Categories
Quick steps:- Click the Manage tab.
- Locate the Course Management section.
- Click the Gradebook link.
- Under the Gradebook Managment menu click on the Categories link.
- By default, everything starts off in the Uncategorized category.
- Click the Add New Button .
- Use the blank fields, drop down menus and check boxes to complete the category settings.
- Click the Save button when done.
Read more:
Categories can be used to group similar assignments together. Each category has an associated weight that is used to calculate the final grade. This page displays categories used, the weights assigned and calculation methods used.
Weight are automatically assigned if you are using a points grading approach.
If you are uisng a percentage approach, every category has a weight associated with it. This weight determines how big of an impact this category's assignments will have on the overall final grade. Weights are relative to the weights of other categories. This means you can have a category with a weight of 100 and another with a weight of 200. If these are the only two categories, the first will account for 1/3 of the overall grade and the second will account for 2/3.
Each category has an average calculated for it. Before the calculation is done, the subset of grades used for the calculation must be determined based on Drop Lowest "n" grades or Use Highest "n" grades if the category is set up to do so. Next, an average of these grades is taken. This can be computed two ways depending on whether the category is set up to Weight all Assignments Equally. If assignments are weighted equally, each assignment grade is treated as a percent. These percentages are averaged together to yield the category average. If assignments are NOT weighted equally, then the average is done by points, summing the total points earned and dividing by the total points possible for the category.
When you create a new category, enter a Title for it. The Description is optional. If Calculation is checked, all assignments in the category are weighed equally. Check the Use all items button if you want all items in the category to be used when calculating the grade. The Release Date is the date after which students will see the grade in their gradebook. Both the release date for the category and for the specific assignment must be met before the grade is visible.
