Instructor Documentation (Higher Ed)

Grading with LeaP

Choose a grade option for synchronizing Test Me grades with the Grade book

Click the learning path that you want to choose a grade option for.
In the Edit Learning Path tab, click the Settings sub-tab.
Choose one of the following Grade Synchronization Type options:
- Use First Grade: Passes the first Test Me grade to the Grade book. All subsequent Test Me attempts are stored in Brightspace LeaP only.
- Use Latest Grade: Passes the most recent Test Me grade to the Grade book. This is the default option.
- Use Best Grade: After each Test Me attempt, Brightspace LeaP determines the highest Test Me grade and passes it to the Grade book.
To set a due date after which new Brightspace LeaP grades are no longer synchronized with grades in the associated Grade book, select Grade Synchronize Due Date and then select your desired date and time.
To resend all learner Test Me grades to the Grade book using the current Grade Synchronization Type option, click Re-synchronize.
This replaces all current values in the Grade book using the current option. Grades are also updated if you change the grade option and then click Submit.
Note: If a grade synchronize due date is set when you click Re-synchronize, only the grades of the selected grade synchronization type that existed before the grade synchronize due date are synchronized with the associated grade book. The grades of Test Me attempts after the due date are stored in Brightspace LeaP only.

Grading Scenarios

Scenario 1: 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 learners’ 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 maximum points the same. You grade basic tasks out of 5, intermediate tasks out of 10, and advanced tasks out of 15. You give learners who receive at least 70% on all grade items 10 bonus points. You allow learners to exceed the maximum points for a grade item, but not the final grade. Because you often allow some learners 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
Maximum 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

For example, you assign the following grades for the user Frank Catcher:

	Project 1	Project 2	Project 3	Project 4	Project 5	Project 6	Bonus
Maximum 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	= 10/10100 = 100% Note:* Bonus points are added on top of the final grade.
Calculated Final Grade	= (6+8+9+8+15)/(5+5+10+10+15)100+10 = 46/45100+10 = 112.22% = 100%

Scenario 2: Final calculated grade using Weighted system

You are teaching an introductory science course in which learners are graded on four labs, their participation in discussion topics, and a final examination. You allow learners to drop their lowest grade on a lab. You also provide bonus grades to learners who act as moderators for discussion topics. If a learner 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
Maximum points	n/a	10	10	10	10	10	5	100
Weight	50% (for entire Labs category)
		25%	25%	25%	25%
Bonus	n/a	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Drop lowest	1

For example, 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	= 8/1025/(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	= 0/1025/(25+25+25)100 = 0% towards the category = 0*.5 = 0% towards the final grade See the note for Lab 1.
Lab 4	= 7/1025/(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	= 3/55 = 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	= 71/100*40 = 28.4% towards the final grade
Calculated Final Grade	= 13.33+11.67+8+3+28.4 = 64.4%

Inaccurate final grades

The Final Grades page lists the calculated final grade for each user in your Grade book. 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.
You selected Automatically release final grades but you didn't change your selection from Drop ungraded items to Treat ungraded items as 0 at the end of the course.
You are using formula grade items in a Points-based grading system. Formula grade items do not contribute to the final grade in a points-based or weighted-based Grade book.

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 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 and select Manage Grades.

Grade books 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 grade books with fewer than 200 grade items.
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.
When deciding how to allocate points or weights across grade items, check the Final Calculated Grade to make sure they add up correctly

Total points or weights for grade categories and the Final Calculated Grade can be found on the Manage Grades page. Remember, for points-based grade books, the sum of the maximum points values for all grade items does not need to equal 100.