Setting up criteria

Criteria are what students are graded on — the categories that make up their final score. A typical IOA might have criteria like “Understanding”, “Communication”, “Evidence use”, and “Critical thinking”.

Add a criterion

Open Edit setup and go to the Marking tab
In the Criteria section, click Add and select Add criterion
Enter a name and max points

The max points determine the weight. If “Understanding” has 40 points and “Communication” has 20, understanding counts twice as much.

Reorder criteria

Drag criteria to reorder them. The order affects how they appear in the student’s results.

Edit a criterion

Click a criterion to edit its name or max points.

Delete a criterion

Click the trash icon on a criterion and confirm the deletion. If students have already been marked, their derived scores will recalculate.

Criterion groups

You can organize criteria into groups with headers. Groups are visual — they don’t affect scoring.

To add a group:

Click Add and select Add group
Enter a name (e.g., “Core competencies”)
Drag it above the criteria it should contain

Points vs percent

On the Marking tab, you can choose how to display criterion scores:

Percent: Max points must sum to exactly 100. Scores display with %.
Points: Max points can sum to any total. Scores display as raw numbers.

If you choose percent and your criteria don’t sum to 100, you’ll see a warning.

How criteria connect to indicators

Criteria define what is scored. Indicators define what you observe. The connection between them is configured in the influence matrix, below the criteria and indicators lists on the Marking tab.

See Setting up indicators for how to configure influences.

Tips

Fewer criteria are easier to explain. Three to five criteria is typical for an IOA.
Weights should reflect importance. If communication matters more than formatting, give it more points.
Match what you promised students. If your rubric says “Critical thinking: 25%”, make that criterion worth 25 points out of 100.