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How Grades Work

If you decide to make a course graded, you have a few choices:

  • Either grade with points, or percentages
  • Optionally weight assignment types

Pointed Grades

With pointed grades, you grade each assignment such as X/Y points. For example, 13/15 points.

You might choose this option if you want maximum flexibility for how much each individual assignment is worth.

Percent Grades

With percent grades, you grade each assignment with a percentage score. For example, 93%.

This is perfect when every assignment of the same type is worth the same amount. For example, if every homework assignment is worth the same amount, you can ignore points and simply provide a percentage score.

Assignment Type Weights

If you use assignment type weights, a student's course grade is a weighted average of all the assignments they've completed for the course. Weighted means that not every assignment contributes to the course grade by the same amount. Assignment types are homework, paper, quiz, test or other.

For example, you may want tests to be worth 50% of a course grade, while homework, papers, and quizzes make up the other 50%. You can control these weights when you create or edit the course. If a student hasn't completed any assignments for a particular assignment type, that assignment type isn't factored into the course grade.