In parts 1 and 2 we looked at how Brightspace calculates averages and how it can accommodate complex grading systems. In this installment, I’m going to advocate for simpler grading systems. I’ve heard the argument that calculating grades is simple math that every student should be able to do. And while I agree in principle that the math is easy, exactly how the grade is calculated can get messy fast.

Consider the following grade calculation:

• Category – Term Project (25% )
  • Topic statement – 10 pts
  • Project Plan 40 pts
  • Status Report 1 10 pts
  • Status Report 2 10 pts
  • Status Report 3 10 pts
  • Project Presentation 50 pts
  • Final Project Paper 100 pts
• Category – Tests (30 %)
  • Midterm – 100 pts
  • Final – 200 pts
• Weekly Quizzes (15%) – 15 quizzes 15 pts each, drop 5 lowest.
• Category (100 pts) – Participation (14 weeks, 10 pts each week, drop 4 lowest – 10 scores used)
• Category (20%) – Homework – 11 homework assignments 20 points each, drop lowest score – 10 scores used

Here are some confusing points – the term project and tests categories consist of multiple grades of different possible point values. A student needs to know whether the scores averaged equally or weighted to arrive at the score contributing to the final grade?  There’s ambiguity around weighting.

And while the calculation above could be clarified by indicating when scores are averaged, how they are weighted, the complication leads to uncertainty, both for instructors and students. Instructors need to be certain that the grades that are calculated are correct – that is, Brightspace is calculating the grade as intended. With such a complicated grade calculation, it’s easy to miss an equally weighted calculation for a weighted one unless you manually check the calculations.  For students, the uncertainty that comes with complicated calculations means they often want to meet with the instructor to confirm that their calculations are correct, resulting in more meetings with students to verify how they are doing.

Many years ago, when I was teaching, I used a grade calculation much like the example above. I chose that calculation for no other reason than that’s how other instructors I was teaching with calculated their grades and it made sense to be consistent across sections. I never gave much thought to why at the end of the semester so many students wanted to meet with me to see “how they were doing.” I provided the breakdown of grades so that they could calculate the grade themselves but every term the same requests for meetings. I now realize that I wasn’t always clear around averaging – were the quizzes weighted averages or not.

More recently I’ve worked with faculty in our continuing education program and have been won over by the simplicity of the grade calculations they use for online and hybrid courses. All final grades are calculated out of 1000 points. Instructors can see if they have too many or not enough grades in a category or if a grade column is missing – the total column lists how many points are possible providing an indicator of missing (or too many grade columns). Students can easily see how each assignment contributes to their final grade and can use that information in planning their work.

Since we’re just talking basic math, how might the calculation above be converted to 1000 points?

One interpretation is as follows:

• Category – Term Project (250 pts)
  • Topic statement – 10 pts
  • Project Plan 40 pts
  • Status Report 1 10 pts
  • Status Report 2 10 pts
  • Status Report 3 10 pts
  • Project Presentation 50 pts
  • Final Project Paper 100 pts
• Category – Tests (300 pts)
  • Midterm – 100 pts
  • Final – 200 pts
• Weekly Quizzes (150 pts) – 15 quizzes 15 pts each, drop 5 lowest.
• Category (100 pts) – Participation (14 weeks, 10 pts each week, drop 4 lowest – 10 scores used)
• Category (200 pts of final grade) – Homework – 11 homework assignments 20 points each, drop lowest score – 10 scores used

Because the initial conversion created grades for the project components that were not round numbers, I adjusted them to be easier to add up to 250 points without a calculator. I also chose to make all the homework and quiz grades equal to make dropping the scores easier, the final value used was derived from overall category value (weight) divided by the number of scores counted in the final calculation.

In Brightspace you can view the grade columns on the Manage Grades screen, the categories are listed and which grade items (columns) are included, if a gradable item is associated with the item, and points possible:

In the last column the calculation comes together – these are the points possible for each item and the category points possible. Note, the homework category is less than the 200 points possible. I’m missing a column. When I have the gradebook fully fleshed out, thhe Final Grade will be out of 1000 points. This page gives me a check I haven’t missed anything or added columns into the calculation that I don’t want to include.

In this series, I have revisited grade calculations in Brightspace (Average calculations, Weighted grades) and finally, how to convert a complex calculation to a point totaling system that is easier to troubleshoot mistakes, easier for students to understand, and can reduce student requests to “check their grade” near the end of term.

Stop by Learning Innovation & Technology in Beatty 318 for assistance with your grade center or email lit@wit.edu.

In an earlier post, I discussed how Blackboard weights grades – something that can lead to confusion and suspicion that the system is not calculating grades correctly. Because we are changing Learning Management Systems (LMS), I’m revisiting this topic this time using Brightspace as the reference system.

In my previous post, I discussed the sticky business of defining what is meant by “average” and explained how Brightspace average columns calculate an unweighted average. In this post, I’ll discuss how are weighted columns calculate.

Just as in Blackboard, you can use a combination of categories and items in a weighted grade. However, unlike Blackboard, in Brightspace you specify how items are weighted in a category when you set up the category. You’ll also have the option to drop grades in Brightspace, just as you did in Blackboard, but again, this is configured in the category, not in the column configuration.

Let’s look at an example:

• Category – Term Project (250 pts)
  • Topic statement – 10 pts
  • Project Plan 40 pts
  • Status Report 1 10 pts
  • Status Report 2 10 pts
  • Status Report 3 10 pts
  • Project Presentation 50 pts
  • Final Project Paper 100 pts
• Category – Tests (300 pts)
  • Midterm – 100 pts
  • Final – 200 pts
• Weekly Quizzes (150 pts) – 15 quizzes 15 pts each, drop 5 lowest.
• Category (100 pts) – Participation (14 weeks, 10 pts each week, drop 4 lowest – 10 scores used)
• Category (200 pts of final grade) – Homework – 11 homework assignments 20 points each, drop lowest score – 10 scores used

Homework is a simple calculation – an average of 8 scores counting for 15% of the grade.

In Brightspace here’s how we’d set that up:

The Project is trickier. The point values are all different, should the grades be normalized (divided by the points possible) before averaging or should the average be calculated based on points – giving more weight to the final paper than the other parts of the assignment?

[(Topic/10) + (Plan/40) + (Status Report1/10)+(Status Report2/10)+(Status Report3/10) + (Presentation/50) + (Final Paper/100)] ÷ 7 grades    (Equally weighted)

Or

(Topic + Plan + Status Report1 +Status Report2 + Status Report3 + Presentation + Final Paper) ÷ 250 points      (Proportionally weighted)

In this example, we’ll weight the grade based on the points. To do that in Brightspace, leave the distribution section blank section blank, you’ll add the points per assignment/item.

The Tests category is like the project, the points are different. Again, to weight or normalize? Again, we’ll choose to weight based on the point values and leave the distribution section blank.

Finally, participation is like homework, all the entries will carry the same point value and will be weighted equally – an average of 10 grades counting for 10% of the grade. The only difference between participation and homework, there are four dropped grades.

In the Manage Grades screen you will see the breakdown of the grades:

You’ll notice in the Homework category, there are only 180 points – I have not added all the columns. When the last column is added, the category point value should be 200 points.

In this example we’ve seen how to create a points based grade book that allows for flexible grade calculation using the Brightspace GradeBook. We’ve used proportional and equal weighting and dropped grades. Brightspace can calculate grades just about any way you want. In my next installment, I’ll look at simplifying calculations and the benefits to instructors and students.