What is aggregation?

Aggregation is a term that is often times misunderstood in Moodle™. However with the knowledge of what aggregation is your student grades can accurately reflect what you have intended to calculate. With this in mind let’s take a look at the basic definition of aggregation from the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “the collecting of units or parts into a mass or whole.” In your course the “units or parts” are the graded activities and the “mass or whole” refers to the category or course total. Moodle™ has different aggregation methods that are pre-defined to help determine how the parts are added together to achieve the whole.

Each of the following examples contains five (5) graded activities that are all identical in max points and points earned by the student. The difference between them are the type of aggregation used and whether non-empty grades aggregate is turned on or off.

To learn more about aggregation and the Moodle™/Joule Gradebook consider taking the Mastering the Gradebook in Moodle™ and Joule.

~Janelle Gieseke