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The Blackboard Gradebook
The Gradebook function of Blackboard is a significant application which can help you and your students keep track of course progress. Assignments are stored in the gradebook and assessments can be created to automatically record their grades in the gradebook. Students can see only their own grades.
Creating a Gradebook
From the control panel>>choose Gradebook. Students are automatically added to your Blackboard coursesite during the registration process. Initially, you will have only a columnfor the students' names and total points.
You will need to choose add item  to create columns to reflect your grading scheme for your class. Other options on the Gradebook menu include:
- Manage Items
The Manage Items page lets you order items and Modify properties
such as item name, points, category, points, visibility etc.
- Gradebook Settings
The Gradebook Settings page allows you to change the spreadsheet
display and options
- Weight Grades
The Weight Grade
page lets you manage grade weighting
- Download Grades
The Download page downloads the gradebook as a comma separted
variable (.csv) file...
Choose Add Item to begin creating your gradebook. Remember that assessments , assignments and the Discussion Grader all add items (columns) into the gradebook. You do not need to add those items into the
gradebook yourself.
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Weighting Grades
In order to calculate the final grade, you will need to assign weights to items in the gradebook. If your midterm is worth 25% and your final 50%, then that leaves 25% to be allotted to other assignments.
Current Gradebook calculations for Total and Weighted Total include items that have not been taken or graded. A new option to exclude untaken or ungraded items when calculating the Total and Weighted Total appears in Application Pack 3 (the current version of Blackboard). The Running Total and Running Weighted Total columns display Student performance only on completed items.
Default Availability: The Total and Weighted Total columns in existing courses are not changed by default. Instructors that wish to replace these columns with Running Total and Running Weighted Total must:
- Select Gradebook from the Control Panel of the Course or Organization.
- Select the Total column
- Select Item Information.
- Select Yes next to Exempt items that have not been graded, and select Submit.
- Repeat for the Weighted Total column.
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Dowloading Grades
Some prefer the flexibility of entering formulas in Excel, a common spreadsheet application. To download your gradebook into Excel, click on Download Grades and then take note of where the .csv (comma separated values spreadsheet) file is saved. You will need to open Excel and then open the .csv file.
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Gradebook Icons
The following icons may appear within your Blackboard gradebook.
 - The padlock icon indicates an item that is In Progress. The padlock icon will appear when a student begins an assessment or assignment, but has not yet submitted a response back to Blackboard.- ! - A red exclamation point indicates that an item requires grading. This icon can appear when a completed assessment contains an essay question that requires grading, or if student has exceeded the time limit of a timed assessment.
 - A checkmark indicates that an item flagged as "Complete / Incomplete" as been completed.
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Using Gradebook Views
Gradebook Views can be used to enter grades for a specific assignment or student. This can eliminate the need to scroll horizontally between student names and the column you are grading. To grade an item using Gradebook Views, select Gradebook Views from the Control Panel of your course.
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Best Practices
Remember, you can see all students' grades, but they can only see their own.
The Gradebook function is one of students' favorite features in Blackboard. It allows them to keep track of their progress in the course. As the final columns (Total Points) and (Weighted Total) cannot be hidden from view, it is important to remind students that the final average displayed is accurate only when all grades have been entered.
Name your grade items minimally as the column in your gradebook is as wide as the title of your item. Paper Number One will take up 12 spaces whereas P1 takes up only 2. Grades should only need 3 or 4 spaces.
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