Set up the Gradebook by Weights

Updated October 08, 2025 23:01

Click Grades in the course navbar.
Click the Setup Wizard tab and scroll to the bottom. Click the Start button to start the wizard
Select your preferred grading system. In this example, "Weighted" is selected. Points and weighted options work similarly for gradebook setup, and grade items except for extra credit. The weighted option requires additional steps to display extra credit correctly in the gradebook. If you prefer to set up your gradebook by points, reference the Set up the Gradebook guide for detailed instructions. After making your selection, click Continue.
Select Adjusted Final Grade—this allows you to change the grades as needed. Click Continue.
Next, select Drop ungraded items to get an accurate view of your students' grades. Without this option, students will receive 0s for every item in the gradebook—even for items not yet due—making it appear as though they're failing the course. Click Continue.
Choose one of the three grading schemes—"Percentage," "Graduate Letter Grades," and "Undergraduate Letter Grades." Only one grading scheme can be active. In this example, the gradebook is set up to show percentage grades. Click Continue.
Set the number of decimal places to show in a student's grade. The default is 2. Click Continue.
Configure how the gradebook will appear to students. It is recommended to select the Points grade, Weighted grade, and Grade scheme symbol. Click Continue.
Review your changes and verify that your selections are correct based on how you want the course gradebook to appear. Click Finish.
Click Manage Grades to set up gradebook categories. This allows you to troubleshoot grade items that may not add up correctly.
Click New and select Category from the drop-down menu.
Assign a name and configure the category with your preferred selections. This examples uses points for an assignment, but if you want to distribute points evenly across items in the category, adjust the "Distribution" section. The "Can Exceed" checkbox is unchecked by default, and can remain unchecked unless you are adding extra credit.
You can set the weights to get distributed automatically, but if it is assigned manually, you need to keep track of the individual assignment weights. Weights can be evenly distributed or distributed based on the amount of points each item is worth. In this example, the weight is set to be distributed by the points each assignment is worth.
Click Save and Close. The "Homework (Weights)" category is now created, and you can repeat the process to create categories for quizzes, exams, and forums.
You have successfully created and set up your gradebook to use weights.