Using the Gradebook can help you and your students stay on track with course due dates and performance tracking. With the Blackboard Ultra Gradebook, faculty have more options for monitoring student progress, posting grades, and searching for specific assessments or students. View the information on this page to learn more about the grade center features.
Gradebook Overview
https://youtu.be/rWqpvZ8QDTY?si=wnyUU_SRvqCVfPqAFrom within the course, select Gradebook from the course navigation.
Gradebook Views
In Ultra Course View, there are four views that each offer unique functionality. Continue reading to learn more.
Overview
This tab contains two sections: Needs Grading and Needs Posting.
Needs Grading section
This section allows you to see all items ready for grading and a count of the total number of outstanding grading tasks in your course.
This section displays up to five items at a time, ordered by the oldest ungraded submission. For an item, select Grade now to quickly access the submissions you need to grade. If your course has more than five items that need grading, you can use the buttons at the bottom of section to navigate through all pending tasks.
Needs Posting section
This section allows you to quickly see which assessment grades are not visible to students because they have not been posted yet. For an item, select Post now to its grade If there are more than five items that need posting, you can use the buttons at the bottom of section to navigate through the pending tasks.
Gradable Items
The Gradable Items list is your default view of the course Gradebook. You can view all the coursework you’ve assigned and your grading progress. From this view you can:
Sort and reorder columns
Quickly view assigned Categories, Due Dates, New Submissions, and Grading Status
If there are graded items that have not been posted, you will see a button that says Post. Whenever you see this button, there are grades that students are unable to view.
Add a Gradable Item (columns not tied to assessments)
Add a row for a gradable item that is not tied to an assessment in the LMS, such as a participation grade.
For assignments that are collected in person or presentations, it is recommended that you create an Assignment on the Content page. When creating the assignment, check Collect Submissions Offline. This will prevent students from submitting to Blackboard, but provide them with the assignment details within the course context.
Hover over the horizontal bar where you want to add the new gradable item
Select Add
Select Add Item
Enter the Gradable Item Details
Title
Visibility (by default, this item is hidden from students)
Due Date (Note: You can remove the due date by selecting the date and deleting the text)
Set the grade display
Set the points
Set the category
Optional: add a description
Reorder Items
Find the gradable item that needs to be moved.
Hover your cursor on the right side of the row, to the left of the three dots (...) until two small arrows appear
Select the arrows and drag the item to your desired location.
Items rearranged in list view are automatically rearranged the same way in grid view.
Grades
Grades view mirrors the traditional spreadsheet style grade book.
Filtered Views (by student, group, assessment, or child course for merged courses)
Select Filter to open the Filter Criteria panel.
Select the criteria you want to filter your view by:
Merged Courses - If your courses have been merged, select the child course ID to view students from the child course only.
Students
Groups
Gradable Items
Categories
Students
View a list of your students along with columns for Student ID, Username, and Last Access. Select student names to view their submissions on their individual Student Grades page. In the Status column, you can see completed work, items that need grading, and grades you need to post.
Download/Upload the Gradebook
You can download the full Gradebook or select rows from your Ultra courses.
Select Download from either the List or Grid View
Choose whether you want to download the Full Gradebook or Grade History
Select the columns to download
Choose the file type to export as
Choose whether to save to your device (default) or to the course content collection
You can also upload a grade file you worked on offline and update your Gradebook.
Settings
In either view, you can edit the Gradebook settings by selecting the Settings icon in the top right of the Gradebook.
Setting | Details |
|---|---|
Grade Schemas | Grade Schemas are how grades display for a particular column. By default, you can display grades as Points, Percentage, Complete/Incomplete, Letter Grades, or Letter Grades Rounded Up. |
Student Performance | Receive alerts in your activity stream about student performance and activity if they are inactive for x amount of days or or if their overall grade drops below a certain percentage. Note: you will need set up the overall grade calculations in advance. |
Automatic Zeros | If a student misses a due date, they will automatically receive a zero on that assessment. If late submissions are accepted, they can still submit and have their grade overridden by the instructor. |
Overall Grade | Set up your overall grade calculation. The most popular calculation type is Weighted, but you can also use Points or an Advanced Calculation. For assistance setting up your overall calculation, email academiccomputing@fairfield.edu with your grading breakdown. |
Grade Categories | Blackboard courses are set up with several categories. A category is always assigned by when an assessment is created and can be changed in the assessment settings. You can also add your own categories. |
Course Rubrics | View, manage, or create new rubrics to tie to your assessments. Select Generate to use the AI Design Assistant to create a rubric based on your description and complexity levels. |
Overall Grade
In Ultra Course View, you can set up your final grade calculations using the Overall Grade column. You can choose between three options for the Overall Grade Calculation:
Points. A points-based grade calculation may aid transparency as it makes clear to students what’s worth more in a course and what’s worth less. You can select which categories and items you want to include in the calculation. The max total points available in the course will be decided by the items and categories you include in the calculation.
Weighted. The weighted overall calculates grade items as a percentage of a final grade worth 100%. You can assign percentage values to any course items and categories you prefer. Note that any weighting applied to a category applies to the category as a whole. The items within the category will be proportionally weighted based on their underlying max points values. If you want the assessments within the category to be equally weighted, they need to have the same max points value.
Advanced. Use a custom formula to calculate the overall grade.
Weighted is the most popular option at Fairfield University. Follow these steps to set up your Weighted Overall Grade:
If you will be using categories for your weighted grade, verify that all grade book items are assigned to the correct category.
Open the Overall Grade Edit Settings panel and choose Weighted to view the Weighted options.
Exclude any categories that do not have an associated column.
Below the category name, you'll see the text "0 items".
Select the Exclude button to the right of the category's percentage box.
The category will be grayed out and you won't be able to edit it unless you select the Exclude button again to include it.
You'll notice that the other categories percentages automatically adjust so that the total always equals 100%.
Unlink an item from its category to weigh it independently.
Expand the category and select Unlink for the row associated with the item you want to weigh independently.
The item will display outside of the category with it's own percentage associated with it.
Assign Values. Once you've identified which items and categories you will include the overall weighted grade, begin entering the percentages for each item or category.
After entering each value, press enter on your keyboard or click anywhere outside of the text box. The item/category row will lock.
Unlock the row if you need to make changes to the assigned value.
Exceptions and Exemptions
You can add exceptions for individual students to allow access on to the assessment on a date or time that differs from the rest of class, add an additional attempt, or exempt them from the assignment entirely.
Go to Gradebook and select the assessment a student needs an exception in.
Locate the student and select the three dots at the end of their row. Next, select Add or edit exceptions or Add or Edit Exemptions.
A panel should open up. On this panel, you are able to adjust the due date for the student. You can also provide them an alternate window in which to write the assessment and/or extra
attempts.Select Save. After an exception is added, an icon appears next to the student’s name.
To remove an exception:
Locate the student and select the three dots at the end of their row. Next, select “Add or Edit Exceptions”.
Select Reset settings and then select Save.
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