Understanding the Grades Setup Wizard
The Grades Setup Wizard is the first step in creating your gradebook. Understanding the different options in the Setup Wizard and how these impact student experience is crucial in helping students track their own progress through your course.
On this page we will go through each option in each of the steps of the Setup Wizard and give our recommendations.
QUICK RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY
- Use a Weighted Grading System for most courses
- Enable Calculated Final Grade during the term
- Configure to Treat ungraded items as 0 for calculations
- Set final grades to automatically update
- Enable multiple Student View Display Options for transparency
Step 1: Choose Grading System
Determines how the overall grade will be tallied. In all options, grade items can be organized into categories and the weight or point value of individual items within the category can be distributed equally or manually.
Weighted System: grades are calculated as a percentage of the final grade. In a Weighted gradebook system, the gradebook percentage weight must equal 100%. If it does not, the Manage Grades page will display an error to the instructor.
Points System: grade items are calculated using a points system in which the points assigned to each item are totaled for the final grade. In a Points gradebook system, the sum of the points of the individual assessments does not have to equal 100.
Formula System: grade items are calculated using the points systems, and a can custom defined formula can be created to set conditions around how grade items contribute to the final grade.
Use the Weighted Grading System because it:
- Aligns with course syllabi – Matches the grade distributions commonly outlined in course syllabi
- Allows for flexible weighting – Different types of assessments can have varying impacts on the final grade
- Supports varied point values – Individual assessments can have different point values without affecting their weight
- Enhances student transparency – Shows the relative importance of different assessments
- Provides instructor flexibility – Makes it easier to modify grading structures if needed
Step 2: Final Grade Released
Determines which overall grade will be displayed to students when final grade is released to students. Note that students won’t see any final grade until you explicitly release it.
Calculated Final Grade: the final grade is calculated based on the established grading formula in Step 1 and Step 3. With this selection the final grade is automatically calculated based on what is in the gradebook. You cannot adjust the final grade without adjusting grade item scores. If released, overall grade, based on the established grading formula, will be displayed in the student view of the gradebook. This can be set up to automatically update as new assessments are completed.
Adjusted Final Grade: allows for manual changes to the final grade calculation without affecting grade item scores. An Adjusted Final Grade is a final grade that you must manually enter to override the calculated final grade. If released, students will not see an overall grade in their gradebook if adjusted grade is not manually entered. Adjusted final grades do not automatically update as new assessments are completed.
Automatically release final grade: If checked, allows overall student progress to be released. Note: As of April 2025, Automatically release final grade is not available. Final Grade needs to be manually released in order for students to see their overall progress. See instructions for releasing final grades.
Use Calculated Final Grade during the semester as it automatically displays students’ overall progress, if released. If you need to adjust final grades at the end of the semester, you can switch to Adjusted Final Grades at that point. Remember that if adjusted final grades are not populated, students will not see their overall progress.
Step 3: Grade Calculations
Determines how ungraded items in your gradebook will be dealt with in the final grade calculations.
Drop ungraded items: ungraded items in the gradebook are not taken into consideration in the Calculated Final Grade. The weight of each completed grade item within a category that contains ungraded items will be redistributed in the category and these items will have a greater weight than would be once all assessments are completed.
Example
If an “Exams” category worth 50% of the overall course grade has two midterms (worth 12.5% each) and a final exam worth 25% and only the midterms are graded, those midterms will be valued at 25% in the final calculated grade instead of 12.5% when ungraded items are dropped.
Concerns:
- Students cannot easily determine how the remainder of the assessments factor into their overall progress.
- Unsubmitted assessments need to be manually entered as 0 for any ungraded items at the end of term.
- Could result in an inaccurate snapshot of overall performance for the student and instructor especially if more heavily-weighted assessments occur later in the term.
Solution:
- Manually generate a milestone calculated grade item for students to see their performance. Milestone grade calculations do not redistribute ungraded items within a category and uses a reduced total to accurately represent student progress. See instructions on creating milestone grade items.
Treat ungraded items as 0: ungraded items in the gradebook are taken into consideration in the Calculated Final Grade. The final calculated grade is additive with each entered grade improving the overall grade for the student.
Concerns:
- Students appear to be failing the course until they have completed a significant number of activities in the course.
- Any hidden grade items will also be factored into the calculated final grade
Solution:
- If calculated final grades are released to students, instructor should explain the gradebook structure.
- Hidden grade items should be deleted, if not used. See instructions for deleting grade items.
Automatically keep final grade updated: if checked, the Final Calculated Grade will be continuously updated when new grades are added to the gradebook allowing students to see their real-time progress.
Treat ungraded items as 0 and enable automatic grade updates as this provides the most accurate representation of student standings for both instructors and students regardless of whether final grades are released.
Step 6: Student View Display Options
Determines what students are able to view in the gradebook.
Points grade: displays the points scored for each grade item.
Weighted grade: displays the weight of the grade item in relation to the calculated final grade (based on what you chose in Step 3)
Grade scheme symbol: displays the symbol associated with the grade scheme. By default, this would be the percentage students score on the grade item. If you have custom grade schemes, this could be the letter grade associated with the percentage.
Grade scheme colour: displays a specific colour associated with the grade scheme symbol.
Final Grade Calculation: if checked, allows students to see what grade items are used in the calculation of final grade (calculated or adjusted).
Aim to set up your gradebook at the start of term. Reach out to EdTech if you need assistance with your setup. We’re always happy to help.Contact edtech@langara.ca for more information.
