With the extended drop deadline for courses coming up on April 17th, it is important to make sure your students have their most accurate grade information to make this important decision. Keeping up-to-date grades in the Canvas Gradebook is the most secure way to communicate FERPA protected grade information to your students. Whether you are a seasoned Canvas veteran or using it for the first time, there are some key things to know about how to make sure your students are seeing their most accurate grade information in the Canvas Gradebook.
Clean up unsubmitted assignments
Unless you have a Late Policy set, Canvas will leave unsubmitted assignments and Quizzes with a null or “-” grade, which does not affect the total score a student sees. You can quickly Set a Default Grade to change all “-” scores into 0 points for a given assignment.
Grade all assignments
Assignments and Quizzes that are not yet manually graded will show the
needs grade icon. Ungraded items will also not be considered toward the total score until graded.
Post all scores
If a score is hidden or unposted, students won’t be able to see it and it won’t contribute to the total score the student sees. You may have a Grade Posting Policy set either for the whole Gradebook or for individual assignments. Double check that anything that should be contributing to the total score the students see is posted.
Exclude from final grade
You can exclude Assignments from the final grade or total score. Make sure the checkbox is selected in the Assignment settings. This option is not available for Quizzes or Graded Discussions.
Weighted grades using Assignment Groups
If you use Assignment Groups to weight your total grade, check to make sure everything is in the right Assignment Group. Note: Within an Assignment Group, points matter! Canvas does not allow weighting within an Assignment Group, so you need to accomplish that by carefully monitoring the points each activity is worth.
Your students have an opportunity to make a choice during this difficult time. Help them make the best choice for them by keeping them informed of their current grade.