Desire2Learn 9.0

Working with Grade Items

Using the Desire2Learn Grades tool, you can keep track of students' scores on assignments. You can create and edit the details of each assignment, and enter and edit students' grades. This document covers grade items - all assignments, tests, papers and other graded assignments that you choose to grade in D2L. To work with grade items, you must first have set up your gradebook. See Gradebook: Setup Wizard for help setting up the gradebook.

Adding Grade Items
Editing Grade Items
Deleting Grade Items

Adding Grade Items

You can add grade items (assignments or other graded activities) and designate their name, point value and weight.

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click GRADES
The User List pane appears.
In the Grades Area widget, click MANAGE GRADES
Click NEW ITEM
The New Item pane appears.
In the Choose a Grade Item Type section, select the desired type of grade item
To learn more about the options, see Grades: Terminology.
Options for that grade item type appear.
In the Name text box, type a name for the grade item
NOTE: Ensure no grade item has the same name as a category. This can create problems when importing grades.
OPTIONAL: In the Short Name text box, type an abbreviated name for the grade item
To include the item in a category, from the Category pull-down menu, select the desired category
NOTE: To learn about categories, see Gradebook: Categories
To create a description of the item,
1. Click SHOW DESCRIPTION
2. In the Description text box, type the description
In the Grading section, in the Max. Points text box, type the number of points the assignment is worth
In the Weight text box, type the percentage of the final grade the item is worth
NOTE: This text box will only appear if you are using a weighted grading system. See Grade Settings for differences between grading systems
If students can receive more than the maximum number of points for the item (e.g., 11/10), select Can Exceed
NOTE: For more information, refer to Working with Extra Credit Points
If the entire item is extra credit, select Bonus
NOTE: For more information, refer to Working with Bonus Items.
To change the grade scheme for the item, select one from the Grade Scheme pull-down menu
NOTE: For more information, refer to Grades Schemes
To allow students to see the class average or grade distribution, make the desired changes in Display Options
Click SAVE
The Edit Item pane appears.
Select the Restrictions tab
In the General section, select the desired level of visibility,
1. To allow students to always see the item, select Grade item is always visible
2. To hide the item until you manually unhide it, select Hide this grade item
3. To automatically hide the item until a certain date, select Grade item is visible for a specific date range » Has Start Date and select date from pull-down menus
OPTIONAL: Attach the desired release conditions
Click SAVE

Editing Grade Items

You can edit all the information regarding a grade item except the type. This includes changing the name of a grade item, the weight, and the description.

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click GRADES
The User List pane appears.
In the Grades Area widget, click MANAGE GRADES
The Grades List pane appears.
Click the name of the grade item you want to edit
The Edit Item pane appears.
Make the desired changes
Click SAVE
The grade item is edited.

Deleting Grade Items

You can delete grade items at any time.

WARNING: All grades corresponding to the grade item will be lost.

From the Course Home page, on the Navigation bar, click GRADES
The User List pane appears.
In the Grades Area widget, click MANAGE GRADES
The Grades List pane appears.
Click DELETE
The Delete pane appears.
Select the item you wish to delete
NOTE: An item is selected if a checkmark appears before it.
Click DELETE SELECTED
A confirmation dialog box appears.
Click DELETE
The grade item is deleted.

To enter student grades for a grade item, see Entering Student Grades.