Using the Grade Center
Using the Grade Center The Grade Center is used to monitor and grade student work. See Monitoring Features > Monitoring Performance and Reports for information on using Grade Center Color Codes, Performance Dashboard, Retention Center and Reports. Access the Grade Center from the Control Panel. Select Full Grade Center, Needs Grading or other view. Working with Grade Center Cells (Full Grade Center) To Manually Enter a Grade - be sure Edit Mode is on then click in the cell and enter the grade. Click “enter” to move to the next student. Actions that can be taken within a cell include View Grade Details, Quick Comment and Exempt Grade. The menu of available actions depends on the type of item, for example an assessment (Figure 1) which also includes a link to the last attempt or an item such as a Wiki (Figure 2) which can be graded from within the Grade Center. Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 1 of 11 Figure 1 Figure 2 View Grade Details – opens a window that allows instructor to view this and other attempts (Grade History); delete, grade, override, clear or ignore various attempts. Use the navigational arrows at the top of the page to move to the next user or the next column for that user. Quick Comment – opens a window that allows instructor to provide specific feedback for the student or grading notes for the instructor. Students will see a “Comments” link in their grade center view. Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 2 of 11 Exempt Grade – Select this option to exempt this score for this student Grade Center Icons A variety of icons may be seen in the Full Grade Center. The Icon Legend shows you what the various symbols mean that you may see in the Grade Center. User Unavailable – user cannot access Bb, can be turned on and off under Users and Groups, Users, then select Change User’s Role under specific user name Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 3 of 11 Column Not Visible to Users - a column hidden by the instructor from student view Completed – ungraded item such as a survey; results viewable by the instructor after more than one student has completed it Needs Grading – contains essay question(s) that must be manually corrected by the instructor. The exclamation point may also indicate a student who has exceeded time limits on an assignment or assessment. Override –indicates the instructor has overridden the original grade for an item Attempt in Progress – attempt is in progress and student has not submitted it Grade Exempted for this User – Click the drop down arrow within a Grade Center cell to select this option Error – indicates a grading error Not Participating – shows when columns are attributed to groups Grade Information Bar The Grade Information Bar can be seen when a Grade Center cell is clicked. In this image assignment 02B is Extra Credit and is worth zero points (so that it does not affect the total points available). E-mail from the Grade Center One or more students may be emailed from the Grade Center at one time. This feature is useful for sending students email about a Grade Center Item, for example sending reminders about missing assignments. 1. To use Grade Center E-mail Check the name(s) of the user(s) then click the E-mail button and select E-mail Selected Users Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 4 of 11 2. Complete the form and click Submit Working with Grade Center Columns (Full Grade Center) Click the arrow next to the title of a grade center column to reveal this menu. Available actions will differ based on whether the item is an assessment (Figure 3), assignment (Figure 4) or other type of item. Descriptions of each appear alphabetically below. Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 5 of 11 Figure 3 Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 6 of 11 Figure 4 Assignment File Download- allows the instructor to download assignment submissions to review them offline instead of reviewing them online in the Grade Center. Choose to download all or only selected submissions as a single ZIP file. Unzip or expand the file to view the contents. Each submission is saved as a separate file. Assignment File Cleanup – allows the instructor to select students and delete files associated with their submissions. Attempts Statistics – provides various stats such as number of attempts, number that need grading, etc Clear Attempts for All Users – removes all scores for all users for this item Column Statistics – gives statistics such as average, min/max, standard deviation, etc. for this item Download Results – provides specific stats by question or by user for this item Edit Column Information – place to change the primary and secondary display, category, points, due date, which attempt to grade, options such as visible to students, etc. Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 7 of 11 Edit Test – links to the test canvas page from which test questions can be edited, deleted, or point values changed Grade Attempts – allows instructor to grade all attempts for all users – click Save and Next to move to the next user Grade Questions – allows instructor to view a specific question for all users Grade With User Names Hidden - allows instructor to grade attempts without seeing student names Hide From Students - hides column from student view, instructor can still see it (symbol next to item title) Hide From Instructor View – hides column from instructor view (unhide under Manage, Column Organization) Item Analysis – provides a detailed item analysis of questions in this assessment Quick Column Info – reveals info such as category, points possible and due date Set as External Grade - The results in the external grade column are shared with the institution as the students’ grades for this course. The instructor decides which column is set as the external grade. In new courses, the default total column is the default external grade column, and the external grade icon (green check mark) appears in the column header. The default total column cannot be deleted until another column is set as the external grade. Sort Ascending – sorts by points earned lowest scorer to highest Sort Descending – sorts by points earned highest scorer to lowest View All Attempts – provides stats for the item for all users – grade, number of attempts, status (in progress, completed, needs grading) and duration View Grade History – shows student grade history Sort Columns By – Instructor View Sort Columns By menu on the Full Grade Center allows the instructor to change the order of columns and sequence of rows Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 8 of 11 Layout position – sorts columns order they are shown in the Manage, Organize Grade Center view Categories – groups columns by category such as tests, assignments Due date – sorts by date due IF a date is designated for each item as it is added to the grade center. See “Date Management >Due Dates and Availability” for more information. Creation date – helpful if items are created in the correct order Points possible – sorts in point order Display name – sorts alphabetically by name of item Needs Grading Needs grading is a feature in Blackboard that allows the instructor to access just those items that need grading rather than having to scroll through the Full Grade Center to find them. 1. Access Needs Grading under the Grade Center in the Control Panel. 2. Click Grade All or select an individual item to grade by clicking the student’s name Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 9 of 11 3. The item can be graded using the inline grading feature Inline Grading The inline grading feature of Blackboard allows the instructor to open Assignment attachments and grade them inline in the web browser rather than downloading the document, grading it and uploading it again. Inline grading is available for assignments and any interactive tools for which grading is enabled. There are a variety of features available based upon the item being graded. For example, annotations can be added to a student’s paper and saved in the Grade Center. Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 10 of 11 Example: This example of a journal shows Comments by the instructor Click Comment, Add), a place to enter the grade, and feedback. Additional Resources: Blackboard Help https://help.blackboard.com Created by brownt Updated 7.6.15 by brownt Page 11 of 11
