PowerSchool is full of short codes: column headers like Q1, S1, Y1 and F1, symbols like ^ and *, and flags like Missing, Exempt and Excluded. Most of them are set up by your school or district, so the same code can mean slightly different things in different places. This guide explains what each one usually means, what PowerSchool itself says about it, and how to check what it means at your school.
For how to find your grades in the first place, see our guide to PowerSchool grades.
Term codes: Q1, S1, Y1, F1 and more
The column headers on your Grades and Attendance page are term codes. Each one is a grading period your school has set up, and schools choose their own names for them. North Carolina's PowerSchool setup guide shows schools naming their reporting periods (Q1, Q2 and so on) when they set up final grades, and San Diego Unified tells families that the terms they see depend on the time of year and the settings their school uses.
These are the most common meanings, with examples from districts that publish theirs:
| Code | Usually means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 | Quarters | Quarter grades at Levittown Public Schools, New York |
| S1, S2 | Semesters | At Carlynton School District, Pennsylvania, S1 combines the first two nine-week grades and the midterm exam |
| T1, T2, T3 | Trimesters | Trimesters 1 to 3 at Levittown |
| Y1 | Final grade for the whole year | "End of year grade" at Levittown and "final grade for the school year" at Carlynton |
| F1 | Final grade | North Carolina schools must name their final grade F1 |
| X1, X2 | Exams | Midterm (X1) and final exam (X2) at Levittown |
| E1, E2 | Exams, or grading periods | A first-semester midterm at Carlynton, but elementary grading periods in San Diego |
| P1, P2 | Progress reports | Progress reports at Levittown. San Diego's progress grades don't go on transcripts |
| YTD | Year to date | A running grade for the year so far. Check with your school, as PowerSchool doesn't define it |
Weighted categories, percentages or points.
The safest way to be sure is to ask your school, or look for a "PowerSchool codes" page on your district's website. Some districts publish one.
Symbols next to grades: ^, * and 1
PowerSchool's own Grades History guide defines three symbols:
- A caret (^) means the score is exempt from the final grade.
- An asterisk (*) means the assignment isn't included in the final grade.
- A number one (1) means the final grade may include assignments the teacher hasn't published yet.
You may also see a number in parentheses next to an assignment. PowerSchool's Grades and Attendance guide explains that this is the assignment's weight: a weighted assignment's points are multiplied by that number, so an assignment marked (2) counts twice as much as one worth the same points.
Assignment flags: Missing, Late, Exempt and more
Teachers can flag assignments in PowerTeacher Pro, and the flags show up next to your scores. PowerSchool's guide to entering scores lists what they're for: work that's missing, late or collected but not graded yet, and work that's incomplete because of an exemption, an absence or another reason.
| Flag | What it means | Does it change the grade? |
|---|---|---|
| Collected | The teacher has the work but hasn't graded it | Not by itself |
| Late | The work was turned in late | Not by itself. Any late penalty is in the score the teacher enters |
| Missing | The work hasn't been turned in | Not by itself. Check the score: some teachers enter a zero until it's handed in |
| Exempt | The student doesn't have to do this assignment | Yes. The score is left out of the final grade |
| Absent | Incomplete because the student was absent | Not by itself |
| Incomplete | The work isn't finished | Not by itself |
The key point: only Exempt is documented as changing the grade. For the others, look at the score itself, because that's what counts. PowerTeacher Pro's default special codes are INC (incomplete), ABS (absent) and MIS (missing), and districts can add their own codes, some of which carry a set score. If a code at your school seems to lower a grade on its own, that's a district setting your teacher can explain.
What does "Excluded" mean in PowerSchool?
Excluded is the code people ask about most, and PowerSchool doesn't publish an official definition of it. In many classes it marks an assignment that isn't counted in the final grade, the same idea as the asterisk above. But it doesn't always mean that. Cicero School District 99 in Illinois tells parents that assignments may show an Excluded flag because of grade calculation settings, and that the flag does not mean the assignment is left out of the grade.
So if you see Excluded, don't assume it's free points or a free pass. Compare the assignment with your class grade, and if it isn't clear, ask the teacher whether it counts.
Why your grade might be rounded
Small differences between your own math and PowerSchool's grade usually come down to settings. PowerSchool's guide to grade calculation types notes that with category weighting, the category percentages are rounded. Your district sets the grade calculations, and a school administrator can change them, so rounding to the next letter grade isn't something PowerSchool does by default everywhere.
To check a class grade yourself, enter each category and its weight in the weighted grade calculator.
If a code looks wrong
The fix is almost always with your teacher, not PowerSchool. Ask what the code means in their class and whether the score is final. Teachers can find how flags, codes and exemptions work on their side in our PowerTeacher Pro guide.