Triggering the Brightspace Gradebook – Cumulative

This would be used if there are content-specific grades to demonstrate accuracy or mastery of learner responses. An example can be found in Birth to Three.

Note: For all activities in the same lesson in CourseArc, points will be combined for one score in the Brightspace gradebook.

1. Adjust the course settings in CourseArc so that Tracking & Grading is set to Cumulative.
2. Edit the CourseArc page in Brightspace to change “Ungraded” to “Graded” and provide a number of points.
3. Link the Brigthspace page to the gradebook using one of the approved grading schemes.
4. Ensure that the title of the CourseArc exactly matches the name of the graded item in gradebook.

Note: If a percentage is required to show mastery, CourseArc does not show a percentage. To account for this, consider at least one of the following for the course:

• Provide learners with a number score (such as X/Y) is passing in the directions on the CourseArc page.
• Guide learners to the gradebook and put in the description of the graded item what score is required for course completion.

Step 1. CourseArc Settings

Change settings of the entire course using “Edit Course”. This can only be changed on a course level.

There are two different options that can be used to grade CourseArc pages into Brightspace: Participation and Cumulative.

With both, keep score syncing as “Automatic”.

When changing the settings to “Cumulative,” it is recommended to set the points value per page to zero unless all pages in the course will contribute to points.

For this option, each question or graded activity must have a point value assigned to it in CourseArc. This is done in each CourseArc Block.

• Options for Graded Items include:
  • Automatic (Points with Auto Grading): Checklist, Classification, Cloze, Graphing, Image Labeling, Image Matching, Interactive Categorization, Interactive Matching, Quiz, Quiz Bank Quiz, and Self Check
  • Access (View all Parts): Flashcards, Flashcards with Images, Image Hotspots
  • Completion (Entry in All Fields): Graphic Organizer, Survey
  • Instructor: Writing

• See a few different examples below of “Point Value” or “Points” settings.
  • Quiz Block

• Interactive Matching

Step 2. Brightspace Page Settings

1. Select three dots in top left corner of page and select “Edit”.

1. In the “Edit” page, select “Ungraded” in the “Grade Out Of” box. A drop-down will appear that says, “In Grade Book.”

1. Select the “In Grade Book” drop-down menu and then the “Edit or Link to Existing” option. A pop-up will appear with the following settings. Customize those settings for your course.

1. When linking to the gradebook, organize grade items into categories if applicable.

1. Additionally, show the score in one of the three schemes:
   • Percentage
   • Complete/Incomplete SCHEME
   • Incomplete (1%)/Making progress/Complete (99%).

1. Double check the settings to ensure that the:
   • Page title matches the name of the grade item
   • Grade Out Of is a number
   • Grade item is set to “In Grade Book”

Step 3. Brightspace gradebook

For specific information about setting up the gradebook, refer to the style guide Brightspace gradebook Set Up.

Ensure that the name of the assignment matches the name of the “external learning tool”.

Learner Requirements for Course Credit

As this graded option does not provide percentages, and typically percentages are the threshold PLS uses to determine passing scores, another method must be used to let learners know if they are passing.

This can be accomplished through directions on the CourseArc page itself.

This can also be accomplished through the gradebook description.

• When adding gradebook descriptions, make sure that the description is selected to “Allow users to view grade item description” and provide a brief description of the required percentage.

As a learner, this appears in the gradebook view as shown below.

• CourseArc: How Are Grades Calculated? Article
• CourseArc: What Blocks Does CourseArc Have? Article
• Style Guide: PLS Gradebook Setup