This section explains the Report Card Data export format found in the Export window of Easy Grade Pro. This format can be used to export student data to a general-purpose database program so that custom report cards can be printed.

The Report Card Data format consists of 157 fields (listed in the Easy Grade Pro User Manual). Virtually every piece of data about a student is included (other than individual attendance marks and assignment scores). Even the text found in the Summaries window is included. This format results in a tab-delimited text file.

In most cases, this format cannot be used with the expensive, out-of-the-box school administration programs. Such programs have very specific data formatting requirements and lack the flexibility to handle the data in the 157 fields.

Rather, this format is to be used with general-purpose database programs, ones that offer rich sets of tools for importing, sorting, searching, data manipulation and form creation. These powerful programs are relatively inexpensive and are available for both Macintosh and Windows computers. However, using one of these programs to create a well-designed database requires much skill and time. This task is best left to experts.

Once set up, it can be fast and easy to print your school's report cards using data from files created using Easy Grade Pro's Report Card Data format.