Extra Credit Assignment or Quiz
To create an ADDITIONAL ASSIGNMENT or QUIZ for Extra Credit
In Brightspace an extra credit assignment or quiz is called a Bonus Item.
- Bonus items appear in the Grade Book with a gold star next to them.
- Bonus grade items are not included in the maximum points for a category or final grade. They are added on top of the calculated grade.
- Bonus grade items cannot make users' grades exceed the maximum points specified, unless the Can Exceed option is selected.
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There is no replacement bonus function. If you'd like to replace the new assignment/quiz with the old one, create this as a regular item and then use the "drop" lowest score and the "exempt" features to allow students to choose to complete the item to replace a failing one.
Step 1: Create a bonus assignment or quiz.
- Create the desired quiz or assignment as usual.
Step 2: Create & Associate the Grade Item.
- Create the grade item as usual. For instructions on how to create a grade item or organize the gradebook see the video "How to Organize the Gradebook"
- Then click the “bonus” and the “can exceed” box.
- Take the following additional steps depending on the type of gradebook you have decided to use:
For a weighted gradebook:
Option #1: Do Not Assign the item to a category (RECOMMENDED)
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Do NOT assign this assignment or quiz into ANY category. (Don’t use a current one OR a specific “bonus” category).
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By leaving the “Bonus” item with no category, you can limit its weight to the most you wish to add to the final course percentage. For example, if you do not want to add more than 4% to any given final grade, limit the Bonus item’s weight to 4. The points can be any amount as it is the weight that makes the difference in the overall percent.
Option #2: Assign the Item to a Category, but limit its weight.
- Make sure the Category is set to "can exceed". Click Grades, Manage Grades, then Edit from the down arrow next to the category. Then click "Can Exceed"
- Be mindful of the weight you set on the item. Remember this will go ON TOP of the overall category percentage.
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If you are tying to decide how many points/percentages is appropriate a good rule of thumb is to weight the item relative to the total points in the category
- For example, if a Bonus item is worth 10 points and there are 500 points in the category (not including bonus pts), then weight the item at 10/500 = 0.02 or 2%. You can also reverse this calculation, if you want to create an item worth 2% or 0.02, then take (desired decimal percentage) x total number of points=number of points the item should be worth. 0.02 x 500= 10.
For a points gradebook:
- Make sure you are careful about the number of points you assign to the item. Ex. In a 1000 point gradebook, an extra 100 point item might swing the grade higher than you wish.
- You may have the points in the gradebook differ from the way you grade and Brightspace should convert this difference for you. Ex. If you grade the item out of 100, but assign it only 20 points.