The Group Contribution Grading feature helps teachers provide students with an individualized grade based on peer evaluations of group member contributions in a group project.
With this feature, teachers can gain insights into collaboration dynamics, uncover imbalances in students' contributions, and provide grades that accurately reflect individual’s effort in a group project.
After students provide ratings to each other based on preconfigured feedback criteria, the feature calculates a factor and suggests a grade adjustment. Then, the teacher can apply the suggested adjustments to each student directly within the tool to provide a final individualized project grade.
There are two possible factoring methods in Group Contribution Grading:
Group Contribution Factor is recommended in situations where the teacher wishes to scale grades based on students’ performance/contribution relative to their group. After adjustment, students who were rated higher than group average will receive a higher grade, and students who were rated lower receive a lower grade. This promotes fairness by increasing grades for students who contributed more and decreasing grades for those who contributed less than the group average.
It is calculated with an individual student’s average received ratings from their peers and the average ratings of their group. In simplified terms, Group Contribution Factor is the square root of the result of Student's Average Received Ratings from Peers as a percentage divided by Average of All Received Ratings by Group as a percentage.
Group Skill Factor is recommended in situations where the teacher wishes to scale grades based on students’ performance on feedback criteria. After adjustment, students who were rated higher will receive a higher final grade than those who were rated lower. This helps acknowledge individual performance in a group project, fostering a balance between group success and personal growth.
It is calculated only with an individual student’s average received ratings from their peers. It provides an indication of the student’s performance relative to the maximum level they could have achieved. In simplified terms, Group Skill Factor is the square root of the result of Student's Average Received Ratings from Peers on divided by Max Possible Ratings on Criteria.
This means that a student’s Group Skill Factor does not depend on the ratings that other students receive.
For a comprehensive explanation of the formulae above, please refer to Group Contribution Factor Calculation and Group Skill Factor Calculation.
In this article we elaborate further on Group Contribution Factor, including its set-up, calculation, and practical examples. Please read this other article for information on Group Skill Factor.
Group Contribution Factor - How To Set It Up?
Group Project Grade
It’s important to note that grade adjustments based on Group Contribution Factor may only be applied when a group project grade has been manually entered in the activity.
The instructor needs to manually enter the grades for each group (see Group Contribution Factor - How to apply to final grades? for details).
Group Contribution Factor is only available within a Group Member Evaluation activity with the following configuration.
Configure Student Collaboration Options
First, in the Instructions step, Student collaboration options, choose the following settings:
Students are evaluated individually
Students evaluate within groups
Fig. 1. Configuring ‘Student collaboration’ options in the ‘Instructions’ step for enabling Group Contribution Grading
Configure Rubric Or Scale Criteria
Second, add at least one rubric or scale criterion in Given Reviews step.
Fig. 2. Configure rubric or scale criteria in the ‘Given reviews’ step.
Enable Group Contribution Grading and factor Method
Then, go to the Grading step at the end of the activity.
If the Grading step does not yet exist, click on the purple plus button on the bottom of the activity and add Configurable Grading as a learning step.
Fig. 3. Add ‘Configurable grading’ as a learning step.
Then, in Grading step, click to expand Grading options, and toggle on Group Contribution Grading.
Fig. 4: Grading step with ‘Grading options’ settings opened.
In the opened dialog, select Group Contribution Factor and click Next.
(For more information on Group Skill Factor, please read this article.)
Fig. 5: The two factor methods within Group Contribution Grading.
Customize Grade Adjustment Rules
In the following screen, customize grade adjustments rules. Note that rules can always be modified later.
Fig. 6: Dialog with customizable grade adjustment rules. The values in this figure are the default.
The grade adjustment rules consist of two parts: performance category based on Group Contribution Factor and Suggested Adjustment.
Performance Categories and Thresholds
Group Contribution Factors are calculated with an individual student’s average received ratings from their peers and the average ratings of their group. It shows individual student’s performance or contribution relative to their group members.
The possible range of Group Contribution Factor is broken down into three performance categories: Lower, Middle, and Higher. Each category represents a range of Group Contribution Factor values. These values are between 0 and 2 (read more here on the interpretations of these values).
The Lower Category’s lower bound is 0, the minimum possible Group Contribution Factor value, and its upper bound is the Lower Threshold.
The Middle Category’s lower bound is the Lower Threshold, and its upper bound is the Higher Threshold.
The Higher Category’s lower bound is the Higher Threshold, and its upper bound is 2.
The Lower Threshold and the Higher Threshold are customizable to make sure that meaningful adjustments are made.
Suggested Adjustment
The Suggested Adjustment for each performance category can also be customized through the dropdown menus.
