Dear Colleague: Enclosed you will find a copy of our very latest efforts, Version 9.6 of "Making the Grade" for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. It possesses everything found in our flagship program, "Grade Busters 1/2/3" (2nd Place Winner, "Teacher Tool of the Decade," Technology and Learning)--and much more. It's just as easy to use, contains much more flexibility, and is ALL Windows! Please keep in mind the following suggestions and background information concerning the program as it currently exists: 1. Be sure to load the Sample Gradebook and browse around to see what's possible with different program features and to see what a FULL class record looks like. 2. One feature of which we are especially proud in MTG is the addition of FOUR MORE GRADING SCALES per class, for a total of FIVE separate systems teachers can use to evaluate student performance. In an age of shrinking school budgets, we often must accommodate larger numbers of students of wider ability levels in our classes--and this is our partial solution to the additional challenge given us of fair and individualized grading. That is, teachers will be able to assign different grading scales to students of different abilities within the same class, so that an 85% for one may be a B, with the same percentage being an A- for another. Other groups can even have pictographs (apples, triangles, dollar signs, etc.) as their grading scale--or even nothing at all. 3. By the way, under the SPECIAL menu the somewhat cryptic items called "SELECT-A-STUDENT" and "SELECT-A-GROUP" are actually choosers of students for participation in classroom activities. The former will remind you a little of "Wheel of Fortune," for it automatically and randomly selects students from class rosters as volunteers for class activities. Its features include allowing teachers to exempt students from the selection process for the session, and set a maximum number of times a student may be selected before he or she becomes "immune." 4. Please note that MTG is shipping only as an integrated Gradebook, Daily Record, Seating Chart, OMR machine-scoring module, Automatic Voice-Processing, Portrait Studio, Internet ePublishing, and Palm OS package right now, but the upgrade into all future components will be FREE of charge for Version 9.6 customers. In fact, ALL future updates/upgrades of MTG are FREE for the lifetime of our company! Since we still have three pages of enhancements on the drawing board (more students per class, raw score decimals, and more), we know you'll want to take advantage of this incomparable warranty at least once per semester! Return ALL THREE of your Program Disks to us in a diskette mailer (with a paltry $10.00 for postage and handling), and we'll do the rest. OR . . . you can always download our latest version from our new website at http://www.gradebusters.com. What could be faster, easier, or more economical? =================================== A FEW OF OUR MOST NOTABLE FEATURES: (most recent at the bottom) 1. Look under SPECIAL in the gradebook menu bar, and you will find our innovative TEACHER AIDE mode. If, like us, you're overworked but can't find the courage to let someone else help with your gradebook, you'll LOVE this option. Once set, a student, paraprofessional, parent, or other kind soul can enter NEW assignment data into your gradebook files--but no one may do anything else therein. That is, no one may change old scores, print out confidential reports, or browse around in sensitive data without your permission. To return to a "normal" program setting, toggle the TEACHER AIDE mode, or click in any unauthorized area, and then enter your PASSWORD. Either method will reset MTG to its usual wide-open entry and editing mode. 2. The MTG "QUICK, EASY, and SMART Transfer" of students from one class to another has arrived and is located under the Edit > Students menus. The QUICK option transfers only student setup info and enters an EXCUSED mark for all past assignments. EASY transfers student setup info AND assignment data--but WITHOUT checking for compatibility of gradebook and Daily Record elements between the two classes. SMART transfers student setup info and assignment data--but carefully compares gradebook setup compatibility, assignment setups, Daily Record categories, and the like, and alerts you to potential problems as they arise. We recommend our SMART transfer over the EASY option under most circumstances, of course, but the choice is always yours! 3. SELECT-A-GROUP is now available for cooperative learning situations! Found under the SPECIAL menu, this unique option enables you to group your students randomly, with impartiality, for screen and hardcopy display. 4. The famous Grade Busters DITTO function is in! Whenever you wish to repeat a score (in SCORE ENTRY or EDIT mode), press the (")/quotation marks key: That score will be repeated automatically! To fill ALL remaining student score boxes with the same score, press Command + (") and behold. 5. We've greatly expanded the student DATA BASE portion of MTG, as seen in the slide bar at the bottom of the roster entry screen. Likewise, we've "beefed up" the EXPORT function (under the File Menu), enabling teachers and administrators to create 10 Export Templates for sending ASCII files to data processing departments and the like. Down with report card bubble sheets and daily attendance slips! 6. The SINGLE PAGE GRADEBOOK is a reality! If you've recorded 15 or fewer assignments for a class, you may elect to print all varieties of this document in a one OR two page format. 7. MAJOR UPGRADE: Just wait 'til you see the brand new SEATING CHART in Version 3.0! 