About the Grade Center

The Grade Center interacts with several tools and components in Blackboard Learn. Understanding how and where these interactions happen provides a comprehensive view of the Grade Center and helps users take full advantage of this tool.

The following table explains how the Grade Center interacts with other tools and components.

Grade Center Interactions

Tool/Component	Interaction
Course Content	When you create gradable items in your course, such as gradable journals, blogs, wikis, Discussion Board items, tests, and assignments, a grade column is created automatically in the Grade Center. For example, when you create a journal, you can select the grading option. A grade column is created automatically in the Grade Center with the name of the journal.
Early Warning System	The Early Warning System is a rule-driven communication tool that can help you identify student performance problems or achievement. You create rules that are based on a test score, calculated column, due date, or course access. When criteria of the rule are met, a warning is generated, and you can send email messages to students and their observers. For example, you create a rule to list students who score below 60 on an exam. Then, you send an email to each student to offer help or set a meeting time. The Blackboard administrator at your school controls whether this tool is available. If this tool is not available, you can contact your administrator to discuss its status. To learn more, see About the Early Warning System.
Observers	Observers can log in and access their observed students' released grades. The Blackboard administrator at your school controls Observer access. If allowed school-wide, you can determine Observer access on a course-by-course basis. Note:  The Observer role is not available with a Basic License. To learn more, see Guest and Observer Access.
My Grades tool	Students view their course grades on their My Grades pages. Grades are available by default, but you may choose to make a grade or grades unavailable in the settings for each column. To learn more, see How to Edit or Select Options for Grade Center Columns.
Report Card module	Students can include the Report Card module on their My Institution tabs. The module displays each course's External Grade in the Grade Center. The External Grade is the grade column chosen by an instructor to use for the final grade, such as the Total column. External Grades are shared with your school to report students' grades for your course. To learn more, see Understanding the External Grade Column in the Grade Center. The Blackboard administrator at your school controls which modules are available to select from.
Performance Dashboard	The Performance Dashboard tool provides an up-to-date report with pertinent information about all users and their progress and activity in your course. The Blackboard administrator at your school controls whether this tool is available. If this tool is not available, you can contact your administrator to discuss its status. To learn more, see Using the Performance Dashboard.
Email tool	You can use the Email tool in the Grade Center to send messages to students and their Observers. Note:  The Observer role is not available with a Basic License.
External data from other grading systems	You can export and import data to the Grade Center by uploading and downloading delimited files. To learn more, see Formatting External Files for Uploading.

You access the Grade Center from the Click to toggle glossary term definition: <begin definition> Control PanelAll course management functions are accessed through links in the Control Panel. The Control Panel is located under the Course Menu and is only available to users with one of the following defined Course Roles: Instructor, Teaching Assistant, Grader, Course Builder, or Administrator. <end definition>.. Expand the Grade Center section to display the links to the Needs Grading page, the Full Grade Center, and the Smart Views. Click the right-pointing arrows next to the Grade Center heading to go directly to the Full Grade Center.

The Needs Grading link displays a page listing all test and assignment attempts ready for grading or review. To learn more, see About the Needs Grading Page.

The Full Grade Center link displays all columns and rows in the Grade Center and is the default view of the Grade Center.

The Smart View links appear as an indented list under Full Grade Center. A Smart View is a focused look at the Grade Center and shows only the data that matches a set of criteria. You can use Smart Views to quickly find data when the Grade Center includes a great number of students and columns. For example, the default Tests Smart View displays only test columns. You can create customized Smart Views and remove unneeded Smart Views. Click a Smart View link to open the Grade Center using that view. To learn more, see Creating Smart Views in the Grade Center.

You can view individual assignment, group assignment, and test attempts ready for grading or review on the Needs Grading page. For courses with many enrolled students and gradable items, you can use the information and functions on the Needs Grading page to determine and organize your grading tasks. If you have a designated turnaround time set for all gradable items, the Needs Grading page allows you to customize the view of items with a needs grading status. You can sort and filter the list, allowing you to grade the most urgent items first. For example, you can sort by due date to ensure your final tests are graded by your school's deadline.

Note:  If the Blackboard administrator at your school has made the SafeAssign tool available, the Needs Grading page also displays attempts for SafeAssignments.

