Dropping the lowest total point score

I have an issue with how the system drops the lowest score. I have my gradebook set up to calculate each semester by total points with weights. For most of the weighted categories I have set it up to drop the lowest score. However, it is not dropping the lowest score, it's dropping a low score, but not the lowest which is significantly impacting students grades. This seems to only be an issue when there are multiple zeros for the system to chose to drop.

 

For example, a student has 2 zeros. One worth 0/53 and the other  0/34. The system removed the 0/34 instead of removing the 0/53. I found a way around this, but it was a pain and took me a lot of time to do it for each student. I removed the setting of dropping the lowest grade. Then I went through all of their lab grades and exempted them from the lowest grade. In this case, I removed the 0/53. Her grade went up from a 89.50 to a 90.42. This doesn't sound like much, but this had a huge impact for other students. For example another student the system dropped his 0/20 airplane lab instead of the metric measurement lab of 0/95. With the 0/20 dropped his grade was 70 and when I removed the lowest dropped grade and did the manual exemption of the lowest grade (0/95), his grade went up to a 75.

 

When I looked into the response I got was:

"The Gradebook does look at the max points for the assignments when a teacher selects to drop lowest grades. It will drop the assignment with the lowest earned point value first but if there are 2 assignments with equally low point values (percentage wise) then it will drop the assignment with the lowest max point value first.  Meaning, if a Teacher selects to drop the two lowest grades and a Student has three 0s, for assignments that are worth 100, 50 and 25 points, respectively, the 0s for the 50 and 25 point assignments will be dropped. This is to keep important assignment grades from being dropped from the Gradebook." 

 

I'd like this to be changed to:

" if there are 2 assignments with equally low point values (percentage wise) then it will drop the assignment with the HIGHEST max point value first"

 

I'd like this change because then the system would technically drop the lowest grade that has the most impact on a student's grade.  If it cannot be changed, can a setting be put in for both options?

  • Guest
  • Jan 26 2018
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  • Guest commented
    29 Jan, 2018 06:36pm

    I think teachers should be able to decide which grade to drop, just as they have the power to exempt an assignment. 

  • David Gillespie commented
    28 Jan, 2018 04:16am

    I agree with the logic here ... but dropping the lowest is more complicated.  Given a 0/10 and a 10/100, which should be dropped?  The theory here says 0/10 because it has the lower percentage.  But the 10/100 has the greater affect on the grade.  Dropping lowest grades really only works when assignments are all worth roughly the same; I haven't seen a system that drops the "lowest affecting" grade yet ...