Using Weighted Grading
In this tutorial:
You can use weighted grading in your course by setting up a Weighted Column. This is generates a grade based on the result of selected columns and categories, and their respective percentages.
You may have a Weighted Total column in your course already. You can rename it, change the settings, change which columns and categories are included, or delete this column. If your course does not use weighted grading, it is recommended that you delete any existing Weighted Total column or hide it from students.
Setting Up Weighted Grading
Before starting to set up the weighting grading, it’s a good idea to make sure that all of your grade center items have the correct categories associated with them.
Courses typically have a Weighted Total column already available by default. If you do not have a Weighted Total or Weighted Percent Total column in your course, you may need to create a Weighted Total Calculated Column.
Locate the Weighted Total column in your full grade center and select the options menu to the right of the title (chevron icon). Then select “Edit Column Information”.
There are two display options in calculated columns. “Primary Display” is what students see. For Weighted Total columns, it should be set to “Percentage”.
You can set the “Secondary Display” to “Letter” show you the student’s letter grade, but be sure that the grading schema in your course has been updated from the Blackboard default to the USAHS grading schema.
Select Columns
In the “Select Columns” area you should be able to replicate the weighting schema on your syllabus. You can mix categories (quizzes, labs) in with individual columns (Final Exam, Signature Assessment). Select the column or category you wish to add to the weighted calculation and then click the arrow to move it to the “Selected Columns” area.
In the example below, we have added the Assignment category, the Discussion Category, and the single Signature Assignment column.
Assignments that are not part of included columns or categories in the “Selected Columns” area will not count toward the Weighted Total grade. If you have questions about whether your weighted grading is set up correctly, please reach out to onlineedsupport@usa.edu.
Equal vs Proportional Weights
When adding categories, you have the option to weight the individual assignments in this category equally or proportionally.
Select “Equally” to apply equal value to all assignments within a category.
Select “Proportionally” to apply the appropriate value to an assignment based on its points compared to other assignments in the category.
If the assignments in the category are worth varying point values, we recommend using “Proportionally”.
Drop Grades
Use this option to remove a number of either the highest or lowest grades from that category. If you don't type numbers in the boxes, no grades are dropped.
You can also select to use only the lowest grade or the highest grade in the category to calculate. If you select this option, the category value will be calculated based only on a single assignment. It is recommended that you do not use the highest/lowest option.
Calculate As a Running Total
Selecting “Yes” to “Calculate as a running total” allows you to exclude columns and categories which have not yet been graded from the score. This will impact how students see their current weighted total score.
For example, if you have 3 assignments, but only one of them has yet been graded, if “calculate as a running total” set to “yes”, the student's current weighted total will reflect only that one graded assignment. If “calculate as a running total” is set to “no”, the weighted total would reflect that one graded assignment, plus two 0’s for the two assignments which have not yet been graded.
It is recommended that you set the “Calculate As a Running Total” option to “yes”.
Understanding Blackboard’s Weighted Grading Math
Weights are useful but can be complicated. In this example, we outline how Blackboard Learn calculates a column total when each item carries a different weight.
Example: Your course includes five tests, but the last test is a final exam and needs to carry more weight in the group than the other tests when the final grade is calculated for this column.
Tests 1-4 are each worth 15% and the final exam is worth 40%. The tests are also each worth different point values, as shown below.
Item name | Possible points | Item weight |
|---|---|---|
Test 1 | 30 points | 15% |
Test 2 | 30 points | 15% |
Test 3 | 60 points | 15% |
Test 4 | 60 points | 15% |
Final Exam | 100 points | 40% |
| 280 points | 100% |
Blackboard applies the weight to both the student’s score as well as the total possible points.
Here’s an example with student scores:
Item name | Student’s score | Possible points | Item weight |
|---|---|---|---|
Test 1 | 22 points | 30 points | 15% |
Test 2 | 25 points | 30 points | 15% |
Test 3 | 40 points | 60 points | 15% |
Test 4 | 55 points | 60 points | 15% |
Final Exam | 80 points | 100 points | 40% |
| 222 points | 280 points | 100% |
The way Blackboard is doing this math is:
[(22/30) x .15] +[(25/30) x .15] + [(40/60) x .15] + [(55/60) x .15] + [(80/100) x .40] =
[.11] + [.125] + [.1] + [.1375] + [.32] = .7925
So the weighted grade is 79%.
A note about lengthy decimals: Blackboard performs all grade center calculations to 15 decimal places. Calculations resulting in numbers after the decimal, including repeating numbers, are truncated after the fifth decimal place for display purposes only and the values are never rounded up. Further calculations use the full number up to 15 decimal places.
For more information about how decimals appear in Blackboard see: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Instructor/Grade/Decimals
*Blackboard Inc.. Blackboard Help - Calculate Grades. Retrieved from https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Instructor/Grade/Grading_Tasks/Calculate_Grades
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