Assignment Groups & Weighted Grades

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Considerations for Assignment Groups and Weighted Grades

  • You can use Assignment Groups to group assignments into categories that can then be assigned a specific weight (percentage) and automatically calculate a weighted Total grade in the Gradebook.  
  • Items in the Assignment Groups can be weighted so that final grades are calculated automatically based on Quercus items that have been graded.
  • Ensure that weighted groups add up to 100% of the final grade.
  • Assignments in an Assignment Group will be weighted according to the proportionate marks for each assignment.  If you have assignments that are worth a different percentage of the final grade, they should be in separate Assignment Groups.
    • For example, if you have two assignments out of 100 marks and they are included in an assignment group worth 30% of the final grade, then each assignment will be worth 15% or half of the total percentage for that assignment group.
  • There is no need for you to apply a formula or manually calculate grades, the Assignment Group columns will do the work for you. Note: The grade displayed in this column will be calculated based on the raw score entered for each assignment in the Assignment Group.

Step by Step Instructions for Setting Up Weighted Assignment Groups

  1. Select Assignments from the Course Menu.
  2. Select Assignment Groups Weight from the Options (3 vertical dots) dropdown menu (next to the + Assignment button).
  3. In the Assignment Groups Weight box that appears, check the box next to Weight final grade based on assignment groups and select the Save button.
  4. Select the + Group button.
  5. In the Add Assignment Group box that appears, fill in the Group Name and enter the percentage for the assignment category in the % of total grade box.
  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for all of the assignment categories, as listed on your course syllabus.    

    Note: You can adjust the percentage amounts for all of the Assignment Group categories at any time by selecting Assignment Groups Weight from the Options (3 vertical dots) dropdown menu (next to the +Assignment button).

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Alternatively, when creating an assignment, you can assign it to an existing Assignment Group or create a new Assignment Group using the "Assignment Group" dropdown menu.

Assignment Groups & Weighted Grades - Video (53 s) 

 

Step by Step Instructions for Changing the Weight for Specific Students who have Missed an Assignment

  1. Create an “Alternate Assignment” in the same Assignment Group as the assignment that was missed, and assign it only to the students whose assignment weights are being shifted;
  2. Add a “rule” to the above assignment group to “drop the lowest score” – this way all students will only see the assignments that they are supposed to on their Grades page;
  3. In the Gradebook, excuse the students from the assignment that they missed by entering "ex" in the corresponding gradebook cell.
  4. Enter the students’ grades for the assignment whose weight will be increased;
  5. Enter the same above grades in the “Alternate Assignment” column (the grades for the assignment whose weight will be increased and the “Alternate Assignment” will combine to be worth the new weighted percentage). 

 

Creating Rules for an Assignment Group

It is possible to set up rules for an Assignment Group that specify whether to ignore or "drop" the grades for assignments within that group.
Canvas gives you the option to ignore a specific number of Highest Scores or Lowest Scores, as shown in the screen shot below.

Assignment Group Rules

Notes:

 

Additional Resources