Grades

Learn how to create and use grade boundaries on quizzes and exams

Grades in Synap define how candidate performance is evaluated and how final outcomes are awarded for an assessment.

Each grade represents a performance boundary, allowing you to classify results such as Pass, Fail, Merit, or Distinction. Grades are based primarily on a candidate’s overall score percentage, and can optionally include additional conditions when advanced grading features are enabled.

Grades help you:

• Define pass marks and performance levels

• Control certification or progression outcomes

• Provide clear feedback to candidates

• Apply structured grading frameworks to assessments

• Award certificates

• Automate resits (resit on failing grades)

Creating grades

Grades can be configured on quizzes or exams, the steps are the same. If you're using static exams we'd recommend creating grades on source quizzes so you don't need to repeat the steps on every exam. Navigate to the grades page on exams or quizzes, and add grade

From the add grade modal fill in the information, using the Achievement criteria tab to input a minimum score

• Label: The title of the grade that shows to the user

• Type: Pass or Fail grade (at least one of each is required)

• Order: Where advanced grading criteria is being used, order lets you separate different grades that have the same minimum score set.

• Description (optional): Doesn't show on platform, available in webhook and API payloads

• Minimum score: The lowest overall percentage a candidate must achieve in an assessment to be awarded that grade. When an attempt is marked, Synap compares the candidate’s final score against each configured grade boundary. If the score meets or exceeds the minimum score for a grade, that grade becomes eligible to be awarded.

$$Score = 100*\left [ \frac{Total \: achieved \: credits}{Max\:available\: credits}\right ]$$

On Synap, a candidate’s score percentage is calculated using the total number of credits achieved compared to the maximum credits available in the assessment.The final percentage is rounded to two decimal places. For assessments where each question is worth one credit (one mark), this calculation is equivalent to:

$$Score = 100*\left [ \frac{Total \: number \: correct \: questions}{Toal \:number\: questions}\right ]$$

Once you're grades are created apply changes and save. See below for examples of grades

Grade	Minimum score	Type	Information
A	80%	Pass	users with 80% or above will achieve the A grade, and pass
B	70%	Pass	users with 70% or above will achieve the B grade, and pass.
E	40%	Pass	40% is the lowest a user can possibly score in order to pass.
Fail	0%	Fail	users with between 0% and 39% will fail this exam.

Grades and Section grades

Synap allows you to define grades for the overall assessment as well as grades for individual sections.

Overall grades classify a candidate’s final performance based on their total score across the exam, while section grades evaluate how well a candidate performed within specific parts of the assessment.

Using both together helps you structure assessments more clearly and provides more detailed insight into candidate performance. See our guide below on for how to create section grades

Sections

Advanced grading criteria

Advanced grading criteria allow you to define additional section conditions that candidates must meet to be awarded a specific overall grade.

Advanced grading criteria available on Pro, Business and Enterprise plans

By default, grades in Synap are awarded based only on a candidate’s overall score percentage. Advanced grading criteria make it possible to include section-level performance requirements as part of the grading decision

This enables more flexible and realistic assessment models, particularly where competency must be demonstrated across specific areas of an exam.

Examples include:

• Passing all sections

• Passing specific sections

• Passing a minimum number of sections

• Excluding a grade from resits (ie capped resit grades)

This is particularly useful in assessments where strong performance in one topic should not compensate for weak performance in another.

To be awarded a grade, a candidate must:

• Achieve the minimum overall score for that grade

• AND meet any configured section requirements

If multiple grades meet all required conditions, Synap awards the highest priority grade based on the configured grade order.

From the grades page on exams or quizzes, enable advanced grading criteria (must have section grades enabled and set up in order to use)

When creating or editing existing grades go to the Achievement criteria tab to configure the additional section requirements as well as minimum score

• None = There are no additional section requriements needed in order to achieve this grade

• Must pass all sections = All sections much have a passing section grade in order to achieve this grade

• Must pass any specific number of sections = Input a count of the total number of sections that a section pass grade must be achieved in order to achieve this grade

• Required sections must be passed = State one or more specific sections that must be passed in order to achieve this grade

• Exclude all resit attempts from this grade (exam only) = Grade will be excluded from attempt resits when resits are enabled on exams

Resits

Synap will allow you to have multiple overall grades with the same minimum score requirements. In this scenario the system will award the highest grade by the given order, drag and drop to rearrange the order

Same minimum score different order grades