Setting up your gradebook

In the Grades tool, if a gradebook is not set up or imported for your course, you will see the Grades Setup Wizard page when you first navigate to the tool

Creating Grade Items and Categories

Build your grade book by creating grade items and categories.

Grade items in your gradebook represent all the work that you want to evaluate users on in a course. Grade items can exist independently in your gradebook, or you can associate numeric grade items with course objects such as discussions, quizzes, and assignments. Each grade item has an entry in the grade book, which you assign a grade to for each user. Depending on the grade item type you want to create, grade items can be graded numerically or based on a grade scheme.

Grade categories organize and group related grade items into sections in your grade book, for example, a Writing Assignments grade category to group assignment items and a Quiz grade category to group quiz items. Grade categories display in Manage Grades.

Grade Item Types

About bonus grade items

Bonus grade items are not included in the maximum points for a category or final grade. They are added on top of the calculated grade.

Bonus grade items cannot make users' grades exceed the maximum points specified, unless the Can Exceed option is selected.

Note: Bonus grade items do not display to students with the grade scheme information like other grade items, no matter what display options you set. Because bonus grades are only added to final grades after all other calculations, students can only view the numeric points, and potentially the weight achieved, for a bonus grade, but no other grade scheme information, as the actual weight or points of the bonus grade item may not be consistent with the rest of the grade scheme.

Hide grade items

To hide grade items:

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Manage Grades page, from the context menu of a grade item, select Hide from Users.

Note: You can also edit a grade item, access the Restrictions tab, and select the Hide from Users checkbox.

To make hidden grade items visible:

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Manage Grades page, from the context menu of a grade item, select Make Visible to Users.

Note: You can also edit a grade item, access the Restrictions tab, and deselect the Hide from Users checkbox.

To bulk hide or display grade items:

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Manage Grades page, select the checkbox for any item you want to change the visibility of.
3. Click More Actions and select Make Visible to Users or Hide from Users.

Set release conditions for grades

Release conditions allow you to associate grade items and grade book categories with other items in Brightspace Learning Environment. For example, you can require that users meet some other criteria, such as completing a quiz or completing an assignment, before a specific grade item appears in their grade book.

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Manage Grades page, click on the grade item you want to set release conditions for.
3. In the Restrictions tab, in the Release Conditions area, do one of the following:
   1. Click Attach Existing, then select the check box for any condition you want to attach. Click Attach.
   2. Click Create and Attach, then select a Condition Type from the drop-down list. Complete any additional Condition Details that appear and click Create.
4. From the drop-down list, select if All conditions must be met or Any condition must be met to access the grade item or category.
5. Click Save and Close.

Delete grade items or categories

To delete a grade item or a category:

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Manage Grades page, from the More Actions button, select Delete.
3. Select the check box for each grade item or category want to delete.
4. Click Delete.

Note: Selecting a category does not select the grade items that reside in it. If you delete a category, the grade items associated with it become independent grade items.

You cannot delete grade items that are associated with another course object, such as a quiz, discussion topic, or assignment. To delete the item you must first remove the association. Click the Information icon for a grade item with an association to view details about where the item is used.

Restore a deleted grade item

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Manage Grades page, from the More Actions button, select Event Log.
3. Beside the appropriate grade item select Restore.

Note: Formula and Calculated grade items cannot be restored.

Enter grades

To enter grades:

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Enter Grades page, do one of the following:
   1. To manually enter grades for an individual user, click the user name.
   2. To manually enter grades for a grade item, from the Manage Grades, click the down arrow of the grade item and select Enter Grades. You also have the option to do this on the Enter Grades Page.
   3. From the Enter Grades page, select Switch to Spreadsheet View. This will change the Grades page so you can enter in grades manually on any Grade Item. Make sure to save often, and before moving to the next page if you have a large class.
3. Enter your grades.
4. Click Save and Close.

Add feedback in bulk

You can add generic feedback on learners' grades in bulk. You can also sort the Feedback column in the Gradebook and quickly determine which learners require feedback.

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Manage Grades page, from the context menu of the grade item, click Enter Grades.
3. To sort the Feedback column, do the following:
4. Under Users, click Show Search Options.
5. Under Feedback, select the check box, and from the drop-down list, select Users without feedback.
6. Click Apply.
7. From the list of users, select the users for whom you want to provide feedback, and click Add Feedback.
8. Enter the generic feedback and click Save.

Note: Use replacement strings in your bulk feedback to personalize the feedback.

Release final grades

To release final grades

By Default, learners do not see their final grade. You can release final grade manually.

