{"id":595,"date":"2024-11-13T11:36:51","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T16:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/?p=595"},"modified":"2025-09-19T13:19:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T17:19:27","slug":"grading-allowing-extra-points-creating-bonus-items-and-exceeding-100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/2024\/11\/13\/grading-allowing-extra-points-creating-bonus-items-and-exceeding-100\/","title":{"rendered":"Grading: Allowing Extra Points, Creating Bonus Items, and Exceeding 100%"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Overview<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Brightspace allows instructors to recognize additional student efforts in a course. Instructors can add bonus items, allow extra points, and set up the grade book to exceed 100%. This guide will walk you through these options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating Bonus Items in the Grade Book<\/summary>\n

Bonus items are a way to offer extra credit without affecting the core grading structure, meaning students who don\u2019t complete these items aren\u2019t penalized. Note that Bonus Points will immediately be reflected in the Calculated Final Grade displayed to students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To create a bonus item in the grade book:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. In your course, select Grades<\/strong> from the navigation bar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. On the next page, go to the Manage Grades<\/strong> tab.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Click New<\/strong> and select Item <\/strong>from the dropdown menu.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Choose the Grade Item Type. Numeric grades are the most common.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Please note: A Numeric<\/strong>, Selectbox<\/strong>, or Pass\/Fail<\/strong> grade type must be chosen if you\u2019d like the Grade Item to be used to calculate the final grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. Name the item and set the maximum points. Check the Bonus <\/strong>box. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          Checking the bonus box ensures that the item\u2019s points are only added if completed and won\u2019t count against students who don\u2019t complete it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Save your changes before exiting. You can also make an existing item a bonus by editing it and checking Bonus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

          Allowing Extra Points Within Existing Grade Items<\/summary>\n

          In cases where you want to reward students with extra points on standard assignments or exams, Brightspace allows you to enable additional points within a grade item:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          1. In your course, select Grades<\/strong> from the navigation bar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. On the next page, go to the Manage Grades<\/strong> tab.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. On the Manage Grades <\/strong>tab, click the chevron icon next to the relevant grade item and select Edit<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
            \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

            On the next page, check the box Can Exceed<\/strong> under Grading Options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            1. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

              Save your changes before exiting.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

              Setting Up the Grade Book to Exceed 100%<\/summary>\n

              By default, the Brightspace grade book caps the total grade at 100%. To enable grades that go over this limit (e.g., when bonus points are included) follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              1. In your course, select Grades<\/strong> from the navigation bar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              2. On the next page, go to the Manage Grades<\/strong> tab.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              3. On the Manage Grades<\/strong> tab, locate the Final Calculated Grade<\/strong>. Click the chevron icon next to it and select Edit<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                1. On the editing page, check the Can Exceed<\/strong> box under Gradings.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                  Save your changes before exiting.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

                  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                  \n\n\n\n

                  Still have questions? Email us at FacultySupport@sps.cuny.edu<\/a>. We’re here to help!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  Overview Brightspace allows instructors to recognize additional student efforts in a course. Instructors can add bonus items, allow extra points, and set up the grade book to exceed 100%. This guide will walk you through these options:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-brightspace"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":923,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions\/923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.sps.cuny.edu\/teaching-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}