About Assignment Scales

Gradebook allows you to choose from a number of scales to score each assignment:

Points: You can enter the number of points a student earned out of the total possible points. You can enter non-negative numbers up to five digits and with two decimal places, such as 9.25 (out of 10 possible).

Percentage: You can enter a percentage to indicate the student's achievement on the assignment, or number of items answered correctly. You can enter non-negative whole numbers, e.g. 85.

Text: You can enter notes about student performance on that assignment, track necessary information (such as group # or project partners), or provide brief comments to students about an assignment. The maximum number of characters you can enter is 255.

Custom: Custom scales allow you to define scores or descriptors that distinguish meaningfully between different levels of performance on an assignment. Choose a custom scale if you wish to use any of the following to describe student performance:

• Rubric or rating scale (e.g. Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor)
• Letter grade scale (e.g., A, B+, etc.)
• 4.0 or GPA scale
• Pass/Fail
• Credit/No Credit

When you choose a custom scale, you must create a conversion table. First, you define the scores or descriptors (such as "Pass") you will use to grade the assignment. The score or descriptor you choose will display to students when their scores are published. Then, you must enter an equivalent percentage for each score or descriptor. These equivalent percentages are used by GradeBook when calculating total scores.

This conversion table must be "customized" by you because agreement does not exist on how these scores or descriptors should map meaningfully onto a percentage scale. Acceptable scores on a GPA scale, for example, may range from 0.7 to 4.0, while acceptable scores on a percentage scale may range only between 65 and 100 - a smaller portion of the scale as a whole. Because GradeBook converts all scores to a percentage in order to calculate a student's total score for the class, the conversion table ensures that the meaning of your custom scale (what it communicates about student achievement) is preserved in this calculation. If a straight mathematical conversion is used instead of professional judgment, students (especially those with lower scores) may be unduly penalized.

EXAMPLE: In Professor Meyer's class, students are graded on both exams and papers. Meyer scores exams using a percentage scale, but uses a 4.0 scale to score papers. On this scale, Meyer uses only 4.0, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, 2.0, and 1.5 because she feels these grades meaningfully distinguish between levels of performance. In general, a paper that scores a 2.0 may be largely underdeveloped or demonstrate major misconceptions, a performance she associates with C- work. If Meyer chooses a "points" scale to score her papers, however, she encounters a problem: scores receive a straight mathematical conversion, so that students who earn a 2.0 on a paper will receive only 50% on the percentage scale - a failing grade according to traditional measures. By using a custom scale, Meyer ensures that the percentage conversions reflect her intentions.

Points (mathematical conversion to percentage)	Custom (intentional conversion)
4.0 = 100%	4.0 = 100%
3.5 = 87.5	3.5 = 92
3.0 = 75	3.0 = 84
2.5 = 62.5	2.5 = 76
2.0 = 50	2.0 = 68
1.5 = 37.5	1.5 = 60

EXAMPLE: Professor Berg assigns challenging problem sets as homework. He is most interested in seeing how his students approach each problem, not whether they solve the problem correctly. He uses a 3-point rubric and a custom scale to communicate his emphasis on process over product.

Rubric scores	Custom scale
3 - Effective strategies and correct answer	3 = 100%
2 - Effective strategies, incorrect answer	2 = 95%
1 - Attempted, ineffective strategies	1 = 85%