Desire2Learn
Grades: Working with Bonus Items
Bonus items and extra credit points provide an opportunity for students to improve their grade. The Desire2Learn Grades tool can help you apply additional credit efficiently and accurately. This document discusses four scenarios that can occur when offering bonus items. For information regarding extra credit items, refer to Grades: Working with Extra Credit Points.
A bonus item is a separate grade item which students can elect to complete.
Example: Each week students may take a two-question current events quiz. Students who opt to take the quizzes receive one point for each correctly answered question. These points add to their final grade. Students who opt not to take the quizzes will not be penalized.
- Considerations
- Scenario 1: Bonus Item Applied to a Category in a Points-based Gradebook
- Scenario 2: Bonus Item Applied to a Category in a Weighted Gradebook
- Scenario 3: Bonus Item Applied to the Entire Points-based Gradebook
- Scenario 4: Bonus Item Applied to the Entire Weighted Gradebook
Considerations
Some factors need to be taken into consideration when using bonus items and extra credit with your D2L gradebook:
- Will the extra points be added to the gradebook as an extra credit or bonus item?
- Is your gradebook weighted or points based?
- Will the extra points apply only to the category or to the entire gradebook?
- In a weighted gradebook, how much weight will be assigned to the bonus item?
Scenario 1:
Bonus Item Applied to a Category in a Points-based Gradebook
In the following scenario, the total possible points in this points-based gradebook are 1000. This includes an Exam category worth 400 points (four exams each worth 100 points). The instructor wants to offer a bonus item worth 5 points. The bonus points are to be applied only within the Exam category of the gradebook.
Creating the Grade Item
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From the Course Home page, click GRADES
-
Select the desired Category
OR
Create a new Category
For more information, refer to Creating and Setting Up Categories.
-
In the Grading section, do not select Allow category grade to exceed total points
-
Create a new Grade Item within the new category
For more information refer to Creating Grade Items. -
In the Grading section, in the Points text box, type the total possible number of bonus points the grade item is worth
-
Select This item is a bonus item
Discussion of the Outcomes
The Perfect Score
The student who earns full points on all grade items in the gradebook and earns 5 points on the bonus item receives a final grade of 1000 points. In other words, the bonus points do not improve a perfect score.
The Less-Than-Perfect Score
This student earns 100 points on Exam 1, 100 points on Exam 2, 97 points on Exam 3, 100 points on Exam 4, and 5 points on the bonus item. On the project, this student earns 93 points. The student earns full points on all additional items in the gradebook. The final grade for this student is 993 points.
NOTE: Even though the student earned 5 bonus points, these points can be used to offset points lost only in the Exam category since the Allow category to exceed total points option remained unchecked. Therefore, points lost on the project are not offset by the bonus points because the project is outside of the Exam category.
Scenario 2:
Bonus Item Applied to a Category in a Weighted Gradebook
In the following scenario, the total possible score in this weighted gradebook is 100%. Each of the ten grade items (regardless of the category) is worth 10%. For example, the Exam category, worth 40% of the final grade, has 4 exams, each worth 10%. The instructor wants to offer 5 bonus points. The bonus points are to be applied only within the Exam category of the gradebook.
Creating the Grade Item
-
From the Course Home page, click GRADES
-
Select the desired Category
OR
Create a new Category
For more information, refer to Creating and Setting Up Categories.
-
In the Grading section, do not select Allow category grade to exceed total weight
-
Create a new Grade Item within the new category
For more information refer to Creating Grade Items. -
In the Grading section, in the Out Of text box, type the total possible number of bonus points the grade item is worth
-
In the Weight text box, type the weight of the bonus item as a percentage of the parent category
HINT: To calculate this weight, divide the total possible bonus points by the category weight.
EXAMPLE: 5/.40 = 12.5 -
Select This item is a bonus item
Discussion of the Outcomes
The Perfect Score
The student who earns full points on all grade items in the gradebook and earns the 5 points on the bonus item receives a final grade of 100%. In other words, the bonus item does not improve a perfect score.