8. The famous "Poor Man's Printer Buffer" is now active for Windows! Choose the type of document you wish to print for a class, and then select as many as 14 OTHER CLASSES from which to print the same report. Load your printer with oodles of paper, sit back, and relax while we save hours of your precious time communicating with students and parents. 9. Gradebook, Daily Record, and Seating Chart windows now EXPAND fully to take advantage of larger monitors! Just click the zoom box in the upper right corner of each window and enjoy the "big picture" of student data. 10. MAJOR UPGRADE: We now work interactively with Parlant Technology's PARENTLINK to provide up-to-date student grade and attendance information automatically over the telephone! You'll find our ParentLink macro in the Export section (under the File menu), and you'll find Parlant Technology in Provo, Utah at 800-735-2930. If you're interested in state-of-the-art voice processing of student data and the ultimate in school/community relations, be sure to give Parlant a call! 11. MTG 4.0 now interacts with Scantron's exciting new ScanMark 2000 and NCS's OpScan series of optical mark readers! Let us grade your students' multiple-choice tests; we'll analyze their individual performances as well as the validity of the test and the class's performance as a whole. Talk about a time saver . . . this is it! 12. Our HAPPY BIRTHDAY reminder function is now operational! Record your students' birthdays in the class database, and a special greeting card will appear on screen for everyone whose special day it is. 13. The PRINT MACROS option is now available under the File menu. Every time you set up a special kind of report for yourself or your students, you may save that "formula" in the macros section and never have to set up that document again! 14. The CUSTOMIZED LETTER GRADES option is now available under the Special menu. Create your own unique set of marks, or enable the traditional A through F system from your keyboard. 15. Individual LINE LIBRARY COMMENTS may now be attached to student take-home reports from the database or Special menu. Each student's progress report may contain a unique set of remarks, as well as a "batch file" of comments attached to all printouts. Mix and match observations, as you decide. 16. The new "Calculate INC's as . . ." option (under the "Special" and "Preferences" menus) gives you the power to record all assignments for a grading period and then evaluate only those which students have completed to date! That is, if you wish to consider all Incomplete Scores as Excused, students can work at their own pace and be graded only on the work they've handed in. 17. MAJOR UPGRADE: "Making the Grade Win" is now fully cross-platform compatible in Version 5.0, for it reads and shares class files from "Making the Grade Mac" as well! No matter what operating system a teacher uses, it's "Have Data Disk Will Travel" with MTG! 18. Brand new BAR CHART REPORTS are now available for whatever statistical analysis you might need under the Reports > For the CLASS menus. You may graphically compare as many group of students in your classes as you wish, in any fashion you wish. It's completely up to you how you display single or multiple classes' data with these attractive reports! 19. Individual CATEGORY EFFORT MARKS are now assignable within the MTG Student Data Base. No longer must elementary teachers, for example, assign a single, comprehensive evaluation to a student's performance--break that effort down now by specific skill category and send even more information home to parents! 20. Individual CATEGORY TOTALS are now displayed for each student in the MTG Daily Record. What you've seen for years in the hardcopy printout is now yours on-screen as well! 21. MTG is now PENTAMATION compatible! Student information and class rosters can now be imported directly from this renowned program, with academic, behavioral, and attendance information being exported back to it. Once again we stand firm in our commitment to liberate teachers from number two pencils and bubble sheets at grade time! 22. The Page Up/Page Down keys are now fully functional within the Gradebook, Daily Record, and Seating Chart screens! (Anything we can do to save time and mouse clicks, you know . . . .) 23. Speaking of our Pentamation connection, MTG is now compatible with CAMPUS AMERICA too! Sharing our data with district and state-wide MIS departments is a primary objective at Jay Klein Productions, and we enthusiastically welcome CA to our family of vendors! 24. DROP DOWN MENUS are now available for faster student selection in the Display > Student data portions of the Gradebook and Daily Record. Click on the student name bar at the top of each screen and see your entire class roster in menu form, ready for the choosing! 25. The Gradebook, Daily Record, and Seating Chart modules can now be "emptied, blanked, and cleared" of all data in preparation for your next grading period. All you have to do is click on Edit in the main menu bar and slide down to Empty/Blank/Clear within each program segment. In previous versions of MTG, teachers had to create new files and then import rosters and setup information from older classes. But no more! Now you an "zero out" existing class records, modifying them as necessary for the next marking period, and then save them under new titles. Indeed, MTG becomes easier to use and more flexible each and every year! 26. And speaking of our Campus America connection, MTG is now compatible with SKYWARD too! Sharing our data with district and state-wide MIS departments is a primary objective at Jay Klein Productions, and we enthusiastically welcome Skyward to our family of cooperating vendors! 