The extra credit (EC) feature in Gradebook can be enabled (1) at the item level or (2) at the category level. For more information on adding items/categories to the Gradebook see How do I set up my Gradebook? or How do I add items to the Gradebook?.
When an item or a category is designated as Extra Credit, those items are not added to the total value for points possible. If students earn points for Extra Credit items, those points are added on top of the total grade. However, no points will be deducted for students who do not receive a score for extra credit. Extra Credit indicates "bonus" items, or optional credit.
Note: It is important to NOT make individual items extra credit within its own extra credit category. Those items will be considered optional within the category and therefore would have no effect on the overall grade outside of the category.
Select Gradebook.
In the target Sakai site, select the Gradebook tool from the Tool Menu.
Setting EC at the Item Level.
- Select the dropdown arrow in the Gradebook item column.
- Select Edit Item Details.
Check the Extra credit checkbox.
- Check the checkbox labeled "Extra Credit."
- Select the Save Changes button.
Tip: The Extra credit option may also be set when adding a new Gradebook item.
Example: EC Item in Gradebook with no categories.
An Extra Credit item will display a plus + icon in the column header to indicate that it is an extra credit item.
Example scenario: In a Gradebook that contains three (3) items worth ten (10) points each, where two (2) of the items are for credit and one is for extra credit, the total points possible for all items is 20 (i.e., two items worth 10 points each). A student who scores 10/10 points on all three items will earn a course grade of 30/20 points, or 150%: 10 points for the extra credit item are added on top of the total points of the other items. A student who scores 10/10 points on only two of the items (i.e., skipping any one of the items) will earn an overall grade of 20/20, or 100%.
Tip: An Extra Credit item can make up for a missed item when the extra credit item is worth the same point value as the missed item.
Example: EC Items within weighted categories.
In a weighted category, extra credit items are averaged together with the other items before the category average is weighted.
Example scenario: In an Assignments category worth 50% of the course grade, there are two regular assignments and one extra credit assignment, each worth 10 points. The points for all three items are added together (e.g., 30 points), then divided by the total points possible minus the extra credit assignment (e.g., 20). If a student receives perfect scores on every assignment, his or her category average would be 150%. The category average is weighted as 50% of the course grade, so the weighted category average is 50% of the course grade.
Note: Extra credit Gradebook items and categories are designated by a + icon to the left of the item or category title.
Setting Extra Credit at the category level.
Tip: Creating an extra category rather than an extra credit item can be useful for a weighted Gradebook, or if there are several Extra Credit items to group together into a category.
Select Settings.
Select Settings from the Actions Menu.
Select Categories & Weighting.
Select Categories & Weighting to expand the section.
Check the box next to Extra Credit and select Save Changes.
- Check the Extra Credit box for the category to designate as Extra Credit.
- If the Gradebook uses Categories & weighting, type 0 in the % column to designate what percent the Extra Credit Category is worth. (Optional)
- Select the Save Changes button.
Note: To add an Extra Credit category, the Gradebook must use Categories only or Categories & weighting.
Example: EC category only.
Sample extra credit category scenario: The Gradebook is configured with Categories only (no weighting). One category is designated as extra credit. One item worth 100 points is assigned to the category. In this scenario, a student who earned a 100 for the item in the Extra Credit category will receive 131/130 points possible, or 103.33%.
Example: EC with weighted categories.
Sample extra credit weighted category scenario: When Categories and weighting are configured in a Gradebook, the total relative weight of all categories must be 100%. However, if one category is designated as extra credit, there may be a combined category sum greater than 100%. In this example, two regular categories are used and weighted as follows: Tests (65%) + Work (35%) = 100% of the course grade. An Extra Credit category is worth 2% of the course grade. A student who completes all work in the Extra Credit category could potentially earn 102% for their course grade.