Categories Index  

On the page you can define Categories for your assignments, such as Homework, Tests & Quizzes, Participation, etc. Categories may be different for each subject if you uncheck "Apply to all classes".

Weighted categories let you set each category to a specific portion of the grade, e.g., Homework as 25% of the grade. (Many teachers like to use weights out of 100 to represent percent, but it accepts relative weights even if they don't add up to 100.) A weight of zero means any assignments in that category don't count toward the total grade. If you only enter one weight or none, it switches to Unweighted categories.

Note: If a student has no scores in a Category, that category is ignored (e.g., a "Participation" category that isn't used until the end of the grading period). This means the other categories may appear to have more weight, because they must fill the gap left by the unused category (otherwise the Participation would count as a zero all grading period, causing low grades for everyone).

Note: With weighted categories, the assignment points in one category may be worth more or less than points in other categories, so they cannot be added together to show a total number of points.

Unweighted categories calculate the total grade simply by adding all the points of all the assignments, regardless of their categories.

The "Category subtotals" option shows a student's subtotal grade in each category on reports. It also shows what percent each category is worth out of the total grade.

Select "None" if you don't want to user Categories.


Troubleshooting:

Categories in one class keep saving for other classes too

•  Uncheck "Apply to all classes/subjects".

•  Different sections of the same subject always use the same categories, even if you uncheck "Apply to all classes", so they can share assignments and transfer grades between sections. But it does let you set different weights in each class.


Categories in one grading period keep saving for other grading periods too

•  Uncheck "Apply to all Semester" (or whatever your cumulative grading periods are called).

•  Change the Grading Periods from "Unweighted cumulative sum" to "Weighted average, precise". The "Unweighted" option requires the whole semester to use the same grading options, even if you uncheck "Apply to all Semester", but the "Weighted" option allows each grading period to use different settings.


See also: Weights
Also on :
Grade Scale, Special Marks, Cumulative Grades, Grade Reporting Options