Setting Up Canvas Gradebook

Using the Grades feature in Canvas can save you time when calculating students’ in-progress and final grades, provide an overview of course requirements to students, and enable them to monitor their own academic progress. For best results, complete your gradebook setup at the start of the semester along with other tasks on the Start-of-Term Canvas Checklist.

Getting Started

Select gradebook settings

  1. In your Canvas site, click Grades from the navigation menu. Click the settings wheel in the top right corner.
  2. Review each tab and make changes if needed. When finished, click “Apply Settings” to save. The function of each tab is described below.

Late Policies: Use the checkboxes to decide if Canvas should automatically apply a grade to missing assignments and/or deduct points for late submissions. If you enable either, you will still be able to override automatically-applied grades, for example, if a student receives an automatic zero for a missing assignment, but later submits it. Be sure that the settings you select match the policies stated in your syllabus, and clearly communicate these to students.

Grade Posting Policy: Make grades visible to students automatically or manually. These are global settings for the entire gradebook. If you select “manual”, you will need to release grades for each assignment when complete, and again for any student whose work is graded after grades were initially released. You may also adjust this policy at the individual assignment level.

View Options: Choose how you will view the gradebook. These selections only apply to individuals with a Teacher or TA role in your Canvas site and do not change the way students view their own grades. You may adjust these settings at any time during the semester.

RECOMMENDED: Enable a grading scheme

  1. In the grading section of your syllabus, locate the scale that equates points or percentages with letter grades.
  2. In your Canvas site, click Settings from the navigation menu. Scroll down to click the checkbox for “Enable course grading scheme”.
  3. Click the View/Edit button to display the default grading scheme. If this scheme matches your course syllabus, click “Close” and proceed to Step 5. If not, continue to Step 4.
  4. If the default grading scheme does not match your syllabus, click the “edit a copy” button in the top right (looks like sheets of paper). In the window that appears, name your grading scheme and select whether you will use points or percentages to equate letter grades. Edit the numbers in each row to match your syllabus. Add or delete rows as needed, for example, if you do not award plus/minus grades. Save when finished.
  5. Close the grading scheme window and scroll to the bottom of the Settings page. Click “Update Course Details” to save.

OPTIONAL: Hide grade totals from students

By default, Canvas displays a running total of students’ current overall grades, which updates each time a new grade is entered and can help students monitor their own progress. If you prefer for this total to be hidden from students:

  1. Click Settings from the navigation menu. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “more options”.
  2. Click the checkbox to “Hide totals in student grades summary”.
  3. Click “Update Course Details” to save.

Adding Graded Items

Add an item in Canvas for each graded task in the course. Create these using the Assignments, Quizzes, or Discussions features, or import them from a previous Canvas site.

It’s ok to create assignments for ungraded tasks if they require a Canvas submission (e.g., a feedback survey). Do not create assignments for tasks that are not graded and require no Canvas submission (e.g., course readings). These should be Canvas Pages, Files, or other item types that do not generate unnecessary gradebook columns.

Check before you continue:

  • All graded items appear on the Assignments page (some might also appear under Quizzes or Discussions).
  • Point values are correct for each item – especially important if you use points-based grading (rather than percentages).
  • If attendance will be graded, be sure to add an attendance assignment worth the point value stated on your syllabus. This can be done using the Roll Call tool or as a Canvas Assignment requiring no submission.

If your course includes any group assignments, remember to create and link your group sets. Group assignments must be associated with the correct group sets before they open to students.

Creating Assignment Categories

Return to the grading section of your syllabus to locate the percentage- or points-based breakdown of assignment weights toward students’ final grades. Follow the instructions below to implement percentage- or points-based grade weights in your Canvas gradebook.

Percentage-based assignment weights

  1. In your Canvas site, click Assignments from the navigation menu.
  2. Click the +Group button in the top right corner to add an assignment group. This creates a category, or group, of assignments, NOT a group of students.
  3. Give the group a title that matches its description on the syllabus, e.g., homework, quizzes, final project, etc.
  4. Repeat for each grading category on your syllabus. You can also use the 3 dots on the right side of an existing assignment group to edit its title.
  5. Using the set of dots on the left side of each assignment item, drag and drop each item into the assignment group where it belongs.
  6. If there are extra empty groups remaining, use the 3 dots on the right side of a group to delete it (this removes unnecessary gradebook columns).
  7. Click the 3 dots in the top right corner of the Assignments page and select “Assignment groups weight”.
  8. Check the box to “Weight final grade based on assignment groups”. For each row that appears, enter the percentage weight as it appears on your syllabus. When finished, click Save.

Category weights must total 100% unless you are designating a category for extra credit. For more information, see How to Give Extra Credit in a Course or contact your LSP.

Canvas will calculate and weight scores within each category according to the values you set, so that students’ total grades are weighted automatically and converted to the corresponding letter grade. Within each category, assignments are factored equally if they are each worth the same number of points. Otherwise, assignments with higher point values carry more weight within the category.

There will be a gradebook column (after individual assignments, but before the Total column) for each grading category. This can be a useful at-a-glance view of student progress across different course elements. You do not need to enter grades in these columns.

Points-based assignment weights

If the weight of each assessment type toward students’ final grade is measured in points, it is not necessary to place the assignments in grading categories, though you may still choose to do so for a more organized view.

  1. In your Canvas site, click Assignments from the navigation menu.
  2. If you wish to place assignments in grading categories, refer to the Percentage-Based Assignment Weights section above and follow Steps 1-6 only. If not, skip this step.
  3. There may be extra groups that you did not create, especially if you imported some or all assignments from a previous Canvas site. If you prefer for all items to display in the same group, use the set of dots on the left side of each assignment to drag and drop it into the desired group.
  4. If there are extra empty groups remaining, use the 3 dots on the right side of a group to delete it (this removes unnecessary gradebook columns).
  5. Review the point totals for each assessment type on your syllabus, then in Canvas, to ensure that they match. For example, if your syllabus states that Discussions are worth 50 points, and your Canvas site contains 5 discussion boards, each one should be worth 10 points (or some other combination that adds up to 50).
  6. Edit assignment point totals as needed, and check that the total amount of overall points matches the value stated in your syllabus.

Canvas will calculate students’ overall grades as a raw average and convert them to the corresponding letter grades determined by your course grading scheme.

Using Your Gradebook

Your Canvas gradebook is now ready to use. Individuals with Teacher or TA roles in the Canvas site will see the instructor gradebook view containing all students, but users with Student roles will only be able to view their own grades. 

After students submit assignments, you can enter scores into the gradebook. For information about viewing and grading student work in Canvas, refer to the SpeedGrader Overview for Instructors.

Get Help

For a look ahead to grading at the end of the semester, refer to the End-of-Term Grading Checklist.

If you have additional questions about using the Canvas gradebook, please reach out to your school’s instructional support providers or contact Canvas support at canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.

Last Updated: 12 Jan 2024