The following adjustments can be used. All options are possible for every performance category:
The grade is multiplied by [a number]: student’s final grade will be their group project grade multiplied by the number set by the instructor
The grade is multiplied by the factor: student’s final grade will be their group project grade multiplied by their Group Contribution Factor
The grade is set to [a percentage]: student’s final grade will be their group project grade percentage set by the instructor
The grade is added by [a percentage]: student’s final grade will be their group project grade added with the percentage set by the instructor
The grade is subtracted by [a percentage]: student’s final grade will be their group project grade subtracted with the percentage set by the instructor
The grade is unaltered: student’s final grade will be their group project grade
Fig. 7: Customizable grade adjustment rules, with the dropdown menu showing all possible grade adjustments.
Below is an overview of the performance categories, default Lower Threshold and Higher Threshold, Suggested Adjustment, and Suggested Overall Grade for each category.
Performance category and their visual representation | Meaning of category based on default thresholds | Lower bound value | Upper bound value | Default Suggested Adjustment | Suggested Overall Grade (individualized project grade) with the Default Setting |
Lower Category: Red | Students who contribute significantly lower than group average | 0 | Lower Threshold (default is 0.52) | -Group Project grade | 0% |
Middle Category: Orange / yellow | Students who contribute slightly lower or at par with the group average | Lower Threshold (default is 0.52) | Higher Threshold (default is 1) | (Group Contribution Factor - 1) * Group Project Grade | Group Project Grade multiplied by the student’s contribution factor |
Higher Category: Green | Students who contribute higher than group average | Higher Threshold (default is 1) | 2 | Group Project Grade | Group Project Grade, unaltered |
After customizing the threshold values, click Done to save changes.
Grading Facet Weights with Group Contribution Factor
When Group Contribution Grading is enabled, all other types of grading become unavailable due to the nature of this functionality. This means that ‘Average ratings received from reviewers’ remains the only available grading facet, and its weight is set to 100% automatically.
Leave this facet weight at 100% for the feature to work correctly.
Facet weights of individual feedback criteria within Average ratings received from reviewers do not impact the calculation of group contribution factors. All criteria are always weighted equally in calculating Group Contribution Factors.
Fig. 8. Facet weights on feedback criteria.
Finally, click Save in the top-right corner of the screen to save the activity. When you have finished setting up the assignment, it is time for the students to get started giving feedback to each other!
Fig. 9. Save activity.
Group Contribution Factor - How to apply to final grades?
Once the deliverable project is submitted and graded, and all the student reviews have been given, the teacher can start applying grading adjustments based on Group Contribution Factor. This will determine each student’s individualized project grade.
It’s important to note here that a student’s Group Contribution Factor is calculated real-time with all currently available ratings. Adding, removing, or modifying ratings will change the calculated factors. Thus, teachers should wait until all students have completed giving ratings to apply grade adjustments (see below for the impact of changes in ratings on Group Contribution Factor).
To review Group Contribution Factors and apply grade adjustments, follow the following steps (these instructions are also available within the tool):
Go to the Grading step.
For each group, enter their project grade (as a percentage) in the Group project grade column.
Review the Suggested adjustment column. These suggestions are calculated based on the grade adjustment rules for the Group Contribution Factor and the group project grade.
Click the arrow icon to apply suggested adjustments to the overall grade.
Apply for all students: Click on the double arrow button in the table header, between the Suggest adjustment and Adjustment columns. The button is shown in a red box in the screenshot below.
After the instructor clicks on the double arrow button, a confirmation dialog will appear to explain the consequences of this action. Click ‘Override’ to proceed.
Fig. 10. A confirmation dialog that explains the consequences of applying all ‘Suggested Adjustments’.
Apply for all students in a group: Click on the double arrow button in the row of the group. Every group has its own button. The button is shown in blue boxes in the screenshot below.
Apply for just one student: Click on the single arrow button in the row of the student. Every student has its own button. The button is shown in a yellow box in the screenshot below.
After applying, the corresponding rows in the Adjustment column will be filled with the suggested adjustments.
Manually override the adjustments in the Adjustment column if needed.
Fig. 11. ‘Grading’ step containing Group Project Grade, Group Contribution Factors, and Suggested Adjustments.
Updates to Group Contribution Factors and Suggested Adjustments in Real Time
Group Contribution Factors and its Suggested Adjustments are updated in real time. The following circumstances will cause them to change:
When peer students or instructors add, remove, or modify a rating. This will change the Group Contribution Factor associated with the student who received the modified rating. It could also impact the Suggested Adjustment if the new Group Contribution Factor falls into a new Performance Category.
When the instructor modifies grade adjustment rules. This will change Suggested Adjustments.
When the instructor modified or remove a group project grade. This will change Suggested Adjustments.
Group Contribution Factor - Student View
The instructor must click on Publish grades after applying grade adjustments to make grades available for students.
Fig. 12. The ‘Grading step’ after Group Contribution Factor has been configured, showing the ‘Publish grades’ button and explanations for applying Suggested Adjustments.
