At the start of every school year, many new rules are added for students to follow; this year, however, brought a change teachers must follow: update grades for every graded assignment on Blackbaud.
Blackbaud is the pathway for all information for students at KO. It is where we find our schedules at the start of August, the lunch menu, our report cards, and now a place to see our grades at all times.
In years past, teachers updated grades differently. Last year saw the change of adding an update of grades halfway through the first quarter; however, this is still a lengthy period of time to go without knowing your grade in a class.
The fact that it is required for teachers to put their grades on Blackbaud makes it easy for every student to keep up with how they’re doing in their classes. In past years, some teachers would always put grades on Blackbaud no matter what, so they did not have to adjust to the new rule. Others would update grades on Google Classroom, forgetting about Blackbaud as a whole. Then, there would be the third group of teachers: those who would not update grades anywhere except on designated dates. Now, since all the teachers have to put grades on Blackbaud, it gives students a central hub in which they can see all the grades and get a sense of cohesiveness.
But what was the point in bringing it back? One of the main–assumed–reasons is likely to bring uniformity within our halls. With different teachers within the same subject and grade level, one person may be discussing what they got on their test and how it changed their average, and their friend with another teacher may be left in the dust.
This new update also gives us students agency into our academic lives. Of course, as the hardworking students that our community is, we all want to see our grades on demand. This new update also saves the time students go through trying to calculate their grades based on the work we are being handed back. We can finally see an accurate grade all the time, erasing cluelessness about performance when midterms come around. When students aren’t lacking information, they feel in control of their lives and are more willing to take initiative in their studies, and grade transparency is a part of it.
Additionally, we don’t want to fall into a lackadaisical slump, feeling blissfully ignorant about our lack of knowledge of our academic progress. But with one extreme comes another: the universal standard of having 24/7 access to our grades may, and often does, come with the discussion of a healthy relationship with our schooling experience.
The new addition of every assignment being updated to Blackbaud as soon as it is graded also can create a distraction for students. Most students want to see their updated grade as soon as possible, resulting in a possibility of constantly refreshing their page to see if a new number is posted.
The reason that KO had it so grades were not always available in the first place was to prevent a student from focusing too much on a certain class; if one grade drops, often the first instinct is to do what they can to bring it back up, but with that comes neglecting classes they’re doing well in, causing a chain reaction. So, taking note of this, let’s be wary as we dive deeper into the 2026-2027 school year. Of course, nobody wants to fail in any of their classes, but it is crucial to balance courses along with a student life and personal life.
Now that grades are visible at just the click of a button, it’s easy to forget that grades do not define who you are as a person–or really, even as a student. Don’t let one bad test affect how you perform in that class, your other classes, your extracurriculars, and your downtime. Instead, take this as an opportunity to learn how to maintain a healthy balance as a student; utilize this new change to its fullest to make this year the best it can be!
