Learning Management System Grading Hacks for Better Results

Learning management system grading

In the world of corporate training, helping corporate learners meet their learning goals requires a sound evaluation strategy that can fairly measure their progress. Using an appropriate eLearning grading scale allows admins to track how learners are progressing and if they achieve their target. From my experience, creating an effective grading system motivates learners and gives clear feedback on their performance. This article will share tips to help you create an eLearning grading scale that accurately reflects corporate learner performance and supports growth.

Methods for grading student work Quick Answer

  • A way to evaluate learner performance within an LMS
  • Uses scales, percentages, or letter grades to measure progress
  • Helps track assignments, quizzes, and course completion
  • Can include automated grade calculation and feedback
  • Supports clear communication of results to learners and instructors
  • Improves motivation and learning outcomes through transparent grading

Grading learner performance

When it comes to student work grading in an LMS, it’s crucial to set clear categories that differentiate between various components like assignments and the online test. For example, assigning 20% weightage to assignments and 80% weightage to the online test adds up to a total weightage of 100%, ensuring fair evaluation of learner performance. A well-organized Gradebook allows admins to easily see the marks earned by individuals as well as the entire batch of learners in a course. From my experience, balancing these weightages properly motivates learners to engage with all parts of their training and helps maintain transparency when results are viewed.

Types of Grading Systems

There are 4 types of grading system which are as unders:

Letter Grades

In an LMS, letter grades like A+ show a learner’s success by linking an alphabetic letter to a score range such as 91-100%. Scores come from different categories like assessment and online test with set weightage — for example, 20% and 80%. If a learner gets full marks, say 18 out of 20, they earn an A+ Grade. This clear system makes grading fair and easy to understand.

Pass/Fail

In a grading system, weightage is split across categories to evaluate a learner’s score. If the course pass percentage is set at 40%, the learner must score above this threshold in both categories to secure a Pass Grade. The pass/fail status is clearly displayed based on this score calculation. This simple method uses grading criteria and evaluation metrics to measure learning outcomes and confirm course completion. It balances score distribution and sets a clear pass/fail cutoff so learners know their result status easily.

Total Points

In many grading systems, total points are the simple summation of all scores in a specific course. For example, if an assessment is worth 20 marks and an online test 80 marks, a learner scoring 16 and 70 gets a total of 86 points. This method adds scores without using category-based weightage, making it a clear and easy way to measure learner performance and get quick assessment results.

No Grades

Sometimes an organization may choose the No Grades option to disable all grading. This is set in individual course settings under My Courses by adjusting the Grade Configuration. Here, common grading methods like Letter Grade or Pass/Fail Grade system don’t apply, and no grading scale is used. Normally, the grading scale is set in the account settings of the LMS and applies to all courses. Choosing No Grades skips the usual grading policy and grade management, making the system simpler but without detailed grading control. From experience, this works well for groups that want a clear learning setup without formal course grading.

Enabling and Using a Grading System

After enabling the available Grading Systems on the Grading page in Account Settings of the LMS, you can select one grading system for each specific course. The Account Settings Grading acts as a master switch that turns on or turns off the 4 Grading Systems available.

  • Navigate to My Courses and select course.

  • Go to Settings > Grade Configuration.

  • Pick a grading system from the drop-down menu.

  • If you choose Pass/Fail or Letter Grades, define grade categories like Internal, External, and Main.

  • Assign weightage percentages of 50%, 25%, and 25%, totaling 100%.

  • Use the + Add Category button to create categories and click Save.

  • Tag course module entities such as assignments by opening the Module tab and clicking the ellipsis icon to Edit.

  • Under Basic Info, assign a Grade Category like External and set the maximum marks.

  • Repeat this for other entities; for example, Assessment tagged to Main, Assignment to External, and Session to Internal.

  • Following these assessment scoring tips helps maintain clear and consistent grading setup and grading configuration for smooth course grading.

Grading a Learner

Once a course is published and members joined, grading depends on the course entity type. For an online test, grades are calculated automatically based on learner performance and marks scored for answered questions. For an assignment, the course administrator can enter marks manually.

  • Go to the Modules page and open the learner’s list by clicking the indicative number next to the course entity.

  • Find the learner’s name and enter marks, then hit enter to submit marks.

  • Only learners like Pedro Martinez who have completed the online test can have their marks edited.

  • If the partial marking feature is enabled, you can edit awarded marks for incorrect answers or descriptive type questions.

  • Marks cannot be edited for unanswered or correctly answered questions.

  • Use the Adjusted Marks feature to manually adjust scores to help a learner get pass marks if needed.

  • Finally, click Update Score and Recalculate grades to apply changes.

Viewing Gradebook & Grades

To view Grades for a specific course, go to the Members tab where an overview is displayed for all learners. Click Grades to see the complete course Grade Records and select learner profiles to access individual learner grades. The Course grade book shows all batch members in the gradebook view. You can print the overall gradebook using the Print button, which opens a popup with preview and print options like number of copies and printing orientation. This makes managing both the individual learner progress and the full course grade book simple and clear.

Recalculate or Update Learner Grades

  • When a change in marks occurs in a course like the Product Management course after an offline test or assignment is graded, learner grades need to be recalculated to show the correct grades.

