Summary of Grading Actions

This guide pertains to Ultra Course View.

If your course is in Original Course View, see the Original Course View tutorial collection.

 

Grading Actions

 The following summary of grading actions will assist faculty with using the Gradebook more efficiently. 

See:

Posting Grades

When you create an assignment there is a settings option that allows you to “Post assessment grades automatically.” When you click this option Blackboard will automatically post a student’s grade when the assessment is graded. The feature covers automatically and manually graded assignments, and tests with auto-graded question types. Keep the setting turned off, (which is the default), if you want to manually control grade publication.

Post assessment grades automatically option in the grades setting for the assessment.

 

In the Gradebook, you have the option of posting all grades at once. In the List View navigate to the assignment and click the Post grades button and then select Post All Grades.

Post grades button in the list view of the gradebook.

 

In the Grid View click on the assignment column’s header and select Post from the drop-down menu and then select Post All Grades.

Post option in the column of the grid view of the gradebook.

See Posting Grades to learn more.

Overriding Grades

There are several ways to override a student’s grade. You can perform this task directly in the Gradebook by navigating to the assignment column and selecting the student’s grading cell.

Grade cell in the gradebook showing a score for an assignment. Clicking on the score opens the View and Post options.

 

There you can change the student’s current grade/score by entering a new value and clicking Post or pressing the Enter key.

Changed grade in a student's grade cell showing it has been posted.

If you then open the student’s submission for review you will see the option to Undo the override.

Undo override option for student assessment submission.

 

See Override Grades to learn more.

 

Submissions Outside of Blackboard

For manually added items, no submissions exist. You assign grades directly on the submissions page.  After you type a value, click anywhere outside the grade area to save. You can also provide feedback. Manually added items with grades are posted immediately. If you made the item visible to students, they can see their grades. 

Manual Grading of Item Submitted Outside of Bb

If you add a “Due Date” to an assignment’s setting and then manually grade all of the submissions after the due date has passed the Gradebook will automatically display the Not Submitted (late) notification for each student.

Not submitted notation for a student when the assessment is graded after the due date.

 

In order to remove the notification, you must click on the student’s name and then enter a submission date/time that is prior to the due date.

Submission date for an assignment. Remove the date to remove the submission notification.

 

The student’s attempt will then be updated and the late notification removed.

Same student as shown above, but with the submission notification removed.

 

Multiple Attempts

Assessments can be configured to allow for multiple attempts.  Multiple attempts change how the assignment's final grade is calculated. Choose how you want to calculate the final grade:

  • Average of all attempts
  • First attempt with a grade
  • Attempt with highest grade
  • Last attempt with a grade
  • Attempt with lowest grade

The Grade attempts setting determines how the final grade is automatically calculated, but you have the option to override the grade. Each attempt is subject to the due date you set for the assignment. If a student submits an attempt after the due date, the attempt is marked late. Attempts submitted before the deadline are shown as on time.

You can only override the final grade, not the grades for each attempt.

Edit/Regrade Questions

If you included questions in an assessment, you can open a question's menu and select Edit/Regrade to make changes that affect everyone's assessments. You receive a warning after you save your changes if student submissions exist and regrading will occur.

More on editing and regrading questions.

 

Rearranging the Gradebook

You can arrange the Gradebook at any time. You have the ability to change the order of items, move items to match the order on the Course Content page or the order you want students to complete the work. In the Gradebook List View, press the Move icon in the row of the item you want to move.

Move arrows for a column in the gradebook.

 

Drag the item to the new location and release. The order you choose also appears in the grid view and on students' Grades pages.

List view of the gradebook showing the moved column.

See Organizing the Gradebook to learn more.

Download and Upload Grades

You can download the full Gradebook or select columns from your Ultra courses. You can export the file in a comma-delimited (CSV) or tab-delimited (XLS) format. You can import your downloaded file into an application such as Microsoft Excel to do statistical analysis or other ad hoc computational work.  You can also upload a grade file you worked on offline and update your Gradebook.

See Download & Upload Grades to the Gradebook to learn more.

Adding Calculations

You can also easily add calculations to your course Gradebook. A calculation is a formula that produces a numerical result used to view or assign grades, usually based on other graded items. You can create your own formulas and use common arithmetic operations, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and use group operators (parentheses). The weighted column can be hidden from student view until you’re ready to display it.

See Calculate Grades Using Formulas

 

Impact of Automatic Zeros in the Gradebook

The Gradebook uses a Running Total of the Overall Grade which means that grade columns not yet attempted are ignored when calculating the total or overall grade for the course. 

See Automatic Zeros in the Gradebook for Unsubmitted Work

See Importance of Automatic Zero's and Running Total: What's the Impact to my Gradebook?