Marking and Feedback in Moodle Assignment

Marking Administration

Marking Workflow

Turning on the Marking workflow in a Moodle Assignment sets up a structured grading process where marks must pass through defined stages before they are made visible to students.

Marking workflow:

• Provides greater control and transparency in the marking process

• Allows partial release of marks

• Enables marks to be released while student identities remain hidden

To enable Marking Workflow:

1. Go to the assignment

2. Click Settings

3. Go the the Grade section

4. Change ‘Use marking workflow’ to Yes

For more information, see: Marking (grading) workflow (Moodle doc).

Anonymous marking

Anonymous marking hides the identity of students from markers.

For Moodle assignments, anonymous marking is enabled by default. To change this, go to the Grade section of the assignment settings.

By default, the grader identity will also be hidden, so students can’t see who marked their work.

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Allocating markers

Allocate using Marking Workflow

Markers can be allocated when Marking Workflow is enabled. This is useful for smaller cohorts, since you can allocate one by one.

1. Go to the assignment Settings.

2. Ensure Marking Workflow and Use marking allocation is set to Yes.

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3. Click Save.

4. Go to the assignment Submissions page.

5. Select students you want to allocate. You can select students one by one, or select all by checking the box at the top of the select column.

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3. At the bottom of the screen, click More and select Allocate marker

4. Click OK to confirm you wish to continue with allocating markers.

5. On the next screen, select the allocated marker from the drop down list and click save changes.

6. The marker names will now appear in the Marker column on the Submissions page.

7. If the marker has the non-editing tutor role, they will only see the students allocated to them, for other roles, the marker can filter students allocated to them from the Submissions page by clicking Advanced > Marker.

Allocate using Groups

Another way to allocate markers is by using marking groups. This approach is particularly helpful for large cohorts. Once established, the same groups can be reused in future assessments, potentially saving time in the allocation process.

Step 1: Create a Group for Each Marker

1. Go to the course Participants page.

2. Create a separate group for each marker.

3. For detailed guidance, refer to https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/31863754.

Step 2: Allocate Students to Marker Groups

1. Assign students to the marker groups you have created.

2. You can:

• Allocate students manually, or

• Use the auto-create groups option to distribute them randomly.

Step 3: Create a Grouping

1. Go to Settings > Groups > Groupings.

2. Create a new grouping. We recommend creating a separate grouping for each assignment and naming the grouping the same as the assignment to keep everything clear and organised.

3. Add all the marker groups to this grouping.

Step 4: Link the Grouping to an Assignment

1. Open the relevant assignment.

2. Go to Settings > Common module settings.

3. Set Group mode to Separate groups.

4. Select the grouping you created from the Grouping dropdown menu.

5. Save your changes.

Step 5: Marker Access

1. The marker groups are now linked to the assignment.

2. Markers can go to the assignment submissions page and filter by their group name to view only the students assigned to them.
   
   

Open/blind double-marking and moderation

Guidance for different marker approaches in Moodle assignment can be found here: https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/31870899. However, you may want to consider using the Moodle Coursework plugin rather than Moodle Assignment if multiple markers are to complete their marking independently: https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/1088258140.

Feedback types

Feedback can be delivered in several ways. By default, all feedback types are enabled. If you want to view or change available feedback types, go to the Feedback types section in the assignment settings.

• Feedback comments - Marker can leave feedback comments for each submission.

• Annotate PDF - Marker can create annotated PDF files when marking submission. This allows them to add comments, drawings and stamps directly on top of the students work. The annotating is done in the browser and no extra software is required.

• Feedback files - Marker can upload a feedback file. These files may be, but are not limited to, marked-up student submissions, documents with comments or spoken audio feedback.

• Offline grading worksheet - marker will be able to download and upload a worksheet with student grades when marking the assignment,

Grading Methods

There are several grading methods. If you want to view or change grading method, go to the Grade section in the assignment settings.

• Simple direct grading - The default, fastest method for grading assignments or forums, allowing instructors to directly enter a numerical grade and feedback for each student.

