Not everyone loves change, but Scituate’s grading and attendance system, Aspen is a change that the school is welcoming with open arms. Scituate High School introduced it’s new grading system, Aspen at the beginning of the school year.. Aspen replaced the old process of teachers using one program to enter grades and then another program for student viewing. Goodbyes are often difficult, but not when it came time to say “sayonara” to the slow online gradebook, SHS shed no tears.
Edline was a hassle for both the students and the faculty. There always seemed to be a problem with kids trying to find out their usernames and various issues involving the login process. Things weren’t that easy for teachers either. Before, teachers had to input grades in GradeQuick, which did not allow student access, then they had to upload the grades separately on Edline. Not only was this a lengthy process, but some teachers barely even used Edline. The less the faculty actually used Edline, the more surprised the students were when it came to receiving their progress reports and report cards.
‘There are a lot of features I like about Aspen” said math teacher, Ms. Szymaniak. “It’s web-based so you can access it anywhere. The hardest thing about GradeQuick was that you couldn’t use it at home.” she added.
Despite the fact that his great system lacks any problems, not all of the student body is in favor of the program,.Anyone who argues against Aspen is simply just being irrational. Aspen has the ability to do whatever Edline did plus more. Accessing the website is a breeze, when using the website at school, all you have to do is click the classic leaf icon on the home screen. And if you need to check your grades while you’re at home, you can simply just go onto SHS’s website and click their link on the homepage to Aspen. Unlike past online grading systems, Aspen is not optional because the only way the teachers upload their grades is through the system, therefore there is a direct link between the students and the teachers. This eliminates the worry of not knowing your class grade at all times.
There are also some hidden secrets about Aspen that you might not know. For instance, under the “My Info” tab, if you click on “Transcript” then “Grade Point Summary”, you can see all of your final grades since freshmen year, as well as your overall weighted GPA. This a great and accessible way to compare your grades, and it would have been really helpful during the college process, and without a doubt will be for future generations. Students would have to schedule appointments with their guidance counselor in order to do something so simple, like figure out what their GPA was freshman year. Through Aspen, anyone can find out their GPA and so much more, in a matter of seconds.
Being organized is so much simpler with the addition of Aspen, I just wish it was introduced earlier. Grades are posted as soon as the teacher uploads them, so if you flunked a test, you’ll know as quickly as possible. Finding out your grades should never be a hassle, and with the addition of Aspen at SHS it isn’t.