Create and grade assessments
Use the Instructor application to create assignments and exams, publish them deliberately, review learner work, and release results.
- For
- Instructor
- Reading time
- 12 min
- Updated
- August 16, 2026
Before you start
- Instructor access to an active course that is not archived.
- Prepared instructions, availability dates, grading scale, attempt policy, and any protected attachments.
You are done when
- The assessment list shows the intended draft, scheduled, published, or archived state.
- Saved grades and append-only feedback appear against the selected learner submission.
- The Gradebook shows the intended source weight and release state.
If something goes wrong
- Use Retry on a failed list or detail surface before re-entering content.
- If a save fails, keep the editor open and copy long instructions or feedback before retrying.
- Do not publish or release results to compensate for a loading error; first confirm the current server state.
Create an assignment
Open Courses, choose the course, then open Assignments
Choose New assignment. The control is unavailable when the course is archived.
Define the task and its boundaries
Enter the title, instructions, open and due dates, grading scale, weight, allowed submission types, late policy, attempt count, and any assignment attachments.
Create the assignment and verify its state
Save the editor, then reopen the assignment from the list. Confirm the availability badge, instructions, dates, scale, attempts, submission types, and late policy.
Review and grade assignment work
Open the assignment and select Learner submission
Choose the intended learner or group. The workspace shows attempts, response content, files, and the active attempt.
Enter the score against the correct attempt
Confirm the active attempt, record the score and any extension details, then choose Save in the grading section.
Send feedback separately
Add written feedback or files and choose Send. Feedback is append-only, so verify the learner and content before sending.
Create and publish an exam
Open Exams and choose Create exam
Set the title, availability window, duration, maximum attempts, weight, questions, and any accommodation-aware settings shown in the editor.
Keep the exam as a draft while editing
Use Manage to reopen the exam and review its question and timing configuration. Draft exams are not available to students.
Publish only after final review
Open the exam actions menu and choose Publish. Confirm that the list shows Published and the intended availability window.
Grade and release through the exam and Gradebook surfaces
Review submitted attempts, save grading decisions, then use Gradebook to confirm source weights and release results only when they are ready for students.
Continue with
Use the Student application to save assignment work, submit an immutable attempt, and complete an available exam attempt.
Review and grade exam attemptsReview submitted and expired exam attempts, score written responses, attach feedback, and understand how results reach the gradebook.
Run the course gradebookCombine assignment, exam, attendance, and manual sources into a weighted course grade, release results deliberately, and read released grades as a student.