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Enter Grades page, from the Final Calculated Grade or Final Adjusted Grade context menu, click Enter Grades.
3. To release grades for all users, on the Final Grades page, from the Final Grades context menu, click Release All.
4. To release final grades for a specific user, do one of the following:
   1. Select the check box by the user name and click the Release/Unrelease link.
   2. Select the check box in the Release Final Calculated Grade or Release Adjusted Final Grade column.
5. Click Save.

The Final grade is released icon displays in the Final Calculated Grade or Final Adjusted Grade column for any user who has their final grade released. The Final grade is not released icon displays in the Final Calculated Grade or Final Adjusted Grade column for any user who does not have their final grade released.

The date and time a grade is released or unreleased is displayed in a learner's Grades Event Log.

Enter an adjusted final grade

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Manage Grades page, from the Final Adjusted Grade context menu, click Enter Grades.
3. For each learner click on the calculator icon. Select the Grade Items that should be included in their final grade, then click Calculate.

   Note: For most learners you can select all the grade items, but if you have some learners that were exempt from any grade items, you will not select those items for those learners.

4. If you want to release the grades to learners, select the Release Final Adjusted Grade check box.
5. Click Save.

Importing grades

You can enter grades in another application and import them into Brightspace Learning Environment using a CSV, TSV or TXT file. You can also create new grade items through an import file by adding a column to the file. Any grades you import for discussion grade items and assignment grade items are also synchronized back to Discussions and Assignments as published feedback.

The import file must follow a standard format; use the Grades sample import file as a reference point. D2L recommends that you set up your grade book in Brightspace Learning Environment even if you want to enter grades in a CSV, TSV or TXT file. Once the gradebook and grade items are set up in Brightspace, you can export a blank copy of the gradebook and use this .csv file to as the template to import your grades.

Note: If you enter a grade value that is greater than the value for the grade item, the grade is capped at the value unless you selected the Can Exceed option when setting up the grade item.

Do not import other options, such as a user’s first name, email, or weighted grade.

To improve performance when importing grades for large classes, only import grade items that have changed and import by group or section when possible.

Import grade items:

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Enter Grades page, click Import.
3. Click Choose File.
4. Locate the file you want to import and click Open.
5. Select Create new grade item when an unrecognized item is referenced if you want to be able to create new grade items from the import file.
6. Click Continue.
7. If you are creating new grade items:
   1. Select the Create New Grade Item check box beside each of the items you want to create.
   2. Select a grade item Type.
   3. Click Continue.
   4. Fill in the grade items’ properties.
   5. Click Continue.
8. View error and warning messages associated with the import and click Continue.
9. Set grade visibility options for learners.
10. On the navbar, click Grades.
11. Click Settings.
12. In the Org Unit Display Options tab, set your Learner View Display Options.
13. Click Save.

You can also edit grade visibility options for individual grade items using the Edit Item page by setting Display Options.

Note: Bonus grade items do not display to learners with the grade scheme information like other grade items, no matter what display options you set. Bonus grades are calculated differently than other grade items and only added to final grades after all other calculations. Therefore, learners can only view the numeric points, and potentially the weight achieved, for a bonus grade, but no other grade scheme information.

Export grades

To export grades:

D2L recommends that you set up your grade book in Brightspace Learning Environment even if you want to enter grades in a CSV or TXT file. You can then use the Export Grades option to create an appropriately structured file.

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Enter Grades page, click Export.
3. In the Export Options area, do the following:
4. From the Export Grade Items For drop-down list, select who you want to export grade items for.
5. Select the Key Field you want to use to identify users.
6. From the Sort By drop-down list, select the sorting order of the fields that appear in the exported file.
7. Select the Grade Values and User Details you want to export.
8. In the Choose Grades to Export area, select the grade items you want to export.
9. Click Export to CSV or Export to Excel. A pop-up window appears. Click on the file link to download it.

Note: If a student is enrolled in multiple groups within a Group Category, or multiple sections within a course, those enrollments are exported as a comma-separated list within a cell.

Best practices for entering grades

• When creating a grade item, ensure that the Max. Points field for the item is not set to null or zero:
  The Max. Points field can be found in the Grading section of the Create a new grade item page (or the edit page for existing grade items) under the Properties tab.
  
• When sorting grade categories and items, ensure they are sorted in the appropriate order:
  The best way to ensure grade items are sorted correctly is to create the categories and items in the order that they will be marked. Brightspace Learning Environment automatically sorts the categories and grade items in the order that they are created.
  If you want to see the order of your grade items, from the Course Homepage, go to Grades. Select Manage Grades.
  
• When creating a grade item, make sure that you are not creating duplicate entries in the grade book:
  Duplicate grade items can occur for a variety of reasons, such as from multiple course package imports or from users. Duplicates have the same title and often have no associated activity.
  
