Ensuring the Accuracy of the “Total” Column in your Canvas Gradebook

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In the Canvas Gradebook, the Total column may display an inaccurate number/grade than what you would normally expect to see, and this may cause confusion for both you and your students. For example, you may see students earning failing grades in your course, but based on work that’s already been submitted and graded, you know their total grades should be much higher.

If an assignment has not yet been submitted and/or graded in your course, it does not count towards a student’s final grade in the Total column. If an assignment column has not been graded (showing a dash instead of a score), you and your students will see an inaccurate Total grade within the Gradebook. Students can click on the Calculate based only on graded assignments checkbox within their own Gradebook view to see what their actual grade will be.

The "Calculate based only on graded assignments" checkbox is unchecked, and so the student's total score is not accurate.
The "Calculate based only on graded assignments" checkbox is checked, and so the student's "Total" grade is accurate.

Setting Default Grade to Zero

Before you start to grade an assignment in your course, you can set the default grade to zero (0) to ensure the assignment will be included in the final grade calculation for all students once the grades are released. When using this method, you should change the grade post policy to Manually (instead of Automatically) before setting the default grade.

  1. In Course Navigation, click the Grades link.
  2. Click the Options (three-dot kebab) icon that appears to the right of an assignment name column.
  3. Select Grade Posting Policy.
To set a grade posting policy for an assignment, click on the "Options" (three-dot kebab) icon next to an assignment name, and then select "Grade Posting Policy".
  1. A fly-out menu will appear on the right side of your screen. Select the Manually option.
On the "Post Grades" fly-out window, select the "Manually" option to hide grades from your students.
  1. Click the Save button.

Then, post the grades once all grading for the assignment is completed. This will avoid unnecessary confusion and communication from students if they see an unearned zero (o) grade.

To quickly set a default grade of zero (0) for your assignments in your Canvas Gradebook:

  1. In Course Navigation, click the Grades link.
  2. Click the Options (three-dot kebab) icon that appears to the right of an assignment name column.
  3. Select Set Default Grade.
Click the three-dot kebab icon to the right of any assignment name in the Gradebook, and then select "Set Default Grade".
  1. Enter a grade of zero in the text box, and click the Set Default Grade button.
    • Optional: If you have already graded work for one or more students, you can click the Overwrite already-entered grades checkbox to give everyone the same grade.
On the "Default grade for..." screen, enter a number value to set for all students for the assignment. Select the "Overwrite already-entered grades" checkbox if you want to apply the same score to everyone...even if you had entered a score for more than one student previously.

The assignment column will update accordingly:

The instructor set the "Final Essay" assignment so that all students received a score of zero for the assignment.

Automatically Setting a Zero for Missing Assignments

If your assignments are of the type “Online” and have due dates, you can set up your Gradebook to automatically give a zero for assignments that have not been submitted by the due date. These assignments are considered “missing”.

NOTE: “On Paper” and “No Submission” assignment types are not included in this setting.

If you use this setting, you’ll want to check each of your Gradebook columns to ensure that the missing submission policy has been set correctly.

In your Gradebook:

  1. Click on the Settings (cog wheel) icon at the top right corner of the screen. A slide-out menu will appear on the right side of your screen.
Select the "Settings" (cog wheel) icon at the top right corner of the Canvas Gradebook.
  1. Within the Late Policies tab, click the Automatically apply grade for missing submissions checkbox.
    • A late policy (not to be confused with the missing submissions policy) can also be set on this screen. However, before moving forward with this, it is important to take note of the information provided in the light blue box at the top of this Guide: How do I apply a Late Submission policy in the Gradebook?.
  2. Enter a zero (or any other number you wish) into the Grade for missing submissions textbox.
On the "Late Policies" tab, select the "Automatically apply grade for missing submissions" checkbox. Enter a number value in the "Grade for missing submissions" textbox. For example, you might enter a zero in this text box.
  1. Click the Apply Settings button at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.

Additional Resources