Blackboard Gradebook:

The Gradebook is a secure means of recording and delivering grades online to your students. Grades are recorded:

• Automatically for assessments and surveys delivered in Blackboard.
• Manually for assignments delivered in Blackboard and course work managed outside of Blackboard.

We recommend that you backup your Gradebook after the grades for each assignment, assessment, or survey are recorded.

Getting Started with the Gradebook:

Control Panel > Assessment area > Gradebook

Actions you can perform:

• Add Item
• Manage Items
• Gradebook Settings
• Weight Grades
• Download Grades
• Upload Grades

Spreadsheet sorting and filtering options:

• Sort Items by ... Category, Date Added, Title, Points Possible, etc.
• Filter items by Category ... Assignment, Test, etc.
• Filter Users by Last Name

Add Item:

Used for manual entries (assessments, assignments, surveys not deployed in Blackboard) to the Gradebook.

1. Enter item name.
2. Choose item category (i.e., extra credit, lab, essay, attendance, etc.)
3. Enter item description.
4. Choose a due date.
5. Enter points possible.
6. Select grade display (i.e., percentage, score, letter grade, etc.)
7. Select YES or NO to make the item visible to students.
8. Select YES or NO to include the item in the Gradebook score calculations.
9. Click "Submit".

Assessments, assignments, and surveys deployed in Blackboard are automatically listed in the Gradebook upon creation.

Manage Items:

• Add Items
• Order Items listed
• Remove Items manually entered into the Gradebook
• Access the "Modify Grade" page.

Order Items:

-- Select from the dropdown menu to numerically order the list of items.

Modify Items:
Click the "Modify" button next to an item to modify it's:

• Category
• Description
• Date
• Points Possible
• Grade display type (Letter, percentage, score, etc.)
• Visibility to students.
• Inclusion in the Gradebook score calculations
  

Remove Items:
Click the "Remove" button which is visible for those items you've added manually to the Gradebook.

Gradebook Settings:

• Spreadsheet Settings:
  Change the way student information is displayed in the spreadsheet.

• Manage Gradebook Categories:
  Create new categories into which Gradebook items can be grouped.

• Manage Display Options:
  Create and modify grade display options and set their values.

Spreadsheet Settings:

1. Select one or more to display student information:
2. Student name (either "Last, First" or "First, Last")
3. User name
4. Student ID.
5. Select "Submit".

  Manage Gradebook Categories:

• Add Category

1. Enter the title of the category.
2. Enter a description of the category.
3. Click "Submit".
4. A "Modify" and a "Remove" button will appear for any category you create.

• Manage Display Options:

• Complete/Incomplete
• Letter ("Copy" and "Modify" actions are available for this display option.)
• Percentage
• Score
• Text

• Add Display Option:

1. Enter the name of the new display option.
2. Add the symbols and values.
3. Items automatically graded (assessments and surveys delivered in Blackboard) will be converted to the grade ranges you set.
4. Additional ranges can be added by selecting the "Add" button, or removed by selecting the "Remove" button.
5. Select "Submit".

Copy, modify, and remove buttons are available for the "Letter" display option and display options that you create.

For example, for the "Letter" (A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, etc.) grade display option, if you select "modify", you can adjust the percentages for each letter grade.

To change letter grades or the percentages attached to them:

1. Click the "Modify" button next to the "Letter" display option
2. Change, add, or remove the percentages
3. Click "Submit".
   

Weight Grades:

1. Choose "Weight by Category" or "Weight by Item".
2. Enter the values.
3. Total values must add up to 100%.
4. Click "Submit".
   

Download Grades:

1. Click "Download".
2. Save file to you local machine.

The Gradebook will be downloaded into a .cvs file, which can be opened using third party software, such as Excel.

Upload Grades :

1. Select "Upload Grades".
2. Browse to and select the .cvs file on your local machine to upload.
3. Click "Submit".
4. Choose the item you wish to import from the uploaded .cvs file.
5. Choose an existing column in the Gradebook in which to place the imported item.

-- or --

Create a New Gradebook Item in which to place the imported item. (Proceed with Add/Modify Gradebook Item.)

1. Choose rows to import.
2. Click the checkbox next to individual names.
3. Or "Select All", "Select None", or "Select Inverse".
4. Click "Submit".
   

Spreadsheet sorting and filtering options:

• Sort Items by ... Category, Date Added, Title, Points Possible, etc.
• Filter items by Category ... Assignment, Test, etc.
• Filter Users by Last Name

Sort Items by...
Determine how you would like the spreadsheet items to be sorted:

1. Select an option from the pull-down menu.   (i.e., Date, Title, Weight, etc.).
2. Select "Go".

Filter items by Category ...
Select an item category from the dropdown menu and select "Go".

Filter Users by Last Name:
To view only grades of a particular student:

1. Select the first letter of that student's last name from the "Filter Users by Last Name" drop down menu
2. Click "Go".
3. Click a name to view or modify information pertaining to that student.

•  User Grade List:
Item information, such as name, date, when last submitted/modified, current status, grade, points possible and class average are all displayed.

The numerical value for the grade can be modified here as well.

User Detail:
Statistics are listed for the particular student, such as average points/assessment, assessment average and total points.

User Information:
Displays the student's contact information provided by the student. If student has not provided additional contact information, only the name and userID will appear.

Gradebook Item Options:
Selecting a link for a specific item, such as an assessment, assignment, or survey (including "Total" and "Weighted Total") will take you to the options for that item.

Item Grade List:
Displays the grade information for the item, such as the category, point value, weight, and, for each student, the student name, userID, student ID, item date, when it was last submitted/modified, the current status and the grade.

View and modify student grades.
Manually enter or change grades for this item by entering a grade value in the checkbox for students and clicking "Submit".

Item Detail:
View detailed statistics for the item, such as the total points, class average, highest score, lowest score, etc.

Item Information:
Modify properties of an item as you did when you created it.

Assessment Attempt Details:
If the item selected is an assessment, the "Assessment Attempt Details" option will be displayed. View the attempt statistics for an item here.

Clear an Assessment Attempt:
Selecting "Clear Attempt" allows a student, who is experiencing technical or other difficulty, to complete a test. No data from the student's previous attempt is saved so the entire test will need to be retaken.

Scoring Question Responses Manually (i.e., essay questions):
"!" is listed for items the instructor needs to manually grade.

1. •  Click the "!" to go to a particular student's assessment.
2. •  Click "View".
3. •  Review the student's answers.
4. •  Enter a point value earned for the student's answers to questions.
5. •  Select "Submit".
6. •  Select "Clear Attempt" to allow a student to retake the assessment.

Gradebook Key/Legend:
There is a key/legend at the bottom of the screen explaining the symbols displayed in the spreadsheet.