27. The MTG Preferences section has been expanded with two new options (under File in the main menu). You can now save toner in your laser printers by choosing not to fill "empty" areas between seats with a grayed pattern. Instead, non-seating areas will show and print as blank, white spaces. The second preference enables you to remove the due date from the title field when setting up an assignment. MTG "defaults" to include the date, but the choice is always yours whether to keep it there. 28. For those of us whose eyes "ain't what they used to be," Gradebook and Daily Record printouts can now be SHADED on every other line of student data as a reading aid! Go to File > MtG Preferences > Shading Gradebook and Daily Records, and chose the format that's right for you. 29. MTG now remembers and saves all open WINDOW POSITIONS! That is, each time you save a class, we record precisely where the Gradebook, Daily Record, and Seating Chart windows are located, how large they are, and which is "forwardmost" on the screen. Want to have your Seating Chart open and expanded to its fullest size for a student aide to take attendance at the beginning of class? You can now . . . and without violating students' confidentiality rights! 30. Reports for an entire class now include CATEGORY ANALYSIS, as well as that for the entire marking period and individual assignments! Printouts by table, histogram, and bar chart now reveal student progress in individual or multiple categories . . . in a single class or multiple classes (up to a maximum of 15)! Want to find out who the best speller is in all of your classes? Now you can. 31. Making the Grade now supports the ScanMark 2000 25-channel optical mark reader as well as the 48-channel device added in Version 4.0. You may rest assured that whenever current technologies are refined, we'll be right there to support you with all necessary modifications! 32. And speaking of our new Campus America and Skyward connections, MTG is now compatible with SCHOOLMASTER too! Exchanging student records with MIS departments remains a primary objective at Jay Klein Productions, and we enthusiastically welcome Schoolmaster to our growing family of cooperating vendors! 33. MAJOR UPGRADE: MTG v7.5 is more powerfully "networkable" than ever! That is, site-licensed network copies now support up to 100 different teachers PER WORKSTATION, along with their individual setup information, preferences, print macros, Line Libraries, and the like. Grade Busters site-licenses have never been more economical and cost-effective! 34. Los Angeles Unified School District is now part of the MTG conglomerate, for we now import their class files and export data back to Schoenburg Consulting's "GradeBubbler," the ultimate solution to your bubble-sheeting woes! Call Bob Schoenburg at (818) 887-4466 for more information. 35. Select-A-Group "volunteers" may now be printed in text list form and/or graphic certificate form for posting in class. Your many voices HAVE been heard, colleagues! 36. Select-A-Student now automatically "immunizes" students who have been marked ABSENT for the day it is activated. 37. Version 7.5 features a host of new missing assignment displays and hardcopy reports. You may focus the content of these documents upon individual students or upon individual assignments; either way, those who still owe you work will have nowhere to hide! 38. The MTG Portrait Studio now supports the importation of JPEG student pictures as well as the more traditional PICT ones. 39. Report Card Summary Reports for the teacher are now much easier to access! Instead of having to wade through half-a-dozen student report screens first, all you must do now is click Reports > Teacher > Report Card Summaries and you're there! 40. Setting up a class is even simpler and faster now, for the "Annotations" screen has been moved into the Special menu ("COMPOSE score annotations . . ."). 41. If you've always wanted to be able to "dump" information contained in the MTG Student Database, your wish has just come true. Go to the Special menu and select EXPORT the student database, and you'll receive all of that information in ASCII format for importation into the program of your choice! 42. Have you ever opened a gradebook file and been notified of a student's birthday . . . only to forget to print out his or her BIRTHDAY CARD? Unless you're comfortable changing the date in your PC's system clock, that card would be lost to you forever . . . until now. Version 7.5 features the ability to display and print student birthday cards for the DAY, the WEEK, the MONTH, and the entire GRADING TERM; so you'll never be caught with your congratulations down again! 43. MTG now publishes a greater variety of teacher gradebook printouts than ever before! Witness the new "Supersized Grid" option, a single-page, large-type printout perfect for recording scores in an "upscale" fashion. And, check out the new "right side" options for printing multiple page gradebooks: You may now choose whether you wish to have the student last name, student first name, or student number on the rightmost gradebook page. 44. In version 7.6, Gradebook Category Titles support lower case letters as well as the previous upper-case-only entries. 45. The percentage = letter grade rounding option has been put back into the new class setup sequence, following its brief move to the "Special" menu in previous versions. 46. The MtG Portrait Studio now imports/exports ANY and ALL picture formats supported by Windows' QuickTime software. (And that's just about everything currently available!) 