Weighted Grading is an effective tool for creating a structured grading system. This article will explore the pros and cons of weighted grading and how to effectively utilize Canvas Assignment Groups and Weighted Grading tools to provide a fair assessment of student progress.
Understanding Assignment Groups
Assignment Groups are virtual folders within Canvas that allow you to categorize assignments. This organization helps students understand the overall course structure and the relative importance of different types of assignments. By creating groups for homework, quizzes, exams, and projects, you can clearly communicate the relationship between assignments.
Canvas Guide: How do I add an assignment group in a course?
Assignment Groups can be used only as a virtual folder system, they do not have to be used with weighted grading. The student Gradebook view will show the groups, but will not associate point valuation to them. The course will be graded based on each assignment’s points relative to the overall course points. This is particularly effective when your total points are 100 or 1000. In this scenario, each item in the assignment groups is just simply the value of its points. So, a 10-point quiz in a 1000-point course is worth 1% of a student's total grade.
The Advantage of Weighted Grading
Weighted grading allows for additional flexibility throughout the semester. For example, if everyone struggles on a quiz and you realize it may be because you hadn't prepared them well enough or written good quiz questions, you could drop that quiz score without affecting the way the class is graded. Similarly, if you feel like students are not engaging with the material enough, you might add a small reflection or discussion that pushes them to engage differently. Adding 5 points for an assignment like this to one of the assignment group buckets is doable with weighted grading in a way that it is not if you have a 1000-point course set up.
How to Employ Weighted Grading
Weighted grading ensures that assignment groups contribute to the final grade proportionally based on their importance. This method is more flexible than traditional grading, as it allows you to adjust the weight of assignments to reflect the course's learning objectives and the relative difficulty of tasks.
Example
Assignment Group | Weight | Associated Assignments |
|---|---|---|
Research Paper | 15% | Scaffolded activities building to the paper worth 10 points each (topic choice, resources and citations, rough draft, peer review, etc.). The final paper is worth 100 points. |
Quizzes | 10% | 5 module quizzes of 10 points each |
Group Discussions | 15% | 7 discussions worth 100 points each |
Assignments | 20% | 5 assignments worth 100 points each |
Midterm | 15% | 100-point midterm exam |
Final | 20% | 100-point final exam |
In this example, it does not matter that the quizzes are only 10 points each when other items in the course are worth 100, all quizzes combined are worth 10% of the total grade of the course. It also doesn’t matter that the Final Exam is only 100 points - it is 20% of the total grade of the course.
Canvas Guide: How do I weight the final course grade based on assignment groups?
Note: You can provide extra credit opportunities by adding additional points to an existing assignment, or by creating an additional assignment group called Extra Credit that puts the total percentage above 100% (i.e., the course assignments are worth 100% and the extra credit is worth 5% giving a total of 105% if a student received a perfect score on all content and extra credit).
How Do Grade Weights Get Distributed Across an Assignment Group?
When you group assignments together in Canvas, assignments should have the same point value to be weighted equally within the assignment group, or they should be strategically calculated to weight them differently. This is because Canvas calculates grades based on the total points possible for each group. Using our example above, the Research Paper assignment group might include the following assignments with associated point values:
Topic Choice: 10 points
Resources and APA citations: 10 points
Rough Draft: 10 points
Final Research Paper: 100 points
Canvas will calculate the total points for the group as 130 points. However, because the Final Research Paper is worth ten times more than the Topic Choice activity, it will have a much greater impact on the 15% of the final grade. This is known as "double weighting."
Best Practices for Using Assignment Groups and Weighted Grading
Consider your points and weights carefully as you build out your course. Ensure that the weights of assignment groups align with the course's learning outcomes. Consider where you might apply extra credit points to offset the areas students might struggle with the most.
Students are sometimes confused by assignment groups and weighted grading. If you use these features, inform students about the assignment groups and their weights at the beginning of the course and throughout the course as well - especially when big-percentage assignments or tests are coming up. Be prepared to adjust weights if needed to accommodate changes in the course or student performance.
Related Information
Assignment Groups by University of Colorado, Boulder
How to Ungrade by Jesse Stommel, Writing Program at University of Denver
Some Thoughts for My Students by Kat S. Owens, Department of Mathematics, University of South Carolina Charlseton. (Addresses standards- or master-based grading)
Specifications grading: We may have a winner by Robert Talbert, Ph.D.
Weighted Grades in Canvas, from Boise State Learning Technologies Solutions
Weighted Grading by Metropolitan State University of Denver
Weighting Grades, Giving Extra Credit, and Other Tips on Managing Assignments and Grades in Canvas by University of Chicago
A "Weighty" Issue: Grading Schemes and Course Design (Issue 30) by TOPkit
