For some educators, using grades is a no-brainer. On the other hand, you might be wondering if awarding points makes sense for employee onboarding, private music lessons, or continuing education for professionals. 

Setting point values on steps can help motivate learners, enable you to see where they may be struggling, and can provide a simple way to make sure everyone passes required competencies. Learners will need to pass the minimum required score on all required steps in order to earn a passing grade for the course. 

1. While in "Design" mode, hover over any step or enter the Step and select "Settings" (the gear icon).

2. Set a desired point value under "Award Points," and optionally set a "Minimum passing score."

If you'd like to award points manually instead of automatically (auto-graded), toggle "Make reviewable" to the on position.

See more on step settings and how they relate to each other. 

If you set a point value, the step will produce a grade item. If you do not set a point value, no grade item will be associated with the step. 

If you award points automatically on a step with any of the following assessment types, the assessments will be auto-graded based on completion (full points awarded for completion): Paragraph Question, Learner-annotated Image, Submit. For other assessment types, learners will receive a grade based on their performance.

If you toggle on "Make reviewable," everyone enrolled as a teacher or moderator will receive an in-app notification when something needs grading. They will need to review the assessments and enter the grade manually.

If you wish to auto-grade part of an assessment, and manually grade another part, we'd recommend splitting it into two steps.

If you toggle off "Require completion," then learners will have the option to skip the step. Skipped steps are not calculated as part of the total grade. All completed optional steps are calculated into the grade. As a result, if you have graded optional steps, different learners may have different grade outcomes based on the optional steps that they chose to complete and their performance on those steps.

See more on notifications for moderators and teachers. 

Throughout the course, you will be able to view each learner's grade report. There are two percentages at the top of the report. 

In this example, the first learner has completed 100% of all 207 required steps in the course. Of the total number of points attempted, 99% of points have been earned. 

The second learner has completed 70% of all 207 required steps in the course. Of the total number of points attempted, 99% of points have been earned. 

Both learners have a current grade of 99% of points attempted, but only the first learner has completed all steps. 

Remember, the score shows points attempted and graded. If you have outstanding manual grading to do, this number may not reflect the final grade. Check the review screen and complete all manual grading before assuming a final grade. 

💡 Tip: if you need to manually grade one or more steps and you do not want to allow learners to complete the course before they receive a satisfactory grade, you can add a password-locked step at the end of the course. Learners will not be able to unlock the final step and complete the course until you finish all manual grading and provide the password. You'll find the password option under the step settings. 

You can export grades using one of the downloadable reports available under your account settings or within each cohort. Only steps with points will be included in the "Scores by step" report.

See all downloadable reports here.