Tips for Troubleshooting Grading Calculations in Blackbaud Learning Management System™

Aaron Richards
Aaron Richards Blackbaud Employee
Ninth Anniversary Blackbaud Staff Loyalty Badge
edited December 8 in Blackbaud K-12 Education Solutions™ Blog

Grading season can be stressful, especially when calculated grades don’t match expectations or formulas seem confusing. Whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or support staff, this guide will help you quickly identify and resolve common grading calculation issues in your Learning Management System (LMS). Check out the six scenarios below to make grade entry run smoothly and ensure every student’s results are accurate. 

Scenario One: Teachers Are Prompted to Create Their Own Formula 

When calculating grades, teachers are asked to create a formula and aren’t sure what to select. 

  1. Go to Grades > Grading setup > School year setup. 
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2. Use the available filters to select the Grade Plan Groups, then select View.
3. In the Grade Plan Details, look for the calculator icon.

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  • Tip:The number in parentheses next to the calculator icon indicates how many calculations exist. Hover over the icon to view calculation titles, which are grouped by Single Term and Multi Term courses to help you prepare formulas efficiently.

4. To add or edit formulas, select Edit, then select Formula (X). Select Edit to modify an existing formula or Add to create a new formula. You may have options to Add Single Term or Add Multi Term depending on the type of courses associated with the grade plan.

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Tip: Remember - Formulas do not automatically roll over each year. Set up Marking Periods before performing Grading rollover.

Scenario Two: Teachers Use Different Formulas

  1. You can create multiple formulas for each course type (e.g., “Final Grade w/Exam” and “Final Grade w/o Exam”).
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2. Administrators can pre-configure formulas to reduce errors and make grade entry easier, such as when teachers use the same grading method but apply different percentage weights.

3. Use this opportunity to review grading practices and update policies if needed.

Scenario Three: No Grade Is Calculated After Selecting a Formula

You should review two things:

  1. Formula configuration. Each formula can be set to pull a percentage from any marking period (i.e. gradebook) and/or from any report card grade in the current or previous term. Multiple grades can be included. For example, an overall grade may be calculated using a combination of exam, effort, and/or term grades.
  2. Does the course contain the grades required for the formula to work?The formula must reflect available data. For instance, if your school does not use the LMS gradebook, you should not configure a formula that includes gradebook values. Instead, you can use formulas that combine term grades entered manually with exam results or other reported values.

Scenario Four: Calculated Grade Doesn’t Appear in “Adjusted grade” Dropdown

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Note: This scenario is only possible when grades are set to translate on input. If you strictly translate grades on output or do not translate at all, this scenario is not applicable.

Adjusted grade values are based on your grade translation table. Some schools use one clear translation, while others have multiple options. If you're unsure which to use, follow these steps to find the correct translation for your course and see how the parts fit together.

  1. Identify the Grade plan group assigned to the course(s) in question.
    1. Navigate to Academics > Requests & Schedules > Courses.
    2. Add the column for Standard grade plan group and search for your course.
      1. Or search for the course and select the title to edit, then select the Grading tab to see which Grade plan group is assigned.
  2. Identify the Category assigned to the grade plan.
    1. Navigate to Grades > Grading setup > School year setup. Search for the grade plan group and view/edit the grade plan that is being used.

Note the Category for the grade you’re reviewing. In our example above, we're looking at the Q2 Progress grade which is assigned the Letter Grade category.

grade_plan_details_1.png

3. Still within the Grading setup menu, select Grade categories.
4. Locate the category identified in step 2B and the corresponding Translation table:

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  1. From Grading setup, select Grade translations. Then select the edit icon next to the Translation identified in step 4.
  2. Using the value calculated by the teacher, locate where it should fall in the grade translation by comparing it to the Minimum and Maximum values. In our example, the calculated value (92%) does not fit within any of the defined ranges. This often happens when a student earns above 100%, but it can also occur if there are rounding differences or too many decimal places carried in the calculation.

