I have spent hours trying to figure out why Moodle can't simply add up my students grades. I see an awful lot of discussion about complicated matters, but all I want is a simple total. I can't get a simple sum with or without a calculation equation. Instead, because I used a custom scale so I could have half points, Moodle adds 5+5+5+5+5 and gets 40 instead of 25 in one of the category totals. Also the final total seems to be adding the maximum possible points for two assignments rather than any particular student's grades for all the assignments. So almost everybody has a 30 in that column, with a few exceptions. I have no idea why.
Why can't I get Moodle to just add numbers like in Excel?
Our school is on Moodle 1.9.4 and I don't have access to admin stuff. I think something was fixed in 1.9.7, so whatever that was, I guess we don't have it.
- Kate D.
Hey Kate,
Had a similar issue last year (trying to sum custom scale totals) for a custom grade scale of:
0.0
0.1
0.2
.....
10.0
Despite what "Excel" does (i.e 5.0 + 5.0 = 10.0) Moodle was taking the "place or rank in the scale" (for lack of a better word on my part) and summing those.
So in Moodle the "sum" of 5.0 + 5.0 was something like 12 (ie. the 6th place in the scale + the 6th place in the scale). Something like that - can't reacll exactly.
The fix.
Click the Grades>>>Edit>>>Calculations and items
And edit the calculation for the area and put in something like:
=sum(ID NUMBER FOR THE FIRST GRADED ITEM with custom scale)
The ID number will need to ne inm double brackets (see help menu for example.)Bascially - see what the "sum" is for that first graded item - then you can make the proper adjustment.
I had to add .01 to each and then divide by 10 to get 0.0, 0.1, .02 to "sum" correctly.
LOL
I was almost even up for figuring out a fancy equation that would fix the gradebook section with the custom scale. But disappointingly, the gradebook doesn't recognize the difference between a 4 and a 4.5, and surprisingly doesn't recognize the difference between a 3.5 and a 4.5 either, at least in one case. It's hard to tell what it's thinking, as it looks a bit random. Maybe anything with a 5 in it looks like a 5. I don't know. But anyway there aren't consistent numbers I can manipulate.
I have the numbers covered up now anyway. I edited them. The range still wrongly displays 0-40 instead of 0-25, but that's the best I can do.
Unfortunately, Moodle decided that the range for Course Total was 0-30 -- why, I have no idea -- so it wouldn't take edits over 30. So I hid that column. I made an invisible additional assignment named Final Grade, in order to construct a new column (is there another way?), and I am manually putting in the real grade totals. (Now Moodle thinks the range is 0-130.)
It would be somewhat interesting and amusing to find out why all this ridiculousness is going on, but what it comes down to right now is that I'm not paid to deal with these things that don't work. So I'm not sure if I do or don't approve of my school using Moodle. It does put an instructor in an odd position when things don't work as expected. I tend to get caught up in it and try to figure it out, but then I get annoyed at all the time I waste when it's not in my control anyway. Most of the time it seems I just have to come up with a workaround.
I know the half point issue is dealt with in Moodle 2, so presumably my specific problem will disappear when we eventually upgrade. (Except I don't know why the Course Total is not working and why Moodle thinks it should be 30 or under, so if anybody knows why, do tell!
- Kate D.
I was almost even up for figuring out a fancy equation that would fix the gradebook section with the custom scale. But disappointingly, the gradebook doesn't recognize the difference between a 4 and a 4.5, and surprisingly doesn't recognize the difference between a 3.5 and a 4.5 either, at least in one case. It's hard to tell what it's thinking, as it looks a bit random. Maybe anything with a 5 in it looks like a 5. I don't know. But anyway there aren't consistent numbers I can manipulate.
I have the numbers covered up now anyway. I edited them. The range still wrongly displays 0-40 instead of 0-25, but that's the best I can do.
Unfortunately, Moodle decided that the range for Course Total was 0-30 -- why, I have no idea -- so it wouldn't take edits over 30. So I hid that column. I made an invisible additional assignment named Final Grade, in order to construct a new column (is there another way?), and I am manually putting in the real grade totals. (Now Moodle thinks the range is 0-130.)
