Gradescope logo

Penn has upgraded to Gradescope LTI 1.3.

Fall 2026 courses and beyond should use the LTI 1.3 integration. If you wish to reuse Gradescope assignments from a previous course before Summer 2026, please follow the instructions to migrate assignments from LTI 1.1. When syncing rosters, use the “Sync Canvas (LTI 1.3) Roster” option.

Gradescope is a tool that instructors of large classes can use to assist in grading coursework quickly and efficiently. Instructors or students upload PDFs of the completed assignment directly into the Gradescope tool, and the instructor can apply a custom rubric that allows for uniform grading and feedback. Instructors also receive analytics concerning their assignments to better understand students’ performance.

Gradescope is available to all Penn faculty, staff, and students. A Canvas integration is available for all courses taught through Penn Canvas.

This page is intended for instructors. Students should review Gradescope for Students.

If you cannot view Gradescope while using the Safari browser, please follow these directions to uncheck the “Prevent cross-site tracking” setting. If using the Firefox browser, you might need to disable the “Enhanced Tracking Protection” settings.

Accessing Gradescope

To avoid confusion with assignment syncing, we recommend that you follow the directions below and do not enable Gradescope LTI 1.3 in the course navigation menu.

  1. Log in to Canvas.
  2. Click Courses and choose a course.
  3. Once in the course, go to Assignments and use the +Assignment button to create a new assignment.
  4. Under Submission Type, select External Tool.
  5. Click Find and select Gradescope LTI 1.3.
  6. If this is your first time using the tool in the course, you’ll be prompted to link:
    1. If starting from scratch, choose “A new Gradescope course.”
    2. If you have already created a Gradescope course using gradescope.com or have duplicated a Gradescope course to migrate LTI 1.1 content, choose “An existing Gradescope course.”
    3. After making your selection, click Link Course.
  7. Then, choose to link with “A new Gradescope assignment” or “An existing Gradescope assignment” and click Link Assignment.

Creating Assignments & Exams

Create the assignment or exam/quiz outline you’ll use for grading.

Assignment types

You can create and grade the following types of assignments in Gradescope:

Learn more about the assignment types and features to decide which best suits your course. Gradescope also provides general recommendations for managing assignment submissions.

Assignment features

Once your assignment is created, you can:

  • Mark the question regions on a template PDF
  • Upload and process scans for instructor-uploaded assessments
  • Match student names to submissions or fix template issues if needed

By default, the Exam/Quiz assignment type is selected so that instructors can scan and submit students’ work. If you prefer to have students upload and submit their work, change the Who will upload submissions? setting to Students and follow the instructions for Homework and Problem Sets.

Finalize in Canvas

When you return to Canvas after creating the assignment, click the Select button. Then, finish configuring the Canvas assignment by clicking Save (or Save & Publish).

Students will be automatically added to your linked Gradescope course when they click a Gradescope-enabled assignment link from your Canvas site. You can also sync your roster to update course enrollments to ensure that users, roles, and sections are aligned.

At any time, you can access your course’s Gradescope home page as an instructor by going to Assignments > three dot button (to the right of +Assignment) > Gradescope LTI 1.3.

Grading & Assessing Student Work

To grade student work, you will first create a rubric to be used on submissions.

When grading is finished, course staff can:

Extensions & accommodations

Gradescope enables instructors to adjust assignment availability dates, due dates, and/or time limits for students who may need an extension or accommodation.

Additional Resources

Getting Help

Please contact your Local Support Provider or submit a request to canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.