Require Passing Grade – Setting & Impact

Target Audience: Teachers (Buzz)

Teachers have the ability to modify the settings of graded activities within each course. On occasion, teachers make a modification without understanding the desired impact. Requiring an activity to earn a passing grade is one of the settings that often leads to an unintended consequence.

Require Passing Grade for Course Credit:

Location:

• Course Editor (pencil icon)
• Activity Editor (pencil icon)
• Settings tab
• Advanced gradebook options

Note, this box is never checked by default.

If the teacher enters a passing score and checks the box: Require a passing score for course credit see impact below.

Impact:

When the above setting is selected, students and teachers often see an overall course grade of 0% even though the student’s average is much higher than a zero.

Why?

• The first assignment had the setting changed to require a passing score to earn course credit.
• The student did not meet the threshold of 70%.
• Thus, the overall score becomes a zero percentage as a student cannot earn credit without passing this assignment.

Correction:

If this was the desired intent the two most crucial actions are:

• Messaging to students and families such requirements.
• Allowing for appropriate additional attempts so that students can re-do the activity to earn a passing grade.

If this was not the desired outcome:

• Return to the course editor – select the pencil icon associated with the course from the teacher homepage.
• Select the pencil icon associated with the graded activity(s) impacting the course score.
• Return Advanced gradebook options to their default settings
  (remove passing grade and un-check require passing box)
  
• Select Save.
• Return to gradebook to view the expected course grade.