Using Advanced Ratings

Advanced Rating Types let you calculate more than one rating from a single response. By default, every assessment has a Base Rating Type that drives all scores, colors, and rating text. Advanced Ratings let you add extra Rating Types - each with their own rating bands, colors, and text - so you can report different perspectives on the same data.

1. When to Use Advanced Ratings

Advanced Ratings solve specific problems where a single rating scale is not enough. Common scenarios include:

• Different rating scales per section. For example, Section 1 uses Red / Amber / Green but Section 2 uses Beginner / Intermediate / Expert.
• Alternate weightings for a second score. For example, a "Leadership" score that weights subsections differently from the default calculation.
• Separate color schemes. Different parts of your report need different rating colors for charts and visuals.
• Multiple rating perspectives. For example, a pass/fail certification rating alongside a detailed competency rating on the same data.

Once you create an Advanced Rating Type, it is calculated automatically at all levels: Assessment, Section, Subsection, and Segmentation. You decide where and how to use it in your report.

2. Create an Advanced Rating Type

Go to your Assessment Settings > Ratings > Rating List screen. Click the Advanced Ratings button.

Under Advanced Ratings List screen:

1. Add. Click Add Advanced Rating to create a new Rating Type.
2. ID. Note the ID number assigned by the system. You will need this ID when referencing this Rating Type in your report merge strings.
3. Name. Give it a descriptive Name (e.g., "Soft Skills Ratings"). The name is used internally only.
4. Links. The screen also provides these links for each Rating Type:
   • Edit - change the name of the Rating Type.
   • Ratings - add or modify the rating bands for this Rating Type (see Step 3 below).
   • Subsections - set alternate weightings for how subsections contribute to this Rating Type's scores.
   • Questions - set alternate weightings for individual questions.

3. Define Ratings for the New Type

1. From the Advanced Ratings screen, click the Ratings link next to your new Rating Type.
2. Add rating bands the same way you would for the Base Rating Type: set a Name, Maximum Score (as a percentage), and Rating Color for each band.
3. Write Rating Text for each band if you plan to use assessment-level rating text for this Rating Type.

For full details on configuring rating bands, see Managing Ratings and Rating Scales.

4. Assign the Rating Type

Once Advanced Ratings are set up, a Rating Type dropdown appears in the Section and Subsection dialog boxes. Use this to write rating text specific to each Rating Type.

For Sections

1. Open the Section dialog in the Assessment Builder.
2. Select your Advanced Rating Type from the Rating Type dropdown (field 3). This dropdown only appears when Advanced Ratings have been set up.
3. Write rating text for each band under this Rating Type for this section.
4. Click Save.

See Managing Assessment Sections for the full Section dialog reference.

For Subsections

1. Open the Subsection dialog in the Assessment Builder, then go to the Options tab.
2. Select your Advanced Rating Type from the Rating Type dropdown (field 5). This dropdown only appears when Advanced Ratings have been set up.
3. Switch back to the main tab and write rating text for each band under this Rating Type for this subsection.
4. Click Save.

See Managing Assessment Subsections for the full Subsection dialog reference.

For Segmentations

To write rating text for a specific Rating Type at the segmentation level:

1. Go to the Segmentations screen, then click Options.
2. Select the Rating Type you want to write text for.
3. Enter the rating text for each band.

See Segmentation Settings for more details.

5. Configure Alternate Weightings (Optional)

By default, an Advanced Rating Type uses the same weightings as the Base Rating Type. If you want this Rating Type to calculate scores differently (for example, weighting certain subsections more heavily), you can set custom weightings:

1. From the Advanced Ratings screen, click Subsections next to your Rating Type.
2. Assign weightings to control how each subsection contributes to this Rating Type's scores.
3. Optionally, click Questions to weight individual questions within this Rating Type's calculation.

For more on how weightings work, see Pro Tip 4 in the Configuring Assessment Scoring article.

6. Use in Your Feedback Report

To display Advanced Rating data in your Word report template, add the RatingType parameter to any merge string. The parameter value is the ID from the Advanced Ratings screen.

Merge String Examples

Suppose your Advanced Rating Type has ID 104. Here is how you would use it with common merge strings:

For a full reference of rating merge strings and all available parameters, see Configuring Ratings-Based Text.

FAQs & Troubleshooting

Use the questions below to troubleshoot common issues with Advanced Ratings.

Related Articles

• Managing Ratings and Rating Scales - set up rating bands, colors, and text
• Configuring Assessment Scoring - understand how scores and weightings work
• Configuring Ratings-Based Text - full merge string reference for rating text