Information Technology Services
Exclamation Mark in Gradebook for Student / Grade Shows for Faculty
When students see "!" when checking their test grades, it could mean several things. Several of these are "regular behaviors" of Blackboard, and one is a troublesome known issue.
In general, an exclamation mark means one of two things:
1. Students submitted the assessment after the time limit was expired
2. The assessment has a short answer/essay question in it that has not been graded
This is particularly true on tests with no multiple attempts.
However, there is a known issue with student display of scores if there are multiple attempts allowed.
Basically, if a student tries on one attempt but exceeds the timelimit or "breaks" the browser session, an exclamation or lock symbol appears in the gradebook for that test attempt, as it should. However, the problem occurs on a later attempt. If a student takes a second attempt and finishes the test with a final score, the instructor's gradebook will then display the score, based on the multiple attempt criteria (best score, worst score, first score, last score, average score). However, the student's record still primarily displays ANY symbol in the attempt record. So, while the instructor might see a "100" displayed, the student still sees the "!" from the first attempt.
To correct this, the student should click on the exclamation mark or symbol and go into the full listing of attempts. The student will see all attempts listed, including any with symbols and those with number scores. The student should look for the "aggregation model" line that explains how the instructor is grading these multiple attempts (again, best, worst, first, last, or average scores on the exam). Then, the student can infer from this list what the grade on the quiz in the instructor's gradebook will be.
As an example, if a student has three attempts on a test -- the first has an exclamation mark, the second received a 75/100, and the third received a 100/100. If the instructor is taking the best or last attempt, the instructor sees a "100" in his/her gradebook. However, the student sees a "!" in the "My Grades" listing because of the first attempt. Clicking on the "!" brings up the list of "!" for the first attempt, "75" for the second, and "100" for the third. The "Aggregation Model" shows "Best score," so the student can rest assured that the 100 point score is the one being used to calculate their final grade in the course.
Blackboard is aware of this issue, but they seem to believe that this functionality works as it was designed. We have asked them to put this in a feature request, but it will probably not change in our version.