Gradebook Setup

In Ultra gradebook, the Overall Grade column calculates all items that are graded and will count toward the overall course grade. It appears in the gradebook next to the students’ names to quickly see how each student is performing. The overall grade is also known as the final grade that will be submitted to Banner. The overall grade column cannot be removed from the gradebook and is the permanent external grade (no other column can be set as the external grade). 

NOTE: If you don’t have the overall grade configured yet, you’ll see a banner prompting you to set it up. There must be gradable content in the course for the banner to appear. 

1. From the banner, select Set it up.  

2. The Overall Grade page appears. Underneath Overall Grade Calculation, select one of the options below and choose Next. 
   • Points.  You can select which categories and items you want to include in the calculation. The max total points available in the course will be decided by the items and categories you include in the calculation. 
   • Weighted. The weighted calculation calculates categories and grade items as a percentage of a final grade worth 100%. You can assign percentage values to any course item and category and choose whether to weigh items in the same category proportionally or equally.  
   • Advanced. Use a custom formula to calculate the overall grade. 

Use the quick links to jump to the section that applies to the gradebook style being built: 

• Setting Up a Points Gradebook  
• Setting Up a Weighted Gradebook
• Setting up an Advanced Gradebook

NOTE: It is highly recommended that your college Blackboard support team review any use of the advanced formula editor to build a custom grade calculation for accuracy. 

Setting Up a Points Gradebook 

1. From the Overall Grade page, under Select a Calculation Type, select Points.  

2. Next is a list of the categories and grade items available in the course. Categories containing items are listed first and ordered by the number of items contained. Select the arrow at the end of a row to expand a category and see the items included and their points.  

3. You can unlink or exclude grade items from the calculations. You can also exclude categories. 
   • Unlink an item from its category. This is useful if you want to include the item in the calculation separately from the rest of the category.  
   • Exclude an item within a category from the overall grade calculation. This removes the item points from the total number of points available in the course. The item or category turns purple to indicate that it’s not included in the calculation. Select the button again to include the item or category in the calculation again.  

4. For each category, you can select Edit calculation rules to verify or update the current settings. After the Category Calculation Rule panel opens on the right, select Enable and choose from the options below. 
   • Drop Scores removes the specified number of the highest or lowest grades for each category from the calculation.  
   • Use only removes all grades from the calculation except for the highest or lowest score. 

5. On the right, underneath Overall Grade Settings, choose how to display the overall grade. Click the drop-down menu and choose from Letter, Points, Percentage, or Complete/Incomplete. 

6. In you enable the Show to Students option, students can view the overall grade and calculation details from the information button in their Gradebook.  

7. When done, select Save. 

Setting Up a Weighted Gradebook 

1. From the Overall Grade page, under Select a Calculation Type, select Weighted.  

2. Under Weigh gradable items within a category, select Proportionally or Equally.  
   • Proportionally takes the raw scores of the included columns and categories and then divides the result by the total points possible to obtain a percentage for each item in the weighted column. IMPORTANT: Items with a larger point value have more effect on the calculated grade. 
   • Equally converts the columns and categories you select for the weighted column to percentages. These percentages are averaged to obtain an equal value for each of the items included in the weighted column.  

3. Next is a list of categories and grade items from the gradebook. Categories containing items are listed first and ordered by the number of items contained. Select the down arrow in the row of a category to expand it and see the items.  

4. From here you can: 
   • Unlink an item from its category. This is useful if you want to include the item in the calculation separately from the rest of the category.  
   • Unlock an item or category to edit its percentage value. The calculation will automatically balance all unlocked items to ensure the overall calculation equals 100%.  
   • Exclude a category or item within a category from the overall grade calculation. This removes the item or category points from the total number of points available in the course. The item or category turns gray to indicate that it’s not included in the calculation. Select the button again to include the item or category in the calculation again. 

5. For each category, you can select Edit calculation rules. 

6. Enable the Category Calculation Rule. Then you can select the following options:  
   • Drop Scores removes the specified number of the highest or lowest grades for each category from the calculation.  
   • Use only removes all grades from the calculation except for the highest or lowest score. 

NOTE: All categories and grade items must equal 100%. 

7. When done, select Continue. 

8. On the right, underneath Overall Grade Settings, choose how to display the overall grade. Click the drop-down menu and choose from Letter, Points, Percentage, or Complete/Incomplete. 

9. In you enable the Show to Students option, students can view the overall grade and calculation details from the information button in their Gradebook.  

10. When done, select Save. 

Setting Up an Advanced Gradebook 

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Use caution when creating a calculation column as it can be very complex.  It is highly recommended that your college Blackboard support team review any use of the advanced formula editor to build a custom grade calculation for accuracy. 

An Advanced gradebook consists of creating a custom formula to calculate the overall grade. Calculations can be based on many different evaluation criteria including the average, total, maximum, or minimum of the variables you include, such as categories, graded items, and other calculations.  

Building an advanced formula involves using the functions, variables, and/or operators from the left panel and adding them to the right panel to create the formula.

• Functions 
  • Average: Generates the average for a selected number of graded items, categories, and other calculations. 
  • Total: Generates a total based on the cumulative points, related to the points allowed. 
  • Minimum: Generates the minimum grade for a selection of graded items, categories, and other calculations.
  • Maximum: Generates the maximum grade for a selection of graded items, categories, and other calculations. 

• Variables 
  • Select an individual graded item or calculation from the menu. You may only add one variable at a time. Continue to add variables from the left pane to add as many variables as you need. 

• Operators 
  • Add ( + ) 
  • Subtract ( – ) 
  • Divide ( / ) 
  • Multiply ( * ) 
  • Open Parenthesis ( 
  • Close Parenthesis ) 
  • Value: In the text box that appears in the formula, enter a numeric value. You can include seven digits before a decimal point and four digits after it. When the calculation is generated and appears in students’ grade pills, only two digits appear after the decimal point. 

Things to remember when creating advanced calculations are: 

• Each element you add to the formula appears at the end.  
• To reorder your formula, select an element and drag it to the new location. 
• To remove an element, select it and select the X.  
• To start over completely, select Clear to remove all elements at one time. 
• You can reuse any function, variable, or operator. 

Follow the instructions below to set up an Advanced gradebook. 

1. From the Overall Grade page, under Select a Calculation Type, select Advanced. 

2. After choosing this option, on the left, select a function, variable, or operator to add it to the right pane.  

3. In the Functions and Variables section, select the function or variable you want to use to add it to the right pane.  

4. On the right, select the drop-down arrow for the function you chose, then select the categories or grade items you want to include in the calculation. If you choose Variable, select the menu to choose the items to include. NOTE: Click outside of the menu to exit and save the selection in the right pane. 

5. Use the Operators to create formulas. 

6. Select Validate to check the accuracy of the formula. If the calculation fails the validation process, issues will be highlighted in red. Tweak the calculation then try again. NOTE: When validating the calculation, this does not mean that you receive the results you are looking for. It only means that the calculation you entered is correct to receive a result. You will still need to verify that your grade item calculations are correct. 

7. On the right, underneath Overall Grade Settings, choose how to display the overall grade. Click the drop-down menu and choose from Letter, Points, Percentage, or Complete/Incomplete. 

8. In you enable the Show to Students option, students can view the overall grade and calculation details from the information button in their Gradebook.  

9. When done, select Save.