Weighting with the Custom Method
This section describes how to configure a custom weighting method.
About the Questions
To create a Custom Method, you start by answering three questions, which are described below.
Question 1: Assignment Grouping
The first question is: Should assignments be grouped? Note that if you have evaluations, and if you select By Unit or By Type, all evaluations are treated like a single unit or type.
Choice | Description |
|---|---|
By Unit | Choose one of these options if you want the Gradebook to consider the assignment’s unit or type when calculating the grade. For example, you might want one unit or type to have greater weight than the others. |
By Type | |
All Together | Choose this option if, for grading purposes, you want the Gradebook to essentially ignore each assignment’s unit and type. |
Question 2: Group Weighting
You answer Question 2 only if you answered By Unit or By Type to Question 1. Question 2 asks how you want each unit or type weighted in relation to one another. Note that if you have evaluations, all evaluations are treated like a single unit or type.
Choice | Description |
|---|---|
All Equally | The system automatically calculates the weight of each unit or type, making them all equal, regardless of how many assignments or points are associated with each. |
Manually | You enter the exact weight of each unit or type. |
Question 3: Assignment Weighting
This question determines how each assignment and evaluation will be weighted.
Choice | Description |
|---|---|
All Equally | The exact result varies depending on how you answered Question 1:
|
By Point Value | The system weights items by their point values. |
Manually | With this option, you enter the exact weight of each item. |
How To
Navigate to the Custom Method configuration screen by doing one of the following:
If you are still on the screen where you selected the Custom Method, click the link labeled Configure your custom method.
If you have moved to a different part of the Gradebook, navigate back to the Final Grade Weighting screen. Click Change weighting method and then Configure your custom method.
The system displays the Custom Method configuration screen.
Answer the questions as appropriate.
Once you have answered all the questions, the screen updates to show options for saving the method or clearing the screen to start over.
Click Use this method to save and implement your choices.
The Final Grade Weighting screen displays.
If your Custom Method does not require any manual weighting, then you are done. If your method does require some manual weighting, messaging that tells you what needs to be weighted will appear at the top of the screen.
If there are weights to be saved here on this screen, there will be a text box in the Weight column. In this case, enter the appropriate values and click Save changes.
If you have grouped assignments by unit or by type, you still may have items to weight. If this is the case, the system will display a message stating this, and it will apply yellow highlighting to any group that contains items needing attention.
Click the name of any group whose items need manual weighting. On the resulting page, enter the appropriate weights and click Save changes.
Note
If you chose to group assignments by unit or by type, generally each group’s items are weighted using the same rule (for example, all equally, by points, or manually). However, you can customize the way assignments within any particular unit or type are weighted. For details, see Customize Weighting Within a Group.
If you are using a weighting method that assigns specific weights to units or types, then in general, within each group the same method of weighting is applied (for example, all assignments are weighted equally, by points, or manually). However, within any unit or type, and within the evaluations category, you can customize the way weighting is handled.
To customize the weighting of items within one group, or to remove a customization:
Navigate to the Final Grade Weighting screen.
The system displays the Final Grade Weighting screen, which identifies your currently selected Weighting Method and lists any groups that have a particular weight.
Select the name of the group whose weighting you want to customize.
The system displays a screen that shows the group’s items and their current weights.
At the top of the screen is a message explaining how the items are weighted.
This message also says one of the following, depending on whether you have already modified the weighting:
“If these assignments should be handled differently, you can make an exception here.”
“You can change or remove this exception here.”
Click here.
The system displays a pop-up. The bulleted list shows alternate ways you could manage these weights.
Select one of the options listed.
Note
If you decide that you want to change your entire weighting method, you can click grade weighting method to go to the screen that lets you make that change.
If you chose to weight the assignments equally or by point value, there is nothing further to do on this screen.
If you chose to weight the assignments manually, the screen updates to include text boxes for you to fill in weights. After you have filled in the weights as appropriate, click Save changes.