As an instructor, you can determine how you organize your Gradebook so that you can adjust the Grading System and Grade Scheme to best suit the approach of the course. You can choose how to display grades to students, how to update grades in the gradebook, and how to handle ungraded items. You can create Grade Items for projects, assignments, discussions, quizzes, etc. and place them in your gradebook.
In this article you will find the recommended steps to follow to set up the Gradebook, a short introductory video about grades and the basic Terms and Definitions.
Steps for setting up your Gradebook
When you want to use your Gradebook for the first time, there are several steps to go through. Consider setting up the Gradebook, but of course also creating assignments that you want to assess. Below we have listed the different steps.
- Export grades
- Import grades
- Copy your Gradebook and Grade Settings to another course
Short introductory video about grades
This is an introductory video from the D2L, Brightspace's supplier. Examples used may deviate from the Saxion situation.
Terms and Definitions
Gradebook
You can find the gradebook under Grades in your course. A gradebook contains your grading system, grade calculations, grade scheme, grade items, and view and display options. Grade items in your Gradebook represent all of the student work you want to evaluate in the course. By default, each course starts with an empty gradebook unless you copied a gradebook from another course.
Grading System
The grading system determines how the grade items in your gradebook contribute to students' final grades.
There are three options:
- Grade items count as a percentage of a final value of 100%.
- Grade items can be worth a certain number of points that add up to the final grade.
- You can create your own formula for how the grade items add up to a final grade.
See here for more information about and how to use Grading Systems
Grade Items
Simply put, anything that gets a grade is a grade item. For example, a quiz, an assignment, a project or even any question in the final exam; these are all examples of items. Students will see a grade for each of their items.
See here for more information about and the use of Grade Items.
Grade Scheme
A grade scheme is nothing more than an assessment scheme. It transforms point values into grades. Each point value has its own range of acceptable grades and a symbol, such as a numerical value, letter, or textual description to represent it. You can use the Saxion grade schemes or create your own grade schemes.
See here about and the use of Grade Schemes.