Change assignment weights

Updated 21 May 2024

You can adjust how gradebook categories and individual assignments are weighted when calculating student overall scores in each content area.

  1. Open the Manage Grades page and select Change Weights from the toolbar.
  2. Choose how to calculate overall scores:
    • Category and Assignment Weighting: Categories are weighted relative to one another and assignments are weighted within each category.
    • Assignment Weighting Only: Assignments are weighted relative to other assignments only.

Under Category Name, you can enter the percentage each category contributes to the overall score.

You can select Edit Offline Categories to change the name of the default gradebook category, Other, and create multiple offline categories with different weights. See Offline assignments for details. You cannot add multiple offline categories after you have weighted assignments.

Under Assignment Weighting, select Edit to change the weight of each assignment in a gradebook category to the total number of points in that assignment.

Assignment weight is used to calculate the points earned for each assignment. For example, assume that a student has answered 6 out of 9 possible points correctly, resulting in an assignment score of 6 / 9:

  • If you choose Total assignment points, the points earned are: (6 / 9) * 9 = 6

If you choose Equal weight (10 pts), the points earned are: (6 / 9) * 10 = 6.7

Using an LMS? If your MyLab gradebook is synchronized with a Learning Management System gradebook, you cannot change the assignment weighting.

  • Enter the weight for an assignment in the Assignment Weight column of the table.

    This option is not available when you send scores in raw points to your LMS gradebook.

  • If you select assignment weighting only, you can check Omit Results to exclude the results from overall score calculations.
  • If you synchronize scores with your LMS gradebook and you sync by assignment scores (not by overall scores), you can select Send to LMS to automatically send the assignment's grades to your LMS gradebook.

Using an LMS? If your MyLab course is paired with your Learning Management System, you can choose how scores are sent to the LMS gradebook.