After grades are published, students will see an individualized project grade and its breakdown in the activity.
The breakdown includes the following:
Group project grade: the group project grade entered by the instructor
Received ratings: grades based on average ratings received from reviewers
Grade adjustment: the final grade adjustment by the instructor
Under Grade adjustment, the student’s Group Contribution Factor and Suggested Adjustment are also visible.
Fig. 13: Student view of the individualized project grade with Group Contribution Factor.
Group Contribution Factor and Grade Adjustments - How Is It Calculated?
This section includes an explanation of the formula for calculating Group Contribution Factor. For a practical example on how this takes place in a mock activity (including demonstration of the calculation process in excel), see Practical Example.
Group Contribution Factor is calculated with an individual student’s average received ratings from their peers and the average ratings of their group. It shows individual student’s performance or contribution relative to their group members. Self-assessment ratings are not included in the calculation.
Group Contribution Factor values are generally between 0 and 2 (while it is possible for it to be higher than 2, it is very rare).
Group Contribution Factor Calculation
Calculating Group Contribution Factors involves 4 steps:
Normalize peer ratings: every peer rating is divided by the maximum possible rating on the criterion (on which the rating is given). Normalization ensures that Group Contribution Factors are comparable across students in the same group.
Here, Max Possible Rating is the highest point value in the rubric or scale criterion. For example, in the following rubric, the Max Possible Rating is 3.
Fig. 14. A rubric with four levels and ‘Max Possible Rating’ of 3.
Important Note
When using a Scale criterion, the values used for normalization are impacted by the setting Adjust lower rating on scale to result in 0 grade points. When this setting is enabled, 1 is subtracted from each rating value in grade calculations and rating normalization.
For example: in the following scale criterion with 7 levels, if the setting is enabled, the ‘Max Possible Rating’ becomes 6, and the minimum possible rating becomes 0. This change to values is not visually reflected on the Scale.
Fig. 15. A scale criteria section with the setting ‘Adjust lower rating on scale to result in 0 grade points’ enabled.
Average normalized ratings per student (Peer Contribution Grade): For each student, calculate the average of all normalized peer ratings. We call this result Peer Contribution Grade.
Average normalized ratings per group: For each group, calculate the average of all normalized peer ratings (Peer Contribution Grade). This is the Average Normalized Group Rating.
Compute Group Contribution Factor: For each student, divide their Peer Contribution Grade by the ‘Average Normalized Group Rating’ of their group, and square root the result.
This is the student’s Group Contribution Factor. The square root helps soften the impact of grade adjustment, especially for students in the middle category.
How to Interpret The Different Values of Group Contribution Factor?
Group Contribution Factor values are between 0 and 2. It indicates the difference between individual student’s contribution and the group average. The higher the Group Contribution Factor, the more they have contributed relative to their group members.
The following offers interpretation on the Group Contribution Factor values:
When a student’s Group Contribution Factor is below 1: they contributed less than the group average.
When a student’s Group Contribution Factor is below 0.5: they contributed significantly less, only 25% (0.25) or lower, of the group average. This is because the square root of 0.25 is 0.5.
When a student’s Group Contribution Factor is equal to 1: they contributed exactly the same as the group average.
When a student’s Group Contribution Factor is above 1: they contributed more than the group average.
When a student’s Group Contribution Factor is above 1.32: they contributed significantly more, at 175% (1.75) or more, than the group average. This is because the square root of 1.75 = 1.32.
The above explanations are for general guidance only. We advise instructors to test and experiment with different values to find the most suitable interpretation for their use cases.
Grade Adjustment and Applying Adjustments
After the Group Contribution Factor has been calculated, a suggest grade adjustment is generated by the system. This ‘Suggested Adjustment’ takes into account the student’s Group Contribution Factor as well as the grade adjustment rules configured by the teacher (see Customize grade adjustment rules).
The instructor can then apply the suggested adjustments to finalize students’ individualized project grades following instructions in Group Contribution Factor - How to apply to final grades?
Group Contribution Factor and Relevant Data in the Analytics Export
Group Contribution Factors are also included in the activity’s Analytics Export, in case instructors would like to make use of this feature in a more flexible way. You may download the analytics export in ‘Overall student progress’ at the top of the activity.
Fig. 16. Overall student progress, showing the ‘Export Analytics’ button.
When Group Contribution Factor is enabled, four additional columns (columns I to L) are added in the ‘Analytics per student’ tab in the analytics export: Group Contribution Factor, Peer Contribution Grade, Group project grade, Suggested adjustment. The values in each column corresponds with those in the activity.
Fig. 16. Screenshot from an Analytics Export, showing the four additional columns.
For the definition of Peer Contribution Grade, see Group Contribution Factor calculation.
