Set Up a Weighted Gradebook

A weighted gradebook 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).

Here are some points to remember about a weighted grading system:

• We recommend viewing the grade calculation settings and consider how the current grades display to students.
• Weighted gradebooks require that all category weights add up to a 100% final grade.
• All item weights within a category also must add up to 100%.
• In a weighted grade book, the Maximum Points field does not affect the final calculated grade.
• You must release current grades for students to be able to see them.

Show Video Walkthrough

Step 1: Choose the Grading System

1. If a gradebook has not already been set up or imported for your course, the Grades Setup Wizard displays when you enter the Grades tool. If a different area of the Grades tool displays by default, click the Setup Wizard tab to open it.

   TIP: Most of the options in the Grades Setup Wizard have a Get help icon that helps explain what they are.

2. The Grades Setup Wizard takes you through a list of setup options that you should set before you create grade items and categories. For example, it helps you make decisions about how grades should be calculated and displayed in the gradebook. To get started, click the Start button at the bottom of the screen.
3. The grading system determines how the grade items in your gradebook contribute to students’ final grades. Select the Weighted option and click the Continue button.

Step 2: Final Grade Released

The Final Grade Released determines if a calculated or adjusted final grade is released to students. Select the button next to your choice and click the Continue button.

If you want students to see their current overall grade, choose Calculated Final Grade. You must keep the grades current for the final grade to be accurate for every student.

To allow students to see their final grades in the course, and allow them to see their current averages throughout the semester, select "Automatically release final grade." This setting will be copied from semester to semester if you copy your course content.