How item scores are calculated

Updated 19 Feb 2024

When you open a typical Mastering assignment, the items you need to complete appear as links. How to see your item scores

Because Dynamic Study Module assignments and Learning Catalytics sessions do not contain Mastering items, they're scored using a different algorithm.

  • To complete an item: You must do one of the following for all of its main part questions (Part A, B, etc.): submit a correct answer, run out of answer attempts, or choose Request Answer.

    You don't need to answer any available hint questions to complete a part question. You’ll get credit for the part questions you answer correctly, even if you don’t complete all parts in the item.

  • Any late penalty applies only to main Part questions that you complete in an item after the assignment due date and time. More about late penalties

Each item contains one or more parts (Part A, B, C, etc.).

  • You always gain credit when you complete a Part correctly.
  • You always lose credit when you select Request Answer for a Part.
  • You always lose credit when you exhaust the number of answer attempts for a Part.

In Adaptive Follow-Up assignments, each Part is worth the same amount of credit within an individual question set. Each question set in a Follow-Up assignment can contain a different number of items. In other assignments, all Parts in an item contribute equally toward the item score.

  • Vocabulary, labeling, sorting, and ranking assignment items: If you correctly answer some portions of these kinds of assignment items and then run out of answer attempts, you'll receive partial credit based on your last submitted answer. Credit for the item is calculated based on the number of correct answers compared with the total number of possible correct answers.

    (Any wrong answer you submitted previously does not enter into this calculation. No credit is given for any partially correct answer if you have any answer attempts remaining.)

  • Possible credit delay for part answers that are essays or short answers: Unlike other assignment answers which are scored automatically, free-form text answers must be graded by your instructor. If an item contains one or more essay parts and at least one other part is not an essay, any ungraded essay part doen't affect the item score until it is graded.

Parts in Mastering tutorials may contain one or more Hints. Hints can contain other Hints.

  • Textual Hints provide clues designed to help you determine how to start a question.
  • Hints with questions contain simpler questions designed to lead you toward solving the higher-level Part question.

The purpose of Hints is to help you answer the main Part question. Hints can also impact your Part scores in an assignment, depending on the assignment grading policy set by your instructor.

The following options apply only to final scores for Parts that contain Hints with questions. Your Hint scores may or may not impact your Part score, depending on the assignment grading policy. How to view your item Part with Hint scores

Give credit for answering correctly? Lose credit for exhausting attempts or requesting solution? Student score for Part in which Hint appears is calculated using:

No

No

Only the Part score. This is the default.

Yes

Yes

Both the Hint score and the Part score.

Yes

No

The Hint score only if it's higher than the Part score.

No

Yes

The Hint score only if it's lower than the Part score.

If you don't submit a final answer to a Hint and don't exhaust your attempts or request the solution (Request Answer), the Hint is scored as correct if the Part answer is correct and as incorrect if the Part answer is incorrect.

Hint bonuses and even hint penalties can improve your grade. Statistically, even if Hints are charged for, you receive better grades when you do them. Students who do Hints are more likely to answer Part questions correctly. It's relatively rare that a student who successfully answers all Hints in a Part cannot answer the Part.

So, even if your professor charges for opening Hints, you should do them when you don't know the answer to the Part question.

When there's only one answer, you can lose either a fixed percentage or a fraction of the possible grade for each wrong answer. If you submit all possible wrong answers, you get a 0. About grading for "Select All That Apply" multiple choice questions

Percentage Credit loss

Fractional percentage

With the fractional option (the default) —
You lose a fraction of your possible grade for each incorrect answer. The fraction is one over the number of possible wrong answers.

If there are three choices (two possible wrong answers) —
A student who gets one answer wrong gets one-half credit, and a student who gets two wrong answers gets a 0. This relatively higher wrong answer penalty encourages you to think about your answer rather than guess.

Fixed percentage

With the fixed-percentage option —
If you submit a wrong answer you're docked a fixed percentage of your possible grade. With the fixed-percentage option, if you submit a wrong answer you are docked a fixed percentage of your possible grade.

If there are three choices on a question and the fixed penalty is 3% —
A student who submits one wrong answer, followed by a correct answer, gets 97%. However, a student who submits two wrong answers (that is, all possible wrong answers) gets a 0.

In true-false questions with only one possible wrong answer, choosing the wrong answer gets a 0.

 

You lose a percentage of your possible grade for wrong answers to other types of questions. The default is 3%. Your instructor may choose a different credit deduction, so you should check your assignment's grading policy. When this deduction is in effect, the percentage is taken off whether the answer is in a Part or a Hint. View a detailed grading example (PDF format)

Below are some simple cases, where the professor isn't charging for Hints or wrong answers. For example, suppose a Part has:

  • 1 textual Hint
  • 3 Hints with questions, each with 1 question to answer
  • 1 final Part answer


Case 1:

Student answers all Hint questions correctly and also gets the final Part answer. Each Hint counts for 1/4 of the possible grade. Student has answered 3 Hints and the final Part answer correctly, for a total of 4 out of 4.  Student gets 4/4, or full credit.


Case 2:

Student opens Hint 1, answers it, understands how to work the question, doesn't bother with the other 2 Hints, and answers the final Part question correctly. The student has correctly answered 1 Hint and the final answer, and gets credit for having answered the other 2 Hints correctly because the final Part answer is correct. 4/4, or full credit.


Case 3:

Student opens Hint 1, answers it correctly, goes directly to the final Part answer but gets that wrong (without exceeding the number of allowed answers). Student then goes back, opens other Hints, and works them before succeeding in answering the main Part. Student eventually gets 4 out of 4 answers correct, for full credit.


Case 4:

Student answers all Hints correctly but exceeds the number of allowed answers for the main Part without answering it correctly. Student gets 3 out of 4 answers correct, for 3/4 credit.  (This is a rare case. Most students who answer all the Hints correctly will get the final answer as well.)


Case 5:  Deferred credit

Student doesn't answer main Part correctly, does not exceed the number of allowed answers, but works one or more Hints correctly.

  • When assignment is due, student doesn't get any credit because main Part hasn't been answered. (Remember, the main Part must be answered.)
  • However, if the instructor gives partial credit for late work, student can go back anytime until the end of the course and continue working for additional credit.