47. Another Portrait Studio enhancement in v7.6: You may now take student pictures in portrait mode (more vertical than horizontal) as well as in the more traditional landscape mode (more horizontal than vertical). Feel free to import students' portraits from the CD-ROM collections some photo studios offer; they usually appear in portrait mode, and MtG supports them completely now! 48. Multiple-class data extracted via the MtG Export Student Data feature can be merged now into a single "megafile" to make things as simple for district MIS staffers as humanly possible! 49. Version 7.6 now enables our MtG Mac users to open your .mtg files on Macintosh computers without PC File Exchange being installed and active! Transparent program usage is one of our highest goals at Jay Klein Productions. 50. The date option found within the assignment title line can be displayed in the British date format (DD/MM) as well as the traditional US one (MM/DD). Go to File > MtG Preferences > Including date in assignments, and make your preferences known! 51. Speaking of preferences . . . you now have the option of automatically displaying scores for students who earn no points on an Extra Credit assignment either as 0 (the default) or EXC (Excused). Go to File > MtG Preferences > Setting Extra Credit defaults, and make your preferences known once again! 52. For the ultimate in accountability measures . . . MtG 7.6 now boasts a brand new Sign-Out Sheet option for the teacher, perfect for documenting students' receipt of their Progress Reports or any other events you should confirm with a student signature! (Go to Reports > For the TEACHER > Sign-Out Sheets to obtain this document in a variety of formats.) 53. For those who regularly use MtG's Select-A-Group feature (under Special), we now offer the option of distributing "left-over" students to other groups, as well as the current practice of leaving them in their own smaller ones! 54. MtG 7.6 now sports the option of printing only the active days within the teacher Daily Record report. If your classes meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, for example, you may elect to print only those days in your spreadsheet, without the current "NO SCHOOL" events. 55. You may now print Seating Charts with student pictures AND student numbers. These reports MUST be kept confidential and away from students' prying eyes, of course, but they're PERFECT for substitutes who need all the information they can get when you're gone! 56. The "Current Student Totals" box in the upper right corner of the main Gradebook window features a brand new item. Click the left triangle there just once, and you'll be able to record individual student Line Library Comments directly from the gradebook screen! 57. Major Upgrade: Making the Grade 8.0 is now ready for the Internet! Select "The WEB ePUBLISHER" under the SPECIAL menu, and then decide whether you wish to send Individual Academic Progress Reports to parents' email addresses in HTML form . . . or post Grouped Progress Reports on your personal or school's home page! (This latter option requires the Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), which we will automatically generate for you if you wish!) IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to export your Grouped Progress Reports to a special folder containing student .htm documents ONLY. You may reuse this folder anytime you wish--and place it within any home or web page directory you wish . . . but do NOT place any other important web documents therein. (Why this caveat? Each time we reuse your student progress report folder we must completely EMPTY it first, and anything else residing there will be deleted as well in the process! 'Nuff said?) 58. Starting a new grading period has never been easier, for all MTG options are conveniently and prominently grouped as the last item in the gradebook's SPECIAL menu! 59. You can click and drag students' pictures to reposition them in seating charts now! Just add the shift key when you click on an image . . . and then relocate at will! 60. Making the Grade 8.1 now fully supports the Scanning Systems SR-700 and Remarks optical mark readers! 61. Select-A-Group (as well as Select-A-Student) now automatically "immunizes" students who have been marked absent for the day it is activated! 62. Making the Grade 8.2 has some exciting new sounds in the "Select-A-Student" feature. Your students will be more motivated than ever to be chosen by this special module! 63. The MTG ePublisher now boasts another HTML document for e-mailing home to parents: the Daily Record Summary with Calendar! 64. You no longer have to "drag and drop" your MTG class files into the trash at the end of each marking period, for DELETE a class . . . has been added to the main File menu. It accomplishes the very same task as the manual process, but it's SO much quicker! 65. To save you even more time, we've added a SAVE class as Windows file . . . option under the main File menu. Specially designed for cross-platform computer users, this feature automatically appends the ".mtg" suffix to class files for easy opening on a PC! 66. And now the really important news: MTG now features the ability to back up class files to another location--automatically--every time you save class data! You'll find this new option in File > SET MtG Preferences > Backing up class files, and we STRONGLY recommend that you take full advantage of it right away! 67. Entering personalized comments in the MTG Line Library is even easier now, for "word wrap" is fully active there. That is, if your typed comments exceed the 72 characters allowed for each entry--and if the next line is empty--your remarks will automatically wrap around onto the next line! 68. Another big item: When an MTG class roster was brought in from another source, the Import button used to become dimmed/inactive . . . but no more! Feel free to import and merge class rosters to your heart's content from now on (as long as you don't exceed the maximum of 80 students). We'll check student names and numbers at the beginning of each import sequence to make sure no duplicates ever appear in a class! 