In this scenario, an instructor has homework, projects, a midterm, and a final to grade. They would like the weighting to be as follows:
- 3 Homework assignments - 24% of the total grade
- 2 Projects - 26%
- 1 Midterm - 20%
- 1 Final - 30%
The percentages of all the weighting must add up to 100%.
It is easiest to set up the Gradebook first, and then create or add items to the Gradebook. If Gradebook items have already been created, the instructor may return to this setup later and then assign the Gradebook items to the appropriate categories. It is also easy to add categories and even change the weighting of grades at any time.
Select Gradebook.
In the target Sakai site, select Gradebook from the Tool Menu.
Select Settings.
Select Settings from the Actions Menu.
Select Categories & Weighting.
Select Categories & Weighting to expand the section.
Select the Categories & weighting radio button.
Additional options will display once you select Categories and weighting.
Enter categories and percentage weighting.
- Select the Add a category button to add more categories.
- Enter the category titles in the Category column.
- Enter the percentage weights for each category in the % column. For this example, enter each category as follows: Homework 24%, Projects 26% , Midterm 20%, and Final 30%.
Select Save Changes.
Select Save Changes to save the categories & weights.
Select Grades.
To add Gradebook items, select Grades from the Actions Menu.
Select Add Gradebook Item.
Select Add Gradebook Item to create items and associate them with the appropriate categories.
Tip: The location and appearance of the Add Gradebook Item button is dependent on whether grade items already exist in the tool.
Edit item details and select Create.
- For this example, add seven Gradebook items: Homework 1, Homework 2, Homework 3, Project 1, Project 2, Midterm, Final.
- Enter the Point Value for the item (also required). For this example, assign 100 points to every Gradebook item.
- Choose the appropriate category for this item from the Category dropdown menu. For this example, all three Homework items should be assigned to the Homework category.
- Check the checkbox for Release item to students to allow students to view their grades for this item. Leaving the box unchecked hides the item from students.
- Check the checkbox for Include item in course grade calculations to add the item into the course grade. Leaving the box unchecked omits it from the course grade calculation.
- Select the Create button to save changes. Selecting the + button next to Create will create the current item and open the Add Gradebook Item dialog for another new item.
Note: Items from other tools, such as Assignments or Tests & Quizzes, may also be assigned to specific categories upon creation.
Example student grade summary.
Let’s say Student Kinne has earned the following points:
- Homework 1 - 89 out of 100
- Homework 2 - 94 out of 100
- Homework 3 - 78 out of 100
- Project 1 - 83 out of 100
- Project 2 - 88 out of 100
- Midterm - 90 out of a 100
- Final Exam - 95 out of a 100
The Gradebook will automatically calculate the weighting for you. In this case the final score is 89.61%
How does it come up with 89.61%?
- The average of the homework is (89+94+78)/300 points possible. Total = 87%
- The average of projects is (83+88)/200 points possible. Total = 85.5%
- Midterm and Final only have one grade in those categories; therefore, the category average is equal to the score/points possible (90/100 and 95/100 respectively).
Now apply the weighting:
- (.87 homework * .24 weighting) = .2088
- (.8550 projects * .26 weighting) = .2223
- (.9 midterm * .20 weighting) = .18
- (.95 final * .30 weighting) = .2850
- Add them up = .8961 = 89.61%