Blackboard 6.3 Help: Gradebook

Gradebook

The Gradebook allows the instructor to organize, manage, and post course grades in Blackboard. The gradebook accommodates scores for essay questions and grades generated outside of Blackboard.

To View the Gradebook:

Padlock - A student is using the assessment or assignment or the student has been timed out of their Internet connection. You will need to reset the exam. The student must take the test again after you reset the exam.

Dash - A student has not taken the exam or submited the assignment.

Exclamation Point - The item has been submitted by the student and needs grading. Displayed when essays, assignments or exams are submitted for grading.

Question Mark - Gradebook Error

Checkmark - Item has been completed by the student. This is a default setting. See Step 4 through Step 8 in Add Item to the Gradebook.

Asterisk - Item is not visable.

Add an Item to the Gradebook

To add an Item:

Open the course and go to the Control Panel.

Click on Gradebook under Assessment.

Click on Add Item to add a graded course activity to the Gradebook.

Enter a descriptive name of the course activity in the Item Name box.

Select the Category that depicts the item from the drop-down menu. Enter a Description of the course activity Item. Select the due date of the course activity or date of the Exam from the drop-down list. Enter the maximum number of points you wish to assign to course activity. If no point value is given, Blackboard will assign "0" to possible points. Select how the grade should be displayed from the drop-down menu. The following choices will appear as:

Select Yes to make course activity visible in the student's gradebook.

If you wish to have the activity included in the Gradebook Score Calculation, click Yes.

Click Submit, then OK to add the course activity Item to the gradebook.

Remove an Item from the Gradebook

The online quiz or assignment must be removed from the course content area before the item can be removed from the gradebook. This will not remove the Item from the Test Manager; therefore, you may return the test or assignment to the course at a later date.

To remove Item:

Click the Remove button of the item (test, assignment, etc.) you wish to delete and click OK.

This will return you to the Control Panel. Go to Assessment and click Gradebook.

Click Manage Items located on the Spreadsheet menu bar.

Click the Remove button beside the Item you wish to delete and then click OK. If the remove button does not appear, see the NOTE below.

Note: If no Remove button appear beside an online quiz or assignment, you must remove the online quiz or graded Item from the content area of your course. After the Item has been removed from the course content area, the Remove button will appear beside the Item. Go through the steps listed above to remove the Item from the gradebook.

Change Item Settings in the Gradebook

To change Item Settings:

Open the course and go to the Control Panel.

Go to Assessment and click Gradebook.

Click Manage Items located on the spreadsheet menu bar..

Click the Modify button beside the Item you wish to modify and then click OK.

Update the Item as shown in Step 4 through Step 8 of Add Item to the Gradebook.

Enter a Grade into the Gradebook

A course activity (test, assignment, project, etc.) must be listed in the gradebook before you can add a grade. If you have not added an item to the gradebook, then go to Add an Item to the Gradebook to view instructions.

To Enter Many Grades:

Go to Assessment and click Gradebook.

Click the name of the course activity to open the options.

Click Item Grade List from the Item Options screen.

Click on the Grade box and type in the grade with the corresponding student.

Click Submit, then OK to enter the grades.

Enter or change One Grade:

Go to Assessment and click Gradebook.

Modify or add a score to the box below Grade.

Download and Upload the Gradebook

Instructors may download and save a Gradebook for use in a spreadsheet program (Excel). The Gradebook may be downloaded as a .csv file (comma-delimited file), changed in Excel and uploaded to the Gradebook at a later date. Downloading the Gradebook does not remove any information from the Gradebook.

Note: If you plan to keep grades in an Excel spreadsheet, start by downloading the file as a Comma-delimited file from the Blackboard Gradebook after all the students have been added to the roster. Downloading the Gradebook will export all the student names and create the proper spreadsheet format.

To Download Gradebook:

Go to Assessment and click Gradebook.

Click on the Download Grades button.

Select Comma to save the file as a .csv file format and click the Submit button. Comma-delimited files easily open in Excel. Selectiong Tab exports the gradebook data as a .txt file and will require more step to bring it up in Excel.

To Upload Gradebook:

Gradebook .cvs files previously saved and/or revised in Excel can be uploaded back into Blackboard.

Go to Assessment and click Gradebook.

Click on the Upload Grades button.

Click the Browse button to locate the .csv or .txt file and click Open.

Click Submit to open the Import Option Menu.

Select one Item from the .csv file you wish to upload into Blackboard. Only one Item can be uploaded at a time.

New Items can be added to the .cvs file using Excel by creating and adding information to a new column.

Select one destination for the Item you are uploading.

Select Create New Gradebook Item if you are uploading a new gradebook Item. Upon Submit, you will be asked to set-up a new Item in the gradebook, as specified in Step 4 through Step 8 of Add New Item to the Gradebook.

Click Submit to upload the Item.

If grades are changed on the .cvs file, Blackboard will request a confirmation that these grades must be changed. There are several choices:

Select Inverse - Those students who have not been selected will be updated and those who have been selected will not be updated

Click OK to updated the Gradebook.

Note: Blackboard will export a comma-delimited file, a list of information displayed in a plain text document with commas placed where a new column would appear. This information is automatically read by Excel and populates the appropriate columns.

Remove a Lock from the Gradebook

Periodically students who take an exam in Blackboard are timed out by their Internet Service Provider. This disconnect is due to inactivity on the Internet. When the Internet disconnect occurs, a Padlock appears in the Gradebook and does not allow the student access to the exam. To provide the student access to the exam, the Padlock is removed by resetting the exam. The student must to take the exam again after it is reset. None of the exam is saved.

Tip: To minimize the need to reset the exam, Blackboard recommends setting the test display option to "One at a time." This will require the student to submit one question at a time rather than wait until completing the exam. In both cases, if the Internet connection is disconnected, the exam will need to be reset and the student will need to take the exam again. Tuning into an Internet radio station may maintain Internet connectivity.

To reset the exam:

Open the course and go to the Control Panel.

Click on Gradebook under Assessment.

Click on the Padlock Icon to open the menu.

Click the View button at the far side of the screen.

Click the Clear Attempt button to reset the exam.

Note: All previously submitted answers are deleted when the exam is reset; therefore the student must take the exam again.