SCRIBE Help Desk

Users can add Courses to SCRIBE manually and through an import. This PDF covers adding courses via import. See How to Add Courses Manually PDF and video on the SCRIBE Help Desk.

For additional guidance, watch the How to Add Courses via Import video on the SCRIBE Help Desk. Log into the Help Desk using your SCRIBE log in.

Create the File to Import 

Before you can add grades for your students in SCRIBE, you must add the courses and make sure each course is properly coded so SCRIBE knows what type of grades (decimal or letters) and how many grades to expect for the year (e.g., 2 grades for schools with semesters, 4 grades for schools with quarters) so that SCRIBE can properly calculate final grades and course completion for your students. Further, it is important to properly code courses to match the Standard Course (e.g., Algebra I, Biology) and Course Level (e.g., honors, AP) tracking so that you report accurate course enrollment and course completion numbers on the APR. 

1. Determine the required and optional fields for a Course List import. There are two ways.

a. The first way: Look at the Import Template in your grant’s Google Drive folder.

Every import template has a tab that has the field headings and a tab that describes each field, whether the field is required, the type of data needed for that field and where to find that data. The Course List import template also has a tab for Standard Courses (see Fields below).

If you do not have access to the Google folder, reach out to your data manager or Xcalibur contact.

Note: Remember to download the Import Template from the Google folder and save it on your desktop before editing it. Click File > Download > Microsoft excel.

b. The second way to determine the required fields: In SCRIBE click Tools > Import. Click Add Import. Select the Import Type: Course List. Click the View Specification button.

The Import Specification list will appear in a popup box. The fields with a red asterisk are required, the other fields are optional. 

NOTE: SCRIBE will consider any fields included in the import that are not listed on the Import Specification list as “unknown” fields during the import process and will ignore them. See Troubleshooting Imports on the SCRIBE Help Desk for more information on unknown fields.  

Fields

Fields are the different data categories you can include in the Course List import file (e.g., SchoolYear, CourseName, etc.) listed as separate columns in the spreadsheet. Some fields are required, meaning SCRIBE will not import your file without them. Some are optional, meaning it is up to you whether or not to include them in the import file. 

Note: Fields (columns) can be in the import file in any order. Field headings must be spelled correctly but capitalization does not matter (e.g., CourseName = coursename = COURSENAME = cOuRSenAmE). There are no spaces in the field headings (e.g., SchoolYear is not the same as School Year). 

Fields in a Course List Import (* indicates a required field)

a. SchoolNumber* - unique number used in SCRIBE to identify the each school. Find the SchoolNumber in SCRIBE by clicking on the Schools tab > View All Schools. 

The SchoolNumber is listed in the School List. 

b. SchoolYear* – enter the first year of the compound school year (e.g., 2019 for 2019-2020; 2020 for 2020-2021)

Note: Import files are limited to one school year per file. 

c. CourseName* – name of the course. CourseName should be descriptive enough for easy recognition (e.g., Honors Biology is more descriptive and more easily recognizable than HBi).

d. CourseNumber* – unique identifier for each course. Within each school, each course number must be unique.

NOTE: The CourseNumber is how SCRIBE knows what course to assign a student’s grades to. Therefore, it is important that the same CourseNumber is used for students’ grades files. 

e. ScoringMethodID* – identifies whether grades will be entered as decimal (0-100) or lookup (letters).

Codes: 1 for Decimal (0-100)

            2 for Lookup (letters)

f. CourseResultGroupID* – identifies the grading scale for lookup grades (if decimal, do not include field).

Codes: 1 for Generic A-F including NM and NC

            2 for Generic A-F with +/- including NM and NC

            3 for Pass/Fail

            4 for Advanced, Proficient, Basic, Below Basic, Failure

            5 for Generic A+ through F with P, I, NC

g. Credits – indicates what portion of the final grade each term grade will be. Used by SCRIBE to calculate the final grade and to determine whether the student completed the course or not. If the student does not have that number of grades, SCRIBE will assume the student did not complete the course. 

Codes:  .25 for quarters (meaning each grade counts for 1/4 of the final grade; 4 grades needed to complete course)

            .34 for trimesters (meaning each grade counts for 1/3 of the final grade; 3 grades needed complete course)

            .5 for semesters (meaning each grade counts for ½ of the final grade; 2 grades needed to complete course)

Note: Best practice recommends importing grades per quarter/trimester/semester for tracking purposes. However, depending on how SCRIBE is configured for your school, it is possible to import one final grade for each course. Reach out to your data manager or XCalibur contact for more info.

h. CourseLevelID – identifies the course levels reported on the APR.

Codes: 3 for Honors

            4 for Advanced Placement (AP)

            5 for College Course/Dual Credit

            7 for International Baccalaureate (IB)

Note: if a course is none of these course levels, leave blank.

i. StandardCourseID – identifies the standard courses reported on the APR. See the Import Template in your grant’s Google folder for the codes.

Note: if a course is not a standard course, leave blank.

TIP: With your data/GEAR UP team, establish rules for special cases like blended courses (e.g., integrated chemistry-physics) or other anomalies you come across. Document the decisions and follow the same protocols for all schools and all school years. 

Sample Course List Import File

            How to read this import file: This import file is for the 2019-2020 school year for courses with lookup

(letter) grades that have generic A+ through F with P, I, NC course results and will be entered into SCRIBE quarterly. This file contains one AP course and one honors course and several standard courses. 

Import Course List file

1. Save the Course List import file following best practice naming conventions: include the school year, type of import, other necessary details like quarter or semester, school/district name or abbreviation

(e.g., 19-20_CourseList_Sem1_WBHS).

2. In SCRIBE, click Tools > Import. 

3. Click Add Import. 

4. Select the Import Type: Course List.

5. Make sure the School Year is correct. Click Browse to select the import file from your computer. Click Upload Import File. Follow the import process. 

Additional Resources:     

Importing Data folder

Troubleshooting Imports PDF

Import webinars from June, 2020

How to Add a Course Manually

How to Run Course List Export

How to Add Grades Manually

How to Add Grades via Import

Download a PDF of this tutorial below.