Grading scheme seems to malfunction in quizzes

[KarlijnvanA]

Something weird is happening and I hope someone can help me out, for it is not the first time this has happened.

I have a new quiz, where students can get a maximum of 20 points. I added a grading scheme to this quiz. It turns percentages into a numerical grade between 1 and 10:

Now this happens again:

Based on the fact that this student scored 50%, she should get a 4.5, as shown above. Instead, Canvas rewards her with the maximum grade: a 10.

Why? Can anyone help me out as to why this keeps happening, not just in this particular quiz, but in other instances as wel? Is this something in the code behind Canvas?

Hope someone can help me out! Thanks in advance

[mzimmerman]

Hi @KarlijnvanA 

In your screenshot, Canvas is showing you the actual score (10 points, out of 20 possible), not the grade as defined by the grading scheme.

[KarlijnvanA]

@mzimmerman I know, that's indeed the problem. It works fine with other students, who got another score.

[chriscas]

Hi @KarlijnvanA,

I think there might be a slight bit of confusion on what the grading scheme in intended to do.  At it's core, it's really about translating a numeric score (whether points or percentage) to some kind of letter grade.  I have seen some more unique uses like you're attempting here in the community before, but the results will definitely be mixed.

A grade scheme will never change the underlying points structure (points or possible or points earned) for an assignment (there is an edge case using the numeric schemes where entering a grade in the Gradebook may not work as expected, but that doesn't apply to quizzes).  So, if you have a quiz that was created as being worth 20 points, it'll always be worth 20 points in the gradebook.  The numeric grade scheme you created may make things appear to be worth a different points amount, but that's just a visual display, not changing any points or calculations.

If you're using "Classic quizzes", the points for a quiz are the sum of the points for each question in that quiz, so I'd recommend adjusting the question values to get the points to be 10 if that's what you desire.  If you're using "New Quizzes" you can set the quiz points independently from the questions, so you'd just set the quiz assignment to be worth 10 points instead of 20 (se the How do I create a quiz using New Quizzes? - Instructure Community - 1173 guide).  In either of these cases, I'd say you could adjust for future quizzes, but changing existing quizzes is not something I'd personally recommend because you'll likely run into all kinds of different grade change scenarios that will not be what you want.

I hope this info helps!

-Chris

[KarlijnvanA]

Hi @chriscas 

Thanks for taking this time!

Whereas a score of A through F is very commons in the States, a score of 1 through 10 is a very regular way of scoring assignments, quizzes and tests in Holland.

The points in Canvas help to determine how important an assignment or quiz is within a Canvas course, so it's not my intention to change the points. I want this test to make up 20 point out of the total, so the total grade of the course is calculated the way it should. I also want my student to understand what they scores on the quiz. This is not as easy al "divide your point score by 2", as you can see in the grading scheme. 

So I'm afraid, although your reply gives a lot of information, it's not a solution I can use 🙂

[KarlijnvanA]

It would be great if someone from Instructure can look at this an respond. It really is a problem at our school and I presume at more Dutch schools.

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @KarlijnvanA,

If you' like someone at Instructure to look at this, you'd need to contact Canvas support to create an official ticket (the community here is generally comprised of other users around the world, and is not an official way to get any Instructure employees to look at things).  With that being said, I have a pretty strong feeling the response you'll get is that things are functioning as documented and you're going into somewhat of a gray area with the numeric schemes.  You may need to create a feature idea to officially support numeric schemes, which could be a longer-term thing.

I hope this helps, even though it may not be what you had hoped to hear.

-Chris