Bonus items, extra credit, and "Can Exceed"

Owned by Dimitri Zervos (Unlicensed), created
Last updated: Jun 21, 2024 by Gareth Seymour
3 min read

Brightspace can accommodate extra credit or bonus marks through different options at the Grade Item level (i.e. not within an Assignment or Quiz but through Grades). Adjustments within individual assessments must still be done manually, although the Quiz tool does have some advanced grading options.

Instructors have the ability to set any Grade Item to:

  • Behave as a Bonus, where it can exist separate from other grade calculations.

  • Allow incoming grades to exceed the Point Value settings.

A screenshot of the Can Exceed and Bonus checkboxes that are options under grade item properties.
Click image to enlarge.

Can Exceed

When enabling the option Can Exceed, this means that a point value greater than the maximum point value for the assessment can be allotted. Think of this as giving “bonus marks” to an assignment (i.e. an extra point to an assignment out of 100 = 101/100).

Use Cases

 

  1. Select the drop-down arrow next to the grade item for the assessment and choose Edit

  2. Set the grade item to “Can Exceed”. This will allow student’s grades to go over 100% for that particular assessment.

 

  1. Add the bonus assessment as a normal grade item (without setting it to “Bonus” or “Can Exceed”).

  2. Edit the Final Grade Calculation, and set it to “Can Exceed”. This will allow the final grade to go over 100%.

Please note: An error will appear at the top of the gradebook that says “Final Grade equals 102%”, which can be ignored.

 

  1. Select the drop-down arrow next to the category name, and choose Edit.

  2. Set the category to “Can Exceed” to allow students to receive over 100% on the sum of the quizzes.

Bonus Points

When enabling the option Bonus Points, this means that the entry into the gradebook is considered a bonus assessment. For example, Bonus Points would be enabled when providing the option to do a bonus assignment at the end of the course. Bonus items are not included in the maximum points for a category or final grade. They are added on top of the calculated grade (ie. not included in the denominator). Bonus items cannot make users' grades exceed the maximum points specified, unless the Can Exceed option is selected. Setting a grade item to “Bonus” means all points given for the assessment are treated as extra credit.

Use Cases

 

  1. Select the drop-down arrow next to the grade item and choose Edit.

  2. Set the grade item to “Bonus”. Students who complete the assignment and receive grades will get bonus marks, while students who do not complete the assignment will not be penalized.

 

  1. Create a new numeric grade item, and set it out of 10 points. Set the item to “Bonus”

  2. Place the grade item in the same category as the quiz. If the quiz isn’t in a category, create a category for the quiz and the bonus item. This is so the bonus marks do not exceed 100% on the quiz, and only apply to the quiz.

Setting a Grade Item or Category to Bonus or Can Exceed

  1. Navigate to Grades on the Brightspace course site.

  2. Select the Manage Grades tab at the top of the Grades page.

  3. Select the drop-down arrow next to the grade item/category that will become Bonus or be set to Can Exceed.

  4. Select Edit.

  5. Scroll down to the Grading section of the editor. Select Bonus or Can Exceed.

  6. Select Save and Close.

If you wish to discuss setting up a bonus or extra credit assessment and how that may work with your course, please reach out to cpi@brocku.ca

Please contact CPI at edtech@brocku.ca with any questions or comments about the contents of this site.