Creating and Grading Checks
Summary
Assign and grade progress checks and stage checks for your students. Checks are formal assessments built into the course structure—progress checks evaluate readiness within a stage, and stage checks evaluate mastery at the end of a stage. Each check contains knowledge items and skill items, all graded on a simple SAT/UNSAT basis. Once all items are graded, chief instructors can electronically sign the check results through a secure OTP verification process.
Who this is for
- Instructors assigning checks and grading knowledge and skill items
- Chief Instructors and Assistant Chief Instructors reviewing check results and signing completed checks in the Admin Portal
Before you begin
- The student must be enrolled in a course that contains progress check or stage check lessons
- You must be the instructor who assigned the check, or an admin-level user in the same organization
- The course must be in an active (not archived) state for grading—archived courses display checks as read-only
Steps
1. Assign a check to the student
There are two ways to assign a check:
From the student profile: From the Instruct tab, select the student. Tap the menu button (ellipsis icon) and select Manage Checks. This opens the list of currently assigned checks. Tap the Add button to see the student's courses listed with their stage structure. Each stage shows its available progress checks and stage checks. Tap a check to assign it.
From a log: Open a log, go to the Lesson tab, and tap the Add button to assign a lesson. Progress checks and stage checks appear alongside regular lessons in the course structure—tap one to assign it to this log.
2. Open the check for grading
There are two ways to access check grading:
From the student profile: Go to Manage Checks and tap the check card you want to grade. The card shows the check name, type badge (Progress Check or Stage Check), and current grading status.
From a log: If the check is associated with a log, open the log, go to the Lesson tab, and tap the Grade Checks button (checkmark icon). This button only appears for check-type lessons.
3. Review the grading interface
The check grading view shows:
- A header card with the lesson name, check type badge, and current status
- A segmented picker to switch between Knowledge and Skill sections
- Individual cards for each check item, showing the item name and current grade
4. Grade each item
Tap Knowledge or Skill to switch between sections. For each item, two buttons are available:
| Button | Meaning | Color |
|---|---|---|
| SAT | Satisfactory—student met the standard | Green |
| UNSAT | Unsatisfactory—student did not meet the standard | Red |
Note: Checks always use SAT/UNSAT grading regardless of the course's grading methodology. The Traditional, Numerical, and FITS methodologies apply to regular content lessons, not to checks.
5. Save
Tap Save in the top right. The button is disabled until you've made at least one change. Each grade saves individually, and the view updates to reflect the new grading status.
6. Monitor grading status
The check's status updates automatically based on how many items have been graded:
| Status | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Not Started | Gray | No items have been graded yet |
| In Progress | Orange | Some items graded, but not all |
| Completed | Green | All knowledge and skill items have a SAT or UNSAT grade |
What happens next
Once all items are graded and the check shows "Completed" status:
- The check results appear in the student's Check Results view in the mobile app
- The check results are visible in the Admin Portal under the student's Check Results tab
- Chief Instructors and Assistant Chief Instructors can electronically sign the check from the Admin Portal (see "Electronic signatures" below)
- The student can view their check results (SAT/UNSAT per item) but cannot modify them
Electronic signatures (Admin Portal)
Completed checks can be electronically signed by authorized users (Chief Instructors and Assistant Chief Instructors) through the Admin Portal:
- Open the student's Check Results tab in the Admin Portal
- Click Sign on a completed check
- A 6-digit OTP code is sent to your mobile device via push notification
- The FlightSense app shows the code with a 60-second countdown timer—tap Copy Code
- Enter the code in the Admin Portal dialog
- The check is signed and displays "Signed by [name] at [date/time]" with a green shield icon
Common issues
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| "Grade Checks" button doesn't appear on a log lesson | The lesson isn't a check type (it's a ground or flight lesson) | The "Grade Checks" button only appears for progress check and stage check lessons. Regular lessons use the "Grade" button for content grading instead. |
| Check shows in read-only mode with a lock banner | The check was assigned by a different instructor, or the course is archived | Only the assigning instructor or an admin-level user can grade a check. If the course is archived, all checks are read-only. |
| "This check belongs to another instructor." | Another instructor assigned this check | Coordinate with the assigning instructor. Admin-level users can override and grade any check in their organization. |
| No checks available to assign | The course doesn't include check lessons | Check lessons are defined in the course builder. If the course has no progress checks or stage checks, none will be available to assign. Ask your admin to verify the course structure. |
| Status shows "Completed" but some items are UNSAT | "Completed" tracks grading progress, not outcome | A completed check means all items have been graded. UNSAT items are valid grades—the check is complete regardless of the individual outcomes. |
| Signature shows "Re-Sign Required" (red) | Check grades were modified after signing | Any change to grades (added, removed, or updated) invalidates the signature. A Chief Instructor or Assistant Chief Instructor must re-sign the check. |
| OTP code expired before entering it | The 60-second window passed | Initiate the signing process again from the Admin Portal. A new OTP will be sent to your device. |
How this works
Progress checks vs. stage checks
Both are formal assessments built into the course structure during course creation, not created by instructors at runtime. The difference is scope:
- Progress checks are formative assessments within a stage. They evaluate whether the student is on track partway through a training stage.
- Stage checks are summative assessments at the end of a stage. They evaluate whether the student has achieved the required proficiency to advance.
Grading vs. course progress
Check grading and course progress are tracked separately. Grading a check as "Completed" does not automatically mark the lesson as complete in the student's course progress. The instructor sets lesson status (Complete, Incomplete, Requires Repeat) independently. This means:
- A check can be fully graded (Completed) while the lesson status remains Incomplete
- The instructor has discretion over when to mark the lesson complete in the course progress
- Stage advancement is based on lesson status, not check grading status
How electronic signatures maintain integrity
When a check is signed, FlightSense captures a snapshot of all the check grade data at that moment. Each time the signature is verified, the system compares the current data to the signed snapshot. If any grade has been added, removed, or changed since signing, the data won't match and the signature is marked invalid. This provides a tamper-evident audit trail that meets Part 141 record-keeping requirements—you can always verify whether the grades are exactly as they were when the check was signed.