How To Set Up Weighted Grades In Canvas

Canvas provides a fully functional gradebook that can help both instructors and students to proceed track of their progress in a grade. Once you lot effigy out its few quirks, yous volition be able to manage grades with ease.

I. Some Terminology: Assignment Groups vs. Assignments, & How They Chronicle to Gradebook Columns
Ii. Weighting Grades
III. Muting Grade Notifications
IV. Grade History – Who Changed The Form When?
V. Using Grading Schemes
VI. Curving Grades
VII. Giving Extra Credit
VIII. Tools and Course Setup for Multiple TAs
Nine. Excluding an Assignment from the Class's Last Grades
X. Filtering by Modules, Automatic Late Policies, & Other New, Helpful Functions in the New Gradebook
11. Resources

I. Some Terminology: Assignment Groups vs. Assignments, & How They Chronicle to Gradebook Columns

There are ii common sources of confusion in understanding and using Sail assignments and gradebooks. One is the distinction between Assignment Groups and Assignments. Consignment Groups are categories of assignments, such as trouble sets, papers, quizzes, exams, presentations, and participation. They are important for organizational purposes and specially of import if y'all want to weight grades. Assignments are private assessment items that receive grades, as, for example, first paper, 2d paper, or concluding paper. Consignment Groups and assignments are created separately. Yous can movement assignments into unlike Assignment Groups by dragging them on the Assignment Alphabetize folio or editing the Assignment.

Assignment groups vs Assignments

Consignment groups vs Assignments

A 2nd mutual source of confusion is how to create gradebook columns. In Canvas, assignments are tightly integrated with the Gradebook and the but mode to create a gradebook cavalcade is to create and publish an assignment. This may seem unintuitive at commencement glance, equally not all assignments require online submissions (e.chiliad. omnipresence and participation or assignments done on paper). Even so, instructors can choose unlike submission types when they create an assignment—No Submission, Online, or On Newspaper. The one-to-ane correspondence betwixt the number of consignment items and the number of gradebook columns ensures that grading policy is transparent to the students and that both instructors and students ever run into the same number of assessment items.

II. Weighting Grades

You tin can have Sheet automatically calculate weighted grades in only a few clicks: on the Assignment Index folio, click Options, select Consignment Group Weight, then enter the percentages for each Assignment Grouping. For instance, in a grade where the grades are determined as follows:

          Paper Assignments......thirty%          Mid-Term...............30%          Concert Review.........25%          Omnipresence.............fifteen%          ------------------------------------------------          Total.................100%

The process for weighting grades is:

To weight grades, go the the Assignments page, click on the Options button, select Assignment Groups Weight, select the Weight final grades based on assignment groups check box, enter the weights, and click Save.

To weight grades, become the the Assignments folio, click on the Options button, select Assignment Groups Weight, select the Weight concluding grades based on assignment groups bank check box, enter the weights, and click Save.

How Canvas Calculates Weighted Grades for an Assignment Group

Canvas determines weighted grades by calculating:

the form (in percentage) of individual Consignment Groups (sum of points scored divided by full possible points);
the full grade (sum of Consignment Group grades multiplied past their corresponding weights).

In the example for "Paper Assignments" Group above, there are 4 assignments, each worth 20 points; together they add up to eighty points. The Assignment group counts thirty% towards the full grade. If a student scores 18, 16, 10, and 15 respectively, then

The subtotal grade for "Paper Assignment" is: (eighteen + sixteen + 10 + 15)/lxxx*100% = 73.75%
The contribution of "Newspaper Assignment" to the Total form is: 73.75% * 0.3 = 22.13%

Weighted Grades inside an Assignment Group

In the above example, considering each assignment has the same maximum points (20 points), each assignment contributes equally within the Assignment Group. If you lot wish a particular assignment to counterbalance more, just make sure it has a higher number of full points, or assign it to a separate Consignment Group.

Tips: If y'all have many assignments (about 10 or more than) in i Assignment Group, and the full points for each assignment vary by 1 or ii points, and so by arithmetics the assignments contribute essentially every bit to the Assignment Group grades, equally the difference between each consignment after multiplying past the weighted percentage would be relatively small. (eastward.thousand. one signal in an Assignment Group with a full of 100 points and which counts as 30% of the total form is 0.3 points of the full grade.)

How Weighted Grades Appear in the Gradebook

In the Canvas Gradebook, each gradebook column (with linked heading) shows the raw points for an assignment (unless you take practical grade curving to it); the Consignment Group column (with black heading) shows the percentage a student scored for that Assignment Group; and the Total cavalcade shows the concluding, weighted course.

In the example above, the Consignment Group cavalcade for "Paper Consignment (thirty.00% of grade)" is 73.75%.

NB: If a student didn't submit a particular assignment, be sure to give it naught points. If you get out the score blank ( – ), Sheet will treat it as excused and ignore information technology in its adding of the Assignment Grouping subtotal and Total scores.