The Needs Grading Page

  Access the Needs Grading page in the Grade Center section of the Click to toggle glossary term definition: <begin definition> Control PanelAll course management functions are accessed through links in the Control Panel. The Control Panel is located under the Course Menu and is only available to users with one of the following defined Course Roles: Instructor, Teaching Assistant, Grader, Course Builder, or Administrator. <end definition>..

  Click Grade All on the Click to toggle glossary term definition: <begin definition> Action BarRows at the top of the page containing page-level actions such as Build Content, Search, Delete, and Upload. <end definition>. to begin grading and reviewing immediately. The Grade All function places all attempts in a queue for easy navigation among items. The items in the queue appear in the order they appear on the Needs Grading page.

Note:  Tests with a grading status of Attempt in Progress do not appear on the Needs Grading page.

  Sort columns to organize your list. To sort a column, click the column heading or caret. The sorted list remains in effect until you change it or log out. The following columns appear on the Needs Grading page:

• Category: Sort attempts to group all assignments or tests together.
• Item Name: Sort attempts by alphabetical order or reverse alphabetical order.
• User Attempt: Sort attempts by a student's name. The number of attempts for the item is listed in parentheses. For example: "Mary Johnson (Attempt 1 of 2)." Click a user's name to go directly to the attempt.
• Date Submitted: Sort attempts by the date and time students submitted the attempts. You may find this useful when a large number of attempts must be graded by a specific deadline.
• Due Date: If you provided a due date when the item was created, sort attempts by due date and grade items that are due first.

  Apply filters to narrow the list by Category, Item, User, and Date Submitted. If a filter is applied, only the filtered items appear in the list and in the queue. For example, make selections in both the Category and User drop-down lists to display tests submitted by a particular user. Click Go to display the filtered items on the Needs Grading page. The filtered list remains in effect until you edit the filter choices or log out. Click the X to collapse the Filter field.

  The total number of items to grade appears above the list of items. Once attempts have been graded, they do not appear on the Needs Grading page and the number of items updates to reflect the current number that needs to be graded. If the list is filtered, the number reflects how many items match the current filter settings. For example, "12 of 17 total items match current filter."

  Click an item's Click to toggle glossary term definition: <begin definition> Action LinkThe Action Link is represented by two downward pointing arrows. Click it to access the contextual menu containing options for many components in Blackboard Learn, such as content items, Course Menu links, or Grade Center columns. The options in the contextual menu vary depending on the component. <end definition>. ( ) to access the contextual menu and make a selection. For assignments, you can select Grade All Users or Grade Anonymously. For tests, you can also select Grade by Question and View Attempts. A total number of attempts for the selected item is listed in parentheses.

   Click Show All to display up to 1,000 items on one page. Click Edit Paging to change the number of items to view per page.

Next Steps

To learn about grading tests and assignments accessed from the Needs Grading page, see Grading Tests and Grading Assignments.

The Grade Center consists of rows and columns of student information and gradable items. Cells in the grid contain data specific to corresponding students.

The appearance of the Grade Center is completely configurable. To learn more, see Setting Up the Grade Center.

The Grade Center Interface

  Action Bar: Rows preceding the grid information containing functions and drop-down lists specific to the current page, such as Create Column, Manage, Filter, Email, Sort Columns By, and Order.

  Grade Information Bar: Information about a selected column, such as type of grade and points possible. Point to a Grade Center column title and details appear in the area preceding the grid and following the Action Bar. In this same row, you can view when data was last saved.

  Grid/spreadsheet: Columns, rows, and cells that make up the current view of the Grade Center data.

  Scroll bars: The horizontal and vertical scroll bars are used to navigate through the Grade Center columns and rows. When you navigate to another course area and return to the Grade Center, you will see the same rows and columns on the page from the last visit. The view remains in effect until you use the scroll bars again or log out.

  Icon Legend: Explanation of the symbols used in the columns and cells.

  Edit Rows Displayed: The number of rows appearing in the grid can be changed. In the box, type a number between 5 and 50, and click Go.

You can perform many actions in the Grade Center using the functions appearing in two rows on the Click to toggle glossary term definition: <begin definition> Action BarRows at the top of the page containing page-level actions such as Build Content, Search, Delete, and Upload. <end definition>..

The following functions appear in the first row of the Action Bar.

