TABLE OF CONTENTS

• About the Gradebook
• Access the Gradebook
• Gradebook Views
• Set Up The Overall Grade
• Grade Student Work
  • Grade Assignments
  • Grade Tests
  • Grade Discussions
• Assign Automatic Zeroes
• Set up Accommodations and Test Exceptions
• Additional Resources and Support

About the Gradebook

The Gradebook allows you to grade submissions, track student engagement, message students, add student accommodations, send reminders, and more. When you create a gradable item in your Course Content (ex Assignment, Test, graded Discussion, etc.) a column will be added to the Gradebook automatically.

Watch the Gradebook Overview tutorial video for an overview of the Ultra Gradebook.

Access the Gradebook

You may access your Gradebook within each of your courses or from the Global Grades Page.

Within a Course

From within your course, click on the Gradebook tab. This will bring you to the course's Gradebook. 

Global Grades Page

From the main Blackboard Navigation, click Grades. This will bring you to the Global Grades Page. Here you will see a list all of your courses (in alphabetical order) and the current status of grading. Locate a course and click on View All Work to go to that course's Gradebook.

Gradebook Views

The Gradebook's intuitive navigation provides four different views: Overview, Gradable Items, Grades, and Students. Each view allows you to view and interact with the content in a different way, depending on your current needs.

Overview

The Gradebook Overview is designed to help you easily stay on top of your grading and features two sections: Needs Grading and Needs Posting.

• Needs Grading: The Needs Grading section highlights the items ready for grading. Click on Grade Now to begin grading.
• Needs Posting: The Needs Posting section highlights the graded items ready to be posted. Click on Post Now to post the grades.

Gradable Items 

The Gradable Items view lists all the gradable items in your course. When you create a gradable item in your Course Content (ex Assignment, Test, graded Discussion, etc.) a column will be added to the Gradebook automatically. Items with missing submissions after the due date will display in red.

Select an item’s name to go to its Submissions or Grades & Participation page. Or select x to grade to go directly to the submission page and start grading.

Use the column filters at the top of the page to sort your Gradebook by item name, category, due date, or grading status.

Or manually arrange your Gradebook items by clicking on the Move icon (arrows) on the far right. Drag your item into the desired position in the Gradebook.

Click on the More Options icon (...) in the far right column for additional options, including send a reminder to students, edit the item, question analysis, download files, statistics, or to delete the item. The options will vary depending on your Gradebook item and student activity.

Grades View 

The Grades view displays each student’s grade for a specific assignment. When you create a gradable item in your Course Content (ex Assignment, Test, graded Discussion, etc.) a column will be added to the Gradebook automatically.You will see one student per row and one gradable item per column. This view is most similar to the Full Grade Center in Original Course View. 

Click on a cell to view a student’s submission, start grading, provide feedback, or add/edit exceptions.

Use the column filters at the top of the page to sort your Gradebook by student name, Overall grade, or grade on a specific item.  

Click on a Gradebook item for additional options, including send a reminder to students, edit the item, post grades, question analysis, download files, statistics, or to delete the item. The options will vary depending on your Gradebook item and student activity.

Students View

The Students view lists the students in your course, along with the date they last accessed your course and their overall grade. Students with accommodations have a purple flag next to their name. 

Click on a student's name to go to their Student Overview. Here you will find your student's name, their preferred pronouns and name pronunciation (if they provided that information), the date they last accessed your course, and their Overall Grade. You may also view their activity in the course, add accommodations, send a message, or click on an item to grade their work and provide feedback.

Set Up The Overall Grade

The Overall Grade is a calculated column that shows the students' current grades in the course. It appears in the Gradebook next to the students' names so you and your students can quickly and easily see how they are performing.

To set up or edit your Overall Grade column, go to the Gradebook and click Settings (gear icon). This icon is available from all Gradebook views.

This will open the Gradebook Settings panel. Scroll down to the Overall Grade section and select Manage overall grade settings.

Under Select a Calculation Type, choose how you would like to calculate your overall grade.

• Points: A points-based grade calculation displays a running total of the points students have earned out of the total number of points they may earn. 
• Weighted: A weighted total displays as a percentage of a final grade worth 100%. You can assign percentages to individual items or categories and decide to weigh the items proportionally or equally.
• Advanced: Use a custom formula to calculate the overall grade.

In the Overall Grade Settings area, select how the overall grade is displayed (points, percentage, letter, etc.). Check the option to Calculate grades based on points earned out of total graded points so that students can see their current grade in the course based on the assignments that they have already completed. 

