Gradescope: Streamline the Grading Experience

Gradescope is grading software that is designed to make assignment submission and grading easier. It allows instructors to create variable-length assignments (problem sets & projects) as well as fixed-template assignments (worksheets, quizzes, or exams). Students can easily submit their work and view their grades and feedback from the instructors.

One of the unique features of Gradescope is that students can easily upload their paper-based assignments, such as bubble sheets, to be graded by instructors.   AI-assisted grading and group grading options give instructors a better experience in grading and provide consistent feedback.  Detailed statistics help instructors to gain ideas about students’ learning processes.  In addition, Gradescope is integrated into Moodle. You and your students can access Gradescope through Moodle without having a separate Gradescope account.  Instructors will be able to sync Moodle students’ roasters as well as upload Gradscope grades to Moodle grade book.

How to get started

To get started on using Gradescope in Moodle, please refer to Using Gradescope with Moodle article. 

Best practices

Understand your Goals

Gradescope supports a wide range of assignment types. Before creating an assignment, consider how you want students to submit their work and what kind of feedback you plan to give.

  • Homework/Problem Sets: Best for assignments that require showing steps and reasoning. This flexible assignment type supports variable-length responses.
  • Exams/Quizzes: Ideal for structured or short-answer questions. Gradescope can group similar answers for efficient grading.
  • Bubble Sheets: Useful when you want automatic grading based on predefined answers.
  • Avoid lengthy essays: Gradescope is not a natural fit for 5–10 page essays or thesis-style submissions. It works better for shorter written assignments where feedback may be similar across submissions.

Create Gradescope from Moodle

Since Gradescope is integrated with Moodle, you will want to create your Gradescope from Moodle. This provides a gateway to Gradescope and enables students to connect to Gradescope through a Moodle course without signing in a second time, and with no need to create a separate account.  It also allows you to sync your Moodle student roster to Gradescope as well as grades to be synced to Moodle.  

Create a new Gradescope course each semester

If you plan to use Gradescope every semester, you will want to create a new Gradescope course every semester.  By doing that, you start out with a clean slate each semester without previous students’ data as well as their submissions.  Once you have your Gradescope course created, you can reuse or duplicate Gradescope assignments from a different course.  For instructions on how to duplicate an assignment, please refer to the Gradescope Knowledge Base.  

Publish Grades

After you grade students’ assignments, in order for students to view their grades in Gradescope, you will need to Publish Grades first.  Please see the instructions on how to publish grades in Gradescope.  You can also upload grades from Gradescope to Moodle for students to view in Moodle gradebook.   Make sure you add Gradescope directly to your Moodle course and sync your roster first.  The grades will not automatically sync to Moodle unless you press the “Post Grades to Moodle” button.  For instructions on how to post grades to Moodle, please refer to the Gradescope Knowledge Base.  

Prepare and Support Students

  • Communicate early: Include Gradescope information in your course syllabus so students know how to access Gradescope, submit assignments, and view grades. The Gradescope Student Center provides helpful information to get your students started.
  • Practice assignments: Assign a low-stakes Gradescope activity at the start of the semester to help students learn the workflow.
  • Transparency: Enable the regrade request feature so students can ask clarifying questions or appeal grading in a structured way.

Accessibility and Flexibility

Be ready to offer alternatives in case students encounter technical or accessibility barriers:

  • Allow students to email a PDF or image of their work.
  • Upload a student’s submission to Gradescope on their behalf.
  • Provide extended time or other accommodations when needed.

Submission Guidelines for Students

Clear submission instructions will make grading smoother and reduce technical issues:

  • Formatting: Require students to write answers inside designated boxes to help Gradescope recognize and group responses.
  • Consistency: Specify expected units or symbols (e.g., always include a dollar sign) so similar answers are grouped.
  • Document handling:
    • Staples: If you staple assignments, avoid placing staples near areas where student names or IDs are written. When staples are removed for scanning, names can get cut off or damaged. Ideally, avoid staples altogether and have students keep pages loose or clipped.
    • Names on every page: Ask students to write their names clearly on each page in case pages get separated.
    • Page edges: Remind students not to write names too close to the top or side edges, as scanners may crop them.

Examples

Workshop Information

Gradescope: Getting Started

Resources

Gradescope Resources

Assignment Type Resources

Moodle Resources

Back to top