Gradebook Setup – Weighted Categories, Grades ... - Oncourse

Gradebook Setup – Weighted Categories, Grades entered as Percentages
This instructor uses two categories - Essays (70% weight) and Labs (30% weight), and enters all grades as percentages.
To create weighted categories:
1) Along the top of the Gradebook page, click Gradebook Setup.
2) Under Grade Entry, click Percentages.
3) Under Categories and Weighting, click Categories & Weighting.
4) In the Category field, type Essay, press Tab key.
5) In the % (percent) field, type 70, press tab key. Running
Total reads 70%.
Note: You must continue to add categories until Running
Total reaches 100%.
6) Click Add a Category, repeat steps 4 and 5 for Labs
category (30% weight).
Running total reaches 100%.
7) Click Save Changes. You see a confirmation message.
To add Gradebook Items to a Category:
1) Across the top of the page, click Gradebook Items.
2) Click Add Gradebook Item(s). You see the Add Gradebook Item(s) form.
3) Enter at least the required fields - Title and Gradebook Item Point Value.
Note: Oncourse calculates course grades based on the underlying point values of Gradebook Items, regardless of how
grades are entered. For an item worth 50 points, a student may earn 90%. When this percentage score is entered,
Oncourse CL performs a hidden calculation of the student’s earned points (45 points) for that Item, and uses that calculated
value to derive the Course Grade.
• For equal weighting within a Category, assign the same Point Value to all items in that category.
• For unequal weighting within a Category, assign differing Point Values to items in that category.
• Items with a higher Point Value within a Category have a greater influence in that Category.
4) In the Category field, click the drop-down arrow to choose a category.
5) You may click Add Item(s),
OR:
6) To add multiple Items, near the bottom of the page, click Add Another Gradebook Item.
Another Add Gradebook Item(s) form opens.
7) Add Gradebook Items as needed, selecting a Category for each additional item.
8) When you have added all needed Gradebook Items, click Add Item(s).
The Gradebook Items page opens, with added items listed under their respective Categories.
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Interpreting the Gradebook Items Summary
The following Student Summary shows a Gradebook with 2 categories: Essays (worth 70% of the Course Grade) and
Labs (worth 30%). The Essays category uses unequal weighting – the Items have varying Point Values (50, 30, and 20
points). Category Labs uses equal weighting – all Items have the same Point Value (30 points each).
The tables below show how the course grade is calculated:
Category Essays (70% weight)
Title Grade (%) Item Value “Weight” in Category
Essay 1 90 50 0.50
Essay 2 60 30 0.30
Weighted Grade (%)
45 (90*.50)
Essay 3 75 20 0.20 15 (75*.20)
18 (60*.30)
TOTAL (Essays) 78% (45+18+15)
Category Labs (30% weight)
Title Grade (%) Item Value “Weight” in Category
Lab 1 80 30
0.33
Lab 2 70 30 0.33
Weighted Grade (%)
26.67 (80*.33)
displayed as 26% in student view
23.33 (70*.33)
displayed as 23% in student view
Lab 3 65 30
0.33 21.67 (65*.33)
displayed as 22% in student view
TOTAL (Labs) 71.67% (26.67+23.33+21.67)
displayed as 71% in student view
Overall Course Grade (Essays and Labs): (78% of 70%) + (71.67% of 30%)
Essays Labs
= 54.6% + 21.5% = 76.1%
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
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