69. Making the Grade 8.3 now utilizes the same personalized Key File as its Windows counterpart, enabling our users to update their programs "24/7" from our website (and never have to return Program Disks to our offices again)! Just go to www.gradebusters.com, download the latest "Demo" edition of MTG for Mac, move your Key File into that folder . . . and you're all set! 70. Making the Grade 8.4 now boasts a host of new third party data connections, including RSCCC (Texas), MMS, Tremont, Test Generator, Aeries Eagle 2000, and CInnovations! 71. Major Upgrade: Making the Grade 9.0 is now Palm OS handheld ready! Select "MTG Palm OS" under the SPECIAL menu, and see what exciting new features we have in store for the latest in PDA technology! Note: A separate purchase of "Making the Grade Palm" (and its activating Key File) is required for class data to return from your handheld. 72. At long last: MTG features a Print Preview component! Look under the File menu, where you will find PREVIEW a report, the easiest way there is to check the content and layout of documents before sending them to your printer. 73. Major Upgrade: Making the Grade 9.2 now supports the basal 5-Point Grading Scale (4,3,2,1,0), an especially popular addition for many primary school teachers! Choosing this type of grading system enables the user to record any one of these five point values--or their corresponding letter grades--and generate an overall grade equivalency between 4.0 and 0.0. 74. Major Upgrade: Making the Grade 9.4e+ supports the exciting new Edline INTERNET/WEB SOLUTION for schools. Never before has publishing student reports on individual internet sites been so easy. And working on the same class files from both home and school is now a reality . . . so you can finally bid a fond farewell to your "transport" floppies and Zip drives. Be sure to visit Edline's website at for a full description of what this revolutionary new relationship can do for you and your school! 75. Major Upgrade: Making the Grade 9.4k+ supports the exciting new SchoolCenter Web Presence solution for schools! SchoolCenter was created exclusively to meet the web hosting needs of school district administrators, teachers, students, and staff alike. Whether you want a simple web site or a total web presence, SchoolCenter makes the task easy! Be sure to visit their website at for a complete description of what this exciting new offering can do for you and your school! =================================== Well, that’s about it for now . . . . I hope you become as excited about "Making the Grade" as we are at Jay Klein Productions, for even in its thirteenth year now, we think it our finest, most ambitious program. Hundreds of thousands of educators worldwide have been using the "Grade Busters" line of teacher productivity tools since 1983; it was their reactions that garnered us the accolade in ELECTRONIC LEARNING as One of America’s 7 Favorite Software Companies (Aldus, The Learning Company, Microsoft, Scholastic, Sunburst, and WordPerfect are the other six) and One of Six Software Companies That Produce GREAT Programs. Recently the Computer Learning Foundation named us one of only 23 hardware and software companies to earn their prestigious Seal of Approval For Schools. (Apple Computer, Microsoft, IBM/EduQuest, Claris, Brøderbund, and Hewlett-Packard were among the other winners.) A few months ago we received the Best Bet award from CREATIVE CLASSROOM (Children's Television Workshop) as one of only six software packages that EVERY elementary school teacher should have. ("Print Shop Deluxe" and "The Teacher Tool Kit" were two others.) Also last year, TECHNOLOGY AND LEARNING awarded MTG its Award of Excellence, and in May MEDIA AND METHODS bestowed its coveted Portfolio Award on the program. To say the very least, we're mighty grateful and proud . . . . PLEASE don't hesitate to contact us again at 719-599-8786, 719-594-0271 (Fax: 719-380-9997) or write at 2850 Serendipity Circle West, Suite 202, Colorado Springs 80917 or gradebust1@aol.com if there is anything we can do to help you master the state-of-the-art Macintosh (and now Windows®) Gradebook, Daily Record, Seating Chart, Machine-Scoring, Automatic Voice Processing, Picture-Taking, Palm OS, Web-Publishing package, "Making the Grade"! Sincerely, Jay A. Klein President Jay Klein Productions, Inc. Finalist, Colorado Teacher of the Year ================================================ Recent Version Update Information: Version 8.4d 1. Added the Aeries interface. 2. Added the DeKalb interface. 3. Added the Region 10 export interface. 4. Added the MtG Standard Import. 5. Added the Lee's Summit interface. 6. Put each assignment's number in the assignment display menu. 7. Removed the "Demo" birthday override. (Demos overwrote the 3rd student's birthday.) Version 8.4e 1. Added Zangle/C-Innovations ASCII Text interface. Version 8.4f 1. Changes were made to the information that is to be updated by Zangle. Student names will not be updated by this version. Version 8.4g 1. Further enhancements to the Zangle interface, including "period numbers" for elementary classes. Version 8.4h 1. Added the export of the student name for Lee's Summit. 