Whether you are new to Gradescope or just need to jog your memory, this guide is for you! It focuses on practical advice to help you avoid common mistakes. This guide is primarily for written assignments, but see Advanced for online or asynchronous formats.
If you run into issues or have questions, email CEETE.
Gradescope is an external tool that integrates with Canvas. It does not grade for you, but it helps you grade faster by:
- Organizing responses one question at a time instead of one student at a time
- Grouping similar student answers together
- Applying the same feedback to many students at once
- Allowing you to grade more seamlessly as a team
You do not need to use all of Gradescope’s features right away. Expect to save the most time on your second exam, once you and your students understand the platform better.
Before every assignment
- Link Gradescope to Canvas
- Decide: student upload vs instructor upload
- Add a name field on every page
- Print clear answer boxes
- Test your scanning method
Intermediate
Make grading faster, cleaner, and easier to manage.
“I want grading to be easier and more consistent.”
Beginner: Minimum Viable Product
“I just want this exam graded.”
At this level, you use Gradescope with your existing exam. Expect to do more manual sorting of answers before grading.
Authorize Gradescope
If you set up Gradescope correctly, the assignment should be visible in the Canvas Assignments tab. Otherwise, you still need to link Gradescope to Canvas.
Choose Submission Options
“Instructor upload” allows you to bulk scan/upload assignments. Ideal for in-class, written exams.
“Student upload” lets students upload assignments through scanning or photos. Ideal for group and lab assignments. Student uploads for written exams are possible, but expect to spend time correcting formatting mistakes.
When Beginner Level Makes Sense
- You want the easiest, lowest‑risk way to try Gradescope
- You already have an exam ready
- You’re okay doing some manual organizing of student responses
- You want to see if Gradescope is worth using again
Add a Name Field
Add a name area at the top of every page. This prevents sorting problems later, especially if pages get out of order when scanning.
Create Answer Regions
Clear answer regions help Gradescope group student answers correctly. In Gradescope, draw large, obvious answer regions for free‑response questions.
Scan Paper Exams Carefully
Scanning matters.
- Remove staples from the top‑left corner
- Move extra pages to the end
- Feed the unstapled edge into the scanner to avoid paper jams
Pro-Tip: Staple exams vertically in the bottom‑left and remove all staples at once
Grading Workflow
- Let Gradescope group answers, then review and fix the groups as needed. This step may take awhile but will save time in the long run.
- Start with a simple rubric, revise it as you continue to grade. Gradescope can retroactively apply these revisions.
- Enable/disable regrade requests (on by default). Learn more about regrade requests.
- Publish feedback in Gradescope and post grades to Canvas Gradebook.
Intermediate: More Efficient and Reliable Use
“I want grading to be easier and more consistent.”
At this level, you implement a rubric for graders to follow, change appearance of answer choices to optimize grouping and reduce manual work, and reuse feedback to improve consistency. This approach is ideal when working with a team of graders.
Reuse Feedback
Create a library of rubrics items and comments to quickly re-use.
- Speeds up grading
- Improves consistency across graders
- Makes expectations clearer for students
Enable Regrade Requests
Once your rubric is solid, turn regrade requests on. Gradescope routes requests to the original grader and keeps everything tracked.
When Intermediate Level Makes Sense
- You plan to use Gradescope again
- You want better automatic answer grouping
- You grade with one or more TAs
- You want fewer submission problems
Adjust Answer Appearance
- Adjust question appearance to improve automatic grouping of answers (see below)
- Check out our sample exam that uses an optimal question format.
- Use different color pages for scratch work
Free‑response questions:
- Print a “Final Answer” box near work area
- Provide units and decimal places
Multiple choice questions:
- Create a bulleted list of checkboxes. Instruct students to use checks instead of circling or an “X”.
- For questions with more than one answer, use circles for students to bubble in.
Multi-part questions:
- Break into sub-questions with separate answer boxes at the top of each step.
- Nest questions in Gradescope outline
Advanced: Full Use of Gradescope
“I want to design smarter assessments.”
At this level, you adjust exams and grading practices around learning goals, feedback, and data. This is also ideal for asynchronous exams.
Grade the process, not just the answer
Let Gradescope sort by the final answer while you assess how student’s reached the solution. Select Final Answer Area from the question type selection page. This helps you grade the process or can be used when students must justify their answer.
When Advanced Level Makes Sense
- You are comfortable using Gradescope
- You want insight beyond final scores
- You design exams for digital grading on purpose
Use Question Metrics
Review Gradescope’s statistics to:
- Spot common mistakes
- Identify misconceptions
- Improve future questions
Control What Students See
Choose what feedback students can view:
- Points only- Only the total points are shown, no description.
- Applied rubric items- Only rubric items that were used are shown (Recommended)
- The full rubric- All possible points and rubric items are shown
Support Asynchronous and Remote Exams
Gradescope works especially well for remote exams when:
- Instructions are clear
- Students can download the exam
- Answer regions are clear and don’t overlap
- Feedback and regrade policies are set ahead of time
For take‑home exams, encourage students to:
- Use unlined paper
- Keep pages upright
- Submit clear scans or photos
If you are conducting a timed exam, give extra time for students to print and download the exam. Allow late submissions to reduce email submissions from students who missed the deadline.
Final Notes
Nobody gets everything right on their first Gradescope exam, but each exam usually goes more smoothly than the last; setup becomes faster with practice, and student submissions improve once expectations are clear.
As always, we are here to help! If you are struggling for more than 10 minutes, contact us at CEETE.