The Gradebook setup page in the Moodle gradebook (under Setup) is used to rearrange grade items, add columns and categories, and customize how students' grades are calculated. The page displays settings for all grade items in a single table.
If you need help with assistance with Moodle grading or the Moodle gradebook, contact the Office of Instructional Design (InstructionalDesign@northcentral.edu).
Add a Column (Grade Item)
When you add any graded activity (such as an Assignment or Quiz) to a course, Moodle automatically adds a corresponding grade item (column) to the gradebook. You can also create grade items (columns) not linked to Moodle activities by adding them manually on the Gradebook setup page.
To manually add a grade item:
- Select Course Management, the Course Management panel will open.
- On the Course Management panel, under Grade, select Gradebook Setup.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Add grade item. The New grade item page will open.
- In the Item name field, enter a name for the column. Use short, alphanumeric names; do not use special characters, commas, ampersands, or quotes.
- In the Grade type field, select a type for the grade item.
- Value: A numerical value with a maximum and minimum
- Scale: Rate from a list of preset values (note: the numeric value corresponding to different scale tiers do not necessarily align intuitively).
- Text feedback only: Written feedback only; no numerical or aggregated value.
- Letter: A letter value as defined by the instructor.
- In the Maximum grade field, set the maximum point value for the grade item.
- (Optional) If you are using gradebook categories, you can select the category from the Parent Category dropdown menu.
- When finished, click Save changes.
To add data to this column manually, click Turn editing on in the Grader report.
Add a Category
Grade categories are useful for grouping assignments together, calculating subtotals, and making special calculations such as dropping the lowest grades.
- Select Course Management, the Course Management panel will open.
- On the Course Management panel, under Grade, select Gradebook Setup.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Add category. The New category page will open.
- Enter a Category name and select category options. (Click headings to open collapsed settings areas, and click Show more... to view and adjust additional settings under a heading.)
Important options include:
- Aggregation: The type of calculation for items in this category.
- Exclude empty grades: (Selected by default) If checked, empty grades are not aggregated into grade calculations (i.e., Moodle assumes that the assignment has not yet been graded or assigned and therefore should not yet count against students). If unchecked, empty grades are calculated as "0."
- Drop the lowest: Exclude a set number of grade items with the lowest value from being calculated in the category total
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save changes. The Categories and items page will open, displaying the new category.
Move Grade Items & Categories
To change the order of columns in the Grader report, move grade items into categories, or move categories:
- Select Course Management, the Course Management panel will open.
- On the Course Management panel, under Grade, select Gradebook Setup.
- At the left of the Grade item or Category you want to move, click Move. The word (Move) will appear next to the item to be moved, and dashed rectangles will appear in the possible locations where the item can be moved.
- Click any of the dashed rectangles to move the item to that location. The page will refresh showing the item in the new location.
- You can cancel your action at any time by clicking Cancel at the bottom of the page
- If you move a category that contains items and/or sub-categories, all of its contents will also be moved to the new location.
Move Multiple Grade Items at Once
To move multiple grade items into a category at the same time:
- Select Course Management, the Course Management panel will open.
- On the Course Management panel, under Grade, select Gradebook Setup.
- On the far right, under the Select column heading, select the checkbox for each grade item to be moved into a category.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and under Move selected items click Choose... to open the drop-down menu and select the name of a Category. The page will refresh with the items moved into the category.
Delete Grade Items & Categories
Grade items and categories that were created in the gradebook can be deleted from the Gradebook Setup page.
Note: Grade items associated with Moodle activities (such as an Assignment or Quiz) can only be deleted from the gradebook by deleting the activity from your main course page.
- Select Course Management, the Course Management panel will open.
- On the Course Management panel, under Grade, select Gradebook Setup.
- Choose a manually grade item to delete.
- Under the Actions column for that item, click Edit and from the drop-down select
Delete. The Delete confirmation page will open.
- On the Delete confirmation page, click Yes.
Note: If you delete a category containing items, those items will not be deleted but will instead be moved into the parent category.
Grade categories are useful for grouping assignments together, calculating subtotals, and making special calculations such as dropping the lowest grades.
