Assessment and Grading
Formative label and Gradebook filter – 3900.69
Blackboard Learn SaaS
Ultra Experience
Ultra Course View
Impact: Instructors, Students
Formative assessment is an essential component of the teaching and learning process. Formative assessment provides ongoing feedback to both instructors and students. Its primary value is that it informs and shapes instruction, guides learning, and supports student progress.
You, our clients, shared in the Idea Exchange an idea to have a way to identify formative assessments more easily. When work on this feature began, it was the number one idea in the formative assessment area. Now instructors can apply a formative label to assessments.
When selected, this label serves as an indicator and appears to instructors in the following areas:
- Course Content page - on assessments set as formative
- Test and Assignment settings
- Gradebook list and grid views
- Question Analysis table view of assessments
- Student Overview
- Student Activity Overview
Learn more about excluding grades from grade calculations
Image 1: Instructor view – Assessment settings panel – Formative Tools section
Instructors may choose to display this label to students. This helps to inform students that an assessment is formative in its purpose. When displayed to students, the label appears in these areas:
- Course Content page - on assessments set as formative
- Assessment panel before starting an attempt
- Assessment Details & Information panel during and after an assessment
- Assessment header when viewing a submission
- Gradebook
Image 2: Student View – assessment labeled as formative on course content page
In the Gradebook grid view, instructors can filter assessments by formative or summative type. Formative assessments are those with the formative setting selected. Summative assessments are those that do not have the formative setting selected.
Image 3: Gradebook grid view – filter option with formative assessment type selected
For administrators: This feature is available for all Ultra courses. There are no configurations needed.