# Scales

Teachers can create new custom scales to be used in a course for any grading activities.

The name of the scale should be a phrase that identifies it clearly: this will appear in scale-selection lists, as well as on context-sensitive help buttons.

The scale itself is defined by an ordered list of values, ranging from negative to positive, separated by commas. For example:

> Disappointing, Not good enough, Average, Good, Very good, Excellent!

Scales should also include a good description of what it means and how it is expected to be used. This description will appear in help pages for teachers and students.

Finally, there may be one or more "Standard" scales defined on your site by the system administrator. These will be available in all courses.