How Grades and Pass/Fail Work in SMS

Pass is judged in marks

When you create an assessment, you set the total marks and the passing marks. A student passes if their marks reach the passing marks — judged in marks, not in percent.

That keeps the rule simple and honest: 40 out of 100 with passing marks 40 is a pass. No rounding surprises.

Grade letters come from cut-offs

SMS shows a grade letter next to each percentage: A+, A, B, C, D, F. The cut-offs are yours to set in Settings under Grading — for example, A+ from 90, A from 80, and so on.

Changing a cut-off changes the letters everywhere, at once. The marks themselves never change. A letter is a label on a mark, not a new mark.

1. 1Open Settings from the sidebar.
2. 2Open the Grading section.
3. 3Set each letter's cut-off and turn grade letters on or off.

What counts in an average

Averages count graded results only. Three things are left out: blank results (not marked yet), Absent results, and Exempt results. Each is shown separately, so nothing disappears — it just does not drag the average.

An explicit zero counts. A blank does not. That is the difference between a student who scored nothing and a student whose paper is not marked yet.

• ✓Graded — counts in averages and ranking.
• ✓Blank / Pending — not marked yet, left out.
• ✓Absent — listed separately, not a zero, not a fail.
• ✓Exempt — left out of averages, pass rates, and ranking.

What counts in a pass rate

Pass rate is passed results out of graded results. Absent and Exempt results are left out of both the top and the bottom of that fraction, because a student who did not sit a test did not pass or fail it.

Ranking works the same way: only graded students are ranked, and equal marks share a position.

Where to change it

Everything about grades lives in Settings under Grading, plus the risk thresholds that decide who appears on the at-risk list. One place, plain words.

Full steps: User guide. For entering the marks themselves, see From Paper Tests to Digital Records.