An Alternative Way to Show Grades

Early in a course, a gradebook can show a student 50% and call it an F, even when only one small assignment has been graded. The arithmetic may be correct. The impression is not.

One number cannot show both how a student is performing and how much of the course has been assessed. I would show three:

Guaranteed | Performance | Maximum

Guaranteed is the credit already secured toward the final grade, assuming the student earns zero on all remaining work and the course rules stay the same. Performance is the weighted average on completed assessments. Maximum is the best final grade still possible if the student earns full credit on everything left.

Suppose 40% of the course has been assessed, and the student has averaged 80% on it. The display would be:

32% | 80% | 92%

The student has secured 32 points toward the final grade, is performing at 80% on completed work, and can still earn up to 92%. The gradebook should also show that 40% of the course has been assessed.

As more work is graded, the three values converge. At the end, they all show the final grade. Until then, students can see what they have earned, how they are doing, and what is still possible.

Canvas lets students try hypothetical scores to see how future work could affect a grade. A permanent three-number display would make that uncertainty part of the gradebook itself, without asking students to calculate it or mistake a small early sample for a final result.