Looking for way to arrange data to allow locking

Question

Okay, I know Numbers won't let you protect just some cells in a table (I consider this a foolish weakness - who wants to make it easy to screw up a formula?). I've seen options to cover the formulas cells with text boxes or shapes that you can see through and lock them. But that doesn't let you really prevent screwing things up - you can just use the cursor keys to move to the formula cells under the text or shapes.
So, unless I missed something, it seems the only other option is to somehow organize things so any data entry stuff is on tables with no formulas and formulas are on tables where you would do no data entry.
This would seem to complicate things quite a bit in my case.
Right now I have a table with attendance information - almost all data entry (names, class, codes for daily attendance). There are 8 columns with formulas though. Seven are kept hidden so not a problem. The other give an overall grade score based on their attendance and that needs to be seen.
A second table is for giving test scores. The names are put in by formula referencing the first table. Need to be able to see the names in line with grade entry! And it ends with the average for those tests so that is a formula too, just as the names are.
A third table is just like the second - just a different grade category.
Then there is a summary table which pulls in the averages, lets me enter extra credit, and gives the average.
Those are the ones that matter (the other has lookup tables so not an issue). So, all four tables have both data and formulas. Even if I put the averages for each test/attendance area only on the Summary sheet, I still have the two test tables with data and formulas.
It doesn't seem like a good idea to type in names for each table so that is one problem.
But if I didn't put the names on the tables for grades at all, I'd still need names listed someplace which lined up with the grade rows. I could do that, but then, every time I needed to add a student, I'd have to separately add or insert a row in the separate name tables for each grade table.
I don't know if there is any better approach in how I organize my data what would avoid both problems.
That was probably about as clear as mud!

Answer 1

This exercise can be frustrating, but in some ways it is fun. I got pretty proficient with Excel. My stuff was never pretty, but it was functional and pretty complicated in the formulas.
But years ago I pretty much solved all my needs and, frankly, have forgotten much of what I did, especially with visual basic stuff I used. So, I'm enjoying getting into the challenge again with Numbers. I'm determined to replace everything I have in Excel if it is remotely possible. This is the biggest, most complicated one.
I may be able to eliminate calculated cells in data tables, though whether I'll be happy with it, I'm not sure yet.
All my data and calculations in Excel are on one big sheet - each part in sections (Attendance codes/how many of each/attendance score, Test area 1/Average, Test area 2/Average, etc, and finally a summary section showing the averages for each section all together, the final percent average, a column showing the numbers our school computer wants them entered as (97-100 = an A+ but is entered at school as a "12" (F would be zero), and one more column that converts it to a letter grade for my own benefit.
Other tables used for reference, such as what attendance codes are worth and what weighting I used for each are in other worksheets I just go to by selecting their tab.
Anyway, I was thinking about using a big table in Numbers too (my present version breaks everything into separate tables). This big table would have the names and one or two other things in a column header. There would be NO formulas in it - just the data. Then, I'd create tables like I have now which simply reproduce the same things as in the main table, probably in a different sheet though). Essentially it would ALL formulas. For example, it would duplicate all the attendance stuff, via formulas, and simply add the additional columns to count how many of each code and the score each student gets in attendance.
Then another table for the first test area, another for the second. Again, same info as on the main sheet, but filled in by formula and adds a column to each of these tables to give the final adverage in each category.
Finally, a summary table which is also all formulas, bringing in each of the averages and calculating a final average. It would access a lookup table for weighting the grades (the attendance calculations would do the same to determine how many points to subtract from 100 for each negative mark).
With this kind of setup, the big sheet/table would not be locked but have no formulas. The other tables would contain nothing but formulas and thus be locked.
But the hard stuff is in the details. Consider:
1. When entering any grade, it is always nice to immediately see the effect it has on the average in that category (or the final average though I don't do both in Excel). With one big sheet in Numbers with no formulas, I won't see that.
2. Similar to the above problem, I always have an extra credit column which simply adds whatever points I enter to whatever the grade would have been. I particularly like to see the results of that immediately.
3. Printing situations. This is hard to explain because we all have different preferences. I don't take the computer to school - no time to enter data during class - so I take a printout to inform me and to let me enter anything that may happen that day or even over several days until I put it in the computer and do a new printout.
My most common printout shows what grade the student is in, their name (both in frozen columns so they show up in any printout), their attendance score, enough columns in the next grade area to show all scores to date (I hide "extras"), the average for that section, same for the next grade area and if I have another grade area, the same for that. Lastly, their bonus points and average. Other columns are hidden.
Clearly not ideal - hiding columns differently and the grading period progresses for example or unhiding temporarily to see things I only need to see occasionally.
4. A big one is when I have to insert or add a student. With one big sheet and nothing else, I insert a row, copy and paste the formulas in one shot (actually do all this via visual basic), and type the student's basic info. But with all these tables in Numbers, it seems I'd have to insert in each one and copy/paste in each one. Kind of a pain and multiple chances to screw it up!
Oh, the other tables would NOT have column headers since I can't access such columns in mail merge. They would have that info in regular columns from the main table so mail merge would access the names in those.
I would start my design with the premise that the student names will be entered only once, in a table that will remain locked except when the roster is being edited. Editing and sorting the roster table will automatically adjust names wherever referenced. <</div>
Not sure I follow all that. I understand the separate table, though I don't know if that is necessary (see my idea above), but the last part interests me. Just need to see how it would work with my present (or future!) approaches.
Hopefully this will be useful to others. I've seen plenty of gradebooks over the years, but only some professional ones have handled attendance very well and almost never letting a person use multiple attendance codes in the same cell or let you use the codes you want (letting upper and lower case be counted separately). This lets teachers work they way they are used to - such as "A" being an exexcused absence and "a" being excused.
I'll send it to anyone who wants it or is there a way to upload it here when done?
Once done, maybe other users will come up with improvements.