Columns configurations

The column library is the list of every kind of column your school can put in a grid. MarkBook calls a kind of column a value type. A kind has a name, a short label for the grid header, a data type, the scale it uses, where in the grid it appears, who may edit it and who may see it. You define a kind once. Any template can then switch it on.

Where: Configuration → Assessment → Markbook Templates, then the Columns link at the top. The page is titled Columns Configurations.

Who can change this

A manager, or a person whose role includes Value types. That permission covers what a column is, its formula, its colours and who may edit it.

The standard columns

The setup wizard installs every kind below, even if you only switch some on.

Short	Name	Data type	Where it appears
FFT	FFT Estimated Grade	Grade label	Once per year (target area). Imported, locked.
TG	Target Grade	Grade label	Once per year
PTG	Personalised Target	Grade label	Once per year
Test	Test Score	Number	Every reporting period
Exam	Examination Grade	Grade label	Every reporting period
AG	Attainment Grade	Grade label	Every reporting period
CG	Current Grade	Grade label	Every reporting period
RG	Report Grade	Grade label	Every reporting period. Locks when a report is published.
Eff	Effort Grade	Judgement scale	Every reporting period
ATL	ATL (attitude to learning)	Judgement scale	Every reporting period
Prog	Progress Grade	Judgement scale	Every reporting period
VA	VA Grade	Calculated (report grade minus target grade)	Every reporting period. Locked.
TC	Teacher Comment	Text	Every reporting period
EoY	End of Year Grade	Grade label	Final reporting period only. Locks when a report is published.
M1–M6	Mark 1 to Mark 6	Grade label	Every reporting period. For countries that give several marks a term (Romania, Poland, Bulgaria).
Avg	Average	Calculated (the average of the marks M1–M6 that are entered)	Every reporting period. Locked.
Final	Final Mark	Grade label	Final reporting period only

You can add your own with New value type, for example "Homework" or "Practical".

Finding a column

Filter by Status (Active, Inactive, Archived, All), Data type and Where appears, or search by name or shorthand.

The settings of a column

Select a column to edit it. The dialog groups settings.

Basic

Field	Meaning
Name	The full name, shown in the library and in reports.
Short label	What the grid column header shows, for example RG. Keep it short.
Internal code	A stable identifier. Leave it blank and MarkBook makes one from the short label.
Column purpose	Academic, Assessment result, Target, Baseline, Qualitative, Progress, Calculated, Comment or Final. It sets the icon and badge colour.
Data type	What a cell holds: Number, Grade label, Judgement scale, Text, Yes / No or Calculated. It also decides the editor teachers see.
Where does this column appear?	Once per year — Target area, Repeated in every reporting period, or Only in the final reporting period.
How is this value filled?	A note for yourself (manual, imported, calculated…). It does not enforce any rule.

Value configuration

• A Grade label column needs a Default attainment scale. See Attainment Scales.
• A Judgement scale column needs a Default judgement scale. See Judgement Scales.
• A Calculated column gets its formula when you add it to a template. See Calculated Columns & Formulas.
• Also show as shows a second label beside every mark in this column, using a Scale Conversions map. It is offered for grade and judgement columns only.

A subject can override the default scale. Default means "used when no per-subject choice is made". See Markbook Templates.

Visibility

Switch	Where the column shows
Show in teacher grid	The Grades grid.
Show in cross-subject summary	The Summary.
Show in student/parent grid	The family's view of the grades. Off keeps the column teacher-only. This switch alone decides it: adding the column to a template shows it to the teacher, never to the family.
Show in printed report	The PDF report. The PDF is shared with teachers and parents alike, so when this is on the column appears in the parent's copy.
Read-only once the report is published	After publishing, the cell can no longer change.

Who can edit

Choice	Meaning
Open — any grader	Anyone who can enter marks.
Leaders only	The head of department of the subject, the year group coordinator of the class, or senior leadership, plus administrators. You tick which of the three apply. Leaders are assigned on Users & Roles → Who leads what.
Locked — read-only	Nobody edits, ever. Use for imported or calculated values.

Appearance

Colour a cell by what its value means. See Conditional Colours.

Checking and approval

Ask for the column to be checked by a leader before it reaches a report. See Checking & Approving Columns.

When a column is read-only

The dialog ends with When this column is read-only. It lists the reasons that apply: never, always (calculated or locked), for everyone except the ticked leaders, once the report is published, and once a leader approves the column. Whether a reporting period is locked is set per period, not here.

Turning off, archiving and deleting

Action	Effect
Deactivate	Hides the column from the current grid and unpublished reports. Nothing is deleted, and switching it back on restores it exactly. Inactive columns cannot be added to new templates.
Archive	The column leaves the pickers, the live grid and draft reports. Every stored mark stays, and already generated reports keep showing it. Find it under the Archived filter.
Delete	Not allowed while a template uses the column ("In use — cannot delete"). Archive it instead.

Example: adding a "Homework" column

1. Select New value type.
2. Name: Homework. Short label: HW. Column purpose: Academic.
3. Data type: Grade label. Where does this column appear?: Repeated in every reporting period.
4. Default attainment scale: the school's A–F scale.
5. Show in student/parent grid: on. Show in printed report: off. Who can edit: Open.
6. Save, then switch it on in the reporting period zone of a template.

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