Gradebook (Part I) - Initial decisions for your gradebook and setting Preferences

If this is your first time to use ANGEL for your web-supported course, there are a couple of things you need to do to set the gradebook up to work properly for you and your students.

There are actually four decisions you need to make and then things will run smoothly:
1.  Set Preferences
2.  Choose your categories
3.  Set the grading scale
4.  Choose the items you want to grade and record

NOTE:  The first time you go to the gradebook, you will likely see a Gradebook Wizard.  We highly recommend you choose "Skip Wizard" and do our four easy steps instead.

In order to access the Gradebook, choose the Manage tab and then select Gradebook

This pops open either the Gradebook Wizard (which we recommend skipping) or the choices on the Gradebook page.  This page is where you will access the links to help you make your four decisions.

Decision #1 - How do you plan to figure grades?  Do you plan to use percentage or points and what is the difference?

For your first decision, click the Preferences link and it will pop open a window where you will make a number of choices for your convenience about how your gradebook will figure grades.

On this page, first choose whether you want to have a Points or Percentage gradebook (see explanations on the graphic above).  

After you choose whether to use a Points or Percentage gradebook, then make choices about the Default Display Format and the Overall Display Format.  The General area is how students see individual assignment scores and the Average area is how students see their overall grade for the course.  Do you want it show their score or a percent or a letter grade or a combination?  

Finally, we suggest you choose to Exclude Instructors from Averages so you don't skew your class results in case you take your own test or grade something for yourself as a practice.

Make sure to click the Save button or you will get to make all these decisions again!

NOTE ABOUT "TREAT UNGRADED ITEMS AS ZERO" - If you choose this option, your students will have an "F" until the end of class.  This puts zeros in for all assignments that do not have grades in them, even if they are not due yet.  So, be careful about choosing this option.