Student-Class Pre-Assignments

Pre-assignments let you lock a specific student into a specific class before running the assignment algorithm. The algorithm treats pre-assigned students as fixed — it will never move them — and builds the rest of the class lists around them.

What Are Pre-Assignments?

A pre-assignment is a binding instruction that says "this student must be placed in this class." Unlike preferences or restrictions, which guide the algorithm's decisions, a pre-assignment removes the decision entirely — the student's class is already determined.

When to Use Pre-Assignments

Pre-assignments are useful in situations where a student's class placement is non-negotiable:

Specialized programs — A class offers a specific curriculum track (e.g., gifted program, bilingual instruction) and certain students must be enrolled in it.
Parental requests — A parent has formally requested a particular teacher or classroom, and the school has agreed.
Additional support needs — A student requires a specific classroom environment, aide, or teacher trained to support their needs.
Administrative decisions — School leadership has decided certain students should be in a given class for scheduling, logistical, or policy reasons.
Returning students — A student who changed classes mid-year needs to be placed back into the same class for continuity.

How to Assign a Student to a Class

To create a pre-assignment:

Navigate to the Assignments tab on your yearly class dashboard.
Select the student you want to pre-assign from the dropdown.
Choose the target class from the class dropdown.
Click Add to save the pre-assignment.

Each student can only be pre-assigned to one class. If you change your mind, remove the existing assignment and create a new one.

How Pre-Assignments Affect the Algorithm

When you generate assignments, the algorithm:

Places all pre-assigned students into their designated classes first.
Treats those placements as immovable — they cannot be changed during optimization.
Distributes the remaining students around the fixed placements, optimizing for balance, preferences, and restrictions.

Because pre-assigned students are locked in, they affect the balance calculations. For example, if you pre-assign five boys to the same class, the algorithm has fewer options to achieve even gender distribution across all classes.

Tips for Pre-Assignments

Don't over-constrain. The more students you pre-assign, the less flexibility the algorithm has to create balanced classes. Only pre-assign when there is a clear reason.
Let the algorithm do the balancing. If your goal is balanced classes, trust the algorithm with as many students as possible. Pre-assign only the exceptions.
Check for conflicts.Make sure pre-assignments don't contradict restrictions. If Student A is restricted from Student B but both are pre-assigned to the same class, the algorithm cannot produce a valid result.
Review before generating. Double-check your pre-assignments list before hitting Generate. It is easier to adjust beforehand than to re-run the algorithm.