Gradescope Overview for Faculty

Overview

Gradescope is software that provides AI-assisted organization of content to facilitate online grading for paper-based, electronically-submitted, bubble sheet, or coding assignments. This article explains what Gradescope does and how you might use it for your courses.

Eligibility

All Williams faculty may access Gradescope at www.gradescope.com. To request Gradescope integration in GLOW, complete this Gradescope Activation Request. This form needs to be completed each semester you would like Gradescope integration.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Gradescope?

Gradescope is a grading platform that can be integrated with GLOW. It is notable for expediting grading by automatically grouping similar student responses, its user-friendly grading interface, and the ease of creating dynamic rubrics– i.e., rubrics you can create and adjust as you grade. 

Why might I choose to use Gradescope instead of the GLOW Speedgrader? 

Both the Canvas Speedgrader (the native GLOW tool) and Gradescope provide a user-friendly grading interface that integrate with the GLOW gradebook, provide annotation tools, and use rubrics, annotations, and comments for providing feedback. 

The primary difference between Speedgrader and Gradescope is the grading workflow. Gradescope uses artificial intelligence to identify and group similar responses, potentially enabling quicker grading. Further, Gradescope allows you to grade one question at a time regardless of assignment format, while this functionality is limited to Quiz-type assignments in Speedgrader.

What are Williams faculties’ experiences with Gradescope?

In a survey among Williams faculty who used Gradescope in the 2024-2025 academic year, 100% (n=9) “strongly recommend” Gradescope to their colleagues who are considering using it for the first time.

Advantages that faculty identified with using Gradescope include:

  • Ability to reuse rubric elements and comments dynamically across different submissions. If partial credit feedback is provided to one student, that option becomes available for the remaining submissions. If the point value for that criterion is adjusted mid-way through grading, the adjustment is dynamically and retroactively adjusted across submissions. See this mechanism in action one minute into this video.

  • Administrating asynchronous take-home exams. Students can use their smartphone to scan a hard-copy exam and submit it directly to Gradescope without leaving the course in GLOW. It also allows for digital submissions, so students can complete the exam or problem set whichever way they prefer.

  • Question-at-a-time grading. Gradescope grading navigation by default accommodates a question-by-question grading workflow.

  • Automatic grouping and batch grading of similar responses. Gradescope uses AI to detect and group similar answers-- in both digitized paper and native digital formats-- potentially saving time by grading many of the same responses at once. 

Some disadvantages that faculty identified include: 

  • Resubmission removes prior feedback. If an original submission was partially graded and a student resubmits the assignment, the feedback is lost. 
  • Difficult to assign zero points. Some faculty reported difficulty when inputting a grade of zero. 
  • Unreliable page splitting with extra pages. If extra pages appear in some students’ submissions, the page-splitting algorithm may not handle it correctly. 

Williams faculty: Do you have feedback to add? Contact your Academic Technology Consultant so we can update this page!  

Where can I learn more about Gradescope and get help?

Instructional materials for Gradescope can be found on the official Gradescope documentation page. The "Get Started" page, which contains many video tutorials, is a good place to start. 

If you are considering using Gradescope, please complete the tutorials. This is the best way to see what Gradescope does and determine whether it might work for your class. Sign up for Gradescope and complete the tutorials using the example assignments. 

Please reach out to your Academic Technology Consultant for general onboarding to Gradescope. 

I have completed the tutorials and determined that I want to use it for my class. What next? 

Once you have determined that you would like to use Gradescope in your courses, please fill out the Gradescope Activation within GLOW request form. Note that you must complete this form every semester. 

It is possible to use Gradescope without integrating it into GLOW if you manually invite your students to join your course by email. Completing the form above to integrate Gradescope into your GLOW course will also enable you to:

  • Sync the course roster to automatically import all of your students, as well as any TAs and graders. 
  • Publish the Grades to GLOW once you have finished grading. This will allow students to keep up to date with their overall course grade, provided that you have kept the rest of the gradebook current.
  • Link Gradescope assignments to the Assignments tool in GLOW. Students are accustomed to using GLOW to track their tasks and assignments across all courses. Using the Assignments tool in GLOW to create a Gradescope assessment will also populate that assignment in students’ GLOW calendars. They will also receive notifications about the due date. See below for creating an assignment in GLOW. 
How do I set up a Gradescope assignment in GLOW?

Once Gradescope is integrated into your GLOW course, follow these steps to set up your first Gradescope assignment.

1. Ensure your Gradescope integration is correct. Do you see "Gradescope" in your course menu? If not, reach out to your ATC.

2. Prepare your Assignment. Start with a low-stakes (or no-stakes) assignment so that you can practice setup, your students can practice submission, and address any setup issues. A good choice might be a pre-test or questionnaire. 

3. Create a New Assignment in GLOW. Create a new assignment in GLOW. From the Modules page, select ‘+’, then in the dropdown, select “Assignment,” then “[Create Assignment]”. Provide an Assignment Name, then select “Add Item.”

Select the + icon, then Assignment. Provide a name, then add item.

Note: If you usually generate your assignments from the Assignments page, that will work here too!

4. Edit the Assignment that you have just created in GLOW by selecting the Assignment Title, then select “Edit” in the top right. 

After clicking into the assignment, select "Edit"

5. Link the Assignment to Gradescope From the Edit Page, change Submission Type to “External Tool,” then select “Find,” then scroll down to Gradescope.  Follow the instructions in the “Link Resource from External Tool” popup to create your assignment in Gradescope.

In assignment settings, assign a point value to your course and change the "Submission Type" to "External Tool"

 

In the "Configure External Tool" dialog, Select "Gradescope" then "Slect.

6. Continue Editing the Assignment in GLOW. You may want to provide a description with details about the assignment. We highly recommend also adding a due date, so that assignment appears in students’ GLOW calendars.

7. Save your setup by scrolling down and selecting Save. 

How do I get help with Gradescope?

Official Gradescope support is provided directly by Gradescope. (Consult the “Help” menu within the Gradescope application). 

Due to how Gradescope is configured and designed, the Academic Technology Consultants do not have administrative access to Gradescope. However, we're happy to help you troubleshoot by setting up a meeting to look at your setup together, either in-person or virtually. 

I’m a student and I’m having trouble submitting an assignment. What should I do? 

Additional Help

Please reach out your Academic Technology Consultant by selecting "Request a Consultation" at the top of this page. We are happy to help!

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