The first row of every Gradebook is Class Average — the mean performance across all students for each lesson. This row is one of the most useful features of the Gradebook for diagnostic teaching.
What Class Average Shows
For each lesson column, the Class Average row displays the average percentage across all students who have attempted the lesson. Students who haven't started are excluded from the average (otherwise zero scores would skew the data).
If no student has attempted a lesson yet, the cell shows a dash ("—").
Reading Class Average
A few quick reads:
Class Average is high (80%+) across many lessons Your class is doing well overall. Pacing is probably appropriate. Look for individual students lagging.
Class Average is low (below 60%) across many lessons The class as a whole is struggling. Pacing may be too fast, content may not match readiness, or there's a classroom culture issue.
Class Average is high for some lessons but low for others Specific content is hard. Identify which lessons drop and plan targeted re-teaches.
Comparing Students to Class Average
Scan a student's row alongside the Class Average row:
Student consistently above Class Average They're a top performer. Consider enrichment, peer-tutoring opportunities, or stretch assignments.
Student consistently below Class Average They're struggling relative to peers. They appear in the "Students at Risk" count and warrant intervention.
Student tracking with Class Average They're moving at the pace of the class. No special action needed unless the Class Average itself is concerning.
Student inconsistent (sometimes above, sometimes below) This is the most common pattern. Look for which specific lessons they're below average on — those reveal their specific knowledge gaps.
When the Class Average Is Misleading
Be careful of the Class Average in two situations:
Small samples Early in a unit, only 2–3 students may have attempted a lesson. The Class Average for that lesson is essentially the average of those 2–3 — not the whole class. Wait until most students have attempted before treating the average as meaningful.
Bimodal distributions If half your class is acing a lesson and the other half is failing it, the Class Average will land in the middle and look "average" — but no student is actually performing at that level. Always scan individual student rows to confirm the average reflects reality.
Practical Workflow
A weekly Gradebook review using Class Average:
Set the Unit filter to the unit you taught this week.
Scan the Class Average row for any lessons in the 60–69% range. These are your re-teach candidates.
Scan student rows for students consistently below Class Average. These are your intervention candidates.
Note any "0%" or gray cells for students who haven't engaged. Check in with them.
Celebrate students consistently above average. Recognition matters.
The whole process takes 5–10 minutes per class per week.
Related articles:
8.1 Gradebook Overview
8.2 Reading the Mastery Color Codes
7.3 Identifying Students Who Need Support