This article goes into the technical details about how gradebook grades are calculated within Elentra
Article Content
This article covers the following topics. Click on the topic to go to that section of the article.
Gradebook Calculations
The Elentra database does not currently store an infinite number of decimal places per gradebook assessment and use those infinite numbers in gradebook calculations. Instead Elentra rounds each percentage stored per assessment (i.e., 11/17 is stored as 64.706%). Elentra then uses those rounded percentages when it calculates weighted totals (and rounds the weighted total).
Similarly, weights are also stored as floating point values (gradebook assessment weights, form weights, collection weights for example). This can also lead to a loss in precision.
The Elentra database can also store more digits than are necessarily configured to display to learners when they view their assessment results. These multiple factors can sometimes lead to confusion if learners try to calculate their own final grade and find a discrepancy between their calculations and what's displayed in Elentra. Organizations might consider including a boilerplate statement explaining this to learners on their course websites (or in other policy documents).
