Learn@Illinois Moodle - Importing Grades Using a Spreadsheet

For a permanent link to this information, please use: http://go.illinois.edu/MoodleImportGrades

This feature is handy when you must manually enter grades for assignments outside of Moodle and prefer to keep these grades in an Excel file to upload at the end of the semester. It is advisable to keep grades in an Excel file that is generated by Moodle. This page explains how to:

1. Add a manual grade item to the gradebook
2. Download a blank file from Moodle to keep your grades in
3. Prepare the file for upload
4. Import the file at the end of the semester to upload the grades to the Moodle gradebook

STEP 1: Add a Grade Item or Grade Items for the Assignment(s) you Wish to Grade in Excel

We recommend adding a new manual grade item for any assignment(s) you plan to grade in Excel. If you add grade items by adding new columns to your Excel file, the import procedure will automatically make the Max grade (total points) 100 points and you will not be able to add feedback. For this reason, we recommend adding manual grade items ahead of time. 

STEP 2: Download a Blank File from Moodle

1. In the upper right corner, click the Actions menu gear.
   
2. From the drop-down menu, select Gradebook setup.
   
   
3. From the "Gradebook setup" drop-down menu, scroll down to "Export" and select Excel spreadsheet.
   
4. Under "Grade items to be included, check the checkbox(s) to the right of the manual grade item(s) you have created that you would like to grade in Excel. Keep all other defaults.
   
   
5. Click Download. The file will download automatically.
   
   
6. Your file will look something like this. The email addresses are correct and won't cause any errors in uploading. Use this file to keep your grades.
   
7. Delete all columns except the ones you are using (i.e., ID number, Institution, Department, and Last downloaded from this course).
   Note: You may optionally insert one column for feedback.

STEP 3: Prepare the File for Upload

STEP 4: Import the File

1. In the upper right corner, click the Actions menu gear.
   
2. From the drop-down menu, select Gradebook setup.
   
3. From the "Gradebook setup" drop-down menu, scroll down to "Import" and select CSV file.
   
4. Under "Import file", click Choose a file... and add the CSV file to the file uploader.
    
5. When you are done, click Upload grades.
   Note: You will see up to 10 preview lines. Don't worry if all of your students don't appear.
   
   
6. In the "Identify user by" section, make the following changes:
   
• Under "Map from", select the email column heading name (or NetID column header name if you are using that) in your CSV file.
• Under "Map to", select Email address if you are using the email address to identify students in your file (or Username if you are using the NetID to identify students in your file) from this drop-down.
  Note: Do not select "User ID" or "ID number".
  
  
7. In the "Grade item mappings" section make the following changes:
   Note: The text on the left contains the names of the columns in your spreadsheet. In the drop-down menus, you are selecting the corresponding item in the gradebook.
• Under the "Email address" or "NetID" field, select Ignore.
• Under the name of your assignment in the file, select the name of the grade item in Moodle that you want to import to.
  Note: If you have not yet added the grade item, select "New grade item." The "Maximum grade" will default to 100 and you will not be able to upload feedback.
• If you have a feedback column in your file, select the name of the feedback item in Moodle that you want to import to.
  
  
8. Click Upload grades.
   Note: This action can take several minutes. If you receive an error message, make sure that your CSV file contains no errors and try again.