Add a Graded Item (Column) in Moodle

Graded activities created in Moodle, such as Forums, Assignments, and Quizzes, have corresponding Gradebook columns that are automatically created and linked by Moodle. However, you may want to add an additional Gradebook column for a graded activity you are conducting face-to-face instead of in Moodle (such as attendance points, or an in-class presentation).

1.) In your Moodle course, click 'Grades'

A screenshot of the Moodle navigation bar with the Grades tab circled.

  • It is located in the left column on your Moodle site.

2.) Click the 'Gradebook Setup' tab

Screenshot of the Grades drop-down menu with "Gradebook setup" highlighted,

3.) Scroll to the bottom and click 'Add grade item'

An image of the add grade item button, which has been circled.

4.) Click 'Show more...'

Screenshot of the New grade item screen with "Show more" circled

  • This will expand the grade item section to include additional items to customize.

5.) Enter the settings for your grade item

Screenshot of the Grade Item creation screen.

  1. Item name: The name you enter here will be the column name you see in your Grader Report.
  2. Hidden until: This allows you to keep an item hidden until a set date and time.
  3. Lock after: This allows you to lock a grade item after a set date and time.
  4. Grade type: Grade types include None, Value (a numerical grade), Scale (grade is selected by a pre-created scale), or Text. Selecting Text will allow you to only share feedback with students. it will not allow you to enter a value that will be factored into a student's overall course grade.
  5. Maximum grade: This is the point value for your Grade Item. You can only edit this if your Grade Type is set to "Value."
  6. Grade category: If you have created categories for your Grade Items, you will be able to select the category this Grade Item should be nested under. If you have not created categories, this option will be unavailable.

6.) Click the 'Save changes' button

An image of the save changes button, which is circled.

7.) To view the graded item click on 'Grader report' and 'View'

Screenshot of the Grades drop-down menu with the Grader report highlighted

8.) To view the added graded item column, you may have to click the plus sign to fully expand the grade category

An image showing the newly created graded item column.

  • Clicking the plus sign changes the grade category view to "grades only", in which you can see the grades for individual assignments in that category but not the category total.
  • To see the full view from "grades only" view, click the square where the plus sign was previously.  This will expand the grade category to include the category total.
  • You can also click the minus sign to collapse the category and just show the category total, not the individual assignments.
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