Student Information
HomeSchool Minder lets you keep track of more than just grades and school activities. You can also enter personal data for your students, as well as extracurricular activities and standardized test scores.
And in case we haven''t thought of everything you would like to enter, we have provided a way for you to create your own custom information fields.
The screens in the Student Records module allow you to enter information for the currently selected student. To enter information for a different student, select that student from the students drop-down menu at the top-left corner of the screen.
You''ll notice that when you navigate to the Student Records module, a menu will appears on the right side of the screen. Initially, the Student Information option will be selected, but you can click on the other options to view the Contact Information, Standardized Tests, Readings, and Community Service pages for the current student.
Editing the Current Student''s Personal Information
In the Student Information page, you will see an entry form where you can enter your student''s name, birthday, gender, graduation date, and grade level. You can also enter the name of the student''s parent if you are teaching a group of children belonging to more than one family.
When you are finished entering the information, don''t forget to click Save to make your changes permanent.
Adding Custom FieldsIn this page, you can also enter other personal information that you would like to store for each student. For example, you might want to make a note of the fact that your student suffers from one or more allergies. To do this, click on the "Add Custom Field" button. A text field will appear where you can enter the custom field name. The field name indicates the kind of information you want to store; for example, we could enter "Allergies".
When you click Save, the new custom field will appear on the page. Now you can enter the information itself; for example, "Peanuts".
Remember to click Save to make the information you just entered in the custom field permanent.
You can add as many custom fields as you like. The custom fields you create will be available to enter data for all your students. Examples of information you can enter are doctor''s or nurse''s contact information, favorite food, etc.
Editing Custom FieldsIf you need to change the name of a custom field, place your cursor on top of the round drop-down icon to the right of the custom field and click on the Edit option from the menu that will appear.
After entering the new name, click Save. The field will appear on the page under its new name. Note that the information saved in that field will not change, only the name of the field.
Note also that custom fields are listed alphabetically by custom field name, and so changing the name of a field may result in the field moving to a different position on the page.
Deleting Custom FieldsTo delete a custom field, place your cursor on top of the round drop-down icon to the right of the custom field and click on the Delete option from the menu that will appear.
Note that, to prevent accidentally losing information, in certain situations HomeSchool Minder will display a confirmation dialog to ask you if you are sure that you want to delete the custom field.
* If the custom field is blank for all students, or if it is blank for all students except the currently selected student, no warning dialog will be displayed and the field will be deleted immediately.
* If the custom field is populated for at least one student other than the currently selected student, then the confirmation dialog will appear to give you the opportunity to cancel and visit the other students'' records to make sure that the information can indeed be deleted.
If you are sure that you want the delete the custom field even if other students contain information in that field, click Continue in the confirmation dialog. Otherwise, click Cancel and the deletion will not take place.
Editing the Current Student''s Contact Information
In the Contact Information page, you can enter your student''s physical and electronic mailing address for your records.
Entering Standardized Test Scores
It''s easy to use HomeSchool Minder to keep track of your students'' standardized test results and to make them part of their academic records.
Adding Standardized TestsTo enter the scores for a new test, click on the Add button in the Tests header. An entry form will appear, where you can enter the test information, such as the name of the test, the date, the score, and the percentile. Note that, since not all testing services report the percentile in which the test score lies, this field is optional.
If the test results include test sub-scores, you can also enter them in HomeSchool Minder by placing your cursor on top of the round Add icon in the row for the test in question. Click on the "Add Sub-Score" option from the drop-down menu that will appear. A sub-score entry form will open, where you can enter the name of the test section (for example, "Critical Reading"), the sub-score, and the percentile if applicable. Click Save to record the information.
You can correct the information for any test by clicking on the row for that test. Similarly, you can change the information for a sub-score by clicking on the corresponding row.
To delete a sub-score, place your cursor on the round drop-down menu icon inside the row for the sub-score, and click on the "Delete" option from the drop-down menu that will appear. You can similarly delete a test by choosing "Delete" from the drop-down menu for the test.
Standardized Tests and Grading ReportsNote that the Report Card and Transcript reports available in the Reports module will include the student''s test scores and sub-scores by default (if you want to exclude them, clear the "Include Standardized Tests" checkbox in the report filters before generating the report).
Entering Readings
The Student Records module also allows you to track your students'' reading activities.
Adding a New ReadingTo create a new reading, click on the Add button in the Readings header. The reading entry form will appear, where you can enter the book or article title, author, and number of pages. If you wish, you can also assign beginning and ending dates for the reading. Finally, you might find it useful to enter the source for the reading to make it easier to find similar material in the future.
When your student completes the reading, you can indicate this by clicking on the Completed checkbox. Note that HomeSchool Minder requires you to choose a "Reading list type" for each reading that you create. To set up the reading list types that are available to choose from, see the Reading Lists settings page. Assigning a reading list type to each reading helps you to classify your students'' readings by type (for example, "Reading for Pleasure", "Extra Credit", etc.). You can also create reading list types corresponding to standards-based reading lists to indicate readings that fulfill the requirements for the standard.
If desired, you can enter additional instructions or observations about the reading in the Notes text area.
The Readings page lets you quickly see which readings the student has already completed. Each completed reading will display a check mark in the last column of its row.
You can change the information for any reading by clicking on the row for that reading to re-open the reading entry form.
To delete a reading, place your cursor on the round drop-down menu icon inside the row for the reading, and click on the "Delete" option from the drop-down menu that will appear.
Entering Community Service Information
A student''s service to the community can be entered into HomeSchool Minder, which allows you to record the organization for which the service was carried out and the supervisor''s name. In addition, you can enter the particular job performed and the supervisor''s rating or evaluation of the quality of the work. You can enter beginning and ending dates for the service, as well as the total number of hours devoted to it. Finally, any observations that you would like to record may be entered in the Notes text area.
All community service activities that you enter here will be listed in the Community Service report available in the Reports module.
You may want to ask the organization''s supervisor for a written evaluation that can become a part of your student''s extra-curricular record. The Reports module contains a Service Evaluation form that you can download and print for this purpose. When the supervisor fills out and returns the form, you can enter the information in HomeSchool Minder.
Note that the student''s name will appear in the printed version of the form.
Login Information
You can also manage login access for the current student by navigating to the Login Information page of the Student Records module.
You can grant or revoke login access (by selecting or unselecting the "Login allowed" checkbox), and edit the student''s login name and password in exactly the same way as explained in the Student Logins section of the Student Settings page.
Student Information Docs