• Marking guide - A simpler version of a rubric, where the marker enters a comment per criterion and a mark up to a maximum. Can build a bank of frequently made comments. For more information, see: https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/31870893

• Rubric - Rubrics provide a structured, grid-based method for consistent, transparent, and efficient grading. For more information, see: https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/31870885

Exporting marks to SITS

Marks can be transferred from Moodle to Portico using SITS Marks Transfer.

You can access this option from the More drop-down menu on the Moodle course page.

Detailed guidance on how to use this tool can be found in this guide: https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/31852705

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How to mark a Moodle assignment

Step 1: Access the Assignment submissions

1. Go to the assignment.

2. Click on Submissions tab. From this page, you can grade, download and upload submissions, and release grades.

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Screenshot of the Submission tab of a Moodle assignment

Step 2: Ensure no further submissions can be made

If the assignment has a cut-off date, students will be prevented from uploading submissions after the deadline. Check this via the assignment Settings, under Availability.

If a cut-off date has not been set, you can Lock submissions to prevent new uploads. To lock submission, go to Submissions, filter by Status: Requires Grading and Select all. Then click the Lock button at the bottom of the screen.

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Step 3: Ensure marking is hidden from students

By default, marks and feedback are revealed to students one by one as you save them. Hiding grades until you're ready to release requires active management.

• We recommend using Marking Workflow to manage the release of grades. For more information, see Marking (grading) workflow (Moodle doc).

• If not using Marking Workflow, you need to go to the Grader Report and hide the corresponding item. See Grading hiding (Moodle doc).

Step 3: Mark submissions

Option A: Mark online

1. Click the blue Grade button to open the grading interface.

2. Move between students using Change user in the top-right.

3. Add feedback in the Feedback comments area. You can also add video and audio feedback using the text editor. The maximum length for video and audio feedback is 2 minutes. However, you can add multiple video and audio recordings. 

4. You can annotate the submission directly using the buttons above the submission.

5. You can upload Feedback files

6. Enter the Grade.

7. If you have enabled Marking Workflow, change the status to Marking completed to keep a running record of marking. 

8. Click Save Changes. Don't tick “notify students” as you should send this all at the same time.

Option B: Mark offline

For guidance, see: https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/1100283910

Step 4: Release grades and feedback

For guidance, see: https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/31865011

After releasing grades and feedback

Inform students that their grades and feedback are available -

The Feedback Tracker is a report that allows students to more easily access feedback and see feedback turnaround times. Instructions for students can be found here: Viewing your feedback. For more information on the Feedback Tracker for staff, see:https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/266338306.

If you would like to send a direct message to students in Moodle:

1. Go to the Moodle assignment, or the Participants menu on the main course page.

2. Select individual or all students (You can click the Select tick box at the top left of the page).

3. Go to bottom of the page. Click With Selected drop-down menu click Send a message.

Export Grades from the Gradebook

You can export grades by clicking on the “View gradebook” in the Settings, selecting Export from the top row of tabs, then choosing the desired file format from the 2^nd row of tabs, ticking only the assignment(s) that you want exported, and then Download.

Check the grade has been released

• On your Moodle course main page, click the Grades menu.

• Click the User report tab.

• Select a random student from the Search Users drop-down.

• You should now be able to see the grade as it appears to the student(s).

Check that the assignment and grades are visible

If you have followed the steps provided, grades and feedback should be released to students.

• If students c If an assignment is hidden in the Gradebook, this will in turn, hide the assignment grade and feedback.

  • On your Moodle course, click the Grades menu.

  • Click the Gradebook Setup tab.

  • The assignment is hidden from students if it displays with a crossed out eye symbol to the right of it. You can un-hide an assignment by clicking ellipses under the Actions column, then selecting Show.

Instruct students to download any annotated PDFs

The preview sometimes displays comments in a way that obscures the original text.

Examples and case studies

Elodie Douarin (UCL SSEES) used Moodle Assignment, including rubrics, to help her students relate feedback to assessment criteria. Read her project report.

Questions & Answers

See: https://ucldata.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MoodleResourceCentre/pages/31870911 or the FAQs on Moodle Docs.

Further Support

• Using Assignment

• Grading quick guide

If you have a specific question please contact the Digital Education team.