Schoology is our Learning Management System (LMS). This is where we interact with student work and record grades.
Synergy is our Student Information System (SIS). This is where we take attendance and have access to student information, such as 504 plans. This is also the system that is used to generate official grade reports at the middle and end of terms. Expand this group to learn about the different names used for Synergy.
When students log into this system, they see it as StudentVue.
When parents log into this system, they see it as ParentVue.
When teachers discuss it, they tend to call it Synergy, since that is what is displayed on the screen when we log into it. There is also a TeacherVue product.
Each of these different names is treated as a separate product, and so are separate when downloaded as standalone apps.
Decide on the grading categories and their weights (as percents) for each course.
Link sections within Schoology, if you choose to do so.
In your class, click on Gradebook Setup.
Click the "+Add" button to add each of your grading categories.
Calculate by "Total pts."
The weight of the grade is the percent of the final grade. "80" would be 80% of the final grade represented by that category. You can choose to set this to 0 for scores that should not impact the final grade.
For "Calculated by," choose "Total pts." Otherwise, grade calculations may happen oddly and Schoology grade calculations may not match Synergy grade calculations.
After adding all categories:
Check that their weights add to 100.
Click the star icon next to one category (if you choose) to make that your default category for newly created assignments.
Gradebook scale should be set to EHPASI.
[Checkboxes: We need to agree on these.]
Click the Save Changes button.
Repeat this process for each of your classes.
When you set up your gradebook for linked sections, it applies to each of those linked sections of that one class.
In Synergy, hover over Grade Book at the top of the screen to open the dropdown menu, then click on Grade Book Setup.
Check that every category from Schoology is listed in the displayed Assignment Type list. If they are all there, skip the next sections about editing the assignment types. If any are missing or need updating, follow those instructions.
This list is not autopopulated from Schoology, so it would not be surprising to find differences, here.
It is okay if extra categories are listed here.
Technically, the category name in Schoology does not need to match the Assignment Type in Synergy. However, any differences create opportunities for human-based errors to occur as you switch between the two systems. It is best practice for them to be exactly the same.
Click on Assignment Types (middle of top of screen).
Click the "+New" button (top-right).
Boxes in which to enter your new Assignment Type will appear at the top of the Assignment Types list.
Assignment Type: Grading category name.
Sequence: The order in which your categories are displayed in select-boxes. If you're creating all of your assignments in Schoology, this will be irrelevant: Pick any number.
Click the "+Insert" button to save your new category to the Assignment Types list.
To change existing Assignment Types, click the edit button (top-left).
Make your changes.
These changes affect all of your classes in Synergy
Click Save (top-right).
If you do not see a Save button, but do see a "+New" button, you have made no changes, yet. Once you make a change, the Save button will appear.
When you have updated your Assignment Types, click on Grade Book Setup (top of window).
Set the weight of each category to match the weights you set in Schoology.
If you set any category in Schoology to drop low scores, match that number in Synergy.
Below the categories, check the boxes next to any other classes that you would like to have the same settings.
Click the Update button at the top of the page to save and apply these settings.
Repeat this process of setting the category weights for each class. (Choose the next class from the usual dropdown in the top-left.)
If you checked the boxes to apply your settings to other classes, at least go to those classes to verify that the settings are correct.
In your class, go to Schoology SIS Connect (toward the bottom of the left navigation pane).
Click on Configuration.
[Caution: The scheduled sync has been temperamental, sometimes syncing and sometimes not. NSD is working with the vendor to resolve the problem. Set it up, anyway, but keep an eye on it. - June, 2025]
Check the "Schedule Sync" box.
Choose the frequency, day, and time. We have agreed to be unified about this. Set it to Weekly, Sunday, 12 am - 3 am.
If you check "Use this schedule for all my existing courses," you will not need to repeat the scheduling settings for each course.
*Note: After an assignment is synced for the first time, the automatic grade sync and the "Sync All" button will send only grade information to Synergy. If changes are made to the due date, points possible, etc., those changes are only synced if you press the individual sync button for that specific assignment.
You will see a long list of categories you did not create. These are built into Synergy. Your categories will be at the bottom of this list. Scroll down to the bottom to find them.
The list of categories down the left side are the categories that Schoology sees in Synergy.
The dropdown selections are the categories you have defined in Schoology.
For each of your categories for this particular class, match the name on the left with the corresponding name in the dropdown box.
Click the Save Configuration button at the bottom of the page.
When you configure SIS connect for one section of a linked class, it does not automatically apply it to the other section(s). If you have linked sections:
Within the SIS Connect section, toward the top of your screen (below the universal navigation menus and above the "SISconnect" bar), you will see a link showing the name of the current section. Click that and choose the next section and repeat the process.
You may want manually sync grades to Synergy at this point.
Repeat this process for each of your classes.
Before submitting quarter or semester grades, it is prudent to take extra steps to ensure accuracy:
Check the category weighting in Schoology and Synergy for each course. Make sure they still match.
In Schoology, press the Sync button next to every individual assignment in the Schoology SIS Connect section. Remember to also do the same for any linked sections. This syncs any changes made in Schoology beyond score changes, such as changes to points possible.