KickUp Growth automates performance evaluation scoring, so you can spend less time crunching numbers and have more confidence in the correctness of your scoring. In this article, we'll explain how you can flexibly calculate a score for a given evaluation instance, share scores with staff members evaluated on that instance, and make scores available for end-of-year reporting. Read on for more information, or use the links below to jump to a specific topic:
Note: The functionality explained here is only available to those with the "Manage Evaluations" permission. Contact your Client Success Manager for help with permissions.
Accessing the Scoring Feature
To access Scoring, navigate to the edit view of the Evaluation instance by clicking the “Edit” button in the top right corner of your screen to edit that evaluation.
Scroll down the page to the Scoring tab and click the New Score button to begin setting up your scoring criteria.
The New Score modal will appear as a popup on your screen. In this modal, you’ll be able to:
Name your score
Add score components - such as form questions or existing scores
Select your calculation method
Choose when to share a score with staff members
Setting Up Scoring Criteria
Once you’ve named your score, you’ll want to select the criteria that your district uses to produce the score. Scores can be made up of individual form questions and/or other scores.
Adding Form Questions
To add individual form questions, click Add form question. A pop up window with a dropdown list will appear on screen. Open the dropdown list and select the form step you want to include to your scoring criteria.
The Add form question window will expand to display the list of matrix questions that are a part of that form step. You’ll be able to see the label of the overall matrix question (typically aligned to an evaluation domain), the individual question row(s) within each matrix question, and the score range corresponding to the overall matrix question. Note that if you are using Average or Weighted Average as your calculation method, selected questions must all have the same score range.
Adding Existing Scores
Alternatively, your district’s scoring criteria may combine other scores that you have set up using KickUp's Scoring feature. For example, you may have a final summative score that combines scores in two different domain areas that are calculated separately. Click Add Existing Score to select existing scores as components in your score calculation.
Selecting Score Combination Method
Use the dropdown under Combination to choose the calculation method that you would like to use to generate the score using the selected components.
Sum: This option simply adds up the scores received on each included score component. Note that you cannot use the Sum combination method with optional questions included as components of your score.
Average: This will sum the score received for each included score component, then divide the sum by the number of included components. For this combination method, all of a score's components must share the same range. If optional questions are included as score components and a staff member has no data for a given component, the component will be excluded from the average.
Weighted Average: This method will multiply the value received for each score component by that component's weight, then add up the results. To use this combination method, you must enter a weight between 0 and 1 for each component. This weight corresponds to the proportion of the overall score that each particular component will represent. For example, if a given score component has a weight of 0.5, it means the value that a staff member receives for that score component will determine half of their overall score. Note that the weights of all score components must add up to 1 and that all of a score's components must share the same range.
Adding a Rubric
Rubrics represent the criteria for placing evaluation scores into bands or levels. Including a rubric with your score configuration can help you provide informative feedback to your staff on their strengths and areas for improvement, and develop a shared understanding of the expectations of their role.
To begin setting up your rubric criteria, click the Add Rubric button. A popup window will appear on screen where you’ll be able to:
Name your rubric
Add score level names and descriptions
Color code each score level
Select the number of levels you want to include in your rubric from the the Add Levels dropdown. Click three-dot action menu to the right of the level name to add color coding or delete a level,
The minimum and maximum range of each level are default ranges which are automatically calculated based on the number of rubric levels selected and the score range of the questions in the evaluation. The default score ranges can be adjusted based on your district’s needs by changing the minimum value shown under Points.
Once you have finished creating your rubric, click “Done” to add the rubric to your score configuration.
Setting up Score Sharing
There are several options for sharing scores with evaluators and staff:
By default, scores are set to Do not share. It is recommended that the score be left as not shared until you have finished making changes to all scores' scoring criteria and are ready for final scores to be calculated.
When Share upon evaluator approval is selected, once the score has been calculated for a staff member, evaluators will have to click a button on the staff member’s evaluation page in order to share the score with that staff member.
The Share immediately option will result in calculated scores instantly being shown to staff members on their evaluation page, as well as email alerts being sent to staff members letting them know that their score is available for review in KickUp.
Activating Scoring
When you are finished setting up your scoring and sharing criteria, click Save. You'll see the names of all your scores in a list on the Scoring tab. You can use the Shareable filter to see which scores were set to share immediately or share upon evaluator approval.
Above the list of scores, you'll see an Active toggle-style button. Click this button to slide the toggle to "Active" in order to enable the calculation process to begin.
As long as scoring remains set as "Active," scores will be automatically (A) calculated, once all required scoring components are submitted, and (B) shared with evaluators and/or staff members, depending on the Sharing setting used.
Please note that for any scores that are set to Share Immediately or Share upon evaluator approval, for any staff members whose scores can be calculated (i.e., data have been submitted for all required score components), turning the scoring Active toggle to the On position will result in shareable scores being immediately calculated and shared with evaluators and/or staff members via email and within KickUp.
Reviewing scores
For details on how evaluators can review a score before sharing it with staff members, see Evaluator Instructions for Approving Scores.
The list of scores and corresponding rubric levels for all staff members is available in the staff summary table when the score is set to share upon evaluator approval or share immediately. Navigate to the Data tab of your evaluation, then click Summary to open the staff summary table. Click Edit Columns and select the scores and rubrics you want to add as columns in the table.
This table can be exported as a CSV by clicking the three-dot Actions button.
