Creating and Editing Custom Grading Categories
Using custom Grading Categories allows you to group assignments by type so that they can be weighted collectively in final grade calculations. For example, You can create a category in your course for homework assignments and weight it to 30 percent of the course grade. This weighting applies whether the category has five homework assignments or fifty.
When assignments are assigned to a category, a color-coded bar appears at the top of their columns on the Gradebook page. This enables you to tell at a glance in which category an assignment belongs. Also, using categories is optional. If you do not create any custom categories, all assignments remain in the Default category.
Category color codes are assigned in the order they are created, however, you can drag and drop individual category rows to reorganize the order in which they appear on the Gradebook page. To have the same category colors for all of your courses, note the order in which you created them, and repeat that order for all your courses
Once one or more grading categories are created, you can assign individual assignments to them by using the dropdown menus in the Category column on the Edit Grading Categories page. You can also assign or reassign categories when creating and editing assignments.
Note: Categories created and applied to assignments in a parent course are automatically applied in any child sections.
You can create, edit, and assign categories from a number of different areas in CengageNOWv2:
- • From the Gradebook overview page, open the Columns menu (gear icon). Select Edit Grading Categories to open the page where you can create, edit, or assign categories.
- • From the Assignment Details page, click the Change Category link to open the Edit Grading Categories page.
- • From the assignment creation wizard, use the Assignment category option in the Grading menu to place your assignment into a grading category (you must create the categories in advance).
Note: The Color Code in Gradebook column shows you the order of the categories as they appear on your Gradebook page. You can "drag and drop" the individual categories in this section to reorganize the order of their appearance. See To reorganize categories on your Gradebook page for more details.
To create custom categories
- 1. Go to the Gradebook overview page and make a selection from the Select a Course or Section dropdown menu.
- 2. Open the Columns menu (gear icon).
- 3. Click Edit Grading Categories and the Edit Grading Categories page will open.
- 4. In the Create New Category, Named text box, enter a name for your new category (for example, "Homework," "Not Graded," or "Final Exam").
- 5. Click Add and your new category will appear in the Category Name list.
- 6. Enter a value in the % of Grade column to determine the percentage of the total course grade this category represents.
- 7. (Optional) Add a comment about the category.
- 8. Add any additional categories you might need, following the same steps outlined above.
- 9. If the category percentages do not total 100%, adjust them until they do. Any portion of the total not set in a custom category will remain in the Default category.
- 10. Click Save or click Save & Return to return to the Gradebook overview page. Click Cancel if you want to exit without saving.
Note: You can also weight assignments individually using the Possible score and Curve factor of options, regardless of whether the assignments have been put in a category. See Editing Assignment Options for more details.
To delete an assignment category
- 1. Open the Gradebook page and make a selection from the Select a Course or Section: dropdown menu.
- 2. Open the Columns menu (gear icon).
- 3. Click Edit Grading Categories and the Edit Grading Categories page opens.
- 4. Select the category you wish to delete, and then click Delete Selected Category. Any assignments that are affected by this change are returned to the Default category.
- 5. Click Save or click Save & Return to return to the Gradebook overview page. Click Cancel if you want to exit without saving.
To reorganize categories on your Gradebook page
- 1. From the Gradebook overview page, select a course or section in the dropdown menu.
- 2. Open the Columns menu (gear icon).
- 3. Click Edit Grading Categories and the Edit Grading Categories page opens.
- 4. Select the category row you would like to move by positioning your curser over the row and holding down the left mouse button.
- 5. Drag the row and move it up or down, so that it is positioned appropriately.
- 6. Release the left mouse button and the row should snap into place.
- 7. Click Save or click Save & Return to return to the Gradebook overview page. Click Cancel if you want to exit without saving.
Note: To change available categories or add categories, click Edit Grading Categories to be returned to the Edit Grading Categories page.
