Sessions and Grading Periods Information
Sessions and Grading Periods are foundational academic time structures in Ed-Fi. They define:
- instructional terms
- grading timelines
These entities are heavily used across:
- attendance
- grading
- assessments
Core Conceptual Model
High-level hierarchy:
School Year
└── Calendar
└── Session
└── GradingPeriod
Think of it as:
| Entity | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Calendar | Overall instructional calendar |
| Session | Major academic term |
| GradingPeriod | Academic subdivision inside a session |
What Is a Session?
A Session represents:
a major instructional period
Examples:
- Semester
- Quarter
- Trimester
Real-World Examples
| School Structure | Sessions |
|---|---|
| Traditional Semester | S1, S2 |
| Quarter System | Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 |
| Trimester System | T1, T2, T3 |
What Is a GradingPeriod?
A GradingPeriod represents:
a grading/reporting subdivision within instructional time
Examples:
- Q1
- Midterm
- Six Weeks
- Final Grading Window
Important Concept
Sessions model:
instructional organization
GradingPeriods model:
academic evaluation windows
These are related but not always identical.
PeriodSequence
Defines:
the chronological order of grading periods
Example:
| Period | Sequence |
| Q1 | 1 |
| Q2 | 2 |
| Q3 | 3 |
| Q4 | 4 |
Important Insight
Ed-Fi does NOT require:
1 Session = 1 Grading Period
Multiple grading periods may exist within one session.
Academic Weeks (Optional) – Guidance:
This entity represents the academic weeks for a school year, optionally captured to support analyses.
Academic Weeks (Optional) - Fields:
Grading Periods – Guidance:
This entity represents the time span for which grades are reported.
Grading Period - Fields:
Session – Guidance:
A term in the school year, generally a unit of time into which courses are scheduled, instruction occurs and by which credits are awarded. Sessions may be interrupted by vacations or other events.