Dorothy, Many instructor use a similar "component grading" system. In essence, categories of assignments and assessment are given weights, relative to their importance in measuring learning. A very generic model (just for illustration) might be tests (25%), quizzes (20%), homework (15%), class project (15%), discussions (10%), labs (10%), professional development (5%). In this manner, no one category can overshadow the other components, and the instructor is more likely to get a comprehensive view of the students learning. Of course, grading rubrics can be used to measure the individual performance from each of the categories. Barry Westling