The grade centre in Blackboard is an area that allows you to monitor student progress, grade assignments, tests, and other learning activities. Grade centre columns can be created manually for tests, assignments, projects and/or presentations that do not require submission through Blackboard. If submissions are generated through Bb then a grade centre column for the corresponding test, assignment, and/or activity will automatically be created. (see Creating Assignments and/or Creating Tests)
Accessing the Grade Centre
Step 1. Access the Grade Centre from the Control Panel in any Blackboard course.
Step 2. Expand the Grade Centre section to display the links to the Needs Grading area, the Full Grade Centre and the Smart Views.
Note: The Needs Grading area displays all tests, assignments and/or learning activities that have been submitted through Blackboard and are ready for grading or review. The Full Grade Center link displays all columns and rows in the Grade Center and is the default view of the Grade Center. The smart view links appear as an indented list in the Full Grade Center section. A smart view is a focused look at the Grade Center and shows only the data that matches a set of criteria. You can use smart views to quickly find data when the Grade Center includes a great number of students and columns. For example, the default Tests smart view displays only test columns.
The Full Grade Centre page contains the following areas:
1. Action Bar which includes the following functions:
Create Column – Creates a column that represents a gradable item in the course.
Create Calculated Column – Calculated columns combine data from multiple columns to attain performance results; choose from Average, Minimum/Maximum, Total, or Weighted.
Manage – Customize and manage the Grade Center, including Grading Schemas, Categories, Smart Views, and Column Organization
Reports – Create a customized, printable report, view grade history, or review student submission receipts
2. Student Information – lists all students registered in the course and is updated daily through Banner.
3. Column Menu – provides access to a column’s settings, including Quick Column Information, Edit Column Information, Column Statistics, Set as External Grade, Show/Hide to Users, Hide Column.
4. Icon Legend – As an activity gets added and recorded into the Grade Center, refer to the Icon Legend for assistance.
5. Work Offline – Download the Grade Center into an Excel spreadsheet to save for future reference.