Working with Final Grade Weighting
A key feature of the Gradebook is that it can calculate students’ midterm and final grades. The way the Gradebook does this depends on the weighting method you choose.
Note
If you want to delegate management of final grade weighting to other people, you can do this using the Content management access permission. For details, see Managing Permissions in the Gradebook.
About the Weighting Methods
The various weighting methods are described in the following table. Note that with some methods, you just select the method and then you are done. With others, there is some additional configuration to do after you select the method.
Name | Description | Additional configuration? |
|---|---|---|
The Point Method | All items are weighted according to their point values. This is the default method. For Coursework assignments, the point values are set in the Coursework feature. For Gradebook evaluations, point values are set on the Gradebook’s evaluations tab. | No |
The Unit Method | All Coursework units are weighted equally. Within each unit, items are weighted according to their point values. If you have created one or more evaluations, all evaluations are treated like a single unit. Within that unit, individual evaluations are weighted according to their point values. | Not generally, although you may choose to customize weighting within one or more units, using an exception feature. |
The Type Method | You manually enter a weight for each type, and a weight for all your evaluations, which are treated as a single type. Within each type, all assignments are weighted equally. Individual evaluations are weighted according to their point values. | Yes |
The Manual Method | There is no automatic grade calculation—instead, you manually enter each student’s grade. | No, but you do have to manually enter grades. |
A Custom Method | This method allows you to weight assignments using a number of different methods. | Yes |
How is Extra Credit Handled?
If you choose a weighting method that includes units or types, and if you plan to have extra-credit assignments, you may want to review this section for details of how these assignments will be weighted.
If a unit (or type) is associated with assignments that are included in the final grade as well as extra-credit assignments, within the grade sheet view, the weight of the extra-credit item will be determined by both the weight of the group and the weight of the item.
For example, suppose you have two units, one worth 90% and one worth 10%. Each unit includes an extra-credit assignment worth 10%, and the student gets full credit for both extra-credit assignments. The extra-credit assignment belonging to the first unit will give the student 9 percentage points of extra credit. The assignment belonging to the second unit will give the student 1 extra-credit percentage point.
That is, if all of the assignments within a unit—or all assignment of a certain type—happen to be set up as being for extra-credit, then that unit (or type) will be clearly labeled as being for extra credit within the Gradebook. Further, you can give that group a weight, as well as giving an individual weight to each item.
So, suppose a unit contains three extra-credit items, and that unit is worth 10% of the final grade. In this scenario, if the student completes any number of extra-credit assignments, his or her score on that assignment will scale to as much as 10% in bonus points. However, note that the student does not have to complete all three assignments to get the 10% extra credit.
For example:
If the student completes and gets full credit (100%) on one assignment only, the student will get the full 10% extra credit.
If the student completes two assignments, scoring 80% and 100%, the student will get 9% extra credit.
If the student completes all three assignments, scoring 80%, 90%, and 100%, the student will get 9% extra credit.
Before configuring your weighting method, you must navigate to the Final Grade Weighting screen. Do one of the following:
If you are on the Gradebook home screen, click the link labeled Final grade weighting.
If you are already working in the Gradebook feature instance but have navigated past the home screen, click the Final Grade Weighting icon, which looks like a pie chart.
This section explains how to choose a weighting method. For details about the different options, see About the Weighting Methods.
Navigate to the Final Grade Weighting screen.
The system displays the Final Grade Weighting screen. If you previously selected a weighting method, or copied one using the Copy Course Materials feature, the system displays details about that choice here. Otherwise, the system shows the default choice, which is the Point Method.
Click Change weighting method.
The system displays the Final Grade Weighting: Weighting Method screen, which lists each of the five weighting methods. A checkmark is displayed next to the method that you are currently using.
Click the name of the method you want to use.
The system automatically saves your selection.
If you chose the Type Method or a Custom Method, you still have some additional choices to make. See Assign Weights Using the Type Method or Weighting with the Custom Method.
With the Custom Method, if you do not immediately configure the method, the system will select a particular Custom Method on your behalf (Manual types with point-based assignment weights). The next time you return to the Final Grade Weighting screen, the system will prompt you to enter weights based on that configuration, but you can also change to a different custom method at that point.
If you chose the Unit Method, you’re not required to do any additional configuration, though you are able to manually customize the weights within any particular unit, if appropriate. For details, see Customize Weighting Within a Group.
With the Type Method, you assign a percentage weight to each type. This is the main thing you have to do before the configuration is complete and grades can be calculated.
Within each type, all assignments are weighted equally, though you can change this for any particular type, if appropriate.
If you haven’t already, select the Type Method.
Navigate to the Final Grade Weighting screen. (If you are still on the screen where you chose the Type Method, click the link labeled Back to the Final Grade Weighting screen.)
The Final Grade Weighting screen lists all of the types that you have defined for the course section, along with the percentage weights that you have assigned to them, if any.
If there is one or more type that needs a weight, that type is highlighted in yellow.
For each type, enter the appropriate percentage in the corresponding text box.
The system automatically saves each value you enter and, with each entry, updates the total displayed at the bottom of the Weight column.
If you finish weighting your types, and the weights don't add up to 100 percent, the system displays a warning message. If this happens, correct the numbers before navigating away from this screen. If you fail to do this, the system will discard all the values that you entered. Once the values equal 100 percent, the system adds a Save changes button to the screen.
Click Save changes.
Note
By default, within each type, assignments are weighted equally, but you can change this for any given type. For details see Customize Weighting Within a Group.