Letter grades in Quercus

Letter Grades

A number of potential issues regarding the use of letter grades in Quercus have been identified. Problems can occur when using the Gradebook or the SpeedGrader.

Attention all instructors using letter grades in Quercus: It is recommended that you and your Teaching Assistants do not enter letter grades in the Gradebook or SpeedGrader, unless you follow the steps in the support document below created by the Faculty of Arts & Science. This document outlines the technical issues and provides important and clear instructions on how to mitigate and work around them.

Critical Issues:

The following issues have been identified when using letter grades in Quercus. Please consult the “Letter Grades in Quercus FAS Guide.pdf” file for remedies and workarounds.

1) The default letter grading scheme in Quercus does not align with the University of Toronto’s grading schemes.

The number grade assigned to a letter grade is determined by the default grading scheme, unless you select one of the U of T grading schemes. For example, in the default grading scheme an “A” may appear to students as a “100”.

2) The number assigned to a letter grade (e.g., A–) defaults to the numeric value equal to the highest number in the associated range (e.g., 84).

When an instructor/TA enters a letter grade into Quercus, the system assigns the highest number grade associated with that letter (e.g. B+ = 79; F = 49).

3) Quercus assigns a number grade when an instructor/TA enters a letter grade.

While you may only wish to assign a letter grade, Quercus automatically assigns a number grade. Students will see both the letter and a number grade. This will occur in both SpeedGrader and Gradebook.

4) If you enter a grade of “0”, Quercus will make the letter grade “F” visible; some students may think this corresponds to a particular numerical grade.

5) The assignment of a numeric value occurs in SpeedGrader, even if the Gradebook is not used and hidden from student view.

For example, the letter grade entered in the SpeedGrader summary assessment box on an assignment e–submission will generate a numeric equivalent visible to students.

6) Quercus will apply the most recent setting used to all subsequent assignments.

Your browser will track the last selected setting when creating an assignment. For example, choosing “Display as Letter Grade” in one assignment saves that selection for the next assignment being created (due to browser cookies).

7) Only one grading scheme can be activated per assignment, which raises issues for cross–listed undergraduate/graduate courses.

The numeric equivalents in the grading scheme for graduate and undergraduate courses is different.

Reference: Canvas Instructor Guides – How do I enter and edit grades in the Gradebook?