Processing and Lifecycle of (Partially) Manually Graded Autograded Exams

Applicable Product:

PeopleFluent Learning

Applicable Release:

V25

Overview

When an exam in PeopleFluent Learning is configured with Automatically Grade = YES but contains subjective questions (such as Essay questions), the LMS must handle a hybrid evaluation model. This article explains how the system processes statuses, when the Mark Exam as Graded button appears, and how score changes impact parent module completion.

Technical System Behavior & Lifecycle

1. "Completed but not graded" Status Conditions

An exam attempt receives the status Completed but not graded when both of the following conditions are met:

The exam configuration setting Automatically Grade is set to YES.
The exam includes one or more Essay questions (or questions requiring manual grading).

Because objective questions are scored automatically upon submission while subjective questions remain pending evaluation, the system marks the attempt as completed in progress until instructor grading occurs.

2. Triggers for the "Mark Exam as Graded" Button

The Mark Exam as Graded action button appears dynamically during response review under specific status conditions:

Display Conditions: The button appears when the exam attempt is Incomplete (because it was not automatically graded) OR when the attempt is Completed but not graded (due to pending essay questions).
Behavior: Clicking Mark Exam as Graded finalizes the grade, pushes the computed attempt score to the transcript, and removes the button from the interface.

3. Impact of Manual Score Overrides on Course Module Status

Existing System Design: Manually changing an exam's score or updating its status from Failed to Passed during grading updates the exam record, but it will not automatically update the parent module status if the module had already registered a failed completion attempt.
Workaround: If an exam status is changed to Passed after manual grading and the course/module status remains In Progress or Failed, an administrator must manually update the module completion status or grant a resit attempt to sync the course completion.