How does assessment weighting work

If you have a grade setup that is not this straightforward, you can use an aggregation method inside the Gradebook so that Moodle can convert your grade to a percentage for you.

The recommended aggregation method is Weighted Mean of Grades, which allows assessment tasks to be marked out of or whatever you like , and then scaled in the Gradebook using 'Weighted Means'. The advantages of this method are that grades can be scaled to their weight and it does not matter if all the assessments don't comply with the conditions necessary for the Natural or Simple Weighted Mean of Grades method to work.

From Semester 1, Weighted Mean of Grades is now the default aggregation method when you create a new unit or category. Weighted Mean of Grades is also the required aggregation method if you wish to use the automated Hurdles function in Gradebook. Note: None of the below aggregation methods are recommended, unless otherwise specified by your faculty administrators. By default, natural weighting produces a sum of the grades.

For example, if there are three grade items worth 30, 50, and 20 points for a total of possible points. When using natural weighting, the total marks for all assessments MUST add up to When a unit or category uses Simple Weighted Mean of Grades , the fields of the Weights column in the Gradebook Setup page disappear and cannot be modified. Instead, the weight percentage for each grade item is automatically calculated by dividing its Max Grade point value by the total available points in the unit or category.

The Simple Weighted Mean of Grades aggregation methods works well, as long as you obey two rules:. The assessment should be marked out of 20, 30 and 50 respectively.

If the total marks for all the assessments add up to , nothing else needs to be done. On it, he or she explains that your final grade will be determined in this manner:. Percentage of your grade by category. Your essays and quizzes are weighted more heavily than your homework , and both your midterm and final exam count for the same percentage of your grade as all of your homework, quizzes and essays combined, so each one of those tests carries more weight than the other items.

Your teacher believes that those tests are the most important part of your grade! Hence, if you ace your homework, essays and quizzes, but bomb the big tests, your final score will still end up in the gutter. Let's do the math to figure out how the grading works with a weighted score system. Throughout the year, Ava has been acing her homework and getting A's and B's on most of her quizzes and essays.

Her midterm grade was a D because she didn't prepare very much and those multiple-choice tests freak her out. Here's what Ava's grades look like in numbers:. Category averages. To figure out the math and determine what kind of studying efforts Ava needs to put into that final exam , we need to follow a 3-part process. Step Next, we multiply the percentage of Ava's grade by the average in each category:.

Finally we, add them up and solve for x:. Many teachers use weighted scores and keep track of them with grading programs online.

If you're unsure about anything related to your grade, please go talk with your teacher. Example of calculating a final grade with the weighted system. Points are familiar to most people. If you know there are a possible points, you can easily calculate your total grade based on how many points you have earned and dividing by Instead of basing points on the rubric, you are just randomly assigning points to make your total points value equal something logical and make your math work.

And since 1 point is equal the same value across the entire course in the Points Value grade book option, randomly making up a point value for something, isn't really a very sound grading strategy.

Example of calculating a final grade with the points system. Read the comments too! Grade books come in two flavors: Weighted recommended Points based There are pros and cons for both. Weighted Grade Book. Advantages The master syllabi state the weight or percentage of all assessments required for a course, so it just makes sense to use the Weighted grade book. Example categories and their weights for a class, with items within those categories. Why do all of the points in a category have to be the same?

Disadvantages of a Weighted Grade book The biggest disadvantage of a weighted grade book is that a student will have mathematical difficulty figuring out their final grade based on the total points of their quizzes, tests and assignments.

Example Example of calculating a final grade with the weighted system. Points value grade book.