Dropping the Lowest Scores in a Gradebook Category

Background

Within the Overall Grade calculation setup, an instructor can edit calculation rules for a grade category so that the lowest score from that category is automatically dropped from the overall grade column calculation. 

It is important to note that all items in grade category with scores being dropped need to be worth the same number of points. This ensures equivalency of dropped grade points and a similar point total for all students.

Editing calculation rules in the Overall Grade column for dropping the lowest scores will not carry over to any manually calculated columns, so that the same dropped score calculation rules must also be applied when creating manually calculated columns.

Steps for Dropping the Lowest Score(s) in a Gradebook Category:

1. In the Gradebook, locate and click the Overall Grade column ellipsis (...) in the Gradable Items view of the gradebook.
2. Choose a grade category to drop the lowest score from and select "Edit calculation rules" for that category.
3. The Category Calculation Rule panel will appear on the right with options.
4. Click the Enable button and then select the "Drop Scores" option.
5. Add the number of scores to the Drop Lowest Scores box that you want dropped from the category.
6. Next, in the Edit Calculations area, you can now see the total number of scores displayed that will be dropped from the category. 
7. Click Save.

Key Considerations:

• Calculation rules can be set in the overall grade column setup that allow scores within a grade category to be automatically dropped from the overall grade calculation.
• All items within the selected grade category must be worth the same number of points so that any dropped assignment reflects the same amount of dropped points for all students.
• Dropped scores and any Excluded grade items must be taken into account when setting up any manually calculated columns.