For more about weighting grades, meet: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10059-415267002

III. Muting Grade Notifications

When instructors enter grades into Canvas' gradebook, a notification is sent to the student automatically. Some students are decumbent to panic if they find that their peers have received their grades simply they have not. You can release grades to all students simultaneously if yous select Mute Assignment and stop notifications from going out until you "unmute" the consignment. Muting assignments allows yous time to review and make form adjustments without sending students multiple notifications.

To mute an assignment, become to Grades, click on the options dropdown for the assignment, and select Mute Assignment:

Mute Assignment link in Canvas Gradebook

NB: Canvass does not include muted assignments in the Consignment Group and Total form calculations—if it did, students would be able to calculate backwards and figure out what their grades are. Be sure to unmute assignments when yous have finished grading them then that the gradebook calculations are correct.

For more about muting assignments, run into: https://customs.canvaslms.com/docs/Doctor-12961-4152724339

Four. Grade History – Who Inverse The Grade When?

From time to time you lot may wish to track how a student's grade for a detail consignment changes over time, especially when there are multiple instructors or TAs giving grades in a course. Sheet' Grade History tool tin can exist helpful in such cases.

To access Grade History, click on the Options (gear) icon in Grades and select View Gradebook History. (In the New Gradebook, select the Gradebook dropdown, and then "Gradebook History…".)

To view grade history in the old Gradebook, select View Gradebook History from the gear icon on the Grades page, enter filter parameters and click the Filter button.

To view form history in the old Gradebook, select View Gradebook History from the gear icon on the Grades page, enter filter parameters and click the Filter button.

How to read Gradebook History

The Before column shows the form before the change at a particular date and time (row).
The Subsequently column shows the course later on the change at a particular appointment and time (row).
The Current column always shows the latest form; it is the grade a student has now.

Example of Grade History

Instance of Form History

In the instance in a higher place, on Jun 27, 2022 at iv:25pm, the Before column is empty because information technology is the starting time time a course (0/20) is entered. On Aug 16, 2022, this grade is changed from 0/20 to 20/twenty. The Electric current grade for all rows is 16/xx because on Aug 17, 2022, the terminal time this grade was edited, the grade has been changed from 20/20 to sixteen/20.

NB: The dropdown selection tin take a few seconds to brandish, especially if in that location are many students in a course. Be certain to click the maroon Filter button at the end to filter the results. You tin can filter for more than one category; for example, you can filter for student name and assignment name simultaneously.

V. Using Grading Schemes

You tin can use a specific grading scheme to your assignment and/or overall grade grade and then that each letter of the alphabet or operation form corresponds to a specific numeric course range (e.yard. A/Excellent = 91% to 100%; A-/Skillful = 88%-90%; etc). Once you have created a grading scheme, information technology can exist reused in other courses you teach with just a few clicks.

Select Grading Scheme for an Consignment

To use alphabetic character or performance grades for an assignment, you need to first choose to Display Course equally Letter Form

To display letter grade for an assignment, edit the consignment, choose Alphabetic character Form nether the Display Form as dropdown menu.
Choose the appropriate grading scheme (run across "Cull/Create New Grading Schemes" below).

Cull/Create New Grading Schemes

Click on the Set/View Grading Scheme link on the Course Details folio (above).

Click on the View Grading Scheme link under Display Grade as to choose the appropriate grading scheme.
1. To select an existing grading scheme (y'all can use one from a different course), click the Select Another Scheme link at the top right.
  
  Click on the Select Another Scheme link at the top right to select another grading scheme.
2. To create a new grading scheme, click manage grading schemes link at the bottom right, and then click the Add grading scheme button on the right.

Employ Grading Scheme for the Total Grade in Your Course

You can brandish the Total class of your course every bit a letter/performance grade by going to Settings > Course Details > Select the check box for Enable course grading scheme > Choose the appropriate grading scheme > Click the Update Grade Details button at the bottom of the page.

To enable grading scheme for the course total grade, go to course Settings, check the Enable course grading scheme box, click the Select grading scheme link, then select the appropriate grading scheme, click Done, then click the maroon Update Course Details button.

To enable grading scheme for the course total class, go to grade Settings, check the Enable form grading scheme box, click the Select grading scheme link, then select the appropriate grading scheme, click Washed, then click the maroon Update Course Details push.

Resources

For more information, run into:

[Overview] How practise I apply grading schemes in a course? https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-13067-4152206341
How practice I add together a grading scheme to an assignment? https://customs.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10216-415282270
How practise I enable a grading scheme for a course? https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/Doctor-12906-415257089
How exercise I add together a grading scheme in a course?
https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10313-415257090

Six. Curving Grades

You can use the Canvas Gradebook to curve grades for private assignments. When you enter a desired average grade, Sail will automatically adjust the scores as a bell bend 66% effectually the average curve.

