Gradescope - Creating An Assignment [UW-Madison]

Gradescope Rosters are not synced with Canvas automatically. If you do not sync your Gradescope course with Canvas you could potentially miss removing students who dropped or miss students who were added to the course. For additional assistance on Gradescope Roster Sync, that can be found here.

This document explains how to create assignments and link them to Gradescope. 

   

Creating and linking your assignments

  1. Navigate to canvas.wisc.edu and select your course.

  2. Select Assignments from the course navigation menu.
    Select assignments from nav bar

  3. Select the three stacked dots button beside the +Assignment button. Select Gradescope from the drop-down menu that appears. This will open a menu where you can create a Gradescope assignment.
    Note: If you don’t see Gradescope listed here, contact the DoIT Help Desk (kb.wisc.edu/1
    button with three stacked dots beside "+Assignment" button. Then, select Gradescope from list of options

  4. Choose whether to link to a new Gradescope Assignment or an existing Gradescope Assignment. Then, select Link Assignment.
    Note: if you do not already have Gradescope assignments in the course, you will see the message There are no linkable assignments in this course.
    Two options are displayed under the heading "link with"

  5. Choose the assignment type you want to create, and select Next
    Choose an option from the list of assignment types

  6. Select your assignment settings on the next tab, and then select the Create Assignment button.
    Fill required fields on the "assignment settings" tab

  7. Open the Canvas Assignments page, and select the assignment you just created. This will open the assignment in Gradescope. (You won't be able to post grades until you complete this step).
    Image of Canvas assignment page. Select the assignment you want to set up

  8. You will be prompted to set up your assignment, and this will differ depending on the type of assignment you have chosen.

  9. Select Settings from the Gradescope sidebar to customize Canvas assignment settings. 
    The Gradescope assignment page is open, with the "Settings" button highlighted
    Here, you can edit:

    • the assignment's total point value

    • assignment release date

    • due date

    • late due date

    • extensions

    • any section-specific settings

  10. Note: You can also edit assignment settings from the Gradescope dashboard by selecting the three stacked dots beside the assignment’s name.
    Another way to open this is from the Gradescope Dashboard, using the three stacked dots button to open a menu

  1. Select Save
    The "Save" button is displayed at the bottom of the page.

Other Considerations:

  • Once the assignment is linked via LTI 1.3, the Gradescope assignment name is synced from the LMS and can only be edited in the Canvas, not in Gradescope. 

  • Once the Canvas assignment is successfully linked and published, students can select the Canvas assignment and submit to Gradescope from within their Canvas dashboard (for student-uploaded assignments only).

Loading a Gradescope assignment in a new window

By default, your Gradescope assignment will load embedded in Canvas. However, some instructors may prefer to open Gradescope in a new window, to allow extra screen space to work. If you would like Gradescope to display in a new window, you can edit the assignment settings to have it open in a new window.

For Gradescope-linked assignments, we recommend only editing this information in Canvas:

  • the assignment name, 

  • point value, and 

  • assignment description settings in Canvas. 

For all other settings, open the assignment in Gradescope.

  1. From the Assignments list on Canvas, select the three dots menu. Then select Edit.
    Open ⋮ menu and select "edit"

  2.  Select More Options from the Edit Assignment window.
    "Edit Assignment" window is displayed, with "More options" button highlighted

  3. Scroll down to the Submission Type section, and select the Load this Tool in A New Tab checkbox. You can edit this setting for how a Gradescope assignment displays at any time (embedded in Canvas or in a new window), even after students submit an assignment.
    "load this tool in a new tab" is listed in the "Submission type" menu

  4. Select the Save and Publish button at the button of the page

Now when you or your students open a Gradescope assignment link, the assignment page displays a Load [assignment name] in a new Window button.
Canvas now shows a button labeled "load (assignment name) in new window"

Allowing Late Submissions

To allow late submissions, select allow late submissions and set both the due date and the late due date. Students will see both due dates on their dashboard, but will only see the late due date if late submissions are enabled.

Instructors and TAs can also submit on students’ behalf after the deadline. Go to the Manage  page, and select Upload submission to do so. 

Best Practices

For a collection of best practices for instructors using Gradescope, see Gradescope - Best Practices for Teaching [UW-Madison]

For more information on creating an assignment in Gradescope, check out Assignment Settings Overview from Gradescope. 



Keywords:
submissions posting grades instructor sync rosters scan settings grade scope formulas handwritten hand written Grade scope student instructor open assignment unsubmit resubmit error troubleshooting 
Doc ID:
153856
Owned by:
Learn@UW Madison in Learn@UW
Created:
2025-07-29
Updated:
2025-08-04
Sites:
DoIT Help Desk, Learn@UW