  • As a Course Administrator, go to the Members tab and select More Actions > Recalculate.

  • Clicking the Recalculate button lets the system detect any grade change detected and updates the learner’s grade-book with the updated grades.

  • You can recalculate grades multiple learners at once or handpick customized groups to update.

  • Look for the yellow indicator next to members who require recalculation needed.

  • This process ensures Self-Learning and Blended Learning courses display correct grades fairly for all learners.

How To Create An Effective eLearning Grading Scale

Creating a strong grading scale is a great way to help corporate learners assess their performance in any online training course. From my experience as an administrator, a well-planned course design motivates learners by setting clear learning goals for each module, encouraging them to aim high and see how far they have come.

It’s important that online instructors and facilitators not only track employee progress but also measure and gauge effectiveness to boost satisfaction. Many learners simply complete courses without much thought, which is unlikely to push them to pick up the next module or do their best.

So, a grading system must be easy to understand, fairly reflect time and effort, and act as a motivator. While designing this, know that completing the course is not enough; the scale should inspire learners to grow and improve continuously, which benefits both learners and the overall online training strategy.

Keep It Consistent

To keep your eLearning grading scale effective, always use a consistent scoring methodology across all modules, including online training courses, face-to-face sessions, and microlearning elements. Assign the right weight to each element to ensure an accurate overall score that matches the learning objective. Clear descriptions help guide corporate learners and make sure the grading is fair and easy to understand.

Choose the Right Descriptions

When setting up grading in a learning management system, weighting each element properly on the overall scale is key to fair grading. From my experience, using clear words like “Try again,” “Good try,” or “perfect” works well, especially for simulations and games where encouragement matters. For more serious or longer assessments, I prefer formal mechanics like percentages, A-D grading, or a quick 1-10 scale in quizzes to keep things simple and understandable. It’s important to be clear about which end of the scale means good performance so learners aren’t confused. Each part of the assessment, or each element, should map back to your established grading methodology for consistency and fairness in evaluating performance.

Be Clear About Learning Objectives

In my experience working with corporate learners, an eLearning grading scale is most effective when each employee is fully aware of their learning objectives. Setting up individual online training paths allows clear tracking of scores and helps learners measure their progress against a set baseline, such as an average score from their peers or an expected pass grade defined by the project team. It’s crucial to make it obvious how an online training course or microlearning element is helping employees meet these goals. Connecting evaluation methods to real-world applications gives corporate learners meaningful context and shows them exactly where they are measuring up.

Tie It Into Desired Behaviors

The goal isn’t just to ace an exam or finish a simulation without errors; it’s to evaluate corporate learners on desired behaviors and real results. They earn the maximum number of points by displaying specific skills and closing a knowledge gap. Using a clear scale with qualitative assessment methods helps demonstrate how well learners apply their skills and information in a practical context, which shows true performance behaviors.

Get Your Entire Team On The Same Page

From my work with admin, manager, and online instructor roles, I know it’s vital they fully understand the eLearning grading scale to fairly evaluate employee performance.

Using clear percentage calculation steps and the right tools like online training tutorials or walkthroughs makes the grading process easier and helps corporate learners use the results for ongoing growth. Setting a clear passing grade and knowing what happens if a corporate learner fails to meet minimum criteria keeps everyone focused.

Regular updates with new analysis tools and methods help to accurately monitor progress and support a strong learning environment where motivation and healthy competition thrive. Recognizing top grades while sensitively helping those who fall below average ensures all employees meet their learning goals. This system benefits both individuals and teams, giving performance management information that helps the L&D team build a highly-skilled workforce. With a scientific approach, you can assess progress clearly, describe progress at the corporate learner level, and boost engagement.

Choosing the right Learning Management System with a built-in assessment engine is a smart investment—the 7 Benefits of such a system clearly show why it’s key to any successful online training strategy to evaluate employees performance well.

What are the 4 grading categories?

Using grading systems with equal levels on a 100 percentage scale—like A for 80-100%, B for 60-79%, down to F for 0-19%—makes grading clear and fair. The 4-point grading system (4=A, 3=B, 2=C, 1=D, 0=F) naturally occurs from this and helps increase equity compared to a 100-point system. This simple scale lets learners see how their performance matches desired behaviors.

How to evaluate a learning management system?

When evaluating an LMS, use clear communication plans between faculty and students and effective survey instruments to collect the right type of data. Set a timeline for data collection and survey availability, then analyze the information carefully. Finally, share the details of data usage and results so everyone understands the LMS performance.

What is an LMS gradebook?

In my experience, the Gradebook function in Canvas is a powerful and robust tool that helps instructors maintain all grades online easily. It handles many tasks usually done with a spreadsheet application, allowing teachers to quickly distribute grades to students. It can automatically flag late or missing assignments and calculate overall course grades, saving time and keeping grading organized.

Conclusion

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ABOUT ME !!

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Maryam Ahmed

Hi, I’m Maryam Ahmed, a designer, developer, and mathematical expert. With a passion for blending creativity and logic, I specialize in crafting innovative solutions that bridge the gap between design and functionality. My goal is to deliver visually engaging and technically sound work that meets both aesthetic and practical needs.