assignment point value adjustment

[KaitlynPlate]

I would like to be able to adjust the "out of" points for individual students on an assignment without creating a separate assignment just for that student. You have similar options within "quizzes" like giving an individual student an additional attempt or changing the amount of time for an individual student - I'd like to be able to say something like "this 20 point assignment is only out of 15 for ___ student." Please make this happen 😁

[Stef_retired]

Thanks for sharing this idea, @KaitlynPlate . We've moved it forward for broader discussion. Could you provide a specific use case example for setting a different total point value on an assignment for a specific student?

[KaitlynPlate]

Option 1: A task that has "options" where students can pick and choose which parts they'd like to do. Instead of making a separate Canvas assignment for each part, I'd like to be able to adjust the point values per student. 

Option 2: It could be similar to "fudge points" on a quiz but instead of adding to the numerator, you're taking away from the denominator. Maybe you want this assignment to make less of an impact in one particular student's grade, for whatever reason.

[Stef_retired]

@KaitlynPlate  Thanks for these helpful examples. Have you tested whether changing the denominator also changes the assignment's point contribution toward the total grade which potentially creates anomalies in course grades? In theory, if one student gets 14/14 on an assignment, while another gets 16/16, they both earn 100%—but the second student has earned more points and the impact on the total grade will therefore be different.

Please let us know what your testing has revealed on this.

[KaitlynPlate]

Yes, I have done that. Since it's an assignment based on student choice, students know which parts they're choosing to do and they know how many points they can potentially earn. The student has to make a decision about which parts to choose knowing that if they get a 14/14 it's different in their grade than getting a 16/16. I have talked about that with students before giving the assignment, so that they fully understand how their choices will impact their grades. At the end of the quarter, students in the same class might have different denominators, but I don't see anything wrong with that.

[KaitlynPlate]

Of course if a teacher was going to do this for ALL assignments, they'd probably want to set some guidelines for point minimums - but that's up to the individual teacher. Being able to adjust the point value of an assignment for select students allows for student choice, differentiation, and flexibility. I have been doing this by just creating separate assignments in Canvas (like the same assignment posted twice, but one is worth 5 points and the other is worth 10 points)... but assigning the different version to different students can be very time-consuming on my end.

[DavidHan]

Comments from Instructure

As part of the new Ideas & Themes process, all ideas in Idea Conversations were reviewed by the Product Team. Any Idea that was associated with an identified theme was moved to the new Idea & Themes space. Any Idea that was not part of the move is being marked as Archived. This will preserve the history of the conversations while also letting Community members know that Instructure will not explore the request at this time.