What-if grades in Schoology LMS allow both students and teachers to predict potential outcomes for assignments and overall grades. It is part of Schoology Plus, a web extension that enhances the user experience with various interface improvements.  

This feature enables students to enter supposed grades and see how different scenarios impact their final grades. It functions like a hypothetical grade calculator, allowing users to adjust assignment grades, add simulated assignments, and calculate the minimum grade needed to achieve a specific final grade.  

Read this step-by-step guide to explore how to enable and use what-if grades in Schoology. 

How To Enable What-If Grades In Schoology Gradebook

To allow what-if grades, ensure that Schoology Plus is installed as an extension on your system. Once you have the extension, follow these steps: 

Step 1: Go To The Grades page 

Navigate to the ‘Grades’ page in Schoology. You can either select the overview of all your grades or a course-specific grades page 

Step 2: Enable What-If Grades 

On the grades page, find the checkbox labeled ‘Enable what-if grades’ (usually in the upper right corner). Check it to activate the feature 

Step 3: Toggle The Checkbox 

Toggle the checkbox on and off before making any grade edits 

Toggle The Checkbox

With these steps, you’ll be able to simulate different grading scenarios and track how hypothetical grades could impact your final course grade.  

Important Notes:

  • If you try to turn off the checkbox after editing a grade, the page will reload, and all your grade changes will be lost 
  • Grades that have been changed in a simulated way will show an indicator (❗) to show they are not the actual course grades 
  • The ‘Course Grade’ box at the bottom of the gradebook always shows your real course grade and is never affected by Schoology Plus 

Benefits Of Using What-If Grades In Schoology

This tool helps teachers and students predict and improve grades by understanding overall progress. This increases academic awareness and planning.  

Here are some of the key benefits of using this feature in Schoology: 

  • Predict Final Grades: See how changes in assignment scores can affect your overall grade before they happen
  • Simulate Future Assignments: Add hypothetical assignments and test different scores to plan ahead of time
  • Calculate Minimum Scores Needed: Find out the minimum grade you need on a future test or assignment to achieve your desired final grade
  • Understand The Impact Of Dropped Grades: Simulate dropping a low grade and see how it improves your overall standing
  • Make Informed Decisions: Get a clear picture of where to focus your efforts to improve or maintain your academic performance

What-if grades in Schoology is a powerful tool for anyone looking to take control of their academic journey. By using hypothetical scenarios, users can better understand how every assignment impacts their overall grade. Whether you’re a student aiming for a specific grade or a teacher setting realistic goals, this feature makes it easier to plan, predict, and improve performance.