Edit course grading settings

Learners can pass or fail a graded course and earn course credits. This article explains how grading works and how you can set up graded or ungraded courses.

You can also share this information with learners in a simplified guide made just for them: How courses are graded.

How grading works

1. Learners earn points for questions

Learners earn points when they answer questions in a lesson.

Multiple choice questions are worth points if you answer correctly. At this time, points are “all or nothing.” If learners select the right answer they get full points. If they select the wrong answer they get no points. For questions with multiple correct answers, they must select every correct answer.

All other question types are worth points for participation. These questions don’t have defined right and wrong answers at this time, so learners earn full points as long as they interact with (answer) the question.

2. Learners pass or fail each graded lesson

Not all lessons have to be graded. But for those that are, the grade is calculated like this: Sum of points earned / Total points possible = %. If the grade meets or exceeds the set passing percentage, the learner passes. If not, they fail the lesson but still go on to the next lesson.

3. Learners pass or fail the whole course

Then the lesson grades are averaged to determine the grade for the whole course. If the grade meets or exceeds the set passing percentage, the learner passes and receives full course credits. If not, they fail the course.

4. Learners, managers, and administrators get grade reports

Right away, learners get a pop-up alert when they complete a graded lesson or course, letting them know if they passed or failed. Later, they can view grades and download transcripts from their course dashboard. Site admins and managers can see learner grades in their own dashboards too.

Can learners retake courses?

Learners can retake individual lessons depending on how the lesson has been set up. Learn more about setting up retakes.

If retakes are not set up, they cannot change their question answers for the previous lesson once it is complete.

Regardless of retakes, learners can rewatch videos or reread the lesson until the course end date. Learn more about how learners take courses.

Set up a graded course

First, define grading for the course:

1. In the Course Info tab, under Grading, set a Course Passing %.

2. Set the number of Course Credits.

3. Add a certificate to reward learners who pass. This is optional.

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Defining grading for a course.

Then, define grading for each lesson. Not all lessons have to be graded. For example, you might just make a final graded quiz at the end of the course.

1. Go to the Lesson Plan tab then Edit a lesson.

2. Turn on the Graded Lesson toggle for graded lessons. Or turn it off for ungraded lessons.

3. Set a Lessons Passing % for graded lessons.

4. Create questions and give them a Score. This is the number of points learners earn if they answer correctly.

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Defining grading for a lesson.

To confirm that the correct lessons are graded or ungraded, go to the Lesson Plan tab. There should be a Graded indicator next to any graded lessons in the list, while there is nothing next to ungraded ones.

Recalculate grades if you make changes after learners started

To prevent issues with inaccurate grading, some lesson settings lock (cannot be edited) after the course starts. But you can still edit some settings that affect grading. When you do, you should recalculate grades for any learners that already started the course.

For example, if you change the course passing percentage, a learner who previously failed might now pass.

In the Course Info tab, select Recalculate Grades in the top-right corner.

Set up an ungraded course

There is no “ungraded course” functionality, but you can set it up so that everyone who completes the course passes with a 100% grade.

First, define grading for the course:

1. In the Course Info tab, under Grading, set the Course Passing % to 0. This ensures everyone “passes” the course as long as they complete it.

2. Set the number of Course Credits to 0 if it’s worth nothing. Or you can award course credits for completing the course. This must be a whole number between 0-99. Either way, the credits will appear on the learner’s transcript.

3. Add a certificate to reward all learners who complete the course. This is optional.

Then, define every lesson as ungraded:

1. Go to the Lesson Plan tab then Edit each lesson.

2. Turn off the Graded Lesson toggle on every lesson.

3. Set the Lesson Passing % to 0%.

To confirm that all lessons are ungraded, go to the Lesson Plan tab. There should be no Graded indicators next to any lessons in the list.