The Rankings tab ranks a class by one figure at a time: course quiz scores, course completion, most improved, or a result from any of the five simulators. It's a quick way for you to see who's leading and who hasn't started, and with Present it becomes a full-screen leaderboard you can put on the projector. Used thoughtfully, a leaderboard adds energy to a simulator week. Used carelessly, it can embarrass the students who most need encouragement, so this article ends with practical guidance on showing rankings to a class.
Available on: the Rankings tab is on every plan. On Free you can rank by course completion; quiz score and most improved need student performance, part of Intertwined Solo and school plans. Each simulator's leaderboard needs a plan that includes that simulator.
Open Rankings
Go to Classrooms > your class > Rankings.
Choose what to rank in the bar at the top: Course, Investing, Budget, Startup, Economy or Business.
For Course, check the course shown at the top right. If the class has more than one course, choose one from the menu.
Where there's more than one figure, choose it under RANK BY.
If any students are in Investment Groups, choose Students or Teams.
Only you see this tab. Students see a leaderboard only if you present it.
Each leaderboard and what it ranks
Course: Quiz score is the student's first-try accuracy across the quizzes they've finished in the course. Completion is how much of the course they've completed. Most improved compares the average of a student's more recent quizzes with their earlier ones, so it needs at least two dated quizzes per student.
Investing: Return (holdings plus cash against the starting balance) or Portfolio value.
Budget: Checking + savings or Credit score.
Startup: Market value, Revenue or Profit.
Economy: Net worth.
Business: Cash, Rating or Last day's profit.
Every figure comes from the same data as the class Overview and Simulators tabs, so a student's number matches across all three.
How places are decided
Highest figure first.
Ties share a place, judged on the figure as shown. Two students who both show 81% are both 2nd, and the next student is 4th, so nobody is told they beat a classmate they actually tied.
Students with nothing to rank yet aren't placed. They're listed by name under "Haven't started:" (or "Not enough quizzes yet:" for most improved).
Teams uses the class's Investment Groups. A team's figure is the average of its members who have one; for Investing, a team shares one portfolio, so its figure is that portfolio's. Students without a team are listed under "Not on a team:".
Reading the board
The top three stand on a podium, and everyone else follows in a list titled Everyone else. A short line beside each student adds context, such as their completion next to their quiz score. Click a student to open their page: their profile for Course, or their simulator view for a simulator.
If a simulator hasn't been set up for the class, you'll see that it isn't on for this class yet, with Open its setup. If nobody has a figure yet, the board says "Nobody to rank yet".
Present to the class
Set up the board you want, then click Present.
The board fills the window, with large type for a projector. Click Full screen to hide the browser too.
Use Hide figures to show the order without the numbers, and Show everyone if you want more than the top 10.
Press Esc or click the X to close.
Present mode is built for a room: it shows first names and last initials only, shows the top 10 by default, leaves out the list of students who haven't started, and hides the chat button while it's open.
Using leaderboards well
Rankings can motivate, but they're public comparison, and a teenager at the bottom of a projected list feels it. A few habits keep them positive:
Always use Present, never the regular tab, on a screen students can see. The regular tab shows full names, every student, and who hasn't started.
Prefer simulator boards to grade-like ones. A portfolio return or café rating is a game outcome students can laugh about. A quiz score is closer to a grade, and ranking it in public can feel like posting grades on the wall.
Show the top, not the bottom. Keep the top 10 default and celebrate the leaders without walking through the rest.
Hide the figures when the numbers would sting, such as checking balances or net worth that went negative.
Rank teams to shift the focus from individuals to shared effort, especially early in a simulator.
Rotate what you rank. Completion and most improved reward effort and growth, and give different students a turn at the top.
Tell students first. Let the class know when you'll show a leaderboard and what it measures. If a student would rather not appear, present teams instead or skip that board.
Keep it low stakes. Use rankings for fun and discussion ("What did the top portfolios have in common?") rather than tying a grade to someone's place.
Follow your school's guidance on displaying student results in class.
Good to know: the Investing Simulator has its own class Rankings page inside the simulator, which students can open themselves and which lists classmates by name with their portfolio value and return. Talk about it with your class before an investing competition. See Running an investing competition.
Common questions
Can students see the Rankings tab?
No. They see a leaderboard from this tab only when you present it. The Investing Simulator's own Rankings page is separate and visible to students.
Why is a student missing from the board?
They have nothing to rank yet, for example no finished quizzes in the course or no activity in that simulator. They're listed by name below the board.
Why can't I rank by quiz score?
On Free, quiz scores aren't included, and the tab suggests ranking by completion instead. See Why is a feature locked or blurred?
Why don't I see the Students and Teams switch?
It appears only when at least one student in the class is in an Investment Group. Groups are set up in the Investing Simulator's setup; see Investing Simulator: teacher guide.
Why don't the Investing figures stay still?
Portfolio values follow market prices, so they change during the trading day. Present the board at the same time each week for a fair comparison.