Grade curving is available for assignments just; if you wish to curve the full grade of a course, you will need to do so manually. Grade curving cannot exist undone (although you can use Gradebook History to view pre-curved grades) and is advisable in courses where only a certain number of students can laissez passer, or when you crave a fixed distribution of grades distributed throughout the class.

Step-by-step instructions on curving grades are available at: https://customs.canvaslms.com/docs/Doctor-12832-415255003

Vii. Giving Extra Credit

Do yous want to give actress credit to students but are unsure how go Canvas Gradebook to recognize it? At that place are a few means to do this:

Method 1: Add Extra Points to an Existing Assignment/Quiz

You can give extra credit to a item assignment by adding the extra points to the total points a student scored, fifty-fifty if the student received a perfect score. Sheet allows yous to give points greater than the highest possible points.

For case, If an assignment is worth a full of 100 points, a student earned a perfect score of 100, and yous want to reward them with five extra credit points, you can enter 105 as the form for the assignment.

If you use Canvas' SpeedGrader for grading, you can enter the actress points in SpeedGrader. If you utilize rubrics in conjunction with SpeedGrader, you can add the actress points either to an existing rubric criterion or to an "Extra Credit" criterion. If you determine to add together an "Extra Credit" criterion, make sure that the assignment bespeak total excludes the total maximum extra credit points (i.e. the rubric is worth more points than the assignment) so that the actual assignment points are not afflicted by whether a student receives actress credit or not.

For example, if your rubric has four criteria with 4 maximum points each, and an "extra credit" criterion with 2 points each, so the maximum signal full for your rubric is four×iv + 2 = 18 points. But your assignment bespeak total should be 16 points.

Yous can give actress credit in Quizzes too. To arrange the point value for an entire quiz, utilize fudge points.

Method 2: Grant Extra Points in a Stand-alone "Actress Credit" Assignment and Gradebook Column

If you desire to proceed track of actress credit for the course as a whole, you tin create a stand-lonely actress credit consignment and gradebook column and arrange a student's points as needed.

If you don't weight your grades, yous can create a separate consignment with 0 points. Any extra points given in this gradebook cavalcade volition be added to the full points for the course.

If y'all weight your grades with assignment groups, you will demand to create an extra credit assignment group with a weight greater than 0% and an assignment with greater than 0 points in club for Canvas Gradebook to calculate the full score correctly. All the assignment groups in your course plus the extra credit assignment group should weigh more than 100% in total.

One example of a correct setup for assignment groups with a maximum of ten% (or x points) extra credit for the course is:

          Problem set............25%          Brusk Papers...........25%          Discussion/Blog Post...25%          Final Exam.............25%          Extra Credit...........ten%          ------------------------------------------------          Total.................110%

Observe that the outset 4 assignment groups, containing assignments that all students are assessed on, total to 100%. This ensures that whatever consignment placed within the Extra Credit assignment group will have either a positive or neutral event on your students' overall grade.

A Few Tips

If you are weighting your assignment groups, delight pay attending to how weighted groups tin can affect the Gradebook if assignments are worth zero points.
If you take drib rules set in an assignment group, adding extra points may affect your students' scores.

For a detailed, step-by-footstep guide on how to requite extra credit within Canvass, see: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/Md-9940-415278195

VIII. Tools and Class Setup for Multiple TAs

If you have multiple TAs working from the aforementioned Sail form site and they are each assigned to a specific group of students, Academic Technology Solutions can help yous fix your grade site then that they merely see the grades of the students they are responsible for. To go started, email the URL of your course site and a brief clarification of your needs to canvas@uchicago.edu.

IX. Excluding an Assignment from the Course'southward Final Grades

If you wish to provide feedback for assignments without the assignment counting toward Gradebook calculations, yous can exclude the assignment in the final class calculation. (Note: this excludes the grade for all students. If you want to assign an assignment to a specific group of students, you should specifically assign course sections, assign individual students, or assign grade groups to the assignment.)

For step-by-stride instructions, run across: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/Md-10120-4152618765

Alternatively, y'all can have Canvas automatically drop the lowest (or highest) class in an assignment group. See https://customs.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-9880-4152232976 for step-by-step instructions.

X. Filtering by Modules, Automated Tardily Policies, & Other New, Helpful Functions in the New Gradebook

In January 2022, Canvas released the New Gradebook, which offers a number of enhanced features, such as filtering by modules, automatic tardily policies, and customizable coloring. The electric current gradebook is expected to be deprecated and replaced by the New Gradebook sometime in the 2d half of 2022. For more than information on how to opt-in and use the new features, see ATS' "Introducing the New Gradebook" blog mail service.

11. Resources

You can see the complete Instructor Guides for the topics discussed higher up at:

Assignments
Discussion Forums
Grades
Rubrics
Online Quizzes
Speedgrader