2. Stopped overwriting the school name from key file during initialization. 3. Corrected the seating chart to push students down the flow when "Insert" is chosen during seat swapping using the mouse. 4. Changed to using gray scales on dropped students - more readable on Mac and Windows. 5. Users no longer required to enter 0.0 for all classes in the external report card if classes total 100.0%. Version 8.4j 1. Corrected Zangle import to identify dropped students, and allow manually set up classes to be updated correctly using the Zangle roster file. 2. Added additional security for the user. 3. Custom letter grades now show their corresponding percentage when gradebook display mode is changed to show percentages. 4. Corrected average assignment values for multiclass student reports. 5. Corrected the reading of Windows key files for special characters. 6. Corrected category percent = letter grade for rounding on the student categorical report. Version 8.5d 1. Corrected the Portrait Studio to show pictures the first time in the dialog. Version 8.5e 1. Changed the error message about deleting MTGPREFS.REG. 2. Corrected Zangle to stop dropping new students. Version 8.5f 1. Gradebook check marks are now displayed in black on color monitors and printers. 2. Changed the "Show Birthdays" function to hide all gradebook screens. 3. Changed the ParentLink export to write 0's vs. INC (blank) for extra credit assignments. 4. Removed the backdoor from the pinApplet on the Web posting. 5. Corrected the Aeries/Eagle interface to match latest specifications. Version 8.5g 1. Corrected MTG Windows to avoid corrupting preferences. 2. Corrected student cover page to print pictures in the correct aspect ratio. Version 8.5h [NOTE: MULTI-DISK VERSION IS NOW 3 DISKS] 1. Stopped updating student names in the DeKalb interface. 2. Changed the compiler settings for Windows to solve an .htm creation problem. 3. Fixed the delete user profiles to update the name list when scrolling. 4. Corrected the student popup screen entry of student comments. 5. Cleaned up the classes.htm layout. 6. Corrected an error in the Lee’s Summit export. 7. Added check for "write protect" on the install disk. Version 8.5j 1. Changed for DeKalb: output grade percentage, letter grade, and 20 comments. 2. Changed for Lee's Summit: honor the rounding setting for exporting grades. Version 8.5k 1. Information boxes added to show new Palm OS and Casio products. Version 8.5m 1. Corrected the ParentLink export to honor rounding. 2. Corrected the DeKalb interface; added the dekalbmtg.ini usage. 3. Made a correction to the report card printing, only printing active periods now. 4. Made additional Lee's Summit changes. Version 8.5n 1. Corrected DeKalb file naming convention to replace \/:*?"<>| characters with spaces in file names. Version 8.5p 1. Removed the final FSDelete error message. 2. Added the weighted grade computation for the MMS export. Version 9.0d 1. Incorporated the StarBase interface. 2. Added the Print Preview feature. 3. Added the Palm OS interface and connection. 4. Added the Key File Registration functionality. Copy protection is no longer checked on either Mac(Pace) or Windows (Aztec). Version 9.0f 1. Corrected a problem with external report cards printing "N/A." Version 9.1e 1. Added the Cassiopeia (Casio) interface and connection. Version 9.1g 1. Corrected StarBase problem with duplicating the very last student in a roster file. 2. Corrected MtG Windows problem with setting up seating report with pictures and student names. 3. All open/add/import file dialogs which open MtG files now "see" .mtg files as well as MtG files with the correct finder information (Mac fix). 4. Public release of the Palm and Casio interface. 5. Changed Palm/Casio key file name to MtgPDA.key. Version 9.1h 1. Corrected the deletion of student pictures when deleting a student. 2. Enabled wide attendance codes to print on teacher printout and class summary. 3. Corrected Windows conduit to update proper registry entries. 4. Corrected Windows application to switch from Casio to Palm correctly. 5. Corrected Mac and Win conduits for memory error. Version 9.1j 1. Corrected LA Unified interface to update classes correctly. Added import of line library comments. 2. Completed Star Base interface. 3. Corrected Palm conduit; date matching corrected. 4. Corrected Casio categories display (cosmetic issue only). 5. Fixed total grade discrepancy on the category summary report. Version 9.1k 1. Corrected export code to remove pictures from previous class during export to avoid running out of memory during a export for a list of classes. 2. Implemented mtg_link.ini file for setting RSCCC roster file, backup location, export folder, school number, and marking period titles. 3. Corrected RSCCC2000 extended export format to remove % and %6.6 from output. 4. Corrected Casio transfer to display check mark scores correctly. 5. Corrected refresh issue in category editing on Windows. 6. Added Scantron models 2260 and 2800. Version 9.1m 1. Changed valid PINs for web pages to 10 characters from 6. 2. Stopped erasing student sex and counselor entries. Version 9.1n 1. Corrected single page gradebook printing with custom scores. Version 9.1p 1. Corrected StarBase year entry problem. Version 9.2d Initial Release (see above notes) 1. Corrected skyward interface to store course section in the course section field, also importing home room as 5 characters now. 2. Added Scantron's "Classroom Wizard" connectivity. 3. Implemented the "5 point grading scale" option. 4. Added a new file format to support MtG-X Reporter. Version 9.2e 1. Corrected problems with editing student data and grading scales. 