Grading Canvas Assignments With Letter Grades or Other Criteria
by Marilyn Dispensa, Senior Instructional Designer, Center for Faculty Excellence
When you set up a graded assignment in Canvas, it prompts you to enter the total points for the assignment. However, you may prefer to grade an assignment, not by using a number, but by using a letter grade (A-F) or other criteria such as (Complete/Incomplete) or (Outstanding – Good – Needs improvement). These marks do map to a number, which is necessary if you use Canvas to calculate a “course letter grade”. Grading low-stakes assignments with complete/incomplete may make them easier to grade while reducing anxiety in students.
This tip contains instructions for setting up and grading a Complete/Incomplete and a Letter Grade assignment.
Setting up an Assignment Graded as Complete / Incomplete
Example: Complete/Incomplete Assignment.
The assignment is worth 10 points, and students are marked either Complete (10 points) or Incomplete (0 points).
1. Create a new Assignment or edit an existing one.
2. Assign the point value in the Points field.
3. Next to Display Grade as, expand the pull-down menu and select Complete/Incomplete.
4. Finish editing the rest of the assignment as usual.
5. Set a Due date, Save, and Publish.
Students will be able to submit the same as always. The grading process is later in this document.
Creating Assignments with Letter Grades
You can set any assignment to be graded by a letter grade. To do this, you must first create or choose a grading scheme – the range of values that determines the score each letter grade is worth.
By default, grades in Canvas map to a number on a 1-100% scale to be used in course grade calculations. Canvas allows you to create and assign a custom grading scheme that you may apply to any assignment.
Important: Don’t confuse this with a Course Grading Scheme, which calculates a cumulative course letter grade according to the students’ aggregate numerical scores.
Example: Letter Grade Assignment
The following example takes you through planning, setting up, and finally grading your assignment with letter grades.
Planning your Grading Scheme
Planning your grading scheme in advance is recommended.
In this example, the instructor wants to give A+ - F on an assignment worth 100 points (for demonstration purposes) but it could be worth any number of points. For each letter grade, the instructor needs to determine a numerical equivalent as a percentage.
In the Table below:
Column A is the grade the instructor marks for the student’s work.
Column B is the number, as a percentage, entered as the cut-off for the next higher grade.
Column C is the actual percentage of points the instructor wants to be awarded to a student for the respective grade.
Column D is the actual points values for each grade marked for this 100-point example assignment.
Canvas assigns the percentage of total points for the grade given, which is 1 percentage point less than the range cut-off.
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A
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B
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C
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D
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Letter Grade
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Grading scheme cutoff for the next higher grade (indicated as a percentage of total points)
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Actual % of total points assigned to each letter grade (equals 1 less than cutoff)
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Actual point values for a 100 point assignment
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A+
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100 %
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100 %
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100 points
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A
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97
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96
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96
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A-
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93
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92
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92
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B+
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90
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89
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89
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B
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87
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86
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86
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B-
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83
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82
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82
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C+
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80
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79
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79
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C
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77
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76
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76
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C-
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73
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72
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72
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D+
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70
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69
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69
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D
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67
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66
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66
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F
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64
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63
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63
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Setting up an Letter Graded Assignment with a new Grading Scheme
1. Click on Assignments and add a new assignment or edit an existing one.
2. Assign the number of points the assignment is worth.
3. Next to Display Grade as, select Letter Grade.
4. Click View Grading Scheme to open the View/Edit Grading Scheme pop-up window that will show the default Grading Scheme.
5. Scroll down and click on manage grading schemes link.
6. In Grading Schemes window, click + Add grading scheme button. You will be presented with a new grading scheme form.
7. Name the Grading Scheme.
Pro Tip: Make sure to name it for your assignment so it will not be confused with the course grading scheme.
8. In the Name column edit or input your letter grades.
9. In the Range column enter the number that is one above what you want awarded to students when given that grade. For example, if you want students to get awarded an A- to get 92 points, enter a 93 in the Range next to A. The following image is how you would set up the ranges for this example.
10. Click Save.
11. Go back to Assignments and open the assignment.
12. Edit the Assignment. (It may prompt you to restore saved work. Say yes and you may have to select the Letter Grade option again.)
13. Again, click View Grading Scheme link.
14. This time, when the View/Edit Grading Scheme window pops up, click Select another Scheme.
15. Use Left Scroll to find your new Grading Scheme and select it.
16. Click the Use This Grading Standard button.
17. Click the DONE button.
18. Complete the Assignment set up options (due date, publish etc.) and click Save.
Grading an Assignment with Complete/Incomplete or Letter Grade
You can grade assignments in Canvas directly in the gradebook or via SpeedGrader. If you are using Canvas to give inline, specific feedback on submitted work, choose Speedgrader. If not, it is faster to grade from the gradebook.
Grading via SpeedGrader
1. Click on Assignments and select the assignment you intend to grade.
2. Under ‘Related items’, click “SpeedGrader”.
3. Select the student you would like to grade.
4. To grade and Incomplete/Complete, find “Assessment” in the right pane and select the grade from the pulldown menu. For a Letter Grade enter the Grade in the box provided.
5. Add any comments and click Submit.
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Complete/Incomplete (10 Points)
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Letter Grade (100 Points)
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Grading a complete/incomplete or letter grade assignment via the Gradebook
Pro Tip: Search for the Assignment next to Assignment Names to reduce scrolling in a large gradebook.
Make sure you click the cell of the gradebook to see the options.
- Click on Grades and find column for the assignment.
2. Click in a cell in the assignment column in the row of the student who you intend to grade.
For Complete/Incomplete, click the down arrow and Select check mark for complete, X for incomplete, etc.
For Grading by Letter grade, you have 3 options:
In this example, we are marking the “Test student” with a B+ for the assignment.
1. Click the down arrow and select the letter grade from the pull-down menu.
2. Type the letter grade in the box. (B+)
3. Type a numerical value in the box (e.g., 87,88,89) and it will convert to the letter grade, B+.*
NOTES:
- While it shows as a letter grade, the students will also see the associated number value in their personal view of the Gradebook.
- *This gives you the flexibility of giving extra points to a student that may bump them up a letter grade on an assignment, or of taking off points that may or may not affect their letter grade but could affect their course grade.
Alternative Grading Schemes
While you cannot alter the 0-100 scale, you can get creative with your grading schemes for your assignments. In this case, outstanding would get full points, acceptable would get 89% of full points, unacceptable would get 64% of full points.
Additional Canvas Documentation
How do I add a Grading Scheme to an assignment in Canvas? (Links to an external site.)
How do I add a Grading Scheme in a course? (Links to an external site.)
How do I enable a Grading Scheme for a Course? (Links to an external site.)
How do I use Grading Schemes in a course? (Links to an external site.)
How do I view Grading Schemes in a course? (Links to an external site.)
Need Further Help?
Setting this up for the first time can be a little confusing. If you want some one-on-one help, make an appointment with our full time Ithaca College staff in the Center for Faculty Excellence or Center for Instructional Design and Educational Technology departments, or reach out through the help link in Canvas Support for 24/7, 365 assistance.