# Adjusting course grade weights

URL: https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/grade-weights
Tab: Grading & Reports
Category: Grading
Updated: 2026-10-12

Change how much tests, quizzes, lessons, activities and labs each count toward a course grade.

A calculated course grade is a weighted average of the five lesson types. Unless you change them, tests count 40%, quizzes 25%, lessons 25%, activities 5% and labs 5%. Weights are set per course, so a math course can lean on tests while a literature course leans on lessons.

**NOTE:** Only courses can have grade weights, not activities.

## Changing the weights

1. Open the student's **Gradebook** and click the gear on the course's row. You can also open **Enrollments**, click the **…** menu on the course and choose **Course settings**.
2. On the **Grading** tab, click **Category weights** to expand it.
3. Enter a percent for **Tests**, **Quizzes**, **Lessons**, **Activities** and **Labs**. The **Total** turns green when they add up to 100.
4. Click **Save Settings**.

The course grade recalculates right away. The grades you entered on individual lessons do not change, only how they are combined.

![Category weights on the Grading tab of Course Settings](https://opensky-public-images.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/supportimages/grades-reports/grade-weights-1.png)

**Reset to defaults** puts the weights back to 40 / 25 / 25 / 5 / 5.

## Which lessons fall in each category

A lesson's category is its type: Lesson, Quiz, Test, Activity or Lab. Set it from the **Lesson Type** column in the gradebook's grading view, or from the **Type** picker in the lesson drawer. Changing a lesson's type moves its grade into the new category and recalculates the course grade.

## How the math works

Within a category, numeric lesson grades are averaged and every lesson counts equally. The category averages are then combined using the weights. A category with no graded lessons yet is left out and the other weights are scaled up to 100%, so leaving **Labs** at 5% in a course with no labs changes nothing. Pass / Fail and standards-based lesson grades are not part of the percent.

Weights cover the whole course, not one term, and they are ignored while **Course grade override** is on. See [Grading styles](https://www.openskyplanner.com/support/grading-styles).

## Things to know

- The weights must add up to 100. A blank box counts as 0, and at least one category must be above 0.
- Weights belong to the enrolled course. A new course starts on the defaults, even when it was built from a template you weighted before.
- In family mode, students enrolled in the same course share one set of weights.
- Activities added from the calendar have a single grade and no weights.

### Can I make one test count more than another?

No. Every lesson in a category counts the same. If one exam should count more, give it a category of its own, such as making it the only **Test** and moving the rest to **Quizzes**.

### Can I change the letter grade scale?

Not yet. Letters follow a fixed scale: A at 90 and above, B at 80, C at 70, D at 60, F below that.

## Need more help?

Reach out any time at [support@openskyplanner.com](mailto:support@openskyplanner.com) and we will be happy to help.