Grades: Creating Grade Categories
Show me Creating Grade Categories.
1. Access the Gradebook and click 
Manage Grades in the main menu.
2. Click 
New Category in the toolbar.
3. Select General settings:
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Type a Name for the grade category (e.g., Quizzes, Papers, Exams, Assignments, etc.) Students will see the Name in their view of the Gradebook.
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Type a Short Name for the grade category. This will make the columns thinner when you view your gradebook (e.g., Qz, Pprs, Exm, etc.) The Short Name is visible only to instructors.
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Click on the link to Show Description. Enter a Description for this category (e.g., copy the description of the category from your syllabus). Check the box to make the Description visible to students in their view of the Gradebook.
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Choose Statistics options, as listed below. By default, both options are enabled. If you DO NOT wish to have students see these statistics, you must uncheck each box.
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- Display class average for this category to everyone will show everyone a graphical representation of the class average.
- Display grade distribution for this category to everyone will show users a grade distribution graph.
4. Select Grading settings. Depending on whether you chose a Points or Weighted system, different options appear.
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If you are using a Weighted system, the combined weight of all categories plus any grade items not placed in a category must equal 100%. As you plan your weights, keep in mind that the combined weight of all items within a category must also equal 100%. If your Weighted gradebook is not set up correctly, you will see notices at the top of the Manage Grades and Enter Grades pages explaining what errors need to be corrected.
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If bonus items or items with extra credit will be included in the category, decide whether to check the box to allow the category grade to exceed the category weight / value. If unchecked, any bonus credit that exceeds the value of the category will be ignored in the final grade calculation. This allows you to limit the impact of the bonus credit to the category within which it was earned. If you want bonus credit to directly impact the final credit, don't place the bonus item in a category or check this box to allow excess value to impact the final grade.
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If you are using a Points system, decide whether to check to box to exclude the the category from the final grade calculation. This allows you to use some categories / items for information only. The equivalent option in a Weighted system would be setting the weight to 0%.
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You may choose to evenly distribute the weight (in the Weighted system) or points (in the Points or Formula system) across a category. In a Weighted system, this will ensure that the combined weight of all items within the category is equal to 100%, regardless of the individual points associated with each item.
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You may choose to have Carmen drop a prescribed number of the lowest-graded or highest-graded items. Items can only be dropped if they belong to a category and if the points/weights are distributed evenly within the category (see Dropping the Lowest Item in a Category for details.)
5. Click Save, or click Save and New to start another grade item. Click Grades List to return to the Manage Grades main screen. See Creating Grade Items to continue.
After a grade category has been saved, you can use the Restrictions tab to hide it or make it visible only for a specified date range. Release conditions can also be applied. See Release Conditions: Basic for details.
Current as of December 2010 (D2L 9.1). Not significantly impacted by December 2011 update (D2L 9.4).