• Gradebooks that exceed 200+ grade items feature Sort Order text fields beside the grade items on the Reorder Grade Items and Categories page. The order of the grade items can be changed by entering a positive integer in the fields. Items with the same sort order number, such as two grade items being marked "1," retain their current sort order, relative to each other.
  
• The Sort Order drop-down menu still appears for Gradebooks with fewer than 200 grade items.

Synchronize with Assignments

• Scores and feedback that you enter and publish for grade items directly in Assignments automatically synchronize with Grades and appear in your grade book. Any scores and feedback that you retract from publication are removed from the grade book automatically.
• Scores and feedback that you enter and keep as drafts do not synchronize back to Grades until they are published.
• For instructions on how to connect your Assignments to the Gradebook, click here.

Synchronize with Discussions

• Scores and feedback that you enter and publish for grade items directly in Discussions automatically synchronize with Grades and appear in your grade book. Any scores and feedback that you retract from publication are removed from the grade book automatically.
• Scores and feedback that you enter and keep as drafts do not synchronize back to Grades until they are published.
• For instructions on how to connect your Discussions to the Gradebook, click here.

Synchronize with Quizzes

The grades you enter directly in Quizzes automatically synchronize with Grades and appear in your grade book. The scores and feedback for quizzes grade items that you enter directly in your grade book synchronize automatically with Quizzes and overwrite any calculated score for the quiz.

• Overall scores and feedback that you enter and publish for grade items directly in Quizzes automatically synchronize with Grades and appear in your grade book. Any scores and feedback that you retract from publication are removed from the grade book automatically.
• Overall scores and feedback that you enter and keep as drafts do not synchronize back to Grades until they are published.
• Scores and feedback that you enter for quiz attempts in Quizzes only synchronize with Grades if you have selected the Allow Automatic Export to Grades option for the quiz. If you have not enabled Allow Automatic Export to Grades then the quiz attempt score and feedback will not synchronize to your grade book until you click Export to Grades and you publish the attempt score and feedback.
• For instructions on how to connect your Quizzes to the Gradebook, click here.

Scenario 2: Final calculated grade using Weighted system

You are teaching an introductory science course in which users are graded on four labs, their participation in discussion topics, and a final examination. You allow users to drop their lowest grade on a lab. You also provide bonus grades to users who act as moderators for discussion topics. If a user does not submit a lab, you leave it ungraded and treat ungraded items as a grade of 0.

You set up grade items and a Labs category with the following properties:

You assign the following grades for the user Frank Catcher:

You release the calculated final grade to Frank. It is calculated as follows:

Access the event log for a user

1. On the Enter Grades page, click the name of the user you want to access the event log for.
2. From the context menu of the user’s name, select Event Log.

Access the event log for an individual grade item

1. On the Manage Grades page, from the context menu of the grade item you want to access the event log for, select Enter Grades.
2. From the context menu of the grade item’s name, select Event Log.

Access the event log for a user's final grades

1. On the Enter Grades page, from the context menu of the Final Calculated Grade or Final Adjusted Grade item, select Enter Grades.
2. In the Event Log column for the desired user, select the Event Log icon.

Access the event log for changes to a grade item's properties or restrictions

1. On the Manage Grades page, from the context menu of the category or grade item you want to view, select Event Log.

Access the event log for restoring grade items

1. On the Manage Grades page, from the More Actions button select Event Log.
2. If you want to restore Numeric, Select box, Pass/Fail, or Text grade items that were removed, beside the item's name, click Restore.

Weighted

The weighted system calculates grade items as a percentage of a final grade worth 100%. The maximum points you assign to individual grade items can be any value, but their contribution towards the category they belong to and the final grade is the percentage value (weight) assigned to them.

Grade items in a category count as a percentage of that category, not of the final grade. Therefore, grade items in a category should combine to a weight of 100%.

For example, if you have a category worth 10% of the final grade with two equally weighted grade items, the weight of each grade item is 50%, (its contribution to the category), not 5% (its contribution to the final grade).

Since it's a category’s weight and not an individual grade item’s weight that counts toward the final grade, the final grade is inaccurate until all the items in the category are graded. If you want to release final grades to users before all the items are graded, you can drop ungraded items from the calculation until the end of the course when you want all grade items to be considered. Otherwise, the final grades might be misleading.

If your grade items do not add up to 100%, you will receive a warning message. You can ignore this message if you choose; a balanced grade book is not required. If the weights assigned to grade items do not sum to 100%, the tool adjusts the weight of each item. For example, if you have three grade items with a weight of 25% each, each item is actually calculated as 33%. This is true for categories and the final grade.

