on this page
Grading
This section describes best practices for grading student work.
Setting up assessments in Canvas
Use the built-in Canvas features to make marking and calculating grades easier.
Assignments
The following can be configured in every Canvas assignment:
- the number of points
- how the grade is displayed (i.e. points, percentage, complete / incomplete)
- whether the assignment counts towards the student’s final grade
Quizzes
Every Classic Quiz created is set as a “Graded Quiz” by default. This means that instructors must indicate a correct answer for each question.
Alternatively, a “Graded Survey” can be used to collect responses which do not need to be marked — anyone who submits will get full credit.
Group Weights
Instructors can create different “groups” within Assignments to organize student tasks.
A weight can be configured for each group. For example, there can be a “Midterm” group worth 25% of the student’s grade.
Canvas will follow these values to calculate each student’s final mark accordingly.
For instructions on how to add group weights, please see here: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/How-do-I-weight-the-final-course-grade-based-on-assignment/ta-p/746
SpeedGrader
SpeedGrader allows instructors to view and grade assignment submissions in one place. It makes evaluating assignments quick and easy. NOTE: multiple people should not grade assignments at the same time, because SpeedGrader does not automatically update with the latest information for each submission.
Interface
Using SpeedGrader, instructors can quickly:
- See how many assignments have been graded so far
- See the average score for the class
- Cycle through each student’s work
- Annotate student work
- Add comments and feedback
More information on Speedgrader can be found here: https://blogs.ubc.ca/sauderteachingplaybook/canvas-grading/
Rubrics
For more structured grading, instructors can create rubrics and attach them to assignments.
In SpeedGrader, simply click on the rubric cells and Canvas will automatically sum up the points.
Note — rubrics cannot sum up points for quizzes, only assignments.
The Rubric page can be accessed from the left-hand course navigation menu.
More information on Rubrics can be found here: https://blogs.ubc.ca/sauderteachingplaybook/rubrics/
Canvas Gradebook
The Canvas Gradebook is a page that allows instructors to see all students, assignments, and grades in one place. Instructors can access it by clicking on “Grades” in the left-hand course navigation menu. It has three additional viewing modes, which can be changed by clicking on the currently selected mode and choosing a different one from the drop-down list. Not all settings are available in each mode. The modes are:
- “Gradebook” – the main viewing page
- “Learning Mastery” – assessment based on Outcomes
- “Individual View” – assessment of individual students on separate assignments
- “Gradebook History” – a log of grade changes
The rest of this section is focused on the “Gradebook” mode.
Columns
Each column corresponds to an assignment or quiz in the Canvas course.
The order of these columns corresponds to the order seen in “Assignments”.
Search / Filter
Use the search bar to search for specific students.
To filter students by section, select View –> Filters.
Grade Directly
Click into a student’s cell to input a grade directly.
Click the arrow to expand more options, including (1) the ability to leave comments, (2) mark an assignment as “Excused”, and (3) launch SpeedGrader.
Manual Grade Posting Policy
By default, instructors are encouraged to to use the “Manual” grade posting policy.
This means that any marks / comments input will not be visible to students UNTIL instructors select “Post Grades” in the column.
To set this policy for the entire course, click the Settings cog —> Grade Posting Policy.
To toggle this policy for specific assignments, hover over the column header and click the 3 dots —> Grade Posting Policy.
Import and Export Grades
If needed, grades can be exported into a CSV.
Bulk changes can be made in the spreadsheet and re-imported back into Canvas.
Use case — making a new column to provide students with a scaled midterm / final score, without needing to release the raw marks.
Posting Final Grades
Final grades must be uploaded to the Faculty Service Centre in order to be deemed official.
Grading Best Practices
If a student has been excused from an assignment and approved by the program office
Best practice in this case is to mark the student assignment as ‘excused’ in the Canvas Gradebook. Canvas will average the student’s other grades and not include the excused graded activity.