Practical Example
In this section, we provide a practical example for an activity using Group Contribution Factor.
At the end of this page, you can download the example analytics export to see detailed calculation of Group Contribution Factor.
In the activity Group Contribution Factor practical example activity, all settings have been configured according to instructions in Group Contribution Factor - How to set it up?
This activity contains 1 rubric section, which includes 6 rubric criteria. All rubric criteria contain 4 levels.
Unsatisfactory, whose point value is 0 points.
Satisfactory, whose point value is 1 point.
Proficient, whose point value is 2 points.
Advanced, whose point value is 3 points.
Advanced is the highest level, and has the maximum point value, 3 points. Thus, 3 is used as the Max Possible Rating for normalization (see Group Contribution Factor calculation)
Fig. 18. The rubric section, which includes 6 rubric criteria. All rubric criteria contain 4 levels, where the point values are 0, 1, 2, 3. The maximum point value is 3 points.
The instructor has determined that:
students who have contributed less than 100% (1) of the group average will receive an adjusted grade based on their Group Contribution Factor and grade adjustment rules
students who have contributed between 100% (0.1) and 150% (1.5) of the group average will receive the full project grade
students who have contributed significantly more than 150% (1.5) of the group average will receive the full project grade and an additional 20%
Thus, the Lower Threshold is sqrt (1) = 1,
and the Higher Threshold is sqrt (1.5) = 1.22.
The following screenshot shows the grade adjustment rules with customized Lower and Higher Thresholds.
Fig. 19: Dialog with customizable grade adjustment rules. The values in this figure have been customized. The Lower Threshold is 1, and the Higher is 1.22)
The following table presents an overview of the performance categories, their thresholds, and the suggested final grades for each category.
Performance category and their visual representation | Meaning of category | Lower bound value | Upper bound value | Suggested Adjustment | Suggested Overall Grade (individualized project grade) |
Lower Category: Red | Students who contribute lower than group average | 0 | 1 | Group Project Grade * (Group Contribution Factor - 1) | Group Project Hrade multiplied by the student’s contribution factor |
Middle Category: Orange / yellow | Students who contribute at par or slightly more with the group average | 1 | 1.22 | Group Project Grade | Group Project Grade |
Higher Category: Green | Students who contribute significantly higher than group average | 1.22 | 2 | Group Project Grade + 20% | Group Project Grade + 20% |
The instructor has finished grading students’ deliverables and Group 1 received 80% on their group project. In Group 1, there are 6 students, and they have completed giving ratings to each other based on the feedback criteria. Computed Group Contribution Factors and Suggested Adjustments are displayed in the image below below.
For a detailed breakdown of calculations of Group Contribution Factors in this table, please refer to the example Analytics Export.
Fig. 20. ‘Grading’ step containing Group 1’s Group Project Grade (80%), students’ Group Contribution Factors, and Suggested Adjustments.
As shown in the image, each of the six students falls into one of the three categories.
Performance category and their visual representation | Student names and their Group Contribution Factor | Lower bound value | Upper bound value | Suggested Adjustment | Suggested final grade |
Lower Category: Red | 1. Simone de Bugvoir: 0 | 0 | 1 | 1. Simone de Bugvoir: 80 * (0 - 1) = -80 | 1. Simone de Bugvoir: 0% |
Middle Category: Orange / yellow | Ada Codelace: 1.125 | 1 | 1.22 | 0 | 80% |
Higher Category: Green | 1. Chimamanda Ngozi Auditchie: 1.257 | 1.22 | 2 | +20 | 100% |
Manual Adjustments
The instructor reviews the Suggested Adjustments:
The Suggested Adjustment for Simone was -80, resulting in a final grade of 0%. Upon reviewing the group members’ reviews for Simone, the instructor understood that while Simone contributed significantly less than her peers, she completed some parts and will receive a partial grade for her work. Therefore, the instructor manually overrides the adjustment and deducts 50% instead of 80% for Simone. Simone receives an individualized project grade of 30%.
Fig. 21. Simone’s Group Contribution Factor (0), Suggested Adjustment (-80), manual Adjustment (-50), and Overall grade (30%).
Then, instructor applies the Suggested Adjustments to all other students. The following shows an overview of all students’ Overall grades (individualized project grades).
Fig. 22. ‘Grading’ step containing Group 1’s Group Project Grade (80%), students’ Group Contribution Factors, Suggested Adjustments, applied Adjustments, and Overall grades (individualized project grades).
After teacher published the grades, students can view their individualized final grade and breakdown in the activity. The following shows Simone’s perspective.
Fig. 23. Simone’s view of the individualized project grade with Group Contribution Factor.
This concludes the Group Contribution Grading - Group Contribution Factor article.
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Download Example Analytics Export
Download the example analytics export to see detailed calculation of Group Contribution Factor: