Moodle Help

Gradebook reports F for my Course Grade, but my average is much higher

Calm down.  There's a simple explanation!

At the beginning of the course (or at least way before the end of the course), I program the formula for the course grade into Moodle.  That includes every test and other other item required in the course.  So until you take all the required items, the course grade will not be very high. 

In other words, the course grade you see is what you would get in the course if you stopped right now—didn't take any more tests or exams or anything—and walked away from the course.

This entry in the gradebook is only useful or accurate AT THE VERY END of the course, when you have completed EVERYTHING.

How can I estimate my current course grade?

It's pretty easy. Just find your total points in the course, then divide that by the maximum possible points on all items you've already attempted, then multiply your answer by 100. That will give you your current percent grade. Of course, some items may not have been scored or reported in Moodle yet.

Total points ------------------- X 100 = percentage Total attempted

Here, let me walk you through it:

What is "Pts to A" in the Gradebook?

This entry is "Points to an A" and gives the number of points you still need to earn in the course to get an A for the course grade.  This is useful near the end of the course because it will give you an idea of how well you need to do on the final exam or last test (or whatever remains) to achieve an A.  Or it tells you whether an A is even possible given the number of points yet available in the course.

Scroll down to the video to see this section in the gradebook.

What is "% New Learning" in Gradebook?
Why is it negative?

This is a "value added" feature that appears after the grades for each online test as "% New Lrng #" which means "Percent New Learning [test number]."  It represents the difference between your score for the PreTest and your score for the "real" Test expressed in a percentage. 

So a "% New Learning 1" value of 23 means that you gained enough new learning between taking PreTest 1 and taking Test 1 to have improved by 23%. 

This value is not calculated into your course grade.  It is not used for anything other than for you and me to see how much you are advancing in your learning . . . that is, how much you are adding to the knowledge you already have.

If you have a negative value in this item, it's likely to be because you took the PreTest but have not yet taken the "real" online Test for that topic.  So no need to panic.  If, however you're getting negative values AFTER taking the regular topic test, then we need to see why you seem to be "losing knowledge" (or maybe why the gradebook is incorrectly calculating the value).

For this feature to work as intended, you should be "following the rules" already established in your course:  you should NOT be looking up answers or otherwise reviewing information or learning new information for any PreTest. 

For you to benefit fully from the PreTest you should take it "cold" . . .before even looking at the new material it covers.

What is the "Section" grade and why is my percentage so low?

In some "meta" courses where there are more than one course section all rolled into one Moodle course shell, a grade called Section may appear in the grade book. This is usually in the "miscellaneous" grade category. This is NOT a grade.

The Section entry is merely the number assigned to the course section in which you are enrolled for a course. For example, in BIO 240 01, then "1" is your section number. If you are enrolled in BIO 240 80, then "80" is your section number. It's merely there to help me figure out where you belong when I submit grades to the registrar.

Moodle, however, being a silly computer program and not a real person, does not understand this. So Moodle assigns you a percentage for Section, as if it's a real grade. Ignore that percentage. It's meaningless.

Ordinarily, NOTHING in the "miscellaneous" grade category is part of your course grade.

Not all courses have a Section grade.

Explore the Grade Book!

This brief video explores the gradebook.