General Scoring Information
There are no exams or quizzes in BioBeyond. You don’t like to take them, and we don’t like to grade them. If you read the questions carefully, think about the feedback you get, and give it your best try, you’ll do very well in this course.
You get more points the longer you have been learning about a concept. You can expect that there are more points available at the end of a lesson than at the start.
How can I see my score in BioBeyond?
You can see how many points you have for ongoing lessons, completed lessons, and each unit. During a lesson, you can see how many points you’ve earned so far at the top of the page. You can see the total score for a lesson when you click on the lesson in the course.
You can see the total score for a lesson in the upper right corner of a lesson screen next to your name.
How are my points assigned?
Your score on a lesson is a sum of all the points you have earned divided by the points you could have earned.
For lesson scoring, screens in BioBeyond are broken down into the following categories:
Metacognitive Screens (0 points each):
Metacognitive screens provide a moment to encourage you to pause and reflect on what you have learned. We’ll often ask you to pause and think about how well you understand certain concepts you’ve been learning. These screens are titled “Pause and Reflect” and are not worth any points, but they are incredibly valuable. To proceed you will have to respond.
Review Screens (0 points each):
Sometimes you’ll need to review material to make sure you’re ready for new adventures ahead. For these screens, you’re reviewing material you’ve already been scored on, so the second time around isn’t worth points. But it’s a valuable practice that will help you earn more points later in your lesson.
Formative Screens (1 point each):
Sometimes you’ll be asked for a hypothesis, or to state what you’ve learned about a topic before BioBeyond. These screens are called formative screens, and they’re worth 1 point.
Usually, there’s no right or wrong answer or a maximum number of tries, and you’ll get full credit upon inputting your hypothesis, opinion, or what you’ve learned before. We often use these to compare how much you’ve learned and to show you later, so be sure, to be honest!
Instructional Screens (5 points each):
These are screens where you learn something new and need to answer a question or perform a task to show that you’ve understood what is on the screen. If you get it right the first time, you’ll earn 5 points. Each time after your first try, you’ll get specific feedback about what was right or wrong about your answer and have another chance to answer for reduced points. If you reach the maximum number of tries allowed for these screens, a message will appear and you’ll usually be shown the correct answer and then allowed to proceed, but with 0 points.
Simulation Screens (10 points each):
These are screens where you’ll interact with a complex, custom simulation to demonstrate what you’ve learned or to learn something new. You might build DNA, explore the role of carbon in Earth’s ecosystems, or see what happens to a population of finches during a drought.
Each of these screens is worth 10 points, and you’ll earn all 10 when you succeed no matter how many tries it takes. Unlike instructional screens, most simulation screens require you to succeed to proceed — there is no maximum number of tries.
Summative Screens (20 points each):
After you’ve been learning about a concept for a while, performing various activities, or perhaps at the end of a lesson, you’ll be asked to show just how much you’ve learned. These screens offer less help and assistance because you’ve had a lot of practice, and are worth 20 points. Like instructional screens, you’ll have a limited number of tries and your score will decrease each time.
