Oncourse CL Gradebook: Using categories and weighted grades

Note: As of December 2008, letter grades in Gradebook are referred to as non-calculating grades. Non-calculating grades may be any string of text up to eight characters. If you want your grades calculated automatically, you must enter them as either points or percentages. See Changing the grade entry, type, and scale in Gradebook, How changes in the Gradebook tool affect data for previous semesters, and How changes in the Gradebook tool affect grade entry for current and future semesters.

In the Gradebook tool, you can create categories and assign Gradebook items to them. Also, for calculated gradebook types (points and percentage), you can assign percentages to the categories, thereby weighting them and the items they contain.

Note: If you want the Gradebook to drop the lowest or highest grades from a category, see Dropping the lowest or highest grade from a category in Gradebook.

Creating categories

To create Gradebook categories:

1. In your site's menubar, click Gradebook.
   
   
2. Near the top, click Gradebook Setup.
   
   
3. Under "Categories & Weighting", choose Categories only.
   
   
4. In the text box that appears, type a name for the category you're adding.

   Note: To create more than one category, click Add a Category.

5. When you are finished, click Save Changes.

Creating categories with weighted grades

To create categories and weighted grades in points and percentage gradebooks:

1. In your site's menubar, click Gradebook.
   
   
2. Near the top, click Gradebook Setup.
   
   
3. Under "Categories & Weighting", choose Categories & Weighting.
   
   
4. In the text box that appears, type a name for the category you're adding.

   Note: To create more than one category, click Add a Category.

5. Next to each category name, under "%", enter a number representing that category's percentage of the final grade.

   Note: When the box in the "Adjustment Category" column is checked, the percentage assigned to the associated category will be counted as extra credit. See "Use an adjustment category" in Giving extra credit or a grade penalty in Gradebook.

   Note: The total percentage must equal 100. Before you can save your changes, the "Running Total" must equal 100.0%, and the "Needed Total" must equal 0.0%.

6. When you are finished, click Save Changes.

Adding Gradebook items to a category

After you create a category, you can assign Gradebook items to it. You can assign an item when you create it or by editing an existing item; see Adding, editing, or deleting a Gradebook item.

Note: When you assign Gradebook items to a category, keep in mind that items that are worth more points or have a greater item relative weight are already "weighted" more heavily. If you want all items to influence the grade equally, you must make them worth the same point value or use the same relative weight for items in a percentage gradebook.

For more information on how grades are calculated using categories and weighting, see How categories and weighting affect grade calculation in points gradebooks and How categories and weighting affect grade calculation in percentage gradebooks.

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