Once you have finished, click Save. Then close the window to return to the Gradebook.

For more information, go to the Grade Columns support article.

Grade Student Work

Grade Assignments

Watch the Grading Assignments tutorial video for an overview of grading Assignments in Ultra.

You will grade your Assignment from the Assignment's Submissions page. You may access this page from multiple areas.

Base Navigation: Click on Grades, locate the course, and select the Assignment you want to grade.

Course Gradebook: Click on the Gradebook tab in your course and locate your Assignment. You may access it from the Gradable Items view or the Grades view.

Assignment: From within your Assignment, click on the Submissions tab.

Once you have arrived on the Submissions page, select a student's name to begin.

This will open the grading page. The student's submission will appear in the middle of the page with panels on the left and right side of the page.

Expand the Students Panel to view the list of students who are ready to be graded Use the Grading Status filter to display all students or select the Needs Grading filter to focus on the current grading tasks. 

Select a student to begin grading.

Your student's submission appears in the center of the screen. You may collapse the Students Panel and Feedback Panel in order to maximize your view of the submission.

Use the Bb Annotate options at the top of the submission to highlight text, add comments, zoom in or out, use freehand drawing tools, and more. For more information, go to the Bb Annotate support article or watch the Annotate in Blackboard Learn tutorial video.

Expand the Feedback Panel to add overall feedback for the assignment or to grade the attempt using a rubric (if applicable). 

In addition to written feedback, you can embed an audio or video recording of your feedback. This recording option appears in the feedback editor for most graded items in your course. Students can watch or listen to your feedback alongside any text you include.

To record feedback, click on the Audio/Video Recording icon in the text editor. This will launch the recording interface

For more information and detailed instructions, go to the Record Feedback support article.

Click on the Grade Pill to enter your student's score. If you graded the assignment using a rubric, the score will be added to the Grade Pill automatically.

Once your student has been graded, select the next student to grade. Once you have finished, go to the Students Panel and click Post Grades to post your students' grades.

Additional information may be found on the Grade Assignments with Flexible Grading support article.

Grade Tests

You will grade your Test from the Test's Submissions page. You may access this page from multiple areas:

Base Navigation: Click on Grades, locate the course, and select the Test you want to grade.

Course Gradebook: Click on the Gradebook tab in your course and locate your Test. You may access it from the Overview tab, Gradable Items tab or the Grades tab.

Test: From within your Test, click on the Submissions tab.

Once you have arrived on the Submissions page, select a student's name to view their test and begin grading.

When you open the test you will see three panels. The Students/Questions panel, the Submissions panel, and the Feedback panel. You may expand or collapse the Students and Feedback panels by clicking on the arrows.

Grade Test by Student

In the Students/Questions Panel, select Students to grade the test by student. Use the Grading Status filter to display all students or select the Needs Grading filter to focus on remaining grading work.

Select a student to begin.

The student's test will be shown in the Submissions panel in the center of the screen. 

If the question(s) are graded automatically you will see the students' scores for each question. Select a question's Feedback button to add feedback specific to the student's response.

If the question(s) are not graded automatically, you may enter a score in the question's grade pill. Select a question's Feedback button to add feedback specific to the student's response. Use the Record Feedback option to add a video or audio recording of your feedback. Students can watch or listen to your feedback alongside any text you include.

Once you have finished grading the test, you may provide some overall feedback to your student in the Feedback panel. Use the Record Feedback option to add a video or audio recording of your feedback. Students can watch or listen to your feedback alongside any text you include.

Once you have finished grading, you may move on to the next student by selecting their name from the Students panel or by clicking on the Previous Student and Next Student options at the top of the page.

Click Post Grades in the Students panel to post your students' grades.

Additional information may be found on the Grade Tests with Flexible Grading support article.

Grade Test by Questions

In the Students/Questions Panel, select Questions to grade the test by question. This will display all of the student responses for an individual question. This is especially useful when grading essay questions. 

Use the Grading Status filter to display all students or select the Needs Grading filter to focus on remaining grading work.

Select a question to begin.

If the question(s) are graded automatically you will see the students' scores for each question. Select a question's Feedback button to add feedback specific to the student's response. Use the Record Feedback option to add a video or audio recording of your feedback. Students can watch or listen to your feedback alongside any text you include.

If the question(s) are not graded automatically, you may enter a score in the question's grade pill. Select a question's Feedback button to add feedback specific to the student's response. Use the Record Feedback option to add a video or audio recording of your feedback. Students can watch or listen to your feedback alongside any text you include.

