• 1 To select an aggregation method
• 2 Weighted mean of grades (recommended)
• 3 Simple Weighted Mean (recommended)
• 4 Mean of grades
• 5 Natural
• 6 Other less utilized methods of aggregation
•  - Mean of grades with extra credit
•  - Median of grades
•  - Lowest grade
•  - Highest grade
•  - Mode of grades

To select an aggregation method:

1. Go to the Grade administration page by clicking on Grades in the navigation panel, near the top left corner of the page.
   
   
   
   
2. Alternatively, to access the Grade administration page, you can also click on the gear icon on your course main page, then select Gradebook setup.
   
   
   
   
3. Once you are on the Grade administration page, make sure you are in the Gradebook setup tab, under the Setup tab. Open the dropdown menu as shown in the screenshot below by clicking on Edit, then on Edit settings.
   
   
   Note: The weight column will only appear if you have selected 'Weighted mean of grades' or 'Natural' as your aggregation method.
   
   
4. Choose the method for calculating the final grades in your course in the Aggregation dropdown menu.
   
   

There are four main aggregation methods and each method calculates the course total slightly differently. eClass has other aggregation methods but most of them are not usually used for post-secondary course total calculations. They might be used for calculating totals for any sub-categories in your gradebook in cases where only certain grades require a specific calculation. For example, you could use the 'Highest grade' aggregation when you want students to receive a participation-type score for a series of pre-lecture assignments delivered throughout the term. See the article Setting up Gradebook Categories for more information on this process.

Here is a full description of the four main/recommended aggregation methods in eClass:

Weighted mean of grades (recommended) - Each graded item is assigned a weight. This weight is used to determine the relative value of each item in the overall course total. Weights can be assigned as fractions totalling 1 or integers totalling 100 (an item's calculated weight is the specified weight divided by the sum of all item's weights).

You could, for instance, grade all of your assignments, activities, and quizzes out of 100 each but assign each a weight towards the final grade.

Note: If a grade for an item were out of 100, be careful to assign a grade out of 100 and not out of the weight set for the item. If an item were graded out of 100 but weighted at 30% of the final grade, and if you marked it as if it were out of 30, the grade for that item would be worth only 3/10s of its intended value.

Example

Grades: A1 = 70/100, weight 10; A2 = 20/80, weight 5; A3 = 10/10, weight 3; Course total max 100; sum of weights 18
Aggregation: (0.7*10 + 0.25*5 + 1.0*3)/18 = 0.625 * 100 = 62.5%.
Course Total will be displayed as: 62.50 (Range: 0-100)

To enter the weightings for particular items:

Once you have chosen Weighted mean of grades as the aggregation method, type the weightings beside each activity. Weightings can be applied to individual items or entire categories of items. Within a category, you are also able to determine how much each individual assignment is worth within each category (if you set the aggregation method on the category to Weighted mean of grades). Once complete, click on the Save changes button.

Simple Weighted Mean (recommended) - The difference between this aggregation method and 'Weighted mean of grades' is that the weight of each item is simply its maximum grade. A 100 point assignment has a weight of 100; a 10 point assignment has a weight of 10; items with higher total scores are weighted greater. This is the simplest method to set up, especially if you can match your syllabus breakdown for assessment items to their total in eClass, ie. Assignment 1 counts 20% out of final grade so is its maximum score in eClass is 20.

Example

Grades: A1 = 70/100, A2 = 20/80, A3 = 10/10, category max 100; total points: 190
Aggregation: (0.7*100 + 0.25*80 + 1.0*10)/190 = 0.5263 * 100 = 52.63%
Course Total will be displayed as: 52.63 (Range: 0-100)

Example

Grades: Assignment 1 = 70/100, Assignment 2 = 20/80, Assignment 3 = 10/10, category max 100
Aggregation: (0.7 + 0.25 + 1.0)/3 = 0.65 * 100 = 65%.
Course Total will be displayed as: 65 (Range: 0-100)

Natural (Sum of grades) - Grade is based on total points – each graded item has a number of points that contributes to the total points. A student’s grade is the number of points earned divided by the total points. This is the only type that does not convert the grades to percentages internally (normalization). The course total is the sum of the maximum grades from all aggregated items.

When using the Natural aggregation method, it's important to note that:

• The faculty grade book shows point totals, not percent. The student report shows point totals and percent.

Example

Grades: A1 = 70/100, A2 = 20/80, A3 = 10/10: total possible points: 190, then
Aggregation: 70 + 20 + 10 = 100
Course Total will be displayed as: 100 (Range: 0-190)

To enter the weightings for particular items:

Once you have chosen Natural as the aggregation method, the relative weighting of each grade item will be displayed in the Weights column. These weights can be manually adjusted by checking the box next to a grade's weight and entering a new value. After selecting Save changes, the other grade items' weights will automatically re-adjust themselves to total 100.

Other less utilized methods of aggregation:

Mean of grades with extra credit - Normal aggregation using the mean method is used but with the addition of a multiplier that can provide bonus points for particular items. Extra credit can also be added on individual grade items within categories in the standard aggregation methods.

Median of grades - The overall grade is the middle grade (or the mean of the 2 middle grades) when the grades are normalized and arranged in numeric order.

Lowest grade - The overall grade is the lowest grade, after normalization.

Highest grade - The overall grade is the highest grade, after normalization.

Mode of grades - The overall grade is the grade that occurs the most frequently, after normalization.