Teaching Online at UTAS

Before you start building your Grades tool, you should make a decision about the grading system that you’re going to use. This decision will impact on the options you will have available to you when setting up Categories and Grade Items. You can download a printable version of this explanation (complete with pictures) if you would prefer to read off screen.

Once you have made a decision, follow these instructions to check your current grade system and change it if necessary.

Points system

The points system is simple, but it does have limitations. It does not suit scenarios where multiple Grade Items contribute to the same assessment task. Furthermore, the Final Grade Calculation, which shows a student’s progress on marked assessments to date, will show only a percentage or UTAS Grade when this system is used. A points system suits scenarios in which you have only one Grade Item per assessment task for all students. The image below shows a Grades tool using a points system.

Weighted system

Using a weighted system provides you with more flexibility. Firstly it allows you to mark a Grade Item out of 100 points. MyLO can then calculate the overall grade according to the weight allocated to the Item. Weightings can also be used to determine the contribution that a particular Grade Item makes to a Category. For example, let’s say you have Part 1 and Part 2 of Assessment 3. Each part is marked separately, but you need an overall score for the assessment. Assessment 3 is worth 35% (35/100) of the unit. You can set up Part 1 to be worth 20% of the assessment task, and Part 2 to be worth 80%. The Category Subtotal will calculate the overall grade for Assessment 3.