Grades are coming out and you’re stressing because you can not view your ASPEN account. To make matters even worse, your entire report card is online and neither you nor your parents can see it.

The North Kingstown School Department has been using the ASPEN grading system for the past several years. This enables both students and parents to have access to the students’ grades anytime online. Teachers are able to update ASPEN as they grade their students’ work. Then at the end of the quarter, the computer calculates and posts the final grade.

ASPEN is not only a positive idea; it also is a helpful tool that keeps students on track and up to date on how well they’re doing in classes. However, many students find that the system does not live up to these standards. Some students do not like how parents can see every assignment grade, or how they can get notifications on certain grades. Students often experience technical difficulties as well.

Senior Jordan Smith said he likes the system and how his parents are able to view his grades at any time so they see how well he is doing. However, he feels like teachers do not update their grades as quickly as he needs them to be. “How am I supposed to know my grade if they don’t put it in?” He also experiences technical troubles quite frequently. “It’s very rare not to have troubles,” said Smith.

Evan Chadwick, senior also said the technical difficulties are very annoying, but when it works, it is helpful. “I like ASPEN for myself, but not the parents part. When I receive a zero for one homework assignment, my parents focus solely on that one grade. Parents don’t understand that there will be many other grades put in later,” said Chadwick. He would also like to see printed report cards at the end of quarters, so that if you have technical difficulties, you can still view your grades.

My personal experience with ASPEN has been negative overall. My parents are concerned about any zeros I receive and do not completely understand how the website works. I have not been able to view my grades this entire year, and despite trying to schedule guidance appointments, I have not met with anyone yet.

The positive side to online grades is that they are easily accessible at anytime, and if I could see them, I would use ASPEN quite frequently to stay updated on my grades. However, there is the problem of teachers not putting in the grades on time, which makes my grades reflect poorly on the single assignment that was put in. This also sends parents into a panic mode. Also, the technical difficulties are so numerous that is tells me the site is down.

ASPEN currently looks like a problem. I think that there were good intentions, but there needs to be improvement to be fully functional in our school. I personally like the old fashioned way where your teacher just keeps track of your grades and we get printed report cards at the end of the quarter. This way students aren’t worrying about their parents constantly confronting them about bad grades. It is also a positive idea for teachers to notify a parents if their child is failing their class or at risk.