What is the Gradebook?
The Gradebook is an overview of all activities that will be graded, such as assignments and quizzes, but also discussion topics in case you want to grade the submissions. You can filter on groups or classes in the gradebook, which will give you an overview of the submitted assignments and given reviews. From the gradebook, you can immediately check submitted work. You can also do this via "Assignments.
What is a Grade Item?
Every item with a review becomes a column in the Gradebook and is called a Grade Item. A Grade Item can belong to an assignment, a quiz, or a discussion topic. Additionally, you can create Grade Items yourself that, for example, calculate grades. It is possible to first make a Grade Item and link it to an assignment, quiz, or discussion topic later. You can link Grade Items to a category, which ensures that the columns will be placed together in the gradebook, under a combined title of the category (in the example above, the categories are "Eindrapport" and "Presentatie").
Table of contents
To set up the gradebook for the course, click Grades in the Navigation bar within the course. If there are no grade entries yet, the setup wizard opens automatically. If not, click Setup Wizard.
First you will see the current settings of the gradebook. Scroll down and click on Start.
Step 1: Choose rating system
There are 3 different options to choose from: Weighted, Points, or Formula. In most cases, the Formula Grading System is used. We explain the differences below.
Please note that the third one final grading system: Points, offers no advantages over using a weighted or formula grading system. When using a formula grading system, you are not required to actually add the formulas.
When should I use the weighted rating system?
Use the Weighted system if you want to calculate grades as a percentage of the final grade of 100%, without taking any conditions into account.
Setting up a Weighted grading system correctly can be complicated. You must add a weight for every partial assignment. This means that you also have to put the weight to 0% for all assignments that are not part of the final grade. Additionally, you must define conditions for the resits.
Example: The final mark consists of 20% practical assignment, 30% interim test and 50% final exam.
Therefore, a good alternative is a formula grading system.
When should I use the formula rating system?
When using a formula grading system, you will not have to take the weights of the assignments into account. This is because there will not be a standard weighted grade calculated. In the formula grading system, you must create a column for the final grade. In this column, you can add a formula that calculates the final grade.
Example 1: There are two assignments, a report and a presentation, that both have a resit. The report counts for 80% of the final grade, the presentation for 20%. To calculate the final grade, the highest grade for both products will be taken into account.
Example 2: If the grade for an assignment of a student is lower than a 6,0, then the student will automatically not pass the module. (Read: the final grade will be set to a 0 or 1, for every case where one of the grades is below a 6,0)
Review this article to see an example of a formula grade list.
Step 2: Release final grade
The second step is the default setting is Calculated Final Grade. This calculates the final grade based on the grading formula setting, it cannot be modified without editing grade item scores.
Adjusted Final Grade can be useful in situations where the student's grade is changed before it is released. For example, you may need to refine and adjust certain figures before they are released.
It's recommended to also check the box of automatically releasing final grades, unless you have a specific usecase in which you do not want to do those.
Step 3: Calculate grades
In the third step, you must choose how to treat Ungraded Items. If you choose Drop ungraded items, graded items for which no grade has been entered will not be counted in the final grade. If you choose Treat ungraded items as 0, items for which no grade has been entered will be counted in the final grade (as 0).
Be sure to check Automatically keep final grade updated so that final grades are automatically updated when changes are made to grade items or calculation options.
What is the best option for ungraded items in a formula rating system?
We recommend that you always use Treat ungraded item as 0 if you have chosen the Formula Grading System. This allows you to work more effectively with conditions in the final grade calculation.
For more information on the Formula Grading System, check out this article.
Step 4: Choose standard (default) Grade Scheme
In step 4 you can choose what the standard Grade Scheme will be for the course. Every time you create a new grade item, the chosen scheme is selected by default. You can select a different schedule for each component you create, so the choice you make is not final.
In case you choose for "Percentage", the grade will be calculated proportionally based on the received amount of points. For example: a student receives 7/10 points for an assignment, the calculated result is 70%.
In case you want to deviate from the standard calculation, you can create your own grade scheme (for example: 60-75% = "sufficient", 75-90% = "good", 90-100% = "excellent".)
For more information about grading schemes, see this article.
Step 5: Manage display options
This setting determines how many decimal places are displayed to course members who perform the assessment.
Step 6: Display options for students
We recommend at least showing the Grade scheme symbol. This is the actual grade the student received for the assignment or other item.
Keep in mind that the more grade details you share, the more information the students have about how they got their grades. This can lead to less confusion and questions afterwards!
Step 7: Summary of Setting Numbers
The last screen is a summary of all settings. Review the settings and click Finish. You can always go through the Setup Wizard again or change settings by clicking Settings at the top of the grades page.
