How do I grade an assignment?

This article describes how to grade an assignment using the new grader interface. For instructions on grading using the older interface, please see How do I grade an assignment using the legacy grading interface?

Go to Assignments.

Select the Assignments tool from the Tool Menu in your site.

Select the assignment to grade.

Click the Grade link for the assignment you would like to grade.

Note: If you have yet to choose a grading scale for an assignment, it will say View Submissions instead of Grade.

Check the box next to Use new Grader to grade submissions.

The new Grader interface is the default setting, so this option may already be selected.

Tip: If you open a submission to grade and don't see the new interface, try deselecting and then reselecting the option to use the new Grader.

Select a student to grade.

You will see a list of all the students in the class, along with the submission date, status, grade, and release columns for each student. You may sort by any of these columns by clicking on the title of the column if desired.

Click on the student that you would like to grade.

The navigation options at the top right of the page allow you to quickly cycle through student submissions. You may use the arrows to jump to the next or previous student submission. You may also use the drop-down menu to jump to any student in the list, or, you can select Return to List to return to the full listing of all student submissions.

Customize grader view.

Optionally, you may also click the Settings cog icon next to the assignment title to customize the grader view. This will allow you to select any of the following options:

  • Navigate between students with submissions only
  • Only show ungraded submissions
  • Dock the grader on the left
  • Please select a group

View student submission.

  1. The student submission will be previewed on one side of the screen.
  2. The student's name and submission date are listed in the top of the grading pane, along with links to submitted inline text (if applicable) and any file attachments. Click on the Submitted Text link or the filename of an item under Submitted Attachments to preview that item on the other side of the screen.
  3. If you would like to download a copy of the student file, click on the filename above the preview area.

Enter a grade.

Enter the score for the student's assignment in the grade entry text box provided.

Complete rubric grading.

If the assignment has a rubric associated with it, you will see a rubric icon next to the grade.

  1. Click on the icon to open the rubric.
  2. The rubric will open in a pop-up window where you can select the desired rating for each criteria. This window may be moved around or resized as needed. Notice that the number in the Grade field will update automatically with the points selected in the rubric.

Enter feedback comments.

If you would like to include additional comments along with the grade, you may use the Rich Text Editor to provide instructor feedback.

  1. Select the Feedback Comment button.
  2. The Rich Text Editor will open in a pop-up window where you can enter the desired feedback. This window may be moved around or resized as needed.
  3. Select the Done button to save your feedback.

Once you have saved a feedback comment, a green circle next to the button will indicate that there is an existing comment.

Return an attachment.

If you would like to return a file attachment to the student with additional feedback, click on the Add Attachments button to browse for and select a file.

Add private notes.

If you would like to include additional information for other instructors or TAs, you may use the Rich Text Editor to provide instructor feedback. Students will not see these notes. They are only visible to users with grading permissions.

  1. Select the Private Notes button.
  2. The Rich Text Editor will open in a pop-up window where you can enter the desired feedback. This window may be moved around or resized as needed.
  3. Select the Done button to save your note.

Once you have saved a private note, a green circle next to the button will indicate that there is an existing comment.

Allow resubmissions.

If you would like to allow the student to resubmit the assignment, you may check the Allow Resubmission box and specify the number of resubmissions allowed and the date until which they will be accepted.

Note: If you allowed resubmissions on the assignment when you created it, this information will be prepopulated with the default resubmission information for this assignment. However, you may override the default resubmission settings for an individual student by changing the information shown here.

Save grade.

Select the Save button to save the grade and feedback. (This option does not release the grade to students.)

If you are finished grading and would like to release the information to the student, click the Save and Release to Student button.

If you want to discard your changes, click Cancel.

Tip: Some faculty prefer to release all of the grades at one time when they have finished entering grades for the whole class.