Start with your classes
Your classes, teaching assignments and student lists are set up for you at ISH.
A timetable or iSAMS change may take a little time to appear in ManageBac. If a class or student assignment is wrong or missing, contact Robin. Do not create a replacement class or edit class settings.
Open your existing classes and check that they match what you teach. Keep a clear description of any mismatch so Robin can identify it.
Your teaching routine
Use ManageBac to make assessment, feedback and deadlines clear to students. Robin’s expectations apply to all teachers using it at ISH.
What teachers do
- Add tasks and assignments to your course using the correct task categories.
- Enter grades and comments for every MYP summative assessment.
- Enter grades and comments for major DP assignments, including tests, essays and reports.
- Add other teachers who share your class.
- Add events and deadlines to the calendar.
- Put resources and links in the Files section.
- Complete reports by the teacher deadline.
A practical task workflow
- Open the correct class. For an MYP task, go to Tasks & Units → Tasks → Add Task.
- Describe the work. Enter the title, due date and time, and unit. Explain what students should do and submit.
- Select the type and category. Choose formative or summative, then the appropriate category. Check the guidance below before creating the task.
- Check before creating. Review assessment criteria, the students assigned, submission options and visibility. A task saved as a draft is hidden from students and parents. Select Create Task when ready.
- Return to the task after assessment. Enter the required grades and comments, then check that the saved information is visible in the gradebook.
The MYP navigation above follows ManageBac’s task guide. Menus can differ by programme and permissions. Use Help & Support for your current screen.
ManageBac warns that changing a task between formative and summative after assessment can hide existing grades and comments from the gradebook. Check with Robin before making that change.
Choose the task category
The category tells students what preparation is needed. In MYP, it also affects which assessments appear on the assessment calendar.
MYP summative assessments
Robin links to ISH’s category guidance. It asks teachers to add tasks at least two weeks in advance and plan for no more than two category 1–3 summative assessments per student per day. Check weekly peaks too.
| Category | Choose it when… | On the assessment calendar? |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Assessment completed at home (deadline) | The assessment is completed at home, with a precise due date. Keep it within the homework time allocation. | Yes |
| 2. In-class assessment (no preparation required) | The assessment takes place in class without required revision or preparation at home. | Yes |
| 3. In-class assessment (preparation required) | The assessment takes place in class and requires preparation or revision at home. | Yes |
| 4. Project (deadline) | The assessment is completed mainly in class, possibly with some allocated homework time. | No |
Formative tasks: Quiz, Homework, Oral task (languages only), Group work and In-class task use formative categories. They do not appear on this MYP assessment calendar.
Project deadlines and formative tasks are outside this calendar view. Keep those deadlines clear in ManageBac and consider them when planning.
Read ISH’s full MYP task-category guidance →
DP assignments
Use your department’s agreed categories. Category weights and grade boundaries affect calculations, so check them with your Subject Coordinator (SC) or Subject Area Leader (SAL). Robin’s DP guide includes examples, but notes that departments may use different schemes.
Reports and reminders
Complete reports by the teacher deadline. If you receive an automated reminder, read the whole message first.
Something is missing
If a report is late or required data is missing, correct it as soon as possible. Reopen the relevant entry and check that the correction has saved.
The reminder does not fit
A new student may have no grades yet. Read the email to the bottom, including any instructions for exceptions. If you are unsure what to do, discuss it with your SAL or SC.
As Robin explains, a reminder is generated by an automated system. It is not a personal judgement. Everyone makes mistakes; the useful next step is to fix the entry or clarify the exception.
If the reminder refers to a genuine exception, get guidance from your SAL or SC rather than entering a grade without assessment evidence.
Find the right data tool
Robin keeps the links together in a staff directory. Use the table to choose a tool, then open the directory to access it with your ISH account and the permissions for your role.
Open Robin’s staff data directory →
| I need to… | Use this resource | What it provides |
|---|---|---|
| Find past report grades | Student Report Grades shared drive | Report-grade exports going back to 2014–15, according to Robin’s guide. |
| Check planned and graded work | MB Tasks Graded and Planned | Formative and summative tasks planned and graded by class. MYP criterion counts and the DP Weights Applied worksheet are included. The directory says this updates nightly. |
| Spot MYP assessment peaks | Assessment Calendar | Planned assessments by MYP year group, with peaks to consider before choosing a date. |
| See the subject curriculum | MYP and DP Subject Overviews | Overviews generated from ManageBac units, linked from the directory. |
| Review one student over time | Student Grade History | A view across the student’s years in ISH Secondary, using report exports. |
| Compare a subject over time | Subject Grade History | A spreadsheet comparing grades across year groups and years. |
| Compare the same task across classes | Task Grade Comparison | Grades awarded for a shared task, to support discussion and standardisation. |
| Review feedback across classes | Feedback Overviews | A quick view of the task feedback provided in different classes. |
Robin’s directory notes that historical grade tools can have gaps, for example after subject-name changes. Check unexpected results before drawing conclusions. These are school data resources; use them within your authorised role.
For subject coordinators
Robin’s coordinator guidance covers adding yourself to relevant classes so you can add tasks across them. His DP guide explains categories, weights and grade boundaries.
- How to be a SC on ManageBac at ISHCoordinator presentation and guidance for working across classes.
- Setting task categories and weights in DP classesUse the current scheme agreed with your SAL or SC. Check each DP class.
Use DP Weights Applied, Task Grade Comparison and Feedback Overviews from the staff directory to support checks and departmental discussion. Agree any configuration changes through the SAL or SC; the general instruction for teachers remains to leave class settings alone.
Optional · about one minute
A little help from AI
For a small writing job, Ask AI can help shorten or clarify task instructions in a supported ManageBac editor, if enabled for your account.
- Select only the text you want to improve, then choose Ask AI.
- Give the audience and purpose. It does not automatically read the rest of the task or unit planner.
- Check accuracy, assessment requirements and tone. Choose Keep or Discard.
Try this“Rewrite these task instructions in clear language for MYP students. Keep the assessment requirements and deadline unchanged. Do not add criteria: [paste instructions without personal data].”
Keep student names, grades and other personal information out of prompts. ManageBac says prompts are not used to train models, but prompts and responses are logged and may be reviewed by trained specialists for service improvement; model-hosting retention is approximately 30 days.
If Ask AI is missing, ask Robin to check access. It works in supported web editors; it is not available in the iOS or Android app.
Get help
How do I use a feature?
Start with ManageBac’s Help & Support button for current help pages and the support bot. Departmental colleagues may also know the workflow.
What is our department’s approach?
Ask your SAL or SC about categories, weightings, reporting expectations or a reminder that does not fit the situation.
Something wrong or missing?
Contact Robin Hare, ISH ManageBac Coordinator.
D204
r.hare@ishthehague.nl