Simple problem: I have 4 graded assignments;
AS1=16% of course grade
AS2=28% of course grade
AS3=14% of course grade
AS4=22% of course grade
AND a test
Q1=20% of course grade
i.e. 16+28+14+22+20=100
Now, what is the best way to make gradebook 1.9.3 work? I have found that the documentation to completely unintelligible. I was able to do this in Excel in a matter of seconds (and far more complex grading schema as well)
Right now, I have the 4 assignments in the ASSIGNMENTS category and one in the Quiz/TEST category. The problem is that I want to have the faculty be able to enter 0 to 100 points, and have the gradebook do all the calculations. You see, faculty have a difficult time managing "how many points for a B+ for this assignment?)((i.e. one grade scale rubric should fit all))
The older gradebook setup (v1.8) was a HECK of a lot easier to set up, what with tabs for categories and weights... why the need to fix something that was not broken?
Therefore, what is the best way to set up this course garding schema? (I have over 60 courses to do and do not wish to spend 8 hours doing a gradebook for each)
It's a lot simpler than you think ;)
First of all you don't need to set up a separate category for assignments and quiz, if you only have 5 in total for each course. The course itself is a category.
There are several ways to achieve the schema you are after, so I will give you only one of them.
First of all you don't need to set up a separate category for assignments and quiz, if you only have 5 in total for each course. The course itself is a category.
There are several ways to achieve the schema you are after, so I will give you only one of them.
- In "Edit categories and items", edit the course category and set up its aggregation type to "Weighted mean of grades"
- Edit each grade item and set its weight to the desired value (16, 28 etc.)
If you have direct access to the database and there is a distinguising feature that you can use in a where clause it is possible to do the lot with a single query. You want to set aggregation=10 in mdl_grade_categories and then agggregationcoef in mdl_grade_items is where you put the weights. Take a backup first as it's rather easy to slip and mess up every grade
Mike
Mike
Thanks.
Now let me recap:
Each assignment is set up in the course section (we are using topics) as worth 100 points (keep it easy for faculty). Each assignment is worth a different % of the course grade. To complicate matters, the quiz has 32 (or 45, or 39 questions depending on the course), and I set its MAX value to 100? or the number of questions? Or do I have to do a lot of calculating to determine the value of each question if the total points for the quiz=100?
Now, in the GRADEBOOK, each ITEM (ex as1, as2 etc) I set the weight to its desired value. WHERE, oh where is this field? DO I use the MULTIPLICATOR? set values to .28, .22 etc? (or 28.0, 22.0 etc?)
In the field at the bottom, PARENT WEIGHT, since my assignments are worth a total of 80% of the course grade, do I then put in .8 (80.0)?
We want the quiz grade to be automatic and not allow overrides by faculty.
Now let me recap:
Each assignment is set up in the course section (we are using topics) as worth 100 points (keep it easy for faculty). Each assignment is worth a different % of the course grade. To complicate matters, the quiz has 32 (or 45, or 39 questions depending on the course), and I set its MAX value to 100? or the number of questions? Or do I have to do a lot of calculating to determine the value of each question if the total points for the quiz=100?
Now, in the GRADEBOOK, each ITEM (ex as1, as2 etc) I set the weight to its desired value. WHERE, oh where is this field? DO I use the MULTIPLICATOR? set values to .28, .22 etc? (or 28.0, 22.0 etc?)
In the field at the bottom, PARENT WEIGHT, since my assignments are worth a total of 80% of the course grade, do I then put in .8 (80.0)?
We want the quiz grade to be automatic and not allow overrides by faculty.

Tim,
You are correct about quiz. It doesn't matter how many questions you put, or how much their value is, what matters is the "maximum grade" setting. The value of each question acts as a weight towards the end result, which will be a adjusted to this maximum grade. For example, if you have 10 questions of which the max values total 50, but you set your maximum grade for this quiz to 100, if a student answers everything correctly he will get 100, which is the grade that will appear in the gradebook.
You are asking where the weight setting is... It's in the screenshot you just attached, the very last item at the bottom: Item weight. It is not called "Parent weight". It's under the parent category heading because it depends on the parent category.
As I said previously, you need to set this to whatever you want as long as it is consistent between the items. For example, if you want to use 22 for the first item, you shouldn't put 0.35 for the second, but 35. The weights are only meaningful as far as they relate one grade item to the other within the context of the parent category.
My advice is not to set up any additional category, but simply to keep the course category as the only one, and set its aggregation to "Weighted mean of grades". You can then set each assignment to the weight you want, as well as the quiz.
You are correct about quiz. It doesn't matter how many questions you put, or how much their value is, what matters is the "maximum grade" setting. The value of each question acts as a weight towards the end result, which will be a adjusted to this maximum grade. For example, if you have 10 questions of which the max values total 50, but you set your maximum grade for this quiz to 100, if a student answers everything correctly he will get 100, which is the grade that will appear in the gradebook.
You are asking where the weight setting is... It's in the screenshot you just attached, the very last item at the bottom: Item weight. It is not called "Parent weight". It's under the parent category heading because it depends on the parent category.
As I said previously, you need to set this to whatever you want as long as it is consistent between the items. For example, if you want to use 22 for the first item, you shouldn't put 0.35 for the second, but 35. The weights are only meaningful as far as they relate one grade item to the other within the context of the parent category.
My advice is not to set up any additional category, but simply to keep the course category as the only one, and set its aggregation to "Weighted mean of grades". You can then set each assignment to the weight you want, as well as the quiz.
Nicolas,
AHHHH!!!!! you can see where The confusion comes from then.... I see a box that says PARENT, so the logical conclusion is that it relates to the PARENT, not this child......
Ok, so
32 quiz questions, each with a weight of 1, total weight =100, no worries.
47 quiz questions, each with a weight of 1, total weight =100, no worries.
Round 22!
Thanks,
Tim
AHHHH!!!!! you can see where The confusion comes from then.... I see a box that says PARENT, so the logical conclusion is that it relates to the PARENT, not this child......
Ok, so
32 quiz questions, each with a weight of 1, total weight =100, no worries.
47 quiz questions, each with a weight of 1, total weight =100, no worries.
Round 22!
Thanks,
Tim
so far, no categories.... 5 separate graded items, all weighted appropriately. BUT I cannot make the CALCULATOR work!
When I press the icon, the fields light up, but in order to mutz with the calculation, I have to click the EDIT icon (the cute little book thingie)
So, I need the MODULE GRADE to calculate the SUM of the weights of the 4 assignments and the quiz.
I have =sum(as1,as2,as3,as4,q1)
BUT it does not populate with a grade. I see NO way to edit this by clicking on the COURSE (edit icon), which only allows me to change the name of the CATEGORY, not assign it as weighted or any other setting.
frustration levels are mounting......
When I press the icon, the fields light up, but in order to mutz with the calculation, I have to click the EDIT icon (the cute little book thingie)
So, I need the MODULE GRADE to calculate the SUM of the weights of the 4 assignments and the quiz.
I have =sum(as1,as2,as3,as4,q1)
BUT it does not populate with a grade. I see NO way to edit this by clicking on the COURSE (edit icon), which only allows me to change the name of the CATEGORY, not assign it as weighted or any other setting.
frustration levels are mounting......
