Set Up Stages, Grades, Classes, and Subjects in the Schools Management System

The Schools Management System in the System allows you to build the school’s academic structure: Stages, then the Grades under each stage, then the Classes associated with each grade, and the Subjects for each grade with their final mark and passing mark. This structure is used to register students and assign them to classes, record marks, calculate results, and promote students at the end of the academic year.

Before You Start

• To assign a stage supervisor or staff members to a grade, the staff members must already be added to the system.
• To add subjects, academic terms (periods within the academic year) must already be defined.

Setup Order

1. Stages.
2. Classes.
3. Grades and their settings, and linking classes to each grade.
4. Subjects.

1. Stages

A stage is the top level of the structure, such as Primary, Intermediate, and Secondary.

1. From the main menu, click Students.
2. Select Student Settings.
3. Click the Stage Management card.
4. Click Add Stage Management.
5. Enter the stage details.
6. Click Save.

2. Classes

Classes are added first from their own screen, then linked to a grade from the class list inside the grade screen.

1. From the main menu, click Students.
2. Select Student Settings.
3. Click the Classes card.
4. Click Add Classes.
5. Enter the class details.
6. Click Save.

Distributing Students Across Classes

The class list screen includes a Distributing Students Across Classes button, which opens a window for distributing the students of a specific grade across its classes:

To complete this step, grades must be added first.

3. Grades

1. From the main menu, click Students.
2. Select Student Settings.
3. Click the Grades card.
4. Click Add Grades.
5. Enter the grade details, then add its classes in the class list.
6. Enter the grade settings.
7. Click Save.

Grade Settings

4. Subjects

1. From the main menu, click Students.
2. Select Student Settings.
3. Open the Subjects card.
4. Click Add Subjects.
5. Enter the subject details.
6. Click Save.

How the System Works

• A class is linked to a grade through the class list on the grade screen, and the same class can be used in more than one grade.
• When the passing mark and final mark are entered for a subject, the system displays the corresponding pass percentage below the Passing Mark field.
• A student passes a subject if their total mark is greater than or equal to the passing mark. A subject without a configured passing mark is not counted as a failed subject.
• The system distinguishes between failing core subjects and failing additional subjects in the student’s result.
• A student who passes moves to the grade specified in the Next Grade field, while a grade without a next grade is treated as a final grade.

Validation Rules

• The required overall pass percentage must be between 1 and 100.
• The maximum number of subjects allowed to fail must be a non-negative integer and cannot exceed the number of subjects in the grade.

Common Problems and Solutions

• Message: “This field is required”
  • Reason: A required field was left empty.
  • Solution: Enter a value in the field shown above the message, then save.
• Message: “Pass percentage must be between 1 and 100”
  • Reason: The value in the Total percentage required to pass field is zero or less, greater than 100, or not a number.
  • Solution: Enter a percentage from 1 to 100.
• Message: “A positive whole number or zero must be entered”
  • Reason: The value in the maximum number of subjects a student may fail field is negative, contains a fraction, or is not a number.
  • Solution: Enter a whole number equal to zero or greater.
• Message: “The allowed number of failed subjects is greater than the number of subjects in this grade”
  • Reason: While editing the grade, the number entered in the maximum number of subjects a student may fail field is greater than the number of subjects added to the grade (the number of subjects appears in parentheses at the end of the message).
  • Solution: Enter a number that does not exceed the grade’s subjects, or add the missing subjects to the grade first.
• Message: “Grade must be chosen — without it, the student’s result cannot be calculated”
  • Reason: No grade was selected for the subject.
  • Solution: Select the grade the subject belongs to from the Grade field.
• Message: “Academic terms for the subject must be chosen”
  • Reason: No term was selected for the subject.
  • Solution: Select at least one term from the Subject Terms field.
• Message: “A positive numeric value must be entered”
  • Reason: The full mark is zero or less or not a number, or the passing mark is negative or not a number.
  • Solution: Enter a full mark greater than zero and a positive passing mark.
• Message: “The passing mark must be less than the final mark”
  • Reason: The passing mark is equal to or greater than the full mark.
  • Solution: Enter a passing mark lower than the full mark, or change the full mark.

FAQs

• Why can’t I find the class when adding it to the grade’s class list? Because the class must first be added from the Classes screen.
• What is the difference between Classes and Academic Terms for the Subject? Classes are the student classes within a grade, such as 1/A. Academic Terms for the Subject are periods within the academic year during which the subject is taught.
• What happens if I do not specify a next grade? The grade is treated as a final grade (graduation).
• Why does the system not accept a passing mark equal to the final mark? Because the passing mark must be lower than the final mark.
• I updated the grade settings. When does the change take effect? When the Close Out the Academic Year is run, because the system classifies students using the current values at the time it runs.
• Can students be assigned to classes in bulk? Yes, using the Distributing Student Across Classes button on the Classes list screen.