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Before/Start of the Semester: Gradebook Setup

Tip

Pro Tip! You can designate individual assignments as exceptions to the drop rule if needed. For example, if there is an additional extra credit assignment in your pop-quiz assignment group, you will need to make sure the extra credit assignment is listed as an exception for the drop rule to work correctly or else students who do not complete the extra credit assignment will be penalized.

Set up the Missing Submission Policy

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This article lists the Best Practices for setting up an accurate Canvas Grades. If you ever need assistance or have questions:

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Tip

I just need a Quick Overview:How do I use the Canvas Gradebook?

Beginning of the Semester

Setting up the Canvas Grade Book in the beginning of the semester helps ensure:

  • Faculty: Easier grading for faculty, if everything is set up in the Grade Book the instructor can simply enter grades throughout the semester and can feel confident that students are seeing the correct scoring and overall grade for the course.

  • Students: Smoother and more transparent experience with the course regarding grading, being alerted to missing assignments, and seeing a correct final grade based off of the work that has been received.

Grading Scheme

Update the Canvas Grading Scheme

*Optional

*Required to use the Canvas Grade Transfer Tool

To tell Canvas what each student’s Total Grade % should equate to in a Letter Grade.

  • For example, an instructor might want to tweak the scheme to allow students who receive an 88% or higher to receive an A.

Default scheme is:

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Gradebook Settings in Canvas

Screenshot of the Grades area with the Settings Sprocket highlighted.  upper righthand corner of screen.Image Added

screenshot of the gradebook settings pane.  the tools are described below.Image Added

Automatically apply grade for missing submission

*Recommended

To turn this option on, check the box next to “Automatically apply grade for missing submissions.”

Note: This option does not impact "no submission" or "on paper" assignments

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. These items will require the instructor to manually

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Tip

Pro Tip! These Assignments can be "assignment shells" right now, meaning that they simply state the assignment title, due date, and how many points they are worth. You can come back and edit each assignment at any time to include more detailed information.

assigning the zeroes.

  • It is very important to make sure that Zeros are entered for missed assignments in a timely manner.

  • This step is what informs students they are missing an assignment and their grade has been lowered accordingly.

Automatically apply deduction to late submissions

*Optional

To turn this option on, check the box to “Automatically apply deduction to late submissions.”

The Late Submission policy allows you to automatically deduct points on all late submissions. A submission is labeled late when it has been submitted past the due date. Only assignments with a status of Late will be affected by the Late Submission policy. The late policy will be applied to a submission when it is graded.

Change the default Grade Posting Policy

*Optional

Choose if grades become visible to students automatically, or must be “Posted” by the instructor.

Advanced

*Optional

The Advanced tab allows you to apply a Final Grade Override in your course [1]. If enabled, you can enter an override grade for a student that is different from the grade automatically calculated by Canvas [2].

Other Grades Information

Build the Course Items Associated with Grades.

Pro-Tip: Create shells for all Assignments, Discussions, Quizzes, etc. and sort them into their respective Assignment Groups at the beginning of the semester. This allows for the entire course to be “built” as far as the Grade Center goes, and leaves the instructor time to fill in the assignment details at a later time.

Resources:

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How to Drop the Lowest grade for an Assignment Group in Canvas

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Create Assignment Groups in Canvas

*Optional

  • Sort assignments by categories

  • Creates filters for faculty to use to navigate the Grade Center

  • Use to set up Weighted Grades (see below)

  • Use to drop grades with the “lowest score” – When dropping lowest grades remember to designate All Extra Credit Assignments as “exemptions” to the drop rule.

Pro-Tip: If not using Assignment Groups, note that one “group” MUST exist for calculations in the Grade Center to work correctly. A great trick is to update the name of the single Assignment Group to “Subtotal” so that students are not confused by its existence in their Grades area.

Set up Weighted Grading in Canvas

*Optional

Weighted Grades Example:

  • Tests = 50% of total grade

  • Assignments = 20% of total grade

  • Final Project = 30% of total grade

Learn how to Navigate Grades in Canvas

Pro Tip: Organize and rearrange the columns in

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the gradebook by clicking-and-dragging them into

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the desired display order.

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  • Use “Filters” to order the gradebook via Assignment Groups, Student Groups, Modules, etc. (Must create the item for it to be used to filter).

Use Filters to order the gradebook via Assignment Groups, Student Groups, Modules, etc. Must create the item for it to be used to filter.Image Added

  • Use “Arrange By” to order the Grades area in an automatic way.

