If a gradebook has not already been set up or imported for your course, you should see the Grades Setup Wizard displayed 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.
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.
Step 1: Choose Grading System
The grading system determines how the grade items in your gradebook contribute to students’ final grades. The system you choose must match the system you describe in your syllabus. Select the button next to your choice and click the Continue button.
Grading system | Description |
|---|---|
Weighted | Grade items and categories are calculated as a percentage of a final grade worth 100%. The Max. Points assigned to individual grade items can be any value, but their contribution toward the final grade is always their assigned percentage value. |
Points | (Default) Grade items are calculated using a points system in which the points assigned to each grade item are totaled for the final grade. |
Formula | Grade items are calculated using the points system, but a formula is used to set conditions around how grade items contribute to the final grade. (Very few people choose this method; we recommend that if you feel a need to use the formula gradebook, you contact your LSC-Online Representative.) |
Step 2: Final Grade Released
The type of final grade to release 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 see their current overall grade, choose Calculated Final Grade. You must keep the grades current for the grade to be accurate for every student, and you must drop ungraded items so their current grades are not artificially deflated. See Grade Calculation Options below.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Calculated Final Grade | (Default) The final grade calculated by the gradebook. |
| Adjusted Final Grade | A modified or adjusted final grade entered manually by you. |
To see their final grades in the course, which will also allow them to see their current averages throughout the semester, you will have the option to select "Automatically release final grade." This setting will be copied from semester to semester if you copy your course content.
Step 3: Grade Calculations
The grade calculations step provides additional choices for calculating students’ grades. Specifically, it lets you decide how you want to calculate ungraded items and if you want to keep students’ final grades up to date automatically. Select the button next to your choice and click the Continue button.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Drop ungraded items | (Default) Grade items you have not entered grades for are not counted towards students’ final grades. They are ignored in the final grade calculation. If you select this option, you will need to manually assign a grade of 0 for any grade item you want to be graded as 0. NOTE: This calculates student current grades, which will be artificially high unless you assign 0 to any missed grades. |
| Treat ungraded items as 0 | Grade items that you have not entered grades for count as 0 towards students’ final grades. Select this option if you leave grade items blank because no work was submitted and you don’t want to manually change the grades to 0. NOTE: This option can cause students’ final calculated grades to appear artificially low early in the semester. |
| Automatically keep final grade updated | If you select this option, final grades are automatically adjusted after changing a grade item or a calculation option. If you do not select this option, you must tell the gradebook when to recalculate final grades. TIP: You should not keep this option checked. |
Step 4: Choose Default Grade Scheme
Grade schemes define how grades are organized or labeled within a course or for a particular grade item. Grade schemes can be created at the organization level and made available to courses or at the course level and used within that particular course. The Grades Setup Wizard lets you set the default scheme for your course. You should not have a choice to make here, so just click the Continue button.
NOTES:
- The original default grade scheme will show the percentage grade for each assignment.
- You may set up a letter grade scheme that matches the LSCS standard for determining what qualifies as an A, B, C, etc. for each assignment, but this may not be as helpful as the percentage for students.
Step 5: Managing View Display Options
This step controls how you see grade calculation data. Enter a number and click the Continue button.
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Number of decimal places to display | You can set the number of decimal places you want to see for items in your gradebook. The default value is 2 and the maximum value is 5. NOTE: This option only changes how many decimals are displayed; D2L does not round any grades. |
Step 6: Student View Display Options
This step controls how grades appear to students. Make your desired choices and click Continue.
Option | Description |
|---|---|
Points grade | (Default) Releases the points grade to students, which shows them the value a grade item was marked out of and their score. |
Weighted grade | Releases the weighted grade to students, which shows them how much the grade item is worth in relation to its category or the final grade. NOTE: This option is only available if you chose the weighted grading system in step 2. |
Grade scheme symbol | (Default) Releases the grade scheme symbol to students, which shows them the scheme symbol for the score they received on a grade item. |
Grade scheme color | Releases the grade scheme color, which shows students the color associated with the scheme level they received. NOTE: If you select colors for your grade scheme color, they will be turned on by default for the instructor view. |
Number of decimal places to display | Controls the number of decimal places students see in the gradebook. The default value is 2 and the maximum value is 5. NOTE: This option only changes how many decimals display; it does not control how many decimals the Grades tool rounds to when calculating grades. D2L does not do any rounding of final grades. |
Number of characters to display for Text items | Controls the number of characters students see for a text item. The maximum value is 50. |
Display final grade calculation to users | Displays the final grade calculation to students, which allows them to view how their final grade was calculated. They can see which grade items contributed to their final grade and how much, the weight a grade was given in a weighted grading system, which grade items were bonus grades, and whether their grade was adjusted. NOTE: This option is only available in the weighted and points grading systems. |
Step 7: Grade Setup Summary
The final step simply summarizes the choices you made while setting up your gradebook. If you change your mind about any of the choices, click the Go Back button to return to the step and adjust it. Clicking the Finish button completes the setup.