💯 Canvas Grading FAQs

This guide lists ongoing FAQs related to Canvas grading issues. If you don’t see the issue you encountered in Canvas, please open a ticket so we can add them to the list.

1. I cannot add inline annotations to student submissions in SpeedGrader.

Inline annotation is available when the Canvas assignment type is File Upload. If you set up the assignment to Text Entry only, then you cannot use the annotation tool in SpeedGrader.

2. My students cannot see their grades on their submitted papers or instructor comments.

Please check the grading column in your Canvas Gradebook to rule out that “Manual Grading” is enabled on the grading policy of this assignment. If the “Manual Grading” setting is on, you will see an “eye-blocking” icon on the grading column title. Please click on the dropdown menu and select “post grades” so your students can check their grades and instructor feedback.

Learn more about posting policies in Canvas Gradebook.

3. Can Canvas send automatic reminders to students if a deadline is close?

It depends on individual student settings on their Canvas notification preferences. However, you can message those who have not yet submitted via the “Message Students Who” option in the Canvas Gradebook. Click here to review the step-by-step tutorial.

4. Can I grade my student submissions offline?

You can download student files and then reupload them back to Canvas. Please do not change the names of the submission files. Otherwise, Canvas cannot recognize the files that should be replaced. Click here to review the step-by-step tutorial.

5. Can I create comment templates in Canvas?

Yes, you can use the “Comment Library” function in SpeedGrader to save time when writing lengthy comments. Click here to review the step-by-step tutorial.

6. What do the colors and icons on the Canvas Gradebook mean?

Colors

The Canvas Gradebook includes a default set of colors that indicate various statuses for assignments:

Blue [1]: Late submission
Red [2]: Missing submission
Green [3]: Resubmitted assignment or quiz
Orange [4]: Dropped grade
Yellow [5]: Excused assignment

Turnitin Icons

If you create a Turnitin assignment, the Gradebook displays Turnitin score icons in the Gradebook. To view details of the score, click the icon and view more details in SpeedGrader:

Gray icon [1]: Similarity Report has not been generated yet
Color icon [2]: Similarity Report has returned a score; the color is based on the Similarity Report percentage score
A Clock icon indicates the Similarity Report is still being generated
An Exclamation icon indicates there was an error when generating the Similarity Report

Learn more about the Turnitin Similarity Report.

If you want to learn more about other icons, such as visibility icons or how to customize the settings of colors, please check out icons and colors in the Canvas Gradebook.