By default, a class grade is calculated on total points: every assignment counts by how many points it's worth. A grading system replaces that with weighted categories — for example Quizzes 25%, Homework 25%, Exams 50% — so each category contributes a fixed share of the final grade.
Note: Grading systems are included in every plan. See Plans & Pricing.
Create a grading system
- Go to To grade.
- Click Grading systems at the top of the page.
- Click Add grading system.
- Enter a System name you'll recognize (for example "Middle school math").
- Under Grade categories, click Add category and enter each Category with its Weight percentage (a whole number).
- Keep adding categories until the weights add up to exactly 100%. The form won't save otherwise ("Category weights must add up to exactly 100%.").
- Click Save grading system.
Your systems are listed with each category and weight. Use Edit or Delete to change or remove one. Changing a category's weight recalculates grades in the classes that use it.
Warning: Deleting a grading system puts the classes that use it back on total points, and their assignments lose their grade categories.
Note: You can also create a system without leaving your class: open the class's Details tab, click Grading settings, and in the Grading system section choose the option to create a new one from the dropdown.
Apply a grading system to a class
- Go to Classes and click the class.
- Click the Details tab, then Grading settings.
- In the Grading system section, select your system. Its categories and weights appear below the field. Choose None (grade by total points) to go back to grading by total points.
- Click Save changes.
Put assignments into categories
Once the class uses a grading system, give each assignment a category:
- When creating an assignment, pick the Grade category in the Add classwork form.
- For an existing assignment, open it from the Classwork tab, open the actions menu, choose Assignment settings, pick the Grade category, and click Save changes.
Warning: With a grading system in place, any assignment without one of that system's grade categories is left out of the final grade. The assignment page and the View student work window warn you when this is the case.
How the class grade is calculated
- With a grading system: each category's score is the average of the graded work in it, and the categories are combined by their weights. A category with no graded work yet is left out, and the other weights are scaled up to fill in.
- Without a grading system: the grade is total points earned out of total points possible.
Either way, only graded work counts: work with points and a status. Blank points and Excused work don't count. If a student has no graded work yet, their class grade is blank rather than 0%.