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Canvas guide · Set up the gradebook
Choose your grading scheme
Set up an honest grading scheme before any grades post.
Decide your grade scheme early: straight points, or weighted Assignment Groups, for example exams 40 percent, projects 40 percent, and participation 20 percent. Set it before the first grades post, because changing it midstream confuses students and shifts totals they have already seen.
Confirm that the running total students see matches what your syllabus describes. When the gradebook and the syllabus agree, students can rely on the number in front of them, and you field far fewer questions about how grades are calculated.
How to do this in Canvas
Official step-by-step instructions. Each opens in a new tab so you don’t lose your place in the course.