Managing final grades

1. Accessing the Final Grades page
2. Calculating final grades
3. Additional options on the Final Grades page
4. Editing the calculated or adjusted final grade
5. Excluding grade items from the final grade
6. Releasing a final grade
7. Setting final grade display options for users
8. Setting display options for your view of the grade book
9. Setting release conditions for the final grade
10. Viewing grade statistics

Accessing the Final Grades page

Click Grades on the navbar, then click Enter Grades.

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Calculating final grades

The Final Grades page lists the calculated final grade for each user in your grade book. You should ensure these grades are accurate. Final grades might be inaccurate if:

• You did not select the Automatically keep final grades updated option when you set up your grade book.
• There are grade items that you still need to enter grades for.

1. Recalculate the final grade when “Automatically keep final grades updated” is not selected
2. Enter an adjusted final grade
3. Calculate final grades for a single user
4. Scenario: Final calculated grade using Points system
5. Scenario: Final calculated grade using Weighted system

Recalculate the final grade when “Automatically keep final grades updated” is not selected

Do one of the following:

• Click the user's name whose grade you want to recalculate. In the Final Grade section, click the Recalculate the Final Calculated Grade icon.
• To recalculate all grades, click Grade All from the Final Calculated Grade context menu. On the Final Grades page, select Recalculate All from the Final Grades context menu.

The Enter Grades page also contains an area to enter final adjusted grades for users. You can use adjusted final grades to apply a bell curve or to raise the final grade of a user who was sick. Whether the adjusted final grade is released to users depends on the Final Grade Released option you chose when setting up your grade book.

Enter an adjusted final grade

Do one of the following:

• On the Enter Grades page in Spreadsheet View, if you want a user’s grade to be different from the calculated final grade, enter the adjusted grade in the Final Adjusted Grade field.
• If you want to release the calculated final grade as the adjusted grade, click Grade All from the Final Calculated Grade context menu. Click the Transfer Calculated Final Grade to Adjusted Final Grade icon beside the user.

Once you have ensured that users’ grades are accurate, you can release them.

Calculate final grades for a single user

1. On the Enter Grades page, click a user’s name.
2. Click the Recalculate the Final Calculated Grade icon if necessary.
3. Enter an adjusted final grade or click the Transfer Final Calculated Grade to Final Adjusted Grade icon.
4. Select the Release Calculated Final Grade or Release Adjusted Final Grade check box depending on the Final Grade Released set up option you chose.
5. Click Save and Close.

Scenario: Final calculated grade using Points system

You offer a number of online training courses that use similar content, but adjust the course content depending on your users’ interests and skill levels. You set up specific courses by importing course content from a master course. You do not want to change the weight of each grade item to make every course grade book balance, so you use the points system and keep each grade item’s Max. Points the same. You grade basic tasks out of 5, intermediate tasks out of 10, and advanced tasks out of 15. You give users who receive at least 70% on all grade items 10 bonus points. You allow users to exceed the maximum points for a grade item, but not the final grade. Because you often allow some users to skip advanced tasks, you drop ungraded items from the final grade calculation.

You set up grade items with the following properties:

	Project 1	Project 2	Project 3	Project 4	Project 5	Project 6	Bonus
Max. points	5	5	10	10	15	15	10
Can Exceed	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Bonus	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes

You assign the following grades for the user Frank Catcher:

	Project 1	Project 2	Project 3	Project 4	Project 5	Project 6	Bonus
Max. points	6	8	9	8	15	--	10

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

Grade item	Calculation
Project 1	= 6/5*100 = 120%
Project 2	= 8/5*100 = 160%
Project 3	= 9/10*100 = 90%
Project 4	= 8/10*100 = 80%
Project 5	= 15/15*100 = 100%
Project 6	= Dropped Note Dropped grade items are not included in calculations; grades are calculated as if the item does not exist.
Bonus	= 10/10*100 = 100% Note Bonus points are added on top of the final grade; they are not included in the Points Received/Max. Points calculation.
Calculated Final Grade	= (6+8+9+8+15)/(5+5+10+10+15)*100+10 = 46/45*100+10 = 112.22% = 100%

