Canvas Gradebook
The Canvas gradebook features a slick interface, accessible controls, robust data organization and filtering, and helpful grade management options.
Features
- Column and row filtering
- Default grading options
- Communication tools
- Grading policies to improve efficiency
- Multiple views
- Grade history
Getting Started
Instructor Resources
Locating the Gradebook
To access your Canvas Gradebook, open your course and click on the Grades link in the course menu.
Navigating the Gradebook
Familiarize yourself with the Canvas Gradebook and the various colors and symbols contained within.
- When a cell is active, it is marked with a bold blue border and the entire row is highlighted.
- Each row is marked by alternating colors.
- Color-codes indicate the grading status of assignment submission. Possible statuses include late (blue), missing (red), resubmitted (green), dropped (orange), excused (yellow), or none (clear).
- The Search function allows searching for individual students.
- Columns associated with unpublished assignments are clearly labeled and can be shown or hidden in the new gradebook. Unpublished assignments are not visible to students, and columns associated with unpublished assignments do not appear in the student Grades view. To hide unpublished assignments from your own view, select View=>Columns=>Unpublished Assignments to show or hide such columns.
You can use the keyboard shortcuts to navigate the gradebook. Press the Escape key before using the shortcuts. For a list of shortcuts, click the keyboard icon to access accessibility directly on the interface.
Viewing ISU-specific columns
There are several additional columns available to display in your gradebook:
- Section
- Major
- College
- Classification
- ISU ID
- Net ID
- Student Groups (you must create the group sets inside your course shell before you can add the group column to your gradebook; a column is created for each group set)
To show/hide these columns:
- Navigate to ISU AdminTools.
- Choose Show/Hide Gradebook Columns.
- Next to each column name you will see a toggle switch. Click the Off toggle; it will change to On and your gradebook will now include the column.
Arranging Gradebook columns
The Gradebook allows control over the order of your grade columns:
- Place the Total column anywhere in the gradebook. Click on the three dots next to the column’s title, drag and drop the column to re-position. You can re-order any column in this way.
- Arrange the columns using criteria in the Arrange By option in the View menu that appears in the upper left-hand corner of your gradebook. Your columns can be arranged alphabetically in an ascending or descending order, by lowest and highest score, by oldest or newest assignment due date, and by module placement.
- Change the width of each column by placing your cursor over the edge of the column, holding and dragging the line until the column is re-sized.
Filtering Gradebook data
There are several ways in which you can filter student data in the Gradebook:
- Filter columns by Assignment Groups, Modules, and Sections by selecting the Filter option from the View menu.
- Filter further by using the drop-down menus that appear after you set the filtering preferences.
- Inside each column, sort by ascending and descending grades and by the grading status (late, missing, resubmitted, excused, dropped or none). Click on the three dots next to the column title to sort by any of these criteria.
Grade Management
The new gradebook offers options to manage grades:
- Assign a grading status and thus color-code assignment submissions. Navigate to View=>Statuses. You can change the color codes for late, missing, re-submitted, dropped and excused submissions by clicking on the three dots next to each status. Colored grading statuses allow you to quickly judge assignment submission progress across the course.
- Use the Grade Detail Tray
when you click on the arrow inside any cell. The Grade Detail Tray allows you to enter or edit grades, change the grading status of a submission, and leave comments for a student.
- Create policies for late submissions by clicking on the wheel
in the upper-right hand corner of the gradebook. Grading policies can automatically assign zero points for missing submissions and apply deductions for late submissions. Once enabled, late policies apply across all assignments inside a Canvas course shell.
Student Resources
Viewing grades in your Canvas course
Students do not have access to the Gradebook but are able to see their grades through their individual Grades page. See the following resources pertaining to Grades in Canvas:
Online Documentation
- Gradebook for Instructors
- SpeedGrader for Instructors
Gradebook for Instructors
- How do I use the Gradebook?
- How do I arrange columns in the Gradebook?
- How do I filter columns and rows in the Gradebook?
- How do I use the Total column in the Gradebook?
- How do I sort and display student data in the Gradebook?
- How do I view grades for inactive or concluded student enrollments in the Gradebook?
- How do I view unpublished assignments in the Gradebook?
- How do I use the icons and colors in the Gradebook?
- How do I use grade posting policies in a course?
- How do I change the status of a submission in the Gradebook?
- How do I send a message to students from the Gradebook?
- How do I download all student submissions for an assignment in the Gradebook?
- How do I enter and edit grades in the Gradebook?
- How do I curve grades in the Gradebook?
- How do I set a default grade for an assignment in the Gradebook?
- How do I apply a Missing Submission policy in the Gradebook?
- How do I apply a Late Submission policy in the Gradebook?
- How do I use SpeedGrader?
- How do I get to SpeedGrader from the Gradebook?
- How do I get to SpeedGrader from an assignment, quiz, or graded discussion?
- How do I download all student submissions for an assignment?
- How do I add annotated comments to student submissions in SpeedGrader?
- How do I use a rubric to grade submissions in SpeedGrader?
- How do I use Chrome's speech recognition feature to leave a comment in SpeedGrader?
Support
Canvas is supported by Instructure. Use one of the following channels to connect with their 24/7 support:
- live chat — open the ?Help menu in Canvas and click ‘Chat with Canvas Support’
- ticket support — open the ?Help menu in Canvas and click ‘Report a Problem‘
- phone support — call 515-294-4000, then follow the prompts for Canvas support
For problems with ISU AdminTools inside Canvas, contact the ISU Solution Center: solution@iastate.edu / 515-294-4000.