Paper Tests to Digital Records: Enter Marks Fast

Keep marking on paper

You do not need to change how you mark. Mark the papers the way you always have. SMS only replaces the part that comes after: the copying, the totalling, and the register you keep losing.

Enter the marks once, and totals, percentages, grades, positions, and averages follow by themselves.

Create the assessment

Go to Tests and create the assessment: pick the class subject, give it a name and date, set the total marks and the passing marks, and pick the type — test, quiz, assignment, or whatever you call it.

You can also split the assessment into topics, so a long paper with sections stays organised. Topics are optional — a short quiz does not need them.

1. 1Open Tests from the sidebar.
2. 2Create the assessment with its class subject, date, total marks, and passing marks.
3. 3Add topics if the paper has sections. Otherwise skip them.

Fill the marks grid

The marks grid lists every enrolled student in one table. Type each student's marks and move down the rows. On a keyboard you can move with the arrow keys and Enter, so a whole class goes in quickly.

A blank cell means the paper has not been marked yet. A zero means the student scored zero. SMS keeps the two apart: a blank shows as Pending and is left out of averages, while an explicit zero counts as zero and shows as Fail.

• ✓Blank — not marked yet. Shows as Pending, left out of averages.
• ✓0 — marked, scored zero. Counts as zero, shows as Fail.
• ✓Absent — student missed the test. Listed separately, not a zero.
• ✓Exempt — student is excused from this test. Left out of averages and ranking.

Publish, then finalize

An assessment starts as a draft, visible only to you. Publishing makes it part of the record. Finalizing locks it: every enrolled student must have a status — Graded, Absent, or Exempt — before SMS lets you finalize.

That check is what keeps your averages honest. You cannot accidentally finalize a sheet with five students still unmarked.

Fix a mark after finalizing

If you spot a marking error after finalizing, correct it through the same grid. The correction is recorded, so the history stays clean.

For the full step-by-step with pictures, see the User guide. And when the marks are in, result cards take minutes, not hours.