How do I set-up a gradebook that simply adds up all my points?

By default, the Moodle gradebook aggregation (the way it adds your grade values) is ‘Simple Weighted Mean of Grades.’ In a ‘Simple Weighted Mean of Grades’ aggregation, the course total in the gradebook is calculated (for all intents and purposes) by adding up the number of points earned and dividing that by the number of points possible. The gradebook displays the course total out of 100.

If you wish your gradebook to display the exact number of points earned to date, then you want your gradebook aggregation to be ‘Natural.’ In a ‘Natural’ aggregation, the course total is also determined by adding up the number of points earned and dividing that by the number of points possible, but this system can display the number of total points earned as the course total (as well as the percentage, should you prefer).

Unless you wish to adjust the weights of specific items within the points system, the aggregations ‘Simple Weighted Mean of Grades’ and ‘Natural’ essentially function the same. For further information about the calculations of the various aggregations, you can visit the ‘Grade Aggregation’ page on Moodle.org.

To change the aggregation of your gradebook, follow these steps.

  1. Login to Moodle and enter the course in which you wish to set-up the gradebook.
  2. In the upper right corner of the main page, click on the gray ‘Edit’ gear wheel.
  3. From the drop-down menu that appears, select the “Gradebook setup” option.
  4. From the “Gradebook setup” page, locate the “Actions” column.
  5. Follow your course name across to the “Actions” column. Click on the “Edit” drop-down under the “Actions” column.
  6. Choose the “Edit Settings” option.
  7. On the next page, change the “Aggregation” option to “Natural”. Scroll down and save your work.
  8. Back on the “Gradebook setup” page, your gradebook total will be adding up all of the points currently in your gradebook.
    NOTE: you will now see a “Weights” column. For “Natural,” the weights in the boxes are automatically generated and are there only to show you what weight the points for that assignment carry in the overall course total. (For example, in a 500-point course, an assignment of 100 points carries a weight of 0.2 or 20% of the course total grade.)