained from term to term; teachers will be able to view comments that have been entered for prior
reporting terms, and there is no need to clear comments.
Upon storing grades, the text that exists in [PGFinalGrades]Comment is copied into [StoredGrades]Comment only if
[PGFinalGrades]GradebookType = 1, i.e. the teacher is using PowerTeacher Gradebook.
This is the preferred comment-entry method for PowerTeacher Gradebook users.

PowerTeacher Portal - Teacher Comments screen

Note: This method is not available for versions 6.2.x and higher. See the PowerTeacher Portal - Final Grade Entry section.
Comments can be entered here by clicking on the backpack for the desired class and selecting Teacher Comments from the menu
on the right.
Comments entered here are stored in [CC]TeacherComment.
Comments entered here display in PowerSchool under Start Page > Student > Teacher Comments.
Upon storing grades, the text that exists in [CC]TeacherComment is copied into [StoredGrades]Comment only if
[PGFinalGrades]GradebookType = 0, i.e. the teacher is using PowerGrade.
This is not the preferred comment-entry method for PowerTeacher Gradebook users. Comments should be entered via
PowerTeacher Gradebook, as described in the PowerTeacher Gradebook section above.

PowerTeacher Portal - Final Grade Entry screens

Comments can be entered here by clicking on the backpack for the desired class and selecting Final Grade Entry (Standards for standards grades) or Final Grade Entry (Traditional - for traditional grades) from the menu on the right.
Comments entered here are stored in [PGFinalGrades]Comment.
Comments entered here display in PowerSchool under Start Page > Student > Teacher Comments, but are not stored in
[CC]TeacherComment.
Upon storing grades, the text that exists in [PGFinalGrades]Comment is copied into [StoredGrades]Comment.
This is not the preferred comment entry method for PowerTeacher Gradebook users. Comments should be entered via the
Gradebook, as described in the PowerTeacher Gradebook section above.
Note: When entering comments via the PowerTeacher Portal, the comments will not be visible in the Gradebook. Comments entered
via PowerTeacher Gradebook will overwrite comments entered for the same Final Grade term in PowerTeacher Portal.

PowerGrade
Enter teacher comments in the Note area for each student.
Comments are stored in [CC]TeacherComment.
Comments display in PowerSchool under Start Page > Student > Teacher Comments.
Final Grade comments are not retained in PowerGrade; at the end of the term, the teacher enters final grade comments into the
same Note area for the new term.
Upon storing grades, the text that exists in [CC]TeacherComment is copied into [StoredGrades]Comment only if
[PGFinalGrades]GradebookType = 0, i.e. the teacher is using PowerGrade.

Viewing Teacher Comments

Entered via PowerTeacher Portal / PowerGrade
PowerSchool: Comments entered via the PowerTeacher Portal or PowerGrade can be viewed in PowerSchool via the Teacher
Comments student screen for each student. For versions 6.2.x or higher, they are also viewable on the Quick Lookup student screen by
clicking on the final grade.

Public / Parent Portal: Teacher comments entered via PowerTeacher Portal or PowerGrade can be viewed by clicking the Teacher
Comments icon at the top of the page. For versions 6.2.x or higher, teacher comments entered via PowerTeacher Gradebook can be
viewed by selecting Grades and Attendance, then selecting any of the final grades. The Class Score Detail page appears with section
information, including teacher comments.

Entered via PowerTeacher Gradebook

PowerSchool: Comments entered via PowerTeacher Gradebook can be viewed via the Quick Lookup page for each student. On the
Quick Lookup page, click on the final grade associated with a comment. If you do not see the final grade, navigate to Start Page
> School > Current Grade Display and enter the final grade name in the "Store Code" field. Select "Gradebook" as the Source of Data
and submit the page.
After clicking on the final grade via the Quick Lookup screen, the Scores page appears, listing each assignment score. At the top of
this page, you will see the teacher comment. Any comments stored in the [PGFinalGrades] table are viewable via the Quick
Lookup/Scores pages.

Public/Parent Portal: Teacher comments entered via PowerTeacher Gradebook can be viewed by selecting "Grades and Attendance"
then selecting any one of the final grades. The Class Score Detail page will appear with section information, including teacher
comments.

Reporting on Teacher Comments

Note: Please note the table identified in each of the descriptions below, to ensure the expected comment is received. Comments can
be stored in either the CC or PGFinalGrades table, depending on your version of PowerSchool and the method of comment entry
chosen. Additionally, depending on the method of reporting the teacher comments, the comments can vary based on the final grade
term entered in the Current Grade field on this page: Start Page > School > Current Grade Display.
~(TeacherComment) - use with Class Roster Reports
When this DAT is used, PowerSchool pulls the comment from the [CC] table. This DAT is for PowerGrade teachers.
~(reportingterm.teachercomment;Q1) - use with Class Roster Reports and in a Transcript List (that is using the option "Include
current grades?") set to pull reporting term-specific teacher comments. This DAT is for PowerTeacher Gradebook teachers.

This DAT uses the final grade name. In this example, Q1 is the final grade name for the reporting term.
"Reporting Term tchr cmnt" - use with Report Card Schedule Listing
In the Report Card schedule listing use "Reporting Term tchr cmnt" from the drop down and input the Final Grade in the field to the
right of that setting.
"Current tchr comnt." - use with Report Card Schedule Listing
When this option is used in a Report card, it will pull the comment from the [CC] table regardless whether the teacher is set to use
PowerTeacher Gradebook or PowerGrade, thus this DAT will not pull comments entered in PowerTeacher Gradebook.
^(*period_info;4(A-B);teacher_comment) - use with Object Reports
In this example, 4(A) is the schedule expression for classes to be displayed.
This DAT pulls comments from the [PGFinalGrades] table for PowerTeacher Gradebook users and from the [CC] for PowerGrade
users.
For PowerTeacher Gradebook users, the DAT will choose the final grade comment that matches the "Current Grade" setting in the
Current Grade Display screen in the school setup of PowerSchool Admin (Start Page > School Setup > Current Grade Display >
Current Grade).
If the teacher has not saved any data from PowerTeacher Gradebook and there happens to be a comment in the related [CC]
record entered through either PowerGrade or the PowerTeacher Portal, the DAT will pull from the [CC] record.
~(stored.by.course.number;MA101;Q1;comment)
DAT codes such as the store.by.course.number code that are designed to pull comments for historical grades from the
[StoredGrades] table are unaffected.

Additional Information
The Role of [PGFinalGrade]GradebookType
If [PGFinalGrades]GradebookType is set to 0 if the final grade originates from PowerGrade or the PowerTeacher portal
If [PGFinalGrades]GradebookType is set to 1 if the final grade originates from PowerTeacher Gradebook

Stored Grades Logic

If [PGFinalGrades]GradebookType = 0, teacher comments are retrieved from [CC]TeacherComments
If [PGFinalGrades]GradebookType = 1, teacher comments are retrieved from [PGFinalGrades]Comment

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Additional Details
ID: 6170
Legacy ID: 6083
Published On: 07/23/2007
Published By: Site Administrator
Modified On: 06/26/2012
Modified By: John Rizk
Type: How it Works
Defect ID: NA
Versions Found:
PowerSchool Premier 5.1.0
Versions Resolved:
N/A
Who can view this
Technical Contacts
Pearson Employees