2. Implemented Texas Region 10 changes. Version 9.2f 1. Corrected code reporting errors when saving to removable media. 2. Corrected the "Cancel" function from file conversion. 3. Corrected handling of Spanish characters in the MtG Palm Registration Key. Version 9.2g 1. Corrected the Aeries import to translate birthdays correctly. 2. Corrected password handling on that screen’s "Cancel" button. 3. Corrected a printing bug. 4. Corrected RSCCC importing routines. 5. Corrected Spanish title printing in the Report Card. Version 9.2h 1. Added 100 courses per teacher in the RSCCC import and export. 2. Corrected reading the program password when gradebook files’ passwords differ from the program password. Version 9.2j 1. Converted the old Windows format of MtG files. 2. Corrected the "Updating All Files" function to not reconvert already converted files, the cause of blank data files. Version 9.3d 1. Initial EdLine Interface Added - sending reports and gradebooks, retrieving gradebooks and rosters. 2. Corrected 5 point grading scale category printout problems per Strafford school fax. 3. Corrected Parlant export to no longer wrap scores after 10 entries per line; also added year to dates in attendance export. 4. Corrected the Aeries import. Version 9.3e 1. Fixed MMS export to include complete header line - cosmetic defect only (Mac & Win). 2. Fixed the creation of individual email documents. 3. Removed extraneous files from EdLine reporting. Version 9.3f 1. Corrected reporting of MMS final grade when final grade is not weighted, but the first semester has weighted components. 3. Added Friendswood html export. Version 9.3g 1. Corrected print preview to show error dialogs during print simulation. 2. Added print ranking in multiclass tabular class reports (new function). 3. Completed the Friendswood html export. 4. Modified MMS to not output end of year grades when semester only data is setup. 5. Corrected web daily record date selection for multiple classes. Version 9.3h 1. Added "Auto-Correction" of corrupt attendance data (sometimes resulting in an application crash). 2. Added the initialization of StarBase student names, not updating them. 3. Added "Auto-Correction" of corrupt assignment category count (sometimes causing incorrect grade computation). 4. Enhanced the search for the MTG Palm Registration Keys in "start in" folder before searching the application directory. Version 9.3j-k 1. Added "Export final MTG grade" option to Pentamation Standard Export. 2. Corrected sorting issue for student names. 3. Cleaned up "dirtying" of class files. 4. Simplified the printing and exporting of multiple classes' data. 5. Removed "[1]" from EdLine file names; corrected the saving of EdLine class ID. Version 9.3m 1. Identified and repaired multiple MTG users pointing to same Palm user. Version 9.3n 1. Corrected EdLine module to warn user before closing current open file. We no longer ask where to store the temporary .html file for uploading, for it is deleted after it has been transferred. Version 9.3p 1. Corrected EdLine exports to catch [2], [3], [4], [5], etc., in cached file names and remove them. 2. Corrected error in seating chart attendance update. Version 9.3q 1. Corrected creation of MTG classes from EdLine rosters. 2. Corrected assignment summary display that was showing four times the actual number of assignment points. Version 9.4e 1. Corrected Edline interface to handle course numbers up to 39 characters in length and student IDs up to 20 characters in length. Version 9.4f 1. Removed Mac file type filters so that imports will work when files are not the right Mac file type. 2. Corrected 4,3,2,1,0 display of letter grade equivalent in multi-class student reports. 3. Corrected alert message when no web report type is selected. Version 9.4g 1. Repaired "Back up classes" function when changing back-up pathways and locations. Version 9.4h 1. Added several troubleshooting routines to the "MtG Palm OS" component and released new versions of the MtG Palm Conduit and MTG Palm application. Version 9.4k 1. Corrected the MMS export for the 4,3,2,1,0 grading system. 2. Corrected the MMS export so that it no longer erases student first names, middle names. 3. Added html tags to mark student web pages as non-cacheable. 4. Corrected the MTG Palm Application (Daily Record was not saving correctly.) 5. Corrected the MTG Palm Conduit to return classes with no assignments correctly. 6. Deleted the Edline roster file after processing it. 7. Checked backup location on application start to take user through process of correcting a broken or incorrect pathway. Version 9.4m 1. Corrected the TMTG web export to use a longer page refresh time. 2. Marked MTG web pages for no robots to avoid reports ending up in Google net. 3. Fixed a minor display problem in the "Windows" menu. Version 9.4n 1. Fixed roster import from student roster dialog. Version 9.4p 1. Corrected compiler directives to turn on Edline features in Windows and Mac. Version 9.4r 1. Cleaned out missing files from Palm class list. 2. Matched grade computations between reports. Version 9.4s 1. Corrected the Skyward export routine. Version 9.4t 1. Fixed a crash that occurred when trying to print a birthday card when no student picture is present. Version 9.4v 1. Forced the "X Factor" to equal 1.0 when importing assignments within the 5-Point grading system. 2. Forced a reset of Edline class IDs when creating new classes. 3. Forced final % equivalent to "N/A" in student report footer within the 5-Point grading system. Version 9.4w 1. Refined 5-Point grading system printouts (chronological and categorical) to show how such grades are calculated. 