A quick-reference guide for faculty to ensure accurate, transparent, and complete Gradebook setup before submitting final grades.

Use this checklist to review your Canvas Gradebook before entering final grades into Banner. Completing these checks can help identify missing grades, calculation issues, hidden scores, and other common problems before grades are submitted.

1. Missing Work and Zeros

  • Enter zeros for missing work so final grades are calculated accurately and consistently for all students.
  • Assignments marked with the paper icon indicate that grading has not been completed for all submissions associated with that assignment. Be sure to review these items before calculating final grades. notebook icon with an exclamation point in the bottom right corner
  • Blank cells (–) in the Canvas Gradebook are not the same as a 0. They are ignored in grade calculations and can artificially inflate a student's overall grade until a score is entered.
    • For example, a student with scores of 90 and 80 would have an 85% average, while a student with a 90 and a blank (–) would temporarily show a 90% because the missing assignment is not yet included in the calculation.
  • There are two ways to address missing work:
    • Manual method: Enter zeros individually for missing assignments or use the Set as Default feature to fill all missing fields for a particular activity.
    • Automatic method: Use Canvas's Missing Submission Policy to automatically assign zeros for missing work. Keep in mind that this policy does not always apply reliably to certain activities, such as LTIs or assignments without due dates, so those items should be reviewed manually.

2. Grade Calculation Method

  • Confirm your course is using the grading model you prefer:
  • Make sure assignment group weights match the syllabus.
  • Verify that the Total column reflects the grading method and calculations described in your syllabus.

3. Hidden or Unposted Grades

  • Check for hidden or posting policy icons (such as eye symbols).
  • Ensure all assignment grades are fully posted to students.
  • Confirm no assignment remains unintentionally hidden. eye icon with a slash through it

4. Assignment Visibility

  • Ensure all graded assignments are published.
  • Verify that no items are restricted by modules or release conditions.
  • Confirm that students can see assignment group totals if required by your course design.

5. Total Column Visibility

  • Confirm whether the Total column is visible or hidden according to course policy.
  • Check for any hidden icons or indicators in the Total column. eye icon with a slash through it
  • Ensure a grading scheme (letter grade scale) is enabled if required.

6. Extra Credit Review

  • Verify that extra credit assignments are set up correctly.
  • Reminder: Canvas does not automatically cap grades at 100%. Review extra credit activities and final grades to ensure they align with your grading policy.
  • Ensure extra credit assignments do not unintentionally distort assignment group weighting.

7. Late Policies

8. Dropped Assignment Rules

  • Review automatic drop rules.
  • Ensure the correct number of low scores are dropped.
  • Check that essential assignments are not accidentally marked as droppable.

9. Final Grade Overrides

10. Student View Check

  • Use Student View to confirm:
    • Students see the correct grades and totals.
    • No items appear hidden unexpectedly.
    • The gradebook view is clear and complete from the student perspective.

11. Review Gradebook Grade

The score displayed in the Grades area reflects the current score, which does not include missing assignments and may not represent the final (correct) course grade.

Please ensure that the final score is the value entered in Banner. To support grade review and submission, you may export the Gradebook. Before submitting final grades, carefully review the exported spreadsheet.

In the export file, several columns near the end contain final grade calculations. In most cases, these values should align.

Gradebook export showing Current Score, Unposted Current, Final Score, and Unposted Final Score columns. Each column contains the same value, indicating the grade calculations match.

If the values do not match, return to the Gradebook and confirm that grades are being calculated correctly and that all settings are accurate.

Gradebook export showing mismatched values in the Current Score, Unposted Current Score, Final Score, and Unposted Final Score columns. Differences between these columns may indicate that Gradebook settings or calculations should be reviewed.

12. Backup

  • Export the Gradebook as a CSV file before submitting final grades and retain a copy for your records.
    • Note: Final grades must still be entered manually into Banner. Automatic grade passback is not currently available.