Exams and assessment
How does Course calculate an exam's net score, 100-point score, and ranking?
Net score, score, and ranking describe different calculations in Course exam results. The net score accounts for the wrong-answer penalty; the score also depends on the number of questions; and the ranking compares results recorded for the same exam.
Understanding these distinctions helps you interpret a result accurately. A Course score is an assessment within your institution. It should not be read as an official public-exam score or a nationwide percentile.
On this page
Read each calculation step by step
The wrong-answer penalty comes from the exam settings; do not assume every exam uses the same value. If the denominator for the score is zero or less, Course returns a score of zero.
| Measure | Rule |
|---|---|
| Net score | Correct answers − wrong answers × the exam's wrong-answer penalty; floored at zero. |
| Score | Net score ÷ total questions × 100; rounded to three decimal places and kept within 0–100. |
| Question total | The total in the exam's subject structure, if present; otherwise the result's correct + wrong + blank counts. |
| Ranking | Recorded results for the same exam are ordered by score, net score, then creation time. |
Interpret a result accurately
Check the exam settings.
Review the question total in the subject structure and the wrong-answer penalty. Selecting the name of a public exam type does not make Course's scoring method identical to that exam's official calculation.
Verify correct, wrong, and blank counts.
Check whether the result was entered as a sequence of answers or as subject totals. Do not assume a subject missing from the entry represents a genuine zero result.
Read net score and score separately.
The net score is the value after applying the wrong-answer penalty. The score scales that net against the question total. Their numerical values need not be the same.
Check the ranking group.
The total shown beside the rank is the number of results recorded for the same exam. Students whose results have not yet been entered are not part of that group.
How are rankings and equal results handled?
Course ranks higher scores first, then higher net scores. If both are equal, the result created earlier comes first. It assigns consecutive rank numbers; it does not give everyone with the same score a shared rank.
Adding or changing a result can update the comparison group and its ranks. Filtering the results list by student or class does not recalculate an exam-wide rank using only the visible rows.
Can these values establish an official percentile?
The result view shows a rank and the number of recorded results for the same exam. That group does not include a nationwide population of exam takers. Dividing the rank by the participant count does not, by itself, produce an official percentile or a measure of nationwide performance.
When comparing exams with different question totals, wrong-answer penalties, or levels of difficulty, account for those differences. If exam settings change, Course can recalculate net scores and scores from the counts already recorded. That recalculation does not mean a student sat a new exam.
Frequently asked questions
Can a net score be negative?
No. Course raises a calculated negative net score to zero.
Do students with the same score share a rank?
No. Course uses net score and then creation time to break score ties, and assigns consecutive ranks rather than shared ranks.
Does the ranking show nationwide performance?
No. It compares results currently recorded for the same Course exam. It is not an official nationwide ranking or percentile.
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