Advanced Grading Methods

Advanced Grading Methods

Advanced grading methods offer diverse assessment forms for calculating grades, particularly in Assignments. These methods enhance the evaluation process and provide detailed feedback.

Types of Advanced Grading Methods

Rubrics:

• Rubrics provide a set of criteria for grading assignments.
• They help standardize assessment and provide clear expectations to students.

Marking Guide:

• Marking guides offer detailed feedback criteria.
• They allow for flexible scoring and personalized comments for each criterion.

These methods ensure fair and transparent grading, enhancing the learning experience for students.

Basic Concepts

In Cutebrains, teachers typically select numerical grades from a range like 0–100. When advanced grading methods are enabled, the standard grade selector is replaced with a more complex assessment form provided by the plugin. This form calculates grades based on defined criteria, which are then returned to the assignment module.

Example of Grading with Rubrics

• Assignment Setup: A teacher sets up an assignment with a maximum grade of 30.
• Rubric Definition: The rubric allows scores up to 12, with criteria levels (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3).
• Grade Calculation: A rubric score of 12 translates to an assignment grade of 30, while a score of 6 results in a grade of 15.

Each assignment generates a unique assessment form. Unlike scales, which are universally defined and reusable, advanced grading forms are specific to each assignment. Modifying a rubric in one assignment doesn’t affect its use elsewhere.

Reusing and Modifying Rubrics

• Reusability: Teachers can reuse rubrics across different assignments.
• Independent Modifications: Changes to a rubric in one assignment don’t impact others, preserving original settings.

Grading form definitions are integrated with assignment data. They are included in backups and copied when assignments are duplicated or imported between subjects.

Configuring an Assignment Module to Use Advanced Grading Methods

Assignment modules in Cutebrains that support advanced grading methods include a grading method selector in their settings form. Teachers can choose either ‘Simple direct grading’ or one of the installed grading method plugins. Selecting ‘Simple direct grading’ means that advanced grading is not used, and the standard grade selector is displayed.

Assessment Form Definition

In Cutebrains, you can manage your assessment forms through the ‘Advanced grading’ link in the activity settings. This link directs you to a management screen where you can define, edit, delete, and share assessment forms as public templates (if permitted).

Form Creation Options:

• Define New Grading Form from Scratch: Create a new, blank grading form and customize it using the provided editor.
• Create a New Grading Form from a Template: Reuse a previously defined form or a public template available on your site.

Each grading form includes a name and description, which are not visible to students. The description should summarize the form and explain its use.

Modifying the Form After Use

If you need to edit a grading form already used for assessment—such as fixing a typo or adding a criterion—the changes may require reassessment.

Significant Changes: If the grading plugin sees your change as significant, it may flag all current assessments as ‘Needs review.’ You’ll need to re-assess these to ensure the grades are valid and comparable.

Trivial Changes: For minor edits like correcting a typo, you may choose whether existing assessments need review.

Collaboration: If others are using the form (e.g., multiple non-teachers), even minor wording changes can be significant. Ensure clear communication with your colleagues about any modifications.

Re-using Assessment Forms

Instead of creating a new grading form from scratch, you can use an existing form as a template. Click the ‘Create new grading form from a template’ icon to open a new page where you can search for a grading form. Type keywords that appear in the form name, description, or body. To search for an exact phrase, wrap your query in double quotes.

Shared Templates

Users with specific permissions can save their grading forms as shared templates at the site level. These templates can then be accessed and reused by all teachers in their subjects.

Key Permissions:

• Grading Forms Publisher: This role allows users to save their grading forms as shared templates and to delete their own shared templates from the list.
• Grading Forms Manager: Users with this permission can manage the entire collection of shared templates, including deleting any shared template, even if they did not create it.

Sharing Scope:

• Grading forms are shared at the site level only. There is no capability to share grading forms at lower levels, such as course categories, similar to how the question bank operates.

Re-using Own Forms Without Sharing Them

By default, only grading forms that have been saved as shared templates are visible in the search results. However, you can also include all your personal grading forms in the search results. This allows you to re-use your grading forms without sharing them with others. Please note that only forms marked as ‘Ready for usage’ can be reused in this manner.

Permissions

Two capabilities govern the permissions related to grading form templates:

What Students See

When students access an assignment that has a rubric or marking guide attached, they will be able to view this grading criteria as part of the assignment details. This allows students to understand how their work will be evaluated and what criteria will be used for grading.