Summary
The Overall Score is a weighted average of every evaluation that produced a score. On a finished assessment you can change those weights and recalculate the Overall Score. Recalculating re-runs no research, so the reasoning under each evaluation does not change.
For how to read the rest of the result page, see Read your assessment results.
When to use
You want to see how a finished result looks with a different balance between evaluations.
You are working out what weighting suits your institution before you commit it to an assessment
template.
Reweighting is not a way to correct a finished assessment. To change what the assessment concluded, run a new one.
Before you begin
Open the finished assessment you want to reweight.
Weights you save apply to that one assessment. To set weights for future assessments, see
Step-by-step instructions
Change the weights
On the finished assessment, open Learn More About Evaluators. The panel lists every scored evaluation with its current weight as a percentage. Edit weights does not appear until this panel is open.
Select Edit weights. Each weight becomes a percentage you can edit.
Enter a new percentage for each evaluation you want to change. The running total and the new Overall Score update as you type.
Select Save weights. FirstIgnite recalculates the Overall Score from the new weights.
The weights editor open on a finished assessment, showing each evaluation with an editable percentage and a running total of 100 percent.
To put the original weights back, select Reset to defaults. To leave the weights as they were,
select Cancel.
What recalculating does not change
Important: Saving new weights recalculates the Overall Score and re-runs no research. The reasoning under each evaluation still describes the original run, so the text and the new number can disagree.
A reweighted score is a different view of the same evidence. If the reasoning under an evaluation is
thin, a new weight will not improve it. Create a new assessment with better input instead. For what
an individual evaluation covers and what its bands mean, see Evaluations: scope, limits and rubrics.
Tips
Once you know the balance you want, put it in an assessment template and run a fresh assessment against it. The score and the reasoning then agree throughout, and you can re-run the same template on your next disclosure. See Assessment templates: choosing, creating and editing.
Common issues
Save weights is not available. The percentages have to total 100%. Adjust the individual weights until the running total reaches 100%.
The reasoning no longer matches the score. That is expected. Recalculating re-runs no research, so the reasoning under each evaluation still reflects the original run.
Frequently asked questions
Does editing weights re-run the research?
No. It recalculates the Overall Score from the evaluation scores that already exist.
Can I get the original weights back?
Yes. Select Reset to defaults while editing, then Save weights. This restores the default weights for that assessment, so it will not return you to a custom set you saved earlier.