September 2026 - Total Scores as a Metric

Brilliant Assessments now reports a score in three ways. Alongside the percentage score and the average (Likert) score, there is a new metric: the Total, the sum of the points achieved for the answers selected. It is available at assessment, section, subsection and theme level, in Word feedback reports, in Results Dashboards, and as an input to Calculations.

Reporting a raw point score previously required a workaround using a Theme and a Calculation. That is no longer necessary. Your existing assessments, reports, and dashboards continue to work without any action on your part.

1. What has changed

• Scores are now calculated in three ways rather than two. The percentage score divides the points achieved by the points available. The average (Likert) score divides the points achieved by the number of questions answered. The Total is the sum of the points achieved.
• The Total is available at assessment, section, subsection and theme level, in the same way as the other two metrics.
• Benchmarks now hold an average total alongside the percentage and average scores, so a Total can be compared to a benchmark.
• A raw point score no longer needs a Theme and a Calculation. The previous approach, multiplying a percentage score by the maximum points and storing the result in a Theme, is no longer required.

2. What is new

A Total Score merge type for reports

In the Merge Manager, Total Score appears in the MergeType list alongside Percentage Score and Average points score (Likert). Choose the level you want from Show and the merge string is written for you.

A Total Score option on charts

Most score charts now offer Total Score in the Display list, which adds the Metric=Total parameter:

{Bar[SectionNo=ALL SubSectionNo=ALL Metric=Total Label=Y Decimals=1]}

The Total is available on bar, horizontal bar, multi bar, spider, line, polar, gauge, progress bar, box and whisker, and tables and heatmaps charts. Pie, area, bar on bar, scatterplot and stacked charts offer their own display options instead.

Eight new Calculations inputs

The Calculations query builder offers eight new score selectors below the existing four. The Total Score selectors return the sum of the achieved points, and the Average Score (points) selectors return the average points per question.

• Assessment Total Score, Section Total Score, Subsection Total Score, Theme Total Score
• Assessment Average Score (points), Section Average Score (points), Subsection Average Score (points), Theme Average Score (points)

The existing Assessment Score, Section Score, Subsection Score and Theme Score selectors are unchanged and still return a percentage as a decimal. Because the new selectors return points directly, multiplying a percentage back up by the maximum points is no longer required.

Totals in cohorts

In a cohort, the Total is divided by the number of respondents represented in that total, producing an average total. This allows cohorts of different sizes to be compared on the same scale.

Benchmarks and differences

Benchmarks hold an average total, so a Total can be shown alongside a benchmark or as a difference from it:

{RatingScore.Total[BM1=0]}
{RatingScore.Total[Metric=DiffBM BM1=0]}

The Total can be combined with all four difference metrics: difference to benchmark, between roles, between iterations, and between themes.

3. What this means for your existing assessments and reports

• Nothing breaks. No existing report, dashboard or merge string needs to be changed. The Total is an addition, not a replacement.
• Your existing Theme and Calculation setups continue to work. If you previously built a raw point score by multiplying a percentage by the maximum points and storing it in a Theme, that setup keeps producing the same figures. There is no need to unwind it.
• Use the Total for new work. It requires no Theme, no Calculation and no Maximum Points value, and it is available at every level directly.
• Existing benchmarks have been backfilled, so the average total is available on your historical benchmark data as well as on new responses.

4. Getting started

1. Open a report template in Word, or a tile in a Results Dashboard, and open the Merge Manager.
2. To report a Total as text, select the Total Score merge type, then choose the level from Show.
3. To chart a Total, select your chart merge type, then select Total Score from Display.
4. To use a Total in a formula, open a Calculation and choose one of the Total Score selectors in the Result Calculation area.

In the example above, the merge type Total Score with Show set to Sections and Section set to 2 produces {RatingScore.Total[SectionNo=2]} in the editor on the left.

For the full detail, see Reporting Total Scores, Configuring Assessment Scores, and Setting Up Calculations for Assessments.

5. FAQs

Questions?

If you would like a walkthrough of the Total metric, or run into anything that does not behave as expected, please get in touch. We are happy to help.