It would be somewhat interesting and amusing to find out why all this ridiculousness is going on, but what it comes down to right now is that I'm not paid to deal with these things that don't work. So I'm not sure if I do or don't approve of my school using Moodle. It does put an instructor in an odd position when things don't work as expected. I tend to get caught up in it and try to figure it out, but then I get annoyed at all the time I waste when it's not in my control anyway. Most of the time it seems I just have to come up with a workaround.
I know the half point issue is dealt with in Moodle 2, so presumably my specific problem will disappear when we eventually upgrade. (Except I don't know why the Course Total is not working and why Moodle thinks it should be 30 or under, so if anybody knows why, do tell!
- Kate D.
You can take a look at this page - http://docs.moodle.org/en/Scales#Values_calculated_as_percentage_scores
It explains how the scales are calculated.
Scale items= text labels that are later assigned some point value.
The fact that you enter 0, 0.5, 1 in a scale - does not make them real numbers. Those are still plain text labels that are later matched with a numeric value.
It explains how the scales are calculated.
Scale items= text labels that are later assigned some point value.
The fact that you enter 0, 0.5, 1 in a scale - does not make them real numbers. Those are still plain text labels that are later matched with a numeric value.
Hey Elena,
Kate - Elena is 100% correct.
The issue you have (and you alluded to figugring it out partially) is that you custom grade scale is not taken as a real number value.
At first that is maddening (at least it was for me), but then how would moodle deal with some custom scale that had both "numbers" and text:
0.1
0.2
not met
exceeded
1.5
.........
As I mentioned earlier, to "see" what Moodle is doing for sums, make a custom calculation test on just one column.
That fact that Moodle is:
"But disappointingly, the gradebook doesn't recognize the difference between a 4 and a 4.5 not adding"
Is related to rounding + how these are summed.
For example, you mentioned a "half-point" custom scale. Since I haven't seen it, I'll assume something like:
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
.........
10.0
That would be 20 values in the scale.
"4" would be value spot #9 in the scale (0.0, .5, 1.0.....)
"4.5" would be value spot #10 in the scale
Depending on how these are "summed" and rounded will give different results. For example, if you are summing the spots (#9+#10 = 19) and dividing by 2 (19/2 = 9.5 - the average and rounding that to zero decimal places - than you get "10".
That would be the same result as a adding spots #10 + #10.
In other words
"4" and "4.5" in your scale averaged to zero decimal places = 10th spot on scale (4.5)
"4.4" and "4.5" in your scale averaged to zero decimal places = 10th spot on scale (4.5)
Bet this is your issue 
I totally understand about the custom scale and how the numbers aren't recognized as what they look like to me. It was definitely a mistake for me to use one. I just didn't know beforehand that it was going to mess up the gradebook. It is really inconvenient not to have the half points available. I am grading essays now and I need the half points and that means I have to jump around, not just grade it all in one place. (I do know the different ways to put in comments but I don't like doing it the quick way because I can't see what I'm doing.) But I think this issue is resolved later so I'll just have to put up with it until the school upgrades to Moodle 2.
Ken, I only sort of get what you are saying. I wasn't averaging or dividing anything, only adding them, and I allowed two decimal places at first (changed to one recently for another reason). Now perhaps Moodle divides or averages in the background where I can't see it -- or maybe I am just not getting why 4 is the same as 4.5 etc.
You can be sure that I will never ever use a custom scale again!
- Kate
Ken, I only sort of get what you are saying. I wasn't averaging or dividing anything, only adding them, and I allowed two decimal places at first (changed to one recently for another reason). Now perhaps Moodle divides or averages in the background where I can't see it -- or maybe I am just not getting why 4 is the same as 4.5 etc.
You can be sure that I will never ever use a custom scale again!
- Kate
Hi Kate: In the Administration block for your course, you should have a link to "Grades." Click on it. The new page should say "Grader report" and have a dropdown box in the upper left corner that says "Choose an action." Click the "down" arrow and select "Full view" (under "Categories and items"). That view should allow you to see what's going on behind the scenes in your gradebook. I've seen many people get tripped up by the grade book "simple view" (not so simple, really). Apparently Moodle 2.0 has a much improved grade book.
LMK if this little trick doesn't solve the problem for you.
Peter
LMK if this little trick doesn't solve the problem for you.
Peter
Hi Peter,
I have already checked out all the views, and AFAIK every variable to which I have access. It just isn't working.
- Kate D.
I have already checked out all the views, and AFAIK every variable to which I have access. It just isn't working.
- Kate D.