Why use digital grades? In an increasingly digital world, online solutions are evolving to offer more to users. By adopting the right online tools, your school can drive improvement and better experiences for students, families, teachers, and administrators.
In This Article
What Are Digital Report Card Systems?
Digital report card systems are precisely what they sound like — teachers will upload grades to a digital system that formats and produces accurate and quality online report cards for each student, while families, students, and administrators can find them in digital portal systems. These systems offer more flexibility for all involved parties, with features like:
- Automatic data entry and calculations
- Template customization and saving
- Created charts and graphs
- Customized logos and branding materials
- Digital signatures
Schools can also use digital report card systems for digital transcripts. With these systems, schools can store and send out authentic transcripts to families and other necessary parties, like colleges and universities, or employers.
The 6 Benefits of Digital Report Cards and Transcripts
The various features and digital nature of online report cards and transcripts offer many benefits to school administrators, classroom teachers, students, families, and other parties who must access student information. If your school wants to focus on improving report card delivery or transcript dissemination, knowing the benefits of digital student information systems can help determine if it suits your school.
1. Improving Efficiency
Digital report cards and transcripts can improve efficiency across tasks and functions, offering a more streamlined system that allows all parties to focus more time on other essential actions. Some ways that your online report card and transcript system can boost efficiency for your school includes:
- Creating report cards and transcripts: Digital systems allow teachers and faculty to create and save report cards and transcript templates. When teachers don’t have to start from scratch each time, they can begin other operations associated with uploading and posting grades sooner.
- Inputting and submitting grades: Teachers can save time at the end of quarters, semesters, and academic years with digital systems. Your online grade books will connect with digital report card systems for automatic grade calculation and report card generation. Teachers will no longer have to input data manually, creating more time to focus on preparing lessons, grading homework and exams, or meeting with students, families, and other staff.
- Calculating grades: Digital report cards will save teachers from doing tricky calculations to determine quarterly or final grades. Instead, the system will take all necessary data, from assignments to point weights, to calculate grades for teachers. This ability streamlines this process for teachers, so they can post final grades sooner.
- Viewing and accessing reports: Online systems also make it more efficient for students and families to access and see their grades. Students and families will receive notifications when grades are available or posted, allowing them to track student performance better and react appropriately. They can ask teachers or administrators questions about specific assignments or improvement advice.
If your school wants to boost efficiency, implementing a digital report card and transcript system can support your goals.
2. Organizing Files and Saving Space
Many schools have endless filing cabinets full of student documents and essential paperwork. When these systems contain sensitive student and family information, schools must maintain proper organization so they can always know where files are. Further, physical paper systems often have complicated filing systems that only a few administrators and assistants know how to navigate. When someone else needs a file retrieved, they might have to wait for someone to help them.
Digital systems eliminate the need for paper systems and filing cabinets, freeing up space in your office. Digital folders and search functions simplify navigation, allowing individuals to easily find what they need without the assistance of others.
3. Implementing Automation
Automated features that come with digital systems are excellent for offering increased task efficiency, but they can also bring better data accuracy and reliability. With computerized calculations and data entry from grade books, teachers can ensure their work is free of critical mistakes or omissions. When students or families receive report cards or transcripts, they will know that information accurately represents student performance.
Accuracy and reliability can also support administrative needs. Administrators can use student report cards and transcripts to measure overall school performance. Average grades for the school or programs can attract families looking for academic rigor and preparation for the future.
4. Increasing File Security and Protection
Many digital systems come with increased security to help keep sensitive information safe because report cards and transcripts can contain personal data, like the names and addresses of students and families.
Digital report card and transcript systems will have advanced security settings to help keep student information and academic data secure. Authentication and locked files can ensure that only individuals with the right access level can view and change files, while encryption can keep files even more secure.
Authentication settings will prevent anyone other than established individuals from editing or changing file contents. For example, teachers can change grades or add notes, but not students. This system will further enhance the accuracy and reliability of your digital report cards and transcripts.
Digital systems also provide physical security to essential files like transcripts and report cards. Most systems offer offsite cloud storage managed by IT professionals. When files exist digitally and equipment is located off campus, you can better protect it from damages, theft, and weather phenomena like flooding and fires.
5. Streamlining Transcript Dissemination
Schools are responsible for preparing and sending transcripts to higher education institutions, employers, and other organizations as students apply for other ventures and begin building their futures. If students move or transfer schools, the administration at their existing school must provide their academic records, including grades and transcripts.
A digital system can simplify and streamline transcript requests and sharing. Because everything is virtual, administrators no longer have to search through files to find the right student’s records, and receiving schools won’t have to wait to obtain documents in the mail. By adjusting accessibility settings, schools can send and receive transcripts in seconds.
6. Digitizing Legacy Records
In addition to serving your existing students, you can use your digital report card and transcript systems to store and secure legacy records of graduated students. By moving alumni records online, you can continue to improve organization efforts while enabling better access to this information. Accessibility to legacy records can serve schools in several ways, including charting growth and improvement or supporting data audits, like alumni requests for their transcripts.
Digitize Your Records and Reports With Ravenna
You need the right tools to support the needs of your students, families, teachers, and administrators. Ravenna offers several powerful customer relationship management (CRM) solutions for private K-12 schools and their needs. Our solutions help streamline processes like admissions and enrollment, boosting information sharing and connection between families, students, and schools for stronger relationships.
Ravenna integrates with BigSIS, a complete school management and student information system, to digitize student information and leverage data for all parties. The centralized platform gives faculty an overview of your school and students, while families and students can access individualized portals that display their grades and connect them with their teachers.
Request a demo today and discover how Ravenna and BigSIS can lead your school’s digital transformation.