This example highlights the importance of using consistent decimal places across all grading setups and calculations, as well as carefully reviewing grade translation tables to accounted for all possible values . It happens more often than you might expect!

Scenario Five: GPAs Are Not Calculating Correctly

This can be complex, particularly for schools that recently migrated to Blackbaud and imported historical grades. The following steps can help resolve most issues:

  1. Begin by reviewing your known GPA formula, selecting a sample student, and completing your own longhand calculation of that student's GPA for comparison.
  2. Navigate to Academics > People Finder. Search for and select your example student, then select Performance.
    1. Select the blue GPA title needing review
    2. Ensure the display matches what you are troubleshooting. For example, if the screen shows a cumulative GPA but you need a specific year or term, select Edit display to switch views.

Compare your longhand calculation to what the system displays. Review how each course contributes to the formula and confirm the final GPA formula shown at the bottom of the page.

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The specific issue you identify will determine where you need to make the adjustment.

  1. Purple: A class is missing, or the wrong grade is included. This typically falls into one of two scenarios:
    1. The student is missing an entered or imported grade. Navigate to Grades > Grades management > Enter grades by student to confirm the grade exists.
    2. The grade exists but is not included in the calculation (or the incorrect grade is being used).
      1. Review how that grade was recorded (Grade Plan, Grade Plan Grade Label).
      2. It is likely that the grade is not selected correctly in the calculation setup. In Grading setup > Calculations, edit the calculation to review the included Grade plans and ensure the correct grade is selected for the appropriate year and/or term.
  2. Green: The value is present, but the number is incorrect or unexpected. Check both of the following:
    1. Confirm the grade awarded to the student is accurate in Grades management > Enter grades by student.
    2. Compare the recorded grade to your translation table to ensure the correct GPA Equivalent is being applied for the grade (e.g. no typos or incorrect translation ranges).
  3. Red: This is an issue with your course setup. Go to Academics > Requests & Schedules > Courses and select your course. Review the GPA weight, GPA Points, and Credits to ensure they are correct.
  4. Blue: If these areas are not accurate, then your established formula is incorrect. Navigate to Grades > Grading setup > Calculations and edit the calculation in question. You can make modifications to the formula on the first screen:
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Scenario Six: Assessment Grading Linked to Mastery Skills

This is possible. However, your school must be using Competency-Based Education (CBE)—referred to as Mastery within Blackbaud—where teachers attach skills to assignments and score students on those skills. If your school is not yet using CBE, this article provides guidance on how to establish Mastery Learning.

TIP: For consistency, your mastery rating scale and your assessment grade translation table should align with one another.

Once these skills are in place, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Academics > Grades > Grading setup > Assessment skills.
  2. Select the context menu (...), then Edit for the skill you want to update.
  3. Under Mastery skill equivalent, search for and select the mastery skill to link to this assessment skill.
    1. Only one mastery skill can be linked to an assessment skill.
    2. If you use sub-skills, the assessment skill will link to the main skill. Individual assignments are tied to the sub-skills that make up the main skill. When using the Calculate option for grading, Blackbaud will average the sub-skills and apply that average to the main skill rating.

As long as teachers attach mastery skills to their assignments and score those skills, the ratings can be transferred to the report card during grade entry by selecting Calculate:

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When calculating a mastery skill score, no formulas are created by the administrator. Instead, the teacher selects the timeframe they want to calculate from. Timeframe options include individual marking periods or an overall cumulative period.

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Teachers can also split the calculation by using multiple grading periods:

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IMPORTANT: Watch for decimals and rounding. The calculated values run through your grade translation table. If your assessment translation table uses only whole numbers, be sure to remind teachers which values they should enter (e.g. whole numbers only).

We hope these tips help you resolve grading calculation issues quickly and confidently. If you have questions or encounter unique challenges, please reach out to our support team or share your experience in the comments below. Your feedback helps us improve and support your success!

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