The Gradebook Setup window allows you to add grade items, to organize grade items into categories, and to choose how you want Moodle to calculate final grade totals (weights, points, etc.).
Accessing the Gradebook Setup Window
- Open the Moodle course and turn editing on by sliding the Edit Mode toggle to the on position.
- Select the Grades tab.
- From the drop-down menu, select Gradebook Setup.
Manually Adding Grade Items
A Grade Item is simply any activity that can earn a grade.
Some Moodle activities, such as assignments and quizzes automatically create Grade Items in the Gradebook. There may be, however, activities in your class, such as an oral presentation or class participation, that are not Moodle activities but that you still want to grade. In this case, you will need to add a Grade Item manually to the Gradebook.
- In the Gradebook setup window, click the Add grade item button.
- Enter an Item name.
- If necessary, change the Maximum grade. (The default is 100.)
- Click the Save changes button.
- The Grade Item now appears in your Gradebook.
You do not need to create Grade Items for activities that will automatically generate an item in the gradebook. You can access the Grade settings for such activities by opening the activity in the course, clicking the activity’s Settings tab, and adjusting the Grade type under the Grade heading.
Adding Grade Categories
Grade Categories allow you to group Grade Items that will be handled in a certain way. For example, a “Homework” category may include all homework assignments and be weighted in a particular way.
- In the Gradebook setup window, click the Add category button.
- Enter a Category name.
- Click the Save changes button.
Rearranging Items in the Gradebook
In Moodle you cannot just click and drag a Grade Category or Grade Item to move it to a different position in the item list. To rearrange items in the Gradebook:
- Click the Move icon next to the item you wish to move.
- A series of blank boxes surrounded by dotted lines appear in the Gradebook list. Click the dotted box in the location where you wish to move the item
- The items moves to that position in the list.
Weighted Grade Items or Categories
In some cases you may want grade items or categories to represent designated proportions of the final grade in the gradebook. For a detailed explanation about why and when to use weights in Moodle see Using Weights in the Moodle Gradebook.
Adding Weights to the Entire Gradebook
To add fields where you can enter weights to every item in the Gradebook:
- Click on the Edit button across from the course title at the top of the Gradebook Setup window.
Be careful not to click the Edit button for an individual Grade Item or Grade Category.
- Select the Edit Setting option
- From the Aggregation drop-down menu, choose Weighted Mean of Grades.
Do not choose Simple Weight Mean of Grades if you want to enter weights. The “Simple” aggregation option is not the same as the Weighted Mean of Grades.
- Click the Save changes button.
- You will now see a Weights column in the Gradebook where you can add your weight figures.
Adding Weights to a Gradebook Category
Sometimes you want to weight items inside of a Gradebook Category. To add weight fields inside of a specific category in the Gradebook:
- Click on the Edit button across from the Category where you want to add weights.
Be careful to select the corresponding Edit button for the chosen Category rather than the entire Gradebook or another Grade Item in the list.
- Select the Edit Setting option
- From the Aggregation drop-down menu, choose Weighted Mean of Grades.
Do not choose Simple Weight Mean of Grades if you want to enter weights. The “Simple” aggregation option is not the same as the Weighted Mean of Grades.
- Click the Save changes button.
- You will now see an indented Weights column in the Gradebook where you can add your weight figures for the category.
Video: Gradebook Setup Basics When Using Moodle’s Classic Theme
This video was recorded using Moodle 3 and the Classic theme. The default theme in Moodle 4 as of the Fall 2023 is Boost.
Moodle.org Support Links
For more information about this Moodle topic, see the following articles on the moodle.org support site.