2. Disabled the chronological printout for the 5-Point grading system using weighted categories. Version 9.4x-y 1. Added additional refinements to the 5-Point grading system printouts (chronological and categorical) to show how such grades are calculated. 2. Added automatic conversion of numerical entries to letter grade equivalents in the 5-Point grading system. Version 9.4z 1. Tweaked the 5-Point grading once again to allow letter grades AND numerical entries to be displayed side by side within the gradebook. 2. Modified the return e-mail address feature within the Edline web reports module to disregard initial non-printing characters. 3. Added additional security code to the MTG password component. Version 9.5d 1. Added final grade computations to student summary reports. 2. Added the student’s birth date to the birthday card printout. 3. Added a "Temporarily Disable Backup Location" option when a network source is not available. Version 9.5e 1. Added new levels of security code to the MTG password component. 2. Corrected student Daily Record printing routines, focusing primarily on the "One Student Per Page" option. Version 9.5f 1. Corrected the Friendswood Pentamation import and HTML export routines Version 9.5g 1. Corrected the length-of-message checking routine in the "ePublisher" web page header (255 characters maximum). 2. Implemented simplified MTG java applet (changed from pincheck.jar format to pinApplet.class). 3. Enabled compatibility with Mozilla’s "Firefox" browser. 4. Refined a correction made in 9.5f so that other HTML exports allow individual students to be picked. Version 9.5h 1. Corrected a rare "combo" error that occurred when importing assignment setups and then using the Random Entry method to record student scores. 2. Refined and corrected MTG web export routines when used for single--and then multiple--classes. 3. Modified MMS export routines to remove "N/A" marks for undefined marking periods. Version 9.5j 1. Activated individual Category Point Totals for Weighted Categories within "ePublisher" reports. 2. Added additional refinements to Edline reports that use the 5 Point Grading System with Weighted Categories. Version 9.5k 1. Improved the layout and content of Edline student reports using the 5 Point Grading System with Weighted Categories. 2. Corrected and improved the layout and content of hardcopy student reports using the 5 Point Grading System with Weighted Categories. Version 9.6k (the next publicly released version after 9.5k) 1. Incorporated and activated the new Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) data exchange interface. 2. Modified the MTG gradebook code to disallow SPACES in teachers’ customized letter grades. Version 9.6l-m 1. Added a detailed error message alerting users to file-saving (permissions) errors when writing to network locations. 2. Corrected intermittent errors when transferring students’ pictures between classes. 3. Added new data protocols to write temporary class files to all locations before replacing original files. Version 9.6n 1. Refined the writing of temporary gradebook files in network configurations. 2. Fixed the abbreviations/definitions of grades in student reports using the 5 Point Grading System. Version 9.6p 1. Corrected limitations on scroll bar movement with the Daily Record Window. 2. Corrected the MTG-ParentLink data export routine to truncate, rather than round, grade computations. 3. Corrected file writing protocols to enable overwriting of existing export files. 4. Incorporated the first round of modifications to the Tucson Unified School District data exchange program. 5. Corrected file writing protocols to better manage class files with very long names. Version 9.6q 1. Incorporated the second round of modifications to the Tucson Unified School District data exchange program. 2. Added additional modifications and corrections to the MTG-ParentLink data export routine. 3. Corrected the "Pie Chart" weighted grade report to more accurately reflect data generated within the 5 Point Grading System. Version 9.6r 1. Fixed category editing in the Grading System setup when the percentage column is blanked. New value of 0.0% is reflected there immediately if entered. 2. Implemented the final round of modifications to the Tucson Unified School District data exchange program. 3. Corrected "Update All Files" protocols to handle lengthy file names (31 characters and longer). Version 9.6s 1. Fixed a memory error that could sometimes occur when creating new class files. 2. Corrected MTG web page creation when invalid student numbers are encountered. 3. Modified the Edline component so it does NOT automatically delete local gradebook files when uploaded for storage purposes. 4. Incorporated an additional round of modifications to the Tucson Unified School District data exchange program. Version 9.6t 1. Modified and corrected portions of the multi-class student summary report. 2. Added new code to help avoid -47 file errors. 3. Incorporated yet another round of modifications to the Tucson Unified School District data exchange program. Version 9.6u-v 1. Modified Modified the MTG birthday card to show the student’s birth date (instead of the date of printing). 2. Improved the printing code in several student reports to handle selected options more efficiently. Version 9.6w 1. Corrected the export of grouped HTML documents within the ePublisher module; the PIN field now ignored if the user so chooses. IF THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT WRAP BUT SEEMS TO GO OFF TO THE RIGHT FOREVER, CLICK ON "EDIT > WORD WRAP" IN THE MENU BAR.