The Less-Than-Perfect Score
This student earns 100 points on Exam 1, 100 points on Exam 2, 90 points on Exam 3, and 100 points on Exam 4. On the project, this student earns 90 points. The student earns full points on all additional items in the gradebook, including the 5-point bonus item. The final grade for this student is 99%.
NOTE: Even though the student earned 5 bonus points, these points can be used to offset points lost only in the Exam category. In this scenario, the offsetting bonus points were easily applied to the category because all grade items within the Exam category were weighted equally.
Scenario 3:
Bonus Item Applied to the Entire Points-based Gradebook
In the following scenario, the total possible points in this points-based gradebook are 1000. This includes an Exam category worth 400 points (four exams each worth 100 points). The instructor wants to offer 5 bonus points. The bonus points are to be applied to the entire gradebook.
Creating the Grade Item
If you want the bonus item to affect the entire gradebook, create it as a grade item instead of a category. If you create the bonus item within a category and do not want the points to be restricted to the category, you must select Allow points to exceed category.
-
From the Course Home page, click GRADES
-
Select the desired Category
OR
Create a new Category
For more information, refer to Creating and Setting Up Categories. -
In order for the bonus item to apply to the entire gradebook, in the General section, from the Parent Category pull-down menu, select None
-
In the Grading section, in the Points text box, type the total possible number of bonus points the grade item is worth
-
Select This item is a bonus item
Discussion of the Outcomes
The Perfect Score
The student who earns full points on all grade items in the gradebook and earns the 5 bonus points receives a final grade of 1005 points. Since a student's final score cannot exceed 100%, the bonus points do not improve a perfect score.
The Less-Than-Perfect Score
This student earns 100 points on Exam 1, 100 points on Exam 2, 97 points on Exam 3, and 100 points on Exam 4. On the project, this student earns 93 points. The student earns full points on all additional items in the gradebook, including the 5-point bonus item. The final grade for this student is 995 points.
NOTE: Since the student earned 5 bonus points, these points can be used to offset points lost on any other grade item.
Scenario 4:
Bonus Item Applied to the Entire Weighted Gradebook
In this scenario, the total possible score in this weighted gradebook is 100%. Each of the ten grade items (regardless of the category) is worth 10%. For example, the Exam category, worth 40% of the final grade, has 4 exams, each worth 10%. The instructor wants to offer 5 bonus points. The bonus points are to be applied to the entire gradebook.
Creating the Grade Item
If you want the bonus item to affect the entire gradebook, create it as a grade item instead of a category.
-
Within your D2L course, click GRADES
-
Select the desired Category
OR
Create a new Category
For more information, refer to Creating and Setting Up Categories. -
In order for the bonus item to apply to the entire gradebook, in the General section, from the Parent Category pull-down menu, select None
-
In the Grading section, in the Out Of text box, type the total possible number of bonus points the grade item is worth
-
In the Weight text box, type the weight of the bonus item as a percentage of the parent category
HINT: The weight of the bonus item is equal to its total possible points.
EXAMPLE: 5 = 5 -
Select This item is a bonus item
Discussion of the Outcomes
The Perfect Score
The student who earns full points on all grade items in the gradebook and earns the 5 bonus points receives a final grade of 105%. Since a student's final score cannot exceed 100%, the bonus points do not improve a perfect score.
The Less-Than-Perfect Score
This student earns 100 points on Exam 1, 100 points on Exam 2, 90 points on Exam 3, and 100 points on Exam 4. On the project, this student earns 90 points. The student earns full points on all additional items in the gradebook, including the 5-point bonus item. The final grade for this student is 103%.
NOTE: Since the student earned 5 bonus points, these points can be used to offset points lost on any other grade item. In this scenario, the offset resulted in a perfect 100% score only because all grade items in the gradebook were weighted equally.
