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Chuck Getty: chuck@noeca.net
Matthew Wagner: matt@noeca.net   

 

1) What is the best way to handle extra credit or bonus points? / Why is my student's assignment score red?

2) How do I properly set up weights in my class?

 

 

 

1) What is the best way to handle extra credit or bonus points? / Why is my student's assignment score red?
    A:
Bonus Points:
You can award extra points on any assignment...even exceeding the total points declared. You might have a 100-point test, and give a student "105" for answering an extra-credit question.  The "105" will display in "red"* because it exceeds the total that you declared when you created the assignment. That is fine, and the score will raise the student's average accordingly.

*(The red number serves as a flag in case you accidentally entered a score greater than the allotted points.)

Extra Credit Assignments:
Best Practice: You could also create an "extra-credit" assignment...it could be attached to any one of your categories: homework, quiz, test, whatever.  Make it worth "0" points, and only give points to the students that complete the assignment.  It will not affect any student who does not complete the assignment because it is worth "0" points.

Alternative: You can add an assignment and designate the points that it is worth. Then exclude all of the children who don't turn it in. The reason this in not a best practice is that the assignment won't show up on reports for the excluded children. Most teachers like the assignment to have a 0 out of 0 and show they had the option but didn't turn it in. If you make a note for that students score it will be even more apparent.

Note!: If the extra credit assignment is optional I would not mark the assignment missing for children who don't turn it in. Missing  assignments appear in a missing assignment report which could be used for disciplinary actions.

 

2) How do I properly set up weights in my class?
    A:
There are two different types of weights you can set up for you class. The first way is like a college course where certain areas in the class have a predetermined value to the overall grade regardless of the number of points assigned to that area. The second way is to weight individual assignments which increases their value toward the overall grade and shifts the balances toward these assignments.

Assignment Type Weighting:
If you click on calculation methods and weights under Average calc setup on your dashboard it will take you to the place where you can determine if you want a straight average or a weighted average. Weighted averages work in the following way.

Example:
Area                    Weight
Homework              1
Quizzes                    1
Tests                        2

The total of the weights is four. Since tests have two of the total four toward them they will be work 50% of the total grade while the other areas are each worth 25%. Lets say you assign 10,000 points of homework and 1 points for quizzes and 1 point for tests. If the student does no homework, yet manages to get the 1 point in both tests and quizzes then he will have a 75% for his class average. You may think he has 2 points out of 10,002 but the math works like this.

Percentages
   Homework               Quizzes              Tests
0/10000 = 0%          1/1 = 100%     1/1 = 100%

Percentage times weight
Homework             Quizzes               Tests                                     Then divide by the total weight
     0%x1         +     100%x1      +   100%*2      =  3                                    3/4   =    75%

If that is what you wanted feel free to do so.

Assignment Weighting:
To add value to a specific assignment to get it more value simply adjust the assignments weight when you are on the assignment entry screen. Giving an assignment a weight of two here simply doubles the amount of points a assignment is worth.