Once you have finished grading, you may move on to the next question by selecting it from the Questions panel or by clicking on the Previous Question and Next Question options at the top of the page.

Additional information may be found on the Grade Tests with Flexible Grading support article.

Grade Discussions

Watch the How to Grade Discussions tutorial video for an overview of grading Discussions.

By default, Discussions are not graded. If you want to grade your Discussion activity, go into the Discussion Settings and select the Grade Discussion option in the Details & Information section.

Next, scroll down to the Grading & Participation area and enter the grading information (including due date, maximum points, etc.).

Once your students post their responses and replies, you can begin grading. 

Discussions are graded from the Discussion's Grades & Participation page. You may access this page from three areas:

Base Navigation: Click on Grades, locate the course, and select the Discussion you want to grade.

Course Gradebook: Click on the Gradebook tab in your course and locate your Discussion. You may access it from the Gradable Items view or the Grades view.

Discussion: From within your Discussion, click on the Grades & Participation tab.

Once you have arrived on the Grades & Participation page, select the student's name to view their contributions.

Your student's responses and replies are highlighted so that you can read their contributions in context. At the top of the page, enter a grade in the grade pill. Click the Feedback icon to open the feedback panel and provide feedback to your student.

Additional information may be found on the Grade Discussions support article.

Assign Automatic Zeroes

You can choose to automatically assign zeroes to work that is not turned in by the due date. If allowed, students can still submit work after the due date and you can grade it as normal. 

Students with due date accommodations will not receive automatic zeroes for overdue work.

To assign or unassign automatic zeroes, go to the Gradebook and click Settings (gear icon). This icon is available from all Gradebook views.

This will open the Gradebook Settings panel. Scroll down to the Automatic Zeroes section and select or unselect the box to assign automatic zeroes.

Set up Accommodations and Test Exceptions

Ultra courses allow you to set an Accommodation for a student on the Roster. Rather than applying exceptions for individual tests and assignments, the Accommodations will apply to every assessment in the course. Additionally, you may apply individual exceptions for students on the Submissions page for an Assignment or Test.

Accommodations

You may set accommodations for individual students to allow for additional attempts or extended access. Accommodations apply to all assessments within the course. Students will not see the accommodations that you have added.

To set accommodations, go to your Roster. From the Course Content page, go to the Details & Actions menu and click on your Course Roster link, View everyone in your course.

This will open your course roster. Select your student and click the ... menu. Select Accommodations. Select due date accommodation and/or time limit accommodation and click Save.

Additional information may be found on the Make Accommodations support page. 

Assessment Exceptions and Exemptions

You may set exceptions for an individual student or group on a specific test or assignment. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to extend their due date, grant them an additional attempt, or excuse them from the assessment altogether.

Examples:

• Assignment with one attempt: If a student submitted the incorrect document or an incompatible file type, allow a second attempt so the student can resubmit. 
• Assessment due date: If a student is sick, set a new due date so they can submit when they are feeling better.
• Exempt a Student from an assessment: In certain circumstances you may need to exempt a student from an assessment. When exempted, the Gradebook will adjust the overall grade automatically.

Exceptions are different from the accommodations you set in the course roster. An accommodation applies to all due dates or time limits in your course for an individual student. Exceptions are only allowed for the Show on and Hide after dates and additional attempts.

For detailed information and instructions, go to the Grant Exceptions and Exemptions support page.

Additional Resources and Support

Student Quick Start Guide

This guide contains information for students taking an Ultra course: Taking Your First Ultra Course? Here's What You Need to Know.

Convert Your Course to Blackboard Ultra

Ready to take the plunge? Review the Convert Your Course to Blackboard Ultra article for information on converting your upcoming courses to Ultra.

Blackboard Ultra Training Options

Choose the training option that best suits your needs! Whether you prefer to go at it alone, or want extra support and training on your journey, we have an Ultra training for you: Blackboard Ultra Training Options.

Unable to attend one of our trainings? Email elis@lesley.edu to set up an appointment or request a small group training.

What's New in Ultra?

Blackboard is releasing new Ultra features and improvements every month! Some of these new features are large updates with completely new functionality while others are small enhancements. Check out Blackboard's monthly roundup of new features: What's New in Ultra?

Faculty Online Office Hours

Have questions about myLesley? Need assistance? Join the eLIS staff for our weekly online office hours every Monday and Thursday, 2:00 - 4:00 ET. No appointment necessary: Join eLIS Online Office Hours.

Contact Us

Reach out to eLearning and Instructional Support (eLIS) at elis@lesley.edu with any questions or to request a 1:1 or small group training.