ALEKS - Assessment and Learning
   

6.5.1 Gradebook Interface

 

The main Gradebook interface is shown in Fig. 6.36. Several options are available for this display. By default, all gradebook data is displayed, but the "Show" menu lets you select one specific category of data for separate display.
Gradebook Setup. To view or set the configuration of the Gradebook, click on the "Gradebook Setup" button (Sec. 6.5.5).
Display Options. The menu lets you choose to see the grading information in terms of points (based on the points allotted for each category in the Gradebook configuration) or by percentage of the total points possible; it also lets you set a date range for the display. For any changes to the display to take effect, you must click the "Update Display" button.
Full Screen View. Click on the link to view the Gradebook in an expanded screen.
Send Message to Selected Students. Instructors can quickly send a message to students while viewing the Gradebook. There is a number icon by each student's name that gives the position of the student in the sorted list. Since the default sort is by student name, the numbers will reflect the position of the student in the alphabetical list. If instructors sort on a different column, the numbers will show the position of the student relative to the new sort. By sorting on a column and then using this feature, you can quickly send messages to groups of students who have high or low values for any column. Furthermore, you can send messages without having to navigate through the ALEKS Message Center or lose your place in the Gradebook.
Download to Excel. As with other reporting displays in ALEKS, the contents of the Gradebook can be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet for use outside of ALEKS. It is recommended that you download the Gradebook into Excel on a regular basis in order to have a backup file on hand. This can be useful in the event of a discrepancy or if edits need to be made to student scores.
Students are listed in the left-hand column; there are also options to show their ALEKS Login Names or student ID numbers instead of names.
Total Grade. The Total Grade column appears when choosing "Show: All" from the drop-down menu. It shows a computation of the student's current grade based on assignments completed or for which the due date has passed. This column attempts to predict or approximate the student's grade for the class based on any work to date; for example, if the class is half completed and a student has 70% in this column, it means that if the student's work continues at the same level for the remainder of the class, it is likely that the final grade will be around 70%. If a particular category (e.g. Quizzes) is chosen rather than "All," it shows the total grade to date based only on that category of assignments. If a date range is specified other than the entire period of the class, the display will use only the assignments whose dates fall within that range.
Student Grades. The Gradebook displays in columnar format where specific assignments are chronologically ordered by due date. Each assignment has a name, is color-coded by category, and shows its due date. As the students complete the assignments, values are inserted into the corresponding cells. Cells where the student has not completed the assignment are empty or, if the due date has passed, contain a value of 0. If the student has completed the assignment but the due date has not passed, the value appears in grey indicating that it will not be used in computing the current "Total Grade." For some types of assignments (e.g., Homework with multiple attempts, Sec. 6.4.5), students have the option of redoing or retaking the assignment, so that values in grey may change before the due date.
If you click on the heading for the "Students" or "Total Grade" column, the list will be sorted on the values in that column. If you click on the "[Edit]" link in any column for a specific assignment, a box will open containing options to edit and view student results. These are similar to the analytical options in the regular report views for similar assignments (Sec. 6.2.16).
Chapter or Objective Completion. Scores for chapter or Objective Completion, in the ALEKS Gradebook, are received from the Textbook Integration or Objective features (Sec. 6.3.2).
Each chapter or Objective has a due date by which students are expected to complete the material in that unit. If a student completes the chapter or unit before the due date, a grade of 100% is entered into the student's cell for that assignment. The score will appear in grey, and it will not be used to compute the Total Grade until the due date has passed. It is not, however, subject to change; even if the student loses material in a subsequent assessment, the 100% score will remain. If the student does not complete the unit by the due date, the percentage of unit material that the student did complete will appear in the cell as the student's score.
Students using ALEKS have access to Gradebook information for their own work, similar to the information described in this chapter.