When a discussion post is linked to the gradebook there will be an icon on the topic that says "Includes assessment." If you intend to grade a topic but that is not there the following is how to add that topic to your gradebook.
In the above example of a forum, Topic 1 has been added to the gradebook and Topic 2 is not included in the gradebook.
The green arrow indicates where the "includes assessment" verbiage is located.
Linking a Discussion to a Grade Item
- Open the Edit screen for the Topic you want to add to Grades
- Click on the box below Grade Out Of and enter the number of points that topic will be worth
- Once the points are entered click on the newly displayed link In Grade Book and select Edit or Link to Existing
Note: If this is a discussion that should not be in grades and you want to remove the link to the grade item, select the option "Not in Grade Book" to unlink the discussion topic
- On this screen you can confirm the name of the grade item, choose a grade category, or choose to link to an already existing grade item.
Note: You can only link to a grade item that is not already associated to a course activity.
- Click Ok to save your changes and return to the topic settings screen
- Once you have confirmed that all of the settings are correct, click Save & Close