1. Open Excel. You will see a blank worksheet with numbered horizontal rows and lettered vertical columns. 
2. Each small box on the worksheet is called a cell. Cells are identified by the letter and number of the column and row they occupy. On this worksheet, cell A1 is highlighted
3. You can put words, numbers or formulas into a cell. To enter information into a cell, double click on the cell. Your cursor will appear. As you type, your words or numbers will appear in the cell and in the formula bar at the top of the worksheet window.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

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To increase the width of a row or column, position your cursor on the line between column or row letters at the top of the spreadsheet. Your cursor will turn into a crosshatch . Click and drag the line between columns or rows to change the width.

4. Format the appropriate individual cells or entire rows and columns. Highlight the desired cells, rows or columns and from the Format menu, select cells. Click on the Alignment tab, then check Wrap to have label words fill the cells downward rather than string out horizontally. Click on the Number tab and select the appropriate number of decimals. Click on the font and pattern tabs to apply color. You may add or change format at any time.
5. Enter labels for columns and rows in the appropriate cells. You can clear cells by highlighting the cell(s), clicking on the Edit menu at the top of the screen and selecting Clear, then selecting All.

 

 

6. Enter data in the appropriate cells. For your gradebook, you will only enter straight grades. The spreadsheet will calculate averages, medians, translate the numerical grades into letter grades, etc.

There are several ways to enter a formula into a spreadsheet.

1. Straight Average (for our sample gradebook, we will use this method to calculate the class average for each assessment. Select the first cell into which such an average should be placed (C14 on our sample). Click on the paste function fx icon on the toolbar. In the left-hand window, select All. In the right hand window, click on average from the alphabetical list of functions . A box will appear showing a range of cells to be averaged (C9:C13 in our sample). If the range is incorrect, correct it now. Then click Okay. The average will appear in the selected box. Now click on the dark dot in the lower left hand side of the selected cell. Drag to the right, to all cells requiring averaging. The formula will be adusted for each column and show correct averages for all assessments.
2. Median In the first cell requiring the class Median (C14), repeat the use of fx, this time selecting median from the right window of the paste function window. This time you will need to correct the range of cells in the corrections window to the correct range (C8:C12). Click OK and repeat the click and drag to place the median formula in all necessary cells.
3. Weighted Average In our sample, we would like to count the final assessment twice to arrive at each student’s final average for the fractions unit. To accomplish this, use the fx again, but in the corrections window correct the formula by adding a comma and the cell name for the unit assessment immediately after the cell range in the formula. Remember there are no spaces in the formula. The final formula will read =AVERAGE(C9:F9,F9) for our sample gradebook. Repeat the click and drag method to create the formula for each student. When you drag through empty rows, you will see an error message. Simply highlight the cell, select the Edit menu and select Clear/All.

 

 
 
 
 

4. Translating numerical grades to letter grades This is a logical function. Simple "IF" functions can be created using the fx icon. However, to create multiple logical statements (nested functions), you will need to understand the formula syntax. Remember, there are no spaces in a formula. All formulas begin with the equals sign =. In the nested formula, each statement must begin with IF(. The parentheses are all closed at the end of the entire statement. At the end of the statement, you must add a comma and two sets of quotation marks. That tells the formula that if none of the conditions of the statement are met, the cell should be left blank. The formula will not work without a part that tells the function what to do if none of the conditions are met. The number of closing parenthesis must match the number of IF(‘s. In our sample, the formula will look like this.

1. To graph your data, highlight all cells, including cells with labels, which you wish to include in your chart.




2. Click on the Insert menu at the top of the page. Select Chart.




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Select the type of chart you wish to create. You can see a sample of each kind of chart by clicking on the "Press and hold to view sample" bar.

3. When you have highlighted the desired chart style, click on Next to see the Chart Data screen. If the chart is correct, click on Next.
4. On the Chart Options screen, you can add titles for your X and Y axes. Then click on Next.
5. On the Chart Location screen, you can choose to have your chart appear as a separate sheet or as a part of your current spreadsheet. When you have made your selection, click Finish.

 

Name							Average Score		LETTER GRADE	Gold Stars
		09/18 Add Fractions	9/21 Subtract Fractions	9/26 Mixed Fractions	10/01 Fractions Unit Assessment		Fractions Unit Average
Tom		75	88	80	92		85		B
Alice		90	88	83	89		88		B
Mary		100	97	84	96		95		A	Gold Star
Joe		73	80	72	80		77		C
Class Average		85	88	80	89		86		B
Class Median		82.5	88	81.5	90.5		86.6		B