For some assessments or homework activities, students might need to see their assignment graded with a letter such A or D. In Moodle, letter grades are essentially number grades that are shown as letters in the Gradebook. Percentages are used to link the grade awarded to a relevant letter grade. The advantage of using letter grades is that they act like numbers, so they can be used for a course's total calculations.

The default grade letters within Moodle courses are shown in the following screenshot:

When the teacher grades the assignment, they give a numerical grade, which is then converted by Moodle into a percentage and is shown as the relevant grade letter in the Gradebook.

For example, if the course uses the default letter grades and an assignment is given a grade of 85%, the letter grade shown in the Gradebook will be B because the grade is between 83.00% and 86.99%, as shown in the preceding screenshot.

The letter grades can be customized to link to any percentage...

Scales are a list of words or characters that can be used to grade assignments. Each scale needs at least two choices, but you can have as many words in the scale as you want. You can also use lots of different scales within one course. Examples of scales include the following:

The scale is created prior to the graded activity being added to the course, and when an activity is added to the course, the required scale can be selected. When marking an assignment, the teacher is given the scale options in a drop-down list so that they can select the grade to be awarded. It should be noted that after a scale has been used, it can no longer be edited.

Scales are useful when assignments are assessed using words or phrases or when a course needs to use a range of different grades in order to provide feedback to learners (as we are only able...

Outcomes are extra elements that can be added to a graded activity in order to be able to grade specific elements that have been completed. Each outcome can be graded with Scale, but the teacher must also put in an overall grade for the graded activity. Outcomes can be especially useful for courses that require students to demonstrate competency against specific performance criteria. When we add a graded activity, we will choose which outcomes, if any, it links with (you do not have to use all outcomes on all assessments).

We will set up some outcomes to enable us to assess whether specific criteria is completed and evidence has been provided. We will make use of the Completion scale that we have just set up.

Through the use of numerical grades, letter grades, and scales, a teacher can customize their Gradebook to ensure that it can meet the specific course requirements. Where required, a teacher can also make use of outcomes that can be used in conjunction with a scale to demonstrate competency against specific criteria. Each type of grade has its own benefits, but the options you would like to calculate the final grade should be considered before you choose your grade type in order to ensure that it meets your needs. Remember that numerical grades or grade letters can always be calculated in a more straightforward manner than word grades (scales). Scales should only be used when no grading or only simple grading is required. However, numerical grades and letter grades can be used for more complex grading requirements.

We will now take a look at how to add these grading options to assignments within Moodle before you learn how to grade work.