• Create Column: Click to create a grade column.
• Create Calculated Column: Access a drop-down list with options for creating calculated columns. To learn more about the types of calculated columns, see About Calculated Columns in the Grade Center.
• Manage: Access the drop-down list with options for managing the Grade Center. The options include:
  • Grading Periods: A set of Grade Center columns which have been collected based on a shared characteristic, such as a period of time.
  • Grading Schemas: A grading schema takes the actual points scored on a graded item and compares it to the total points possible for that item to derive a percentage. This percentage is mapped to a range of scores for grade displays, such as A, B, and C or Pass/Fail.
  • Grading Color Codes: User-defined rules to apply color to the cells in the Grade Center grid, either by grade or status. Color coding the Grade Center provides visual indicators to help you interpret information quickly.
  • Categories: Classifications of columns containing similar items, such as "Tests" or "Assignments," used to organize and view Grade Center data.
  • Smart Views: Custom made views of Grade Center data created by instructors and saved for continued use.
  • Column Organization: Table view of the Grade Center with functions to change the order and visibility of columns. From this page, you can also assign columns to Grading Periods and categories. Changes made on this page are for your view of the Grade Center only and does not change which columns appear to students on their My Grades pages.
  • Row Visibility: You can hide user rows to reduce the number of rows in the Grade Center grid and help you focus on specific data.
  • Send Email: The Send Email page appears.
• Reports: Create reports from Grade Center data and access the grade history for all students. To learn more, see Working with Grade Center Reports.
• Filter: To narrow your view of the Grade Center data, click Filter to expand the field and select an option from the following drop-down lists:
  • Current View: Includes the Full Grade Center view, Smart Views, and Grading Periods. You can select one of the views to use as the default view by clicking Set Current View as Default ( ) next to the Current View drop-down list. When you logout and return to your course later, the view you selected as the default appears in the grid. You can select other views from the Current View drop-down list at any time.
  • Category: Includes all default categories and any you have created.
  • Status: Includes the following grading statuses:
    • All Statuses
    • Completed
    • Edited Manually
    • Exempt
    • In progress
    • Needs Grading
    • Not attempted

    Note:  Grade columns for discussions, journals, blogs, and wikis do not display the Needs Grading and In progress icons. You cannot filter these columns by those statuses.

  In some instances, you can make another selection in an additional drop-down list to further narrow the columns and users that appear in the grid. For example, after selecting the Assignment category, you can select the Needs Grading status and only view the columns and users containing assignments that need to be graded. The category or status you choose to view in the grid remains in effect until you change it or logout.

  Click the X to close the Filter field.

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• Work Offline: Access features that allow you to work with Grade Center data outside of Blackboard Learn. To learn more, Uploading or Downloading Grade Center Items for Working Offline.

The following functions appear in the second row of the Action Bar.

• Move to Top: Select one or multiple check boxes for users and click Move to Top to move the rows to the first positions in the grid.
• Email: Select one or multiple check boxes for users and click Email to display the options of sending to users, observers, or users and observers. After selecting an option, the Send Email page appears.

Note:  The Observer role is not available with a Basic License.

• Sort Columns By: Access a drop-down list that allows you to sort the Grade Center items. You can sort by:
  • Layout Position (default)
  • Categories
  • Due Date
  • Date Created
  • Points Possible
  • Display Name
• Order: Sort the data in Ascending or Descending order.

  Note:  The view remains in effect until you sort columns again or log out.

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Throughout Blackboard Learn, items that are acted upon by users have contextual menus associated with them. A contextual menu displays options that are available and specific for that item. To access a contextual menu, you must click the Action Link ( ) appearing with an item's title. The Action Link icon consists of two downward pointing arrows.

In the Grade Center, all cells and column headers have an Action Link. For example, a contextual menu for a test column includes options for Column Statistics and Grade Questions. For a non-grade column, such as First Name, you only have the options of hiding the column and sorting the cells. If an option does not appear in the contextual menu, you cannot perform the action on that column, row, or cell.

Contextual Menu Options for Columns

Each column's contextual menu displays options that are available and specific for that column. The following options may be available.

