How to Hide Grading Totals from Students Early in the Semester
Hello Ithaca College instructors,
In this week's Canvas tip, we're focusing on a handy feature that allows you to hide grading totals from students early in the semester. This can be particularly useful for preventing confusion or anxiety about grades when your grading setup is incomplete or only a few assignments have been graded. Here's how you can do it:
Step-by-Step Guide to Hiding Grading Totals:
- Access Settings: Log in to your Canvas course and click Settings in the left-hand navigation.
- More Options: Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click the link that reads “More Options.”
- Hide Totals Option: From the presented options, check the one that says, "Hide totals in student grades summary." By default, this option is not selected. When it is, students to not see the ‘total grade’ column in their grades summary.
- Save Changes: Don’t forget to click the "Update Course Details" button to save your changes.
Reasons to Hide Grading Totals Early in the Semester:
- Reduce Student Anxiety: Early in the semester, when only a few assignments have been graded or grading settings are not completely arranged, seeing a total grade can cause unnecessary stress or misinterpretation for students.
- Focus on Learning: This encourages students to focus more on learning and understanding the material rather than fixating on their overall grade.
- Flexibility in Grading: It gives you, the instructor, flexibility to adjust the weighting of assignments or the grading scale without students being prematurely concerned about their total grade.
Best Practices
If you choose to hide grading totals, it’s important to communicate this to your students. Explain the reason behind this decision and let them know when the total grades will be visible.
When you're ready to reveal the grading totals, simply uncheck the box in the settings and update. Your students will then be able to see their cumulative grade in the grades summary.
For additional resources on grade visibility settings, please visit the following resources:
Additional Resources
How do I hide totals in my student grade summaries?