Grades
Grades (also referred to as the “Gradebook”) is where grades are collected and managed for class participants. Actual grades can feed directly from assessment tools (Quizzes, Assignments, Discussions, Rubrics, etc.) or entered manually.
It is recommended that instructors set-up the Grades page before a course offering begins, although changes can be made at any time. Brightspace allows for a lot of flexibility is this regard and assessment tools do act independently from Grades: they can be unlinked or rerouted, if necessary.
The Grades page and the Final Calculated Grade column are essential if using the Transfer Grades tool in BrockDB.
Related
Grade Items and Categories
What is a Grade Category?
A category can be used as a way of denoting what type of assessment a particular assignment is. For example, for a course that has multiple midterms, the category would be “Midterms” and each item within the category would be “Midterm 1,” “Midterm 2,” and so forth.
What is a Grade Item?
An item is a single assessment in the gradebook. This could be an assignment, a midterm/final, a quiz, a discussion post, participation, etc.
Enter Grades Tab Views
Below is a screenshot of the grades homepage with a gradebook that has been setup with grade items created and assessed for three users. Click the text to see a screenshot of each view type.
In spreadsheet view, grades can be adjusted by simply entering the new grade in the column and clicking Save in the bottom left corner.
Settings
The settings button is located next to the gear icon in the top right hand corner of the Grades tool. Personal (instructor) and student view settings can be edited here along with calculation settings. The default homepage can be set by the instructor.
Recommended Practice
Use/build assessment tools (Assignments, Quizzes, Discussions, Rubrics) before building the gradebook. This does not require everything to be ready to go but the more that is built prior to the gradebook the better. Items can also be created in gradebook afterwards.
Use the Setup Wizard (required on first opening of the Grades Tool in a newly created course) prior to creating or adding any grade items or assessments to the gradebook.
Please contact CPI at edtech@brocku.ca with any questions or comments about the contents of this site.