Scenario: 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:

	Labs	Lab 1	Lab 2	Lab 3	Lab 4	Discussions	Moderator	Exam
Category	Labs	Labs	Labs	Labs	Labs	None	None	None
Max. points	n/a	10	10	10	10	10	5	100
Weight	50%	50% for the category
		25%	25%	25%	25%
Bonus	n/a	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Drop lowest	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

You assign the following grades for the user Frank Catcher:

	Labs	Lab 1	Lab 2	Lab 3	Lab 4	Discussions	Moderator	Exam
Frank Catcher	n/a	0	8	0	7	8	3	71

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

Grade item	Calculation
Lab 1	= Dropped Note Dropped grade items are not included in calculations; grades are calculated as if the item does not exist.
Lab 2	= 8/10*25/(25+25+25)*100 = 26.67% towards the category = 26.67*.5 = 13.33% towards the final grade Note Lab 1 is worth 33.33% of the Labs category even though it is assigned a weight of 25%. This is because the lowest lab grade is dropped and there are only three labs contributing to the category.
Lab 3	= 0/10*25/(25+25+25)*100 = 0% towards the category = 0*.5 = 0% towards the final grade See the note for Lab 1.
Lab 4	= 7/10*25/(25+25+25)*100 = 23.33% towards the category = 23.33*.5 = 11.67% towards the final grade See the note for Lab 1.
Discussions	= 8/10*10 = 8% towards the final grade
Moderator	= 3/5*5 = 3% on top of the final grade Note Bonus items are added to the final grade after other calculations. Do not include a bonus item’s weight in your total when balancing your grade book.
Exam	= 70/100*40 = 28% towards the final grade
Calculated Final Grade	= 13.33+11.67+8+3+28 = 64%

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Additional options on the Final Grades page

To	Do this
View grades by group or section	Select “Groups” or “Sections” from the View By drop-down list.
Clear adjusted final grades	Do one of the following: Select the users whose grades you want to clear and click Clear. Click Clear all from the Final Grades context menu.
Leave general feedback for all users	Click Show details and overall comments to expand the comments section. Enter comments in the text field.
Leave feedback for a specific user	Click the Enter Comments icon for the user. Note Final grade comments are not released to users until you release the final grade.
Email users about their final grades	Select the users you want to email and click Email.
Enter a common adjusted grade for multiple users	Select the users you want to assign a common grade for and click Grade. Enter the grade. Click Save and Close.
Change the number of users displayed per page	Select a value from the per page drop-down list.
View the Final Grades Event Log	Click Event Log from the Final Grades context menu.
View a user’s Event Log	Click the Event Log icon for the user.
View statistics for a grade item or a user’s final grades	On the Manage Grades page, click View Statistics from the menu beside the item or category you want to see statistics for.

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Editing the calculated or adjusted final grade

You can edit the name of the calculated or adjusted final grade, change whether users’ grades can exceed the max points or weight for the final grade, apply a grade scheme to the final grade, associate an activity with the final grade, or change what grade options display in the grade book for the final grade.

For the final grade you release to users, you can specify whether users can see the class average or grade distribution for the final grade, and set release conditions for when the final grade is visible.

1. Edit the calculated or adjusted final grade
2. Associate the final grade with an activity
3. Editing grade items after users’ grades have been entered

Edit the calculated or adjusted final grade

1. On the Manage Grades page, click on the name of the Final Calculated or Final Adjusted grade.
2. Update the fields.
3. Click Save on each tab you make changes to or Save and Close when you are done.

Associate the final grade with an activity

Use the Objectives tab to associate an activity with the final grade.

Editing grade items after users’ grades have been entered

Editing the Max. Points, Weight, Bonus, or Can Exceed fields for a grade item that already has grades entered for it can drastically change users’ recorded achievement. Make sure you consider how grades are affected before you make changes and review and adjust users’ grades afterwards.

