In eduServices there is a method saveGradeAndCommentForStudent. There should also be just a method like saveGradeForStudent that doesn't touch the comments if the comments don't need to be altered. Currently I didn't see such a method. This could improve a few places in Gradebook NG and the service where it retrieves the comments and saves them back again.

The method should not do any selects to persist the comments. 

• Adding an additional parameter onto the saveGradeAndCommentForStudent and saveGradesAndComments to prevent the method from actually saving the comments.
  or

• Creating more separate methods like saveGrades/saveComments/saveGradeforStudent/saveCommentforStudent that have more specific functions rather than trying to do everything.
  or

• Passing in some "special value" for the comment that makes it ignore it as a comment (Though I'm not sure what this would be . . . )

This is the typical pattern I've seen where it was doing this in Gradebook