SimpleGradebook

Overview

SimpleGradebook is a web-based gradebook and reporting service for teachers, students, families and school staff. It is best suited to classrooms and schools that want to share progress without adding a separate family portal.

Its blend of assessment tools, reports and parent access is useful, but it should remain a convenience layer: it is not a substitute for official records, and access is not guaranteed to be uninterrupted.

Key features

Assessment and classroom work

Teachers can give assignment feedback, use rubrics and student self-assessment, and work with individualized programs and BC Ministry performance scales. Mixed grading models and standards-based grading make the service a fit for varied assessment approaches. Class creation, assignment copying, Excel gradebook exports, printable report cards and missing-task reports cover recurring classroom administration; the trade-off is that the service itself should not be treated as the authoritative record.

Family access and school tools

Students and parents can check grades, missing work, teacher feedback and weekly report cards. Pro extends that portal with attendance views, messaging and assignment uploads. It also adds attendance, parent notifications, internal messaging, referrals, observations, file attachments and printable class rosters. These tools make Pro more useful for schools coordinating communication and follow-up, while basic family access remains available without them.

Administration, privacy and support

In Pro, administrators and counsellors can manage multiple schools, review at-risk reports and student watch lists, and manage referrals. The privacy policy describes SSL encryption in transit, encrypted internal messages, password requirements and two-factor authentication for teacher and administrator accounts. User data is stored and processed on servers in Canada; teachers and authorized school administrators control it, and the maker says it is not sold, rented, or used for advertising or profiling.

Newcastle Technologies identifies itself as the maker and describes the service as 100% Canadian owned and operated. Its support forum has FAQ, how-to, bug-report and feature-request sections. The terms reserve the possibility of modification, suspension or discontinuation, so schools needing guaranteed continuous access or a replacement for institutional systems should look elsewhere.

Pricing

The free tier is a sensible starting point for an individual teacher who needs basic gradebook functions and family progress access. It may occasionally request a donation, but payment is not required. The free plan’s lower scope means it is not the choice for Pro’s attendance, messaging and school-level administration tools.

Simplegradebook Free: free. Basic functions, with occasional optional donation requests.

Simplegradebook School Pro: $3, paid once. Pro functionality for the whole school, including teachers, students, parents and administrators, with no donation requests. This is the clearest fit when a school wants Pro access across its community.

Simplegradebook Single Teacher Pro: $40, paid once. Pro functionality for one teacher’s classes, including the teacher, students and their parents, with no donation requests. It suits a teacher who needs the added features but does not need a school-wide license.

Simplegradebook District Paid-Up License: custom pricing. It permits use of Pro on the district’s own server for as long as desired and with as many students as desired, without donation requests.

A free trial is offered. The two priced Pro options are one-time payments rather than recurring terms; the free option stays free, and the district license requires custom pricing.

Platforms

SimpleGradebook runs on the web, Android and iOS. That combination supports access from a browser or mobile device for classroom and family use.

Who it's for

It is a strong fit for teachers who want grading, feedback, exports and report cards alongside a straightforward parent and student portal. Schools that need attendance, notifications, messaging or administrator oversight have a reason to choose Pro. It is less appropriate as the sole system of record or where uninterrupted hosted access is essential.

Pros and cons

Pro: Families can see grades, missing tasks, feedback and weekly reports, reducing the gap between classroom assessment and home access.

Pro: Teachers can export gradebooks to Excel and produce printable reports, giving routine records a usable route outside the service.

Pro: Canadian data storage and processing, along with stated access controls and security measures, make its privacy posture clearer for schools evaluating student data handling.

Con: The service is explicitly not an official-record replacement, limiting its role in schools that require an institutional system of record.

Con: Attendance, messaging and school administration features require Pro, so the free tier will not cover schools seeking those workflows.

Con: Hosted access can be modified, suspended or discontinued, and uninterrupted availability is not promised.

Alternatives

Gradebook Software is the broader category for comparing gradebook options.

Choose Gradebook.ng if a web-based free tier capped at 50 students or a Junior Secondary plan billed annually better matches the school’s needs. Consider iVake Gradebook for an Android, iOS, web and API option with a per-student monthly campus plan for institutions in India.

Jupiter is another paid option with gradebook, communications and administration, plus optional scheduler, enrollment, payments and state-reporting upgrades. Gradekeeper may suit buyers seeking a $20, paid once license with web and desktop versions and future versions included without annual renewal.

Gradebox offers a free web plan limited to one classroom and 120 single-page assignment submissions or grades per month, which is a better fit for teachers whose work fits that cap. GradingPal is another freemium web option with a free allowance of 50 submissions per month.

TeacherEase may suit larger organizations evaluating a paid system priced by active employees. Additio App is a paid alternative with a Teachers Standard annual plan that includes unlimited students, groups, evaluations and rubrics.

Verdict

Choose SimpleGradebook if you want a gradebook that connects classroom assessment to family access, with Pro available for school communications and oversight. Its main limitation is also decisive: it is a convenience service, not an official record system, and its hosted availability is not assured. Schools that need guaranteed continuity or institutional recordkeeping should choose a system designed for that role.