Examples

• You raise the Max. Points for a grade item from 10 to 20. A user who previously had 10/10 now has a grade of 10/20.
• You lower the Max. Points for a grade item from 12 to 10 when Can Exceed is not selected. A user who previously had 11/12 now has 10/10.

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Excluding grade items from the final grade

It is possible to evaluate and record grades for grade items that you don't want included in users' final grades. For example, you could evaluate practice assignments or course participation even though they are not included in users' final grades so that users get ongoing feedback and support.

Exclude a grade item or category in the weighted system

1. On the Manage Grades page, click on the name of the grade item or category you want to edit.
2. Set the Maximum Points to whatever value you want to evaluate the item or category out of.
3. Set the Weight to 0%.
4. Click Save and Close.

Exclude a grade item or category in the points system

1. On the Manage Grades page, click on the name of the grade item or category you want to edit.
2. Select the Exclude from Final Grade Calculation option.
3. Click Save and Close.

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Releasing a final grade

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

Note 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. You will see the Final grade is not released icon displayed in the Final Calculated Grade or Final Adjusted Grade column for any user who does not have their final grade released.

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Setting final grade display options for users

1. On the Manage Grades page, click on the name of the Final Calculated or Final Adjusted grade.
2. If you want to show the class average for the final grade in users’ view of the grade book, select Display class average to users.
3. If you want to display a graph showing how grades were distributed between different percentiles in users’ view of the grade book, select Display grade distribution to users.

Note These options are only available for the final grade you release to users. This might be either the final calculated or final adjusted grade depending on the setup options you selected for your course.

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Setting display options for your view of the grade book

1. On the Manage Grades page, click on the name of the Final Calculated or Final Adjusted grade.
2. Select Override display options for this item. Select or clear the check boxes beside the following options:
   • Points grade: Displays users’ grades in points next to the total points available. For example, 233/280.
   • Weighted grade: Displays users’ grades as the weight achieved towards the final grade. For example, 80/100.
   • Grade scheme symbol: Displays the symbol for the grade scheme level achieved by the user, if applicable. For example, “A” or “Very Good”.
   • Grade scheme color: Displays the color associated with the grade scheme level achieved by the user, if applicable.
3. Click Save and Close.

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Setting release conditions for the final grade

Release conditions allow you to associate the final grade with other objects in Learning Environment. For example, you could require that users submit a class evaluation before they see their final grade.

Set release conditions for the final grade

1. On the Manage Grades page, click on the name of the Final Calculated or Final Adjusted grade.
2. In the Restrictions tab, do one of the following:
   • Click Attach Existing, then select a tool from the View Conditions for drop-down list. Select the check box for any condition you want to attach, then click Attach.
   • Click Create and Attach, then select a Condition Type from the drop-down list. Complete any additional Condition Details that appear, then click Create.
3. Select from the drop-down list if All conditions must be met or Any condition must be met to access the dropbox folder.
4. Click Save and Close.

Note This option is only available for the final grade you release to users. This might be either the Final Calculated or Final Adjusted grade depending on the setup options you selected for your course.

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Viewing grade statistics

Viewing final grade statistics

Final grade statistics lets you view details about a class, group, or section’s overall grades for a course. Statistics include the average, median, mode, standard deviation for a population, minimum grade, maximum grade, and a graph showing the distribution of grades. You can also view users’ individual final grades.

View final grade statistics

Do one of the following:

• On the Manage Grades page, click View Statistics from the action menu beside the Final Calculated or Final Adjusted grade category.
• On the Enter Grades page, click Statistics from the action menu beside the Final Calculated or Final Adjusted grade category.

Viewing grade category statistics

Category statistics lets you view details about a class, group, or section’s overall performance in a category of grade items. Statistics include the average, median, mode, standard deviation for a population, minimum grade, maximum grade, and a graph showing the distribution of grades. You can also view users’ individual grades in the category.

View category statistics

On the Manage Grades page, click View Statistics from the action menu beside the category you want to view statistics for.

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