Points

Use the points system when you want the maximum points assigned to a grade item to be equal to its contribution to the final grade. Final grades are calculated by adding a user’s score on all grade items together and dividing by the sum of the maximum points values. The sum of the maximum points values for all grade items does not need to equal 100.

With the points system you do not specify a category’s weight or total points. It is the maximum points assigned to an individual grade item that counts toward the final grade.

Make sure the maximum points assigned to grade items reflect how much you want them to be worth. For example, don’t grade each of your 20 homework assignments out of 50 points and then your final exam out of 80 points.

Another option in the point system is to exclude an item from the final grade calculation. This enables you to evaluate a grade category, numeric grade item, select box grade item, or pass/fail grade item without including the grade in users’ calculated or adjusted final grades. The New/Edit Item page and the New/Edit Category page both include an Exclude from Final Grade Calculation check box.

You can achieve similar functionality in the weighted system by setting the grade item or category’s weight to 0%.

Formula

Use the formula system when you want to calculate final grades using a custom formula that allows for conditions. The formula system is based on the points system but allows you to set conditions around grade items to determine the final grade. For example, you could require that users receive at least 50% on their midterm and final exam to pass a course.

The formula system might not be available at your organization. If you do not have this option, you can release the adjusted final grade and calculate your custom formula manually, or you can contact your site administration about getting access to this functionality.

About formula grade items

Use the Formula Editor to define a formula that calculates a grade item’s value based on other grade items. When you create a formula, you specify which grade items you want included in the formula and the relationships between them. An example of a simple formula is one that calculates the sum of a number of grade items. A more complicated formula is one that drops the minimum or maximum value from a set of grade items.

Component	Description
Formula area	The formula area is where the formula text displays. The equals sign (=) at the start of the formula cannot be deleted. A cursor shows your position in the formula.
Cursor placement	Use the cursor placement icons to move the cursor forwards and backwards in the formula. You can also move the cursor by clicking on the new location with your mouse. There are four options: << - Move cursor to start of formula <- Move cursor back one element >- Move cursor forward one element >> - Move cursor to end of formula
Grade item parameters	To view what grade items you can insert as a parameter in your formula, use the Grade Item drop-down list. You can insert Numeric, Pass/Fail, Selectbox, and Formulatype grade items. You cannot reference the formula grade item you are defining or a final grade. To view the values associated with the grade item you want to use in the formula, use the Grade Item Value drop-down list. There are three options: Points Received - The grade the user achieved. For example, 7 (out of 10 points). Max Points - The maximum points available for the grade item. For example, 10 points. Percent -The percent grade the user achieved. For example, 70%. When using the weighted system, category and grade item weights are ignored in formula calculations. Dropped grade items and bonus grade items are calculated the same as other grade items.
Functions	The Function drop-down list contains a list of functions that you can use in your calculation formula: MAX - Calculates the maximum (largest) value in a set of values. MIN - Calculates the minimum (smallest) value in a set of values. SUM - Calculates the sum (total) of a set of values. AVG - Calculates the average for a set of values by adding all the values and dividing by the total number of values. IF - Operates as a Boolean statement that returns either the value set as true or as false. You must define the condition (Boolean statement), true (then) value, and false (else) value. NOT - Operates as a Boolean statement that returns the value set as true if the condition is false and as false if the condition is true. You can embed functions within functions. The Start, Next Term, and Endoptions are used to define elements of a function: Start - Starts the function selected in the Function drop-down list with an opening bracket ({). Next Term - Inserts a comma to separate grade items or parts of a Boolean statement. End - Ends the function with a closing bracket (}).
Operators	Operators are usually used in conjunction with at least one grade item.

Create a grade scheme

To create a grade scheme:

1. On the navbar, click Grades.
2. On the Schemes page, click New Scheme.
3. In the General area, enter the scheme Name.
4. In the Ranges area, enter your scheme details. If you do not assign a value in the Assigned Value % field, the Start % is used as the default.
5. To add more levels to your scheme, click Add Ranges.
6. Click Save and Close.

About grade scheme ranges and assigned grade value

A Grade scheme range is used when an activity uses a numerical grade item. If the assessed number falls within the defined range, the learner sees the associated grade scheme and color where applicable. For example, in a Quiz, a learner receives 72%. The Grade range for a B is 70-80%; therefore, the learner sees a B wherever they can see grade schemes.

An Assigned Grade value is used when an activity uses a Selectbox grade item. When selecting a scheme range From the selectbox grade item dropdown, the Assigned value percentage is recorded in the gradebook and the learner sees that value where applicable. For example, in an Assignment for 20 points, a learner receives a B. The Assigned Value for the B scheme range is 75%. In the gradebook, the learner sees 15/20 points and/or 75% as the numerical equivalent of a B.