A grade category is a gradebook container for one or more grade items. Grades across items inside a category will be aggregated into a Category Total, much the same way that grades across a course will be agregated into a Course Total. Grade categories can use specific aggregations (e.g. Sum of Grades, Weighted Mean of Grades) within themselves to give you more precise control over how grades are calculated. Finally, they are also useful for weighting grades: if, for example, you have multiple quizzes in a course but want them to all together comprise a certain percentage of the overall course grade, you can create a category to hold them.

1. In the Administration block, click  to go to the gradebook.
2. From the gradebook, click the  tab near the top.
3. From the Categories and Items view, click the  button at the bottom of the page.
4. In the Category Name field, enter a name for this grade category. The name will be visible to both you and your students, so be descriptive.
5. Click the button near the bottom. There is no need to change any other options.