Grade Forums
Why Do This
To encourage meaningful forum contributions, grade the forums based on:
- Quantitative and qualitative contributions to the discussion.
- Responsiveness to discussion and demonstration of knowledge and understanding gained
from assigned readings.
- Adherence to forum etiquette and protocols as described in your syllabus.
There are two different ways to review and grade a student鈥檚 forum contributions:
- Whole forum grading: Assign one grade for all of the posts and replies combined. You can manually assign
the grade, or use a rubric or grading guide to calculate the grade.
- Ratings: Assign individual grades (ratings) for each post and reply.
You will choose which method to use when setting up the forum. Please see our help guide Set up Forums for more information.
Whole Forum Grading
- While viewing your forum, click the Grade Users button (located underneath your description
and above the posts).

- This will pull up the first user. Their name will be displayed in the upper right.
On the left you will see all posts and replies by that user and on the right is the
grading panel.

- On the left, above each post you will see who started the discussion. If it is the
user you are grading, it means this was an initial discussion post. If it is a different
user, it means the initial discussion post was started by someone else and this is
a reply. Click 鈥淰iew parent post鈥 to view the post the user was replying to.

- For each post you will see the subject, when it was posted, and the full text of the
post. Unfortunately at this time late posts are not indicated in any way, so you will
want to keep your due dates in mind when grading.

- On the right, in the grading panel, if you are using Simple Direct Grading you will
see a box below Grade where you can enter the grade. At this time there is no feedback
box in the grading panel. To provide feedback you will want to view the post in the
forum and click reply. See our help guide on managing forums for how to do so. If
you are using a rubric or grading guide, they will be listed here. Fill out and the
system will automatically calculate the final grade.

- Select whether you want this user to receive a notification that a grade has been
given. If you select No, the student will not be notified, but the grade will be visible.

- Move to the next user by clicking the arrows at the top. Your changes will automatically
be saved. Or, click the magnifying glass icon at the top and select a specific user
from the dropdown. Or type their name in the box.

- If finished, click the arrow above the user鈥檚 name to close the grading panel.

- Click Save to save your changes. Finally, click Close to return to the forum.

Ratings
- While in your forum, click on the discussion you wish to grade first.

- At the top of the post you will see the subject, who posted it, and when it was posted.
Unfortunately at this time late posts are not indicated in any way, so you will want
to keep your due dates in mind when grading.

- In the lower left of the post, select the grade from the dropdown. Once selected the
score will display to the left of the dropdown. The number in the parenthesis is how
many times this post has been graded.

- Scroll down and grade any replies. Once finished grading this thread, click the link
in the lower right to go to the thread above this one, or click the link in the lower
left to go to the thread below this one. If you do not see a link in the lower left
or lower right, it means this thread was either at the top of the list or the bottom.

- Repeat until all threads and posts have been graded.