Use Arrange By to order the Grades area in an automatic way.Image Added

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During the Semester:

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Grading

Grade Student Submissions Using Speedgrader in Canvas:

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titleGrade Student Submissions Using Speedgrader In Canvas

SpeedGrader

Grading Pro-Tips:

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  • Grades can be “Excused” by typing EX into the grade book.

    • Excusing a grade allows an assignment to be ignored while determining the final grade.

  • Don't like working in Canvas? You can complete your edits in Excel!

    • You can export your Canvas gradebook to

      excel

      Excel and make changes to student grades, and then use the Import a CSV file option to upload your grade changes to Canvas. 

    End of Semester: Grading Wrap-up

    • Make sure everything has a grade

      • Keep in mind 1) If you want to drop the lowest score from an assignment group, in order for Canvas to correctly drop the lowest score, all items within that assignment group must be graded items. At the end of the semesterNote: If you are using complete/incomplete grading, you will need to ensure that all assignments in this group have a grade value entered in the Gradebook.

      • Keep in mind 2) Leaving any cells ungraded (with a "-" in them) will cause the drop rule to be applied incorrectly for the students who have ungraded cells.  

      • Set up your course Grading Scheme

         if you did not do so at the start of the semester.You will need to enable and accurately implement a Grading Scheme according to the information provided in your course syllabus. You can access your course's Grading Scheme from the Settings link on your course navigation menu. 

        Ensure that there are no "hidden" assignments and all grades have been posted for all students.Hidden assignments are not visible to your students, so they give your students an inaccurate view of their overall grade in Canvas. Any grades that have not been posted will not be factored into the final grade in Canvas, so if you have not posted all grades for all students then you may end up with inaccurate final grades. Please refer to this guide for more information about hidden grades and using the grade posting policy feature. 

        Make sure that all grade cells have a value entered in them, including entering in zeroes for unsubmitted assignments.The final grade column will not be accurate if any cells are left ungraded. When grade cells are left ungraded (containing a dash) students with ungraded work see their final grade without any unsubmitted assignments factored in, which gives students an inaccurate view of their grades. Students can uncheck the "calculate based only on graded assignments" box on their grades page to see what their real grade will be. However, to prevent confusion and misunderstandings, we strongly recommend that you enter zeroes for all unsubmitted assignments. This way, students will see an accurate view of their grades without having to uncheck anything on their grades page.

        The most efficient way to assign zeroes to unsubmitted assignments is to use the Set Default Grade feature to set the default grade for each assignment to zero at the end of the term. It will allow you to automatically insert zeros for all students that haven't yet received a grade for a specific assignment.

        If you are using the missing submission policy to automatically assign zeroes to missing assignments: Review each column in your gradebook to ensure that the missing submission policy did not skip over any assignments. Remember, this automated tool will not apply zeroes to missing "on paper" and "no submission" assignments. You must manually add zeroes to these items. We recommend using the Set Default Grade feature described above for any columns that need zeroes assigned. 

        Grades can be excused by typing EX into the grade book.Excusing a grade allows an assignment to be ignored while determining the final grade. 

        Make sure the extra credit you want to give students is factored in correctly.For clarification about adding extra credit to your course, please consult our Managing Extra Credit in Canvas article to find out the best option for your particular course's grading structure. 

        Don't like working in Canvas? You can complete your edits in Excel!If you would like to adjust your students' grades offline, you can export your Canvas gradebook to excel and make changes to student grades, and then use the Import a CSV file option to upload your grade changes to Canvas. 

        Optional: Hide the total column from student view.If you don't want your students to see the total column value when they check their grades in Canvas, follow the steps in our tutorial. Please note, this will only hide the total column from students - it will not hide the assignment group columns from students.

Relevant Information

Have a suggestion?

      • assign a point value for your Excel sheet to indicate any completion

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End of Semester: Canvas to Peoplesoft Grade Transfer Tool

Step 1

  • Review your Grade Center and verify that all columns and students contain grades.

  • Missed assignments should receive either a 0 or “Excused”.

  • The Grade Transfer Tool will not work if this step is not completed.

Step 2

Info

Important: When users report error messages in the Grade Transfer process, this is usually the step that has been missed and/or goofed up

  • Confirm the Grade Schema is “checked” in Canvas.

  • Select Update Course Settings button on the bottom of the page to preserve any changes.

  • The Canvas to Peoplesoft Grade Transfer Tool will not work if this step is not completed.

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Step 3

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