B
lackboard 9.1 has a Needs Grading feature for assignments and tests submitted by students. When a
student turns in an assignment that you created via the Assignment tool, or a test that Blackboard does not
automatically grade for you, it will appear on the Needs Grading page, accessible via Grade Center in the
Control Panel.
To grade the assignments in the Needs Grading section:
In the Control Panel, expand Grade Center, and select Needs Grading. 1.
Instructors can view attempts ready for grading or review on the Needs Grading page. There are2.
two ways to go about grading. You can start by clicking the Grade All button or grade using the
contextual menus.
Needs Grading
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Grading Using Grade All
Click Grade All to begin grading and reviewing. Attempts appear in the order they were sorted 1.
on the Needs Grading page. Once attempts have been graded, they no longer appear on the
Needs Grading page, and the number of items updates to reflect the current number remaining to
be graded.
On the Grade Assignment page, use the Crocodoc Viewer to add any markup or comments. 2.
Enter a numeric grade for the attempt. You can also use the Download icon ( ) to save a
copy of any documents to your computer.
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A. Action Bar buttons: Go to a specific attempt by a specific student; hide or show user
names in the navigation box; refresh the screen in case new attempts have been
submitted.
B. Move to the previous or next student’s submission of this assignment, and save any
changes to the current grade.
C. Exit the Grade Assignment page and return to Needs Grading.
D. Expand the Instructions pane and view the instructions for the assignment.
E. Zoom in or out, add comments, draw or type remarks directly on the page.
F. Navigate to the previous or next page (or slide) of the document.
G. Enter a numeric grade for the attempt.
H. Use links to switch between multiple documents submitted for the assignment.
I. Download any document submitted for the assignment.
Click the navigational arrows to proceed to the next assessment requiring grading, or click Exit 3.
to return to the Needs Grading page.
Grading Using Contextual Menus
Using an assignment’s contextual menu permits you to Grade All Users or Grade Anonymously. The
latter command does not show the name of the user who submitted the assignment, but substitutes a
sequential number. This helps decrease any bias in the grading process.
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For tests, the contextual menu also includes the commands Grade Tests by Questions and View All
Attempts. Discussions give you the options Grade All Users, View All Activity, and Reset All. For all
assessments, the total number of attempts for the selected items is displayed in parentheses.
Click the contextual icon (down arrow) next to an uploaded assignment or test to begin grading 1.
and reviewing. Click Grade All Users or Grade with User Names Hidden. A total number of
uploaded attempts for that particular assignment will appear in parentheses.
On the Grade Assignment page, use the Crocodoc Viewer to add any markup or comments. 2.
Enter a numeric grade for the attempt. You can also use the Download icon ( ) to save a
copy of any documents to your computer.
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NOTE: The interface is very much the same as in the previous illustration.
Click the navigational arrows to proceed to the next assessment requiring grading, or click Exit 3.
to return to the Needs Grading page.
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