Why I Built GradeMaster
Last week I needed to write three separate scoring sheets to help calculate grades. I lost one of them halfway through (parent of small children problems) and spent the rest of the time using the calculator on my phone.
Teachers spend a surprising amount of time on these types of small tasks.
Not necessarily difficult tasks. Not complicated tasks. Just small things that need to get done over and over again throughout the day. Calculating grades is one of them.
The math itself is simple. Enter points earned, total points possible, calculate a percentage, convert it into a letter grade, move on. But when you repeat that process dozens of times while balancing lessons, meetings, emails, planning, and everything else that comes with teaching, the time and tedium spent on even simple things start adding up.
That was really the starting point for GradeMaster. I was just trying to make the tedious part of a job I love a little less tedious.
At first, I built it for myself. Teachers, we tend to collect little systems and shortcuts that make the day run smoother, and this was one of mine – always making scoring sheets for myself. But if something saves me time and frustration, I figure there’s a decent chance it can help someone else too. As a teacher, it feels wrong to gatekeep something so useful.
I wasn’t trying to reinvent grading. No one wants another all-in-one learning management system or a giant platform with a hundred buttons and menus. There’s no reason for the grade calculator to be buried.
I wanted something quick. I wanted a tool that made my job easier. Open it. Enter the numbers. Get the answer.
Done. Dusted. On to the next.
Keeping It Simple
There are already plenty of tools out there that can calculate grades, but a lot of them feel like they try to do everything at once.
Some are packed with options you’ll never use. Some are buried under menus. Others feel like spreadsheets pretending to be apps.
I wanted something that focused on speed and simplicity.
My goal was straightforward:
- Minimal setup
- No clutter
- Fast calculations
- Useful information at a glance
The less time spent wrestling with a tool, the more time can go toward things that actually matter.
A Lot of Small Iterations
GradeMaster didn’t appear fully formed. Like most of my projects, it started very simple and very … and changed over time.
One of the nice things about building something yourself is being able to ask:
“What would make this a little better?”
Then making that change and seeing right away if you were right.
Rinse and repeat as necessary. Eventually, these small adjustments started stacking up:
- Custom grade scales
- Cleaner displays
- Better visual feedback
- Progress and focus charts
- Remembering changes I made
Most of the updates haven’t been huge features. They’ve been small quality-of-life improvements that make using the app feel smoother. A grade calculator that isn’t an afterthought, but the focus.
Where GradeMaster Goes Next
I still want GradeMaster to stay simple. But “simple” doesn’t necessarily mean static.
There are a few ideas I want to explore moving forward:
- More visualization tools for tracking performance
- Additional customization options
- Better ways to spot trends and patterns in grades
- Features that save teachers even more time
The challenge is adding useful functionality without turning the app into the kind of complicated tool it was meant to avoid in the first place.
For now, that’s still the goal: make grading one small thing we have to think about less.
Because as teachers, we already have enough on our plates.
Curious about GradeMaster? You can learn more and try it here: GradeMaster.
Available soon on iOS and Android.
