Display only letter grades in gradebook

Owned by Kiruthika Ragupathi
Last updated: 06 Nov 2024 by KP
2 min read

In Canvas, the option to display letter grade displays a letter grade in addition to the points score.

Step 5 is a workaround to obfuscate the actual points scored.

To display letter grades in Canvas, you may do the following:

  1. Create a new assignment in your course by clicking +Assignment.

  2. Enter the total amount of points the assignment is worth. In this case, you can use a point system, upon 10.

  3. For Display Grade as, choose Letter Grade from the dropdown menu.

  4. Click View Grading Scheme. You can use the NUS default grading scheme or create a new grading scheme to reflect your scheme.

  5. When entering the marks for the assignment, you should enter a representative score upon 10, instead of the actual marks. You can derive the representative scores for your assignment using the instructions below.

Deriving a representative score

For the representative score, a particular point will match to a particular letter grade.

You can use this spreadsheet to calculate the representative score. The example worksheet shows an example based on an assignment worth 30 marks.

All who get A+ will have 10 points i.e. A+ (10) represents any score between 85% to 100% of the actual marks.

Using the example, any score between 26 and 30 marks will be represented with A+ (10), any score of 24 or 25 will be represented with A (8.5) and so on.

  1. Column A: Matriculation number. Enter the matriculation numbers. (You can export a list with matriculation numbers.)

  2. Column B: Actual marks. Enter the actual points scored by the students. You can store the actual marks in a separate no-submission assignment. Do not post the grades for this no-submission assignment.

  3. Column C: Full marks. Enter points that the assignment is worth until the last row of the marks.

  4. Column D: Percentage. Drag down the formula from the first row until the last row of the marks. 

  5. Column E: Representative score. Drag down the formula from the first row until the last row of the marks. The values in this column are what you should release to students.

  6. Column F: Letter grade. This follows the NUS grading scheme found in Canvas. This column is not necessary, but it will help you to see the letter grade for each student. Drag down the formula from the first row until the last row of your data.

Alternate method

If you do not mind the score appearing as 0 for all submissions - this will be shown together with the letter grade - use this simpler method.

This assumes the actual grades are in an existing assignment or quiz.

  1. Make sure that your assignment is set to manual grade posting policy and grades have not been posted yet.

  2. Export the grades for the assignment.

  3. In the spreadsheet, calculate the letter grades. You can use this formula in a blank column (assuming the marks are start in cell A1). Edit accordingly:

    1. =IFS(
      A1 >= 85, "A+",
      A1 >= 80, "A",
      A1 >= 75, "A-",
      A1 >= 70, "B+",
      A1 >= 65, "B",
      A1 >= 60, "C+",
      A1 >= 55, "C",
      A1 >= 50, "D+",
      A1 >= 45, "D",
      A1 >= 40, "F",
      A1 < 40, "F"
      )

  4. Create a new assignment. Set Points as 0. Set Display grade as Letter grade.

  5. Import the letter grades to the new assignment.

  6. Post the grades, explain to students that these are the grades for the other assignment.