All depends on how you "curve". One method used at our school is when all scores are in, the max is set to the highest grade earned and the min is set to the lowest. Variations of this could allow for tight distributions.
Might you be able to upload your Excel file so that we can see how you do it?
This is something you might be able to do in the Gradebook, not in the quiz.
Thanks for the input.
Tim, The grade book is new to me and I can now see that it's the place to manage any custom grading. Rick, I use a weighted average based on lab work, homework and the final exam and I now see where to build the formula. Bob, I’m going to play around with that idea and see what I can do with it.
On another note, If I export grades from Moodle into excel to be calculated and then import back into Moodle, is there a way to export into an excel spreadsheet that already has formulas in it? We managed to perform the export but the only option I saw was into a blank spreadsheet.
I see by some discussions that many people are exporting/importing to excel so this might be a solution for me, I just don't know much about export/import.
Thanks,
Mark
Have the formulas in a separate sheet referring to the exported sheet.
The calculations that can be done in the gradebook are quite powerful, but not as powerful as Excel. Refer to http://docs.moodle.org/23/en/grade/calculation. You will see a fair number of functions, but not all that you have in Excel.
I have been able to get Moodle to perform some pretty complex grade calculations (via expertise with Excel). I too used to keep grades in Excel, but now I find that Moodle can do everything that I need.
Having said this, I should mention that at times I have had to modify my grading method slightly to match what Moodle can do. However, Moodle provides much more power than products like Blackboard and Desire2Learn, which I have used.
For a person like you, you would probably benefit by studying the documentaion, and experimenting in a test course with test students.
Good luck
Rick,
Thanks, I will do just that. After what you said I'm sure I can find a curve I can live with in moodle. This helps a lot to know which end to start development on (excel import vs Moodle) and I would sure like to keep it all in Moodle. I'll toy around with some test courses and see what I can come up with. I'm going to start with weighting and get that part working first and then work try to curve selected quiz if thats possible.
Thanks a bunch
Mark
Mark, after I made my post, I remembered that Moodle can do "weighted" grading in the gradebook. Maybe this is what others have mentioned to you. I don't use this method. I tend to give assignments a point score to reflect my desired weights. However, it may be the feature that will solve your problem. I'll attach a graphic showing this feature. I'll also attach a file showing the beginning of my course's gradebook. This matches what I tell students on the Syllabus.