Options in the Contextual Menu for Columns

Option	Description
Quick Column Information	Displays information about the column in a pop-up window.
View and Add Rubrics	Displays the available rubrics that provide guidelines for grading this item. To learn more, see Rubrics.
Grade Attempts	Provide a grade for an attempt made for this item. To learn more, see Entering Grades.
Grade Anonymously	Provide grades for this item without knowing the identity of each user. To learn more, see Entering Grades.
Attempts Statistics	Displays the Statistics page for tests and surveys. Each question for a test or survey appears, along with its score information for tests or percent answered for surveys. On the Survey Statistics page, you can view the survey results. The percentage of students who selected each answer appears. You cannot view individual results for surveys.
Download Results	Allows you to download Grade Center data for this column as a delimited file that is used in other applications, such as spreadsheet programs or statistical analysis programs. To learn more, How to Download Grades from the Grade Center.
View All Attempts	Displays the View All Attempts page for tests. From this page, you can grade the attempts, grade them anonymously, or grade by question.
Grade Questions	Provide grades for all of the responses for a specific question at one time. To learn more, see Entering Grades.
Assignment File Download	Allows you to select and download files students have attached to their assignments.
Assignment File Cleanup	Allows you to select and delete the files attached to an assignment.
Edit Column Information	Displays the Edit Column page for this column. To learn more, see How to Edit or Select Options for Grade Center Columns.
Column Statistics	Displays the Column Statistics page for this column. The following appears: Column Details, Status Distribution, Grade Distribution, and basic statistics, such as range, average, median, and variance.
Set as External Grade	The results in the External Grade column are shared with your school as your students’ grades for your course. You decide which column is set as the External Grade. In new courses, the default Total column is the default External Grade column, and the External Grade icon ( ) appears in the column header. To learn more, see Understanding the External Grade Column in the Grade Center.
Show/Hide to Users	Show or hide this column from users. If you hide the column, the column remains in the Grade Center grid, but your students will not see it on the My Grades pages. In the grid, the Column Not Visible to Users icon ( ) appears in the column header for any column hidden from students. To learn more, see How to Hide and Show Users in the Grade Center.
Clear Attempts for All Users	Displays a separate window for clearing attempts for all users. You can clear attempts based on criteria or a date range.
Sort Ascending	Display the items in the column in an ascending order.
Sort Descending	Display the items in the column in a descending order.
Hide Column	Hides the column from view in the Grade Center. To show the column, point to Manage on the Action Bar to access the drop-down list and select Column Organization. To learn more, see About Organizing the Grade Center Data.

Contextual Menu Options for Cells

To see the Action Link for a cell in the Grade Center grid, move your mouse pointer over the cell. Click the Action Link to access the contextual menu.

When you access the contextual menu for a user's name cell, you have options to hide a user's row, hide other rows to focus your attention on one row, or email a user. You can view which items are visible to a user based on availability and Adaptive Release rules or which items a user marked reviewed. You can also view the User Statistics page which provides statistical information related to a user's performance.

Note:  Adaptive Release and Review Status are not available with a Basic License.

To make the Grade Center accessible to as many people as possible, the Grade Center has two different modes, Interactive and Screen Reader.

• Interactive Mode: Grade Center default setting. You can freeze columns and type grades directly in the cells—called inline editing.
• Screen Reader Mode: Grade Center data appears in a simplified grid. The table is static and you type grades on the Grade Details page accessed from the cell’s contextual menu. You cannot freeze columns or edit inline, making it easier to navigate by keystroke and accommodate screen readers. When the Grade Center is first accessed by users with screen readers, users are immediately given a choice whether to use this non-interactive view before progressing any further.

In both modes, you can do the following:

• Move the mouse pointer from column to column using the tab key.
• Navigate the cells using the up, down, left, and right arrow keys on a standard keyboard.

Use the following steps to change to Screen Reader Mode.

1. Access the Grade Center.
2. Click the Click to toggle glossary term definition: <begin definition> Action LinkThe Action Link is represented by two downward pointing arrows. Click it to access the contextual menu containing options for many components in Blackboard Learn, such as content items, Course Menu links, or Grade Center columns. The options in the contextual menu vary depending on the component. <end definition>. ( ) for the Grade Center heading to access the contextual menu.
3. Click Turn Screen Reader Mode on.

   

This setting is not is not saved across sessions. It lasts only as long as the current session. Once you logout, the view defaults back to Interactive Mode.