Open a class record in week four and half of it is empty. Ten Written Works columns, three filled. Whether those seven empty columns quietly destroy your learners’ grades depends entirely on how your template handles them — and plenty of templates handle them badly.
There are two very different kinds of blank, and the whole problem comes from treating them as one.
The 10-second answer: A column nobody has taken yet should be left out of the computation entirely — it is not part of the total. A column the class took but one learner missed counts as zero for that learner until it is made up. If your record drops a learner’s grade the moment you add an unused column, it is treating the first kind as the second, and every mid-term grade it produces is wrong.
The two kinds of blank
| Situation | What it means | Correct treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Column set up in advance, nobody has a score | The assessment has not happened yet | Excluded from the total — as if the column did not exist |
| Class has scores, one learner is blank | That learner missed it | Counts as zero for that learner until made up |
The first is a record that is not finished. The second is a learner who did not submit. Only the second is a grade.
The distinction matters more this year than it used to, because the three-term structure puts two summative tests and a term examination inside one component — so the Examinations column stands empty for weeks at a time by design. See the three-term assessment calendar for when each one is meant to happen, and what changed in the three-term school year for the rest.
Why the distinction matters so much mid-term
Work through a small example. Written Works has five columns of 10 points each, but only two assessments have happened. A learner scored 9 and 8.
- Treating unused columns as zero: 17 out of 50 = 34%. A disaster on paper that reflects nothing about the learner.
- Excluding unused columns: 17 out of 20 = 85%. An accurate picture of work actually assessed.
Both are arithmetic. Only one is true. And the damage is not limited to a scary number in week four — a teacher who sees 34% starts making decisions from it: unnecessary interventions, worried parent messages, or the habit of simply ignoring the record until the end of the term, which then costs the early-warning information the record exists to provide.
The same logic inside every component
This applies to Written Works, Performance Tasks, and the Examinations component alike. Before ST2 has happened, the Examinations component should be computed from ST1 alone — not from ST1 plus two zeros. It also applies within the domain structure of GMRC and Values Education, where a domain with no columns in use yet is left out rather than counted as zero: see computing GMRC and Values Education grades.
How to test your own template in two minutes
- Open a class record with a few scores recorded.
- Note one learner’s current component percentage.
- Add an empty column to that component — no scores for anyone.
- Look again.
If the percentage dropped, your template counts unused columns as zero, and every mid-term grade it has produced is understated. If it did not move, the template is doing this correctly.
Run the same test on the Examinations component, which templates handle least consistently.
What to do when a learner genuinely missed an assessment
Here the zero is correct — but a zero should be a decision, not an accident.
- Give a make-up where your school’s policy allows it, and record the make-up score in the same column.
- Chase it early. Missing work found in week four is recoverable; found in grading week it is a zero and a conversation with a parent.
- Keep a visible list of missing work per learner rather than relying on scanning the record.
- Record a zero deliberately once the window closes, and note why. A zero with a reason survives a challenge; a blank cell does not.
- Do not use zeros as discipline. The grade reports assessed learning; conduct is handled elsewhere.
The related trap: changing the highest possible score
The same class of error appears when columns have different maximum scores. Each column carries its own highest possible score, and the component percentage is the total raw score over the total of the maximums for the columns in use. Add a 50-point performance task column in advance, leave it empty, and a template that counts it as in-use adds 50 points to the denominator — which pushes everyone’s percentage down until someone takes the task.
Check that your maximum scores are recorded per column and that unused columns contribute nothing to either side of the fraction.
Frequently asked questions
Should I set up all my columns at the start of the term?
Yes, if your record handles unused columns correctly — planning the assessments in advance is good practice. If your record does not handle them correctly, you are forced into adding columns one at a time, which is a template problem masquerading as a workflow preference.
What if a learner transfers in mid-term?
Assessments given before the learner arrived are not their missed work. Follow your school’s process for transferees, which normally means carrying grades from the previous school rather than recording zeros for work the learner could not have taken.
Does an excused absence on test day mean a zero?
Not automatically — it means a make-up assessment under your school’s policy. Record the make-up score. A zero applies when the work is genuinely not completed within the window your school allows.
My co-teacher’s record shows different grades from mine for the same class. Why?
This is the most common cause. Run the two-minute test above on both templates; usually one counts unused columns and the other does not.
Where Skoolari fits
Skoolari’s MATATAG class record leaves unused columns out of the computation — a column nobody has taken does not enter the total, so a week-four record reads as 85% rather than 34%, and adding your term’s columns in advance costs nothing. A blank where classmates have scores is treated as a zero for that learner, as it should be, and the record shows you which learners have missing work so you can chase it while it is still recoverable. Each column carries its own highest possible score, exactly like the official electronic class record. Everything exports to Excel and prints under your own school header. See the plans, or read choosing a class record app for what else to check before you commit to one.
Where your school prescribes its own template or policy on make-up work and zeros, follow your school’s version and keep your documentation consistent with it.