Grading periods are back! We explored using them when our secondary courses were yearlong in the 2020-2021 school year, but we have brought them back to our high school semesters in the form of quarter grading periods.
Why did we do this?
One of the questions that arose often this past year was how a teacher was to know what the quarter 1 grade was in Canvas to report it in Skyward for the report card. Since Canvas never stops collecting the student grades and data, there was not an official “pause” we could institute. By adding a grading period that has a designated time frame, for example, Quarter 1 is Aug 30 – Nov 1, we are providing a moment you can capture.
While we added grading periods, we did not make them weighted grading periods, so the total grade in the course is cumulative for the whole semester. Teachers can still create weighted assignment groups as needed.
What does this mean for teachers?
As a teacher having grading periods means that you will now have two grading periods in each semester. Semester 1 has Quarter 1 and Quarter 2. Due dates for assignments determine which grading period the assignment lives in. For example, you have an assignment you know students will complete in December and have added it in September. Since you are likely looking at Q1 Grading Period, you will not see the assignment. When you toggle your view filter to include grading periods to Q2 Grading Period, the assignment will be visible. Assignments without due dates will live in the second grading period by default.
We wanted to respect your ability to change grades in the grading period, so while it has a close date (example of Q1 ending Nov 1) teachers have edit access to the grading period until the end of the semester. Students will be able to submit assignments past the grading period as long as the “until” date extends past the grading period.
For example, Assignment A is due October 30, you make it available from October 30 until November 15, which overlaps grading periods 1 and 2. Your students will still be able to access and submit the assignment and you will have grading access to the assignment to align with the ability for students to re-do, submit late per your policies, etc. You will have to access this in the Quarter 1 grading period using the following info to toggle between grading periods.
Viewing Grading Period
From your course, choose Grades. You will then choose “View” and “Filters.” You have several options, but to see the grades as you would normally, select “Grading Periods.” You will then toggle between the two Quarters in order to see grades for that period.
Check out the Canvas Guide “How do I use grading periods in a course?” to learn more.
For more on using the Grading Periods in your course, please contact your Ed Tech Lead or Ed Tech TOSA.
