Gradebook
The resources in this "Survival Guide" have been developed and compiled for instructors who are new to Canvas and also for those who have some Canvas experience but would like additional reinforcement and helpful tips. Each page of the Survival Guide has two sections ("Getting Started" and "Going Deeper"), which are organized on separate tabs. The "Getting Started" content begins with a brief introduction to the page's content followed by a short tutorial video and, in some cases, annotated screen captures explaining how to access and use that tool or feature. The "Going Deeper" content includes resources for instructors who are comfortable using Canvas but might be looking for some examples of instructional techniques or ways to address specific challenges, or maybe even just a little inspiration.
The Canvas Gradebook tool is designed to support you in managing and communicating student progress. The Gradebook provides several options for customizing the appearance and course policies, including filtering and sorting gradebook content, color coding submission statuses, and setting late submission policies. On this page we'll see how you can use the Gradebook to simplify your grading process and to gain valuable insight into student performance.
This page explains:
- An overview of the Canvas Gradebook.
- How to access and use various tools and settings available in the Gradebook.
Let's see how it works!
Video Tutorial: Gradebook Overview
The Canvas Gradebook compiles, stores, and communicates learners' grades or completion statuses for graded materials. Course materials that will display in the gradebook include graded assignments, graded discussions, graded quizzes, and graded surveys. Practice quizzes and ungraded surveys will not show up in the Gradebook.
Navigating the Gradebook
Gradebook access and appearance
To access the gradebook, select Grades from the left-side course navigation panel.
The default view in the Gradebook is to view all students at one time (but you can also view students individually in the Gradebook Individual View). Within the first column of the default view, you will see a list of enrolled students. Subsequent columns show graded assignments, quizzes, and/or discussions.
Columns are automatically added every time you create and publish a graded course activity. You can also create non-submission or on-paper assignments to add to the Gradebook for manual grading.
Assignments that are composed entirely of objective type questions (e.g., multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, multiple answer, matching, etc.) are automatically graded in Canvas and will automatically populate in the gradebook (unless the posting policy Links to an external site. has been changed by the instructor to manual grade posting in the Gradebook Settings). Assignments and quizzes that contain open-ended questions and file uploads will not be graded and posted automatically by Canvas. After an instructor has graded those open-ended questions, the assignment grade will post in the gradebook. The Canvas gradebook will show an assignment icon with an exclamation mark to indicate that an assignment requires manual grading.
Entering and editing grades
Most of the time, you will probably enter grades through SpeedGrader, which is discussed on the next page. Those grades will then populate the Gradebook; however, there may be times when you'll choose to enter or edit a grade through the Gradebook.
To enter or edit a grade, click on the appropriate gradebook cell and a text box will appear, allowing you to type in a new value.
To access additional information about an assignment submission, click the arrow to the right of the grade, which will open up a panel on the right side of your window where you can access additional options that are also found through SpeedGrader.
Filtering, arranging, and changing color
Canvas provides several options that you can use to customize your gradebook view and quickly find the information you need.
Filters
To filter the gradebook content so that you can view assignments within specific modules, assignment groups, or with specific submission statues, etc., click Apply Filters and select the appropriate filter.
Reorder Columns
The Gradebook settings provide several options for customizing your grading workflow. To access these options, click on the gear icon at the top right corner of the Gradebook window, which will open the Gradebook Settings panel. Select the View Options tab to see the different options you have for customizing the appearance of your gradebook.
To reorder the gradebook columns, click the drop-down menu under Arrange By and select the column order that makes most sense for you. For example, some instructors prefer to see the assignments in sequential order from the first module to the last, others prefer to see the most recent assignments first, and perhaps others customize their view in yet a different way.
Submission Statuses
The Gradebook uses color to convey the status of students' submissions (i.e., late, missing, excused, etc.). The View Options tab within the Gradebook Settings shows the default color for each submission status. For example, the gradebook cells of assignments that were not submitted will be shaded red. Cells of assignments that were submitted past the due date will be shaded blue. Resubmitted, dropped, and excused assignments will be shaded green, orange, and yellow, respectively. You can change these default colors by clicking the pencil icon to the right of each submission status.
Setting late submission policies and grade posting policies
The Gradebook Settings options allow you to apply late policies, set automatic or manual grade posting, and enable final grade overrides. To access these options, click on the gear icon at the top right corner of the Gradebook window (1). The Gradebook Settings panel will then open up on the right side of your window (2). Use the tabs to navigate settings for Late Policies, Grade Posting Policy, or Advanced.
If you would like Canvas to automatically deduct some percentage of points for each day or week (for example) an assignment is late, you can apply that in the Late Policies tab. You can also set a lower limit such that students would receive at least 50% of their earned grade, for example, regardless of how late they submit the assignment.
The Grade Posting Policy tab is where you can set a grade posting policy that will impact all assignments in the course. The default setting is that Canvas will automatically post grades as soon as assignments are graded. In this case, students whose assignments are graded first will have access to their grade prior to students whose assignments are graded later. Alternatively, you can choose to manually post grades, which means that you will decide when to post grades for each assignment individually on each column in the gradebook. This option would be appropriate if you want all students to have access to their assignment grade at the same time.
Not finding what you need? Still have questions, a comment, or suggestion?
Additional resources
Canvas Guides: How do I use the Gradebook? Links to an external site.
Canvas Guides: How do I enter and edit grades in the Gradebook? Links to an external site.
Canvas Guides: How do I set a default grade for an assignment? Links to an external site.
Canvas Guides: How do I give extra credit? Links to an external site.
Canvas Guides: How do I weight grades based on assignment groups? Links to an external site.
Canvas Guides: How do I export grades in the Gradebook? Links to an external site.