Edit Category Settings
Category settings can be made while creating a new category
To modify the settings of an existing category:
- On your main course page in the Administration block, click Grades. By default, the gradebook will open to the View tab.
- In the top row of tabs, click Setup. The Gradebook setup page will open.
- Locate the row that contains the title of the category. In the Actions column (at right), click Edit and from the drop-down menu select select
Edit settings. The Edit category page will open.
Note: The Edit category settings for the course total can be found in the top row of the Categories and items table.
- Click headings to open collapsed settings areas, and click Show more... to view and adjust additional settings under a heading.
Explanations of the most commonly used gradebook category options are described below.
- When finished adjusting settings, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save changes. You'll be returned to the Gradebook setup page.
Grade Category Options
Category name
This name replaces the default "Category total" name that displays in the Grader report and the User report. This is useful when you use multiple categories so you can differentiate total columns.
Aggregation
Determine the kind of calculation used to compute the category total.
- Mean of grades: Average of all grade items in the category (the sum of all grades divided by the total number of grade items).
- Custom weights: Each graded item is assigned a value used to determine the relative importance of the item in the overall calculation. The value does not need to be the same as the possible points for an item. If an item has a weight of "0," it will not be calculated in the total.
- Natural: The sum of all grade values in the category.
Click Show more... to access the following options:
Exclude empty grades
Control what the category does when grade items have empty scores for individual students:
- Selected (default): Empty grades are skipped in the calculation and do not count against students.
- Unchecked: Empty grades are calculated as "0".
Drop the lowest
Enable a specified number of the lowest grades to be excluded from the category total. This option begins dropping lowest grades once there are more grades entered than the number of lowest grades to drop (e.g. if a category is set to drop the 2 lowest scores, the 2 lowest scores will not be dropped until 3 or more items in that category have entered grades).
Note: When using Natural weighting, drop the lowest is only allowed when:
- all children of the category have equal weights
- all children of the category have equal max grade
- there are no sub categories in the category
- there are no extra credit items in the category
Category Total Options
The most commonly set options under Category total include:
Grade type
Determine the type of grade associated with this category. There are four grade types:
- None: No grading possible.
- Value: A numerical value with a maximum and minimum.
- Scale: Select a rating from a list.
- Text feedback only: Instead of a value, display text you enter.
- Letter: A letter value as defined in Grade administration > Letters.
Maximum grade
Determine the maximum grade when using the Value grade type. The maximum grade for an activity-based grade item is set when you add or edit the settings for the activity.
Hidden
Hide grades from students. A Hidden until date can be set under Show more... if desired, to release grades after grading is completed.
Locked
Prevents grades from being updated. A Locked after date can be set under Show more... Use with caution, it is easy to forget if you have checked this option.
Click Show more... to access the following options:
Grade display type
Control how the category total will display in the Grader report and the User report.
The numerical total converted to a letter value using the scale found on the Letters tab of the gradebook.
- Percentage: The numerical total divided by the maximum possible points.
- Real: The numerical total calculated by the category.
- Overall decimal points: The number of decimal points to display for each grade. Note: This setting does not round values in calculations. If the category total is used in another calculation, the real numerical value will be used, which has an accuracy of 5 decimal places.
Parent Category Options (Adjust Category Weight)
Under Parent category, Moodle reports the name of the parent category and the aggregation method it is set to use. If the parent category is set to Custom weights or Natural, you can assign a weight the grade for this category will have inside the parent category.
- If the parent category is set to use Custom weights, in the Weight entry box, enter a value for the weight this category will have inside the parent category. (Within all of the subcategories of the parent category, the weight values do not need to add up to 100.)
- If the parent category is set to use Natural aggregation, by default, category weight is automatically calculated. To enter a custom weight for this category, check the Weight adjusted checkbox, then enter a custom value. All other weights will adjust in response to the amount you set here.
Note: You may find it more intuitive to set category weights on the Gradebook setup page where you can view and edit weights for all the items in your gradebook.
Getting assistance with grades
If you need help with assistance with Moodle grading or the Moodle gradebook, contact the Office of Instructional Design (InstructionalDesign@northcentral.edu).