A Blackboard Tip of the Week: Grading Discussion Boards

Grading Discussion Boards

Discussion boards can be graded from within each forum. To grade discussion boards, first verify that grading is enabled. Grading can be enabled at any point, even after students have posted to the discussion board.

Verify grading is enabled:

1. Navigate to the discussion board.
2. Click the drop down arrow by the specific forum and select Edit
3. Under Forum Settings, check that Grade Forum or Grade Threads is selected
• Grade Discussion Forum will allow you to assign grades for students’ posts to that forum
• Grade Threads will allow you to assign grades for students’ replies to each thread in a forum

Grading discussion boards:

1. Click the Grade icon next to the forum or thread to grade
2. Click the Grade button next to a student’s name
• The student’s posts to the forum or thread will display
• You can filter, sort, and print the student’s posts
3. Type a grade in the Grade box and click Submit

Discussion grading and the grade center:

It is important to note that when you enable grading for a forum or thread, columns for those forums or threads are automatically generated in the grade center.

• When you enable grading by forum, a column for that forum is created in the grade center
• When you enable grading by thread, a column for each thread in a forum is created in the grade center

Keep this in mind when choosing whether to grade by forum or thread. Grade center management can become cumbersome if you choose to grade a large number of threads.