This document introduces grading concepts relevant to the Classroom API. See the [grade and track assignments](https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/topic/11987116) article to learn about the teacher grading journeys in the Google Classroom app. ## CourseWork and StudentSubmissions In Google Classroom, students turn in [`StudentSubmissions`](https://developers.google.com/workspace/classroom/reference/rest/v1/courses.courseWork.studentSubmissions) for the [`CourseWork`](https://developers.google.com/workspace/classroom/reference/rest/v1/courses.courseWork) assignments in their [`Course`](https://developers.google.com/workspace/classroom/reference/rest/v1/courses). `CourseWork` can be graded or ungraded. If a `CourseWork` is graded, it has a `maxPoints` value which represents how many total points the assignment is worth. If `maxPoints` is zero or unspecified, the assignment is ungraded. For graded assignments, teachers set a `draftGrade` grade on the `StudentSubmission` before they return it to the student. When the submission is returned in the Classroom app, an `assignedGrade` is set automatically on the `StudentSubmission`, with the same value as the current `draftGrade`. Developers can set both of these fields, and must emulate the behavior of the Classroom app. For example, an `assignedGrade` can't be set without a `draftGrade`. Both fields are represented with decimals, and if unset, imply that the teacher has not yet set the corresponding grade. See [create and manage grades](https://developers.google.com/workspace/classroom/guides/classroom-api/manage-grades) for code examples of reading, setting, and returning grades. Students can submit multiple submissions to the same `CourseWork` assignment, and submission state and grade history are tracked in `StudentSubmission.submissionHistory`. ## Late, excused, and missing CourseWork When `CourseWork` items are assigned, placeholder `StudentSubmissions` are created for each student, even if the student hasn't interacted with the corresponding assignment. Teachers can set a `dueDate` on the `CourseWork`, and associated `StudentSubmissions` are marked with a `late` field (set to `true`) if the student does not turn in the assignment before the date. Teachers can also [disable late submissions](https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2023/07/disable-submissions-after-due-date-in-google-classroom.html) with a setting in the Classroom app. Additionally, `StudentSubmissions` that aren't submitted before `dueDate` are annotated in the Classroom gradebook as being *missing* . Teachers can also mark submissions as missing manually in the Classroom app. Missing assignments are automatically given a `draftGrade`, which is customizable by the teacher but defaults to 0. Missing submissions can be marked as *complete* or *excused* by the teacher. `StudentSubmissions` marked as complete have their default `draftGrade` field removed until the teacher sets a new one manually. `StudentSubmissions` marked as excused are removed from [overall score calculations](https://developers.google.com/workspace/classroom/guides/key-concepts/grades#overall-grade), including [grading periods](https://developers.google.com/workspace/classroom/guides/key-concepts/grades#grading-periods). > [!NOTE] > **Note:** The complete, missing, and excused states of `StudentSubmissions` are not distinctly identifiable in the API. If this behavior would affect your application, leave feedback in [this issue](https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/316938115) describing the impact on your use case. See the [grade and return an assignment](https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020294) help article to learn more about how submissions can be handled by teachers. ## Overall grade and grading systems Classroom supports multiple grading systems for calculating students' overall grades in course. Overall grades can be calculated directly from total points, weighted by category, or not calculated at all. See the [set up grading](https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/9184995) article to learn about the different grading systems with examples.
Some key points: - The `Course` resource has a [`gradebookSettings`](https://developers.google.com/workspace/classroom/reference/rest/v1/courses#gradebooksettings) object with details about the course grade settings. - `calculationType` specifies the calculation method for the course. - `displaySettings` specifies who can see overall grades in the Classroom app. It's a best practice to respect this in your own application when possible. For example, if students can't see their overall grade in Classroom, don't show it to them in your app. - `gradeCategories` contains a list of the grading categories configured for the course, including their display names, weighting percentage, and default points for corresponding assignments. - If a course uses weighted grading, you might need to normalize the weights in scenarios where a category is not present. For example, if category weights were 20% for homework, 10% for practice problems, and 70% for quizzes, but no practice problems were actually present, Classroom adjusts the weights to \~22% for homework and \~78% for quizzes when calculating overall grades. If you intend to mirror Classroom overall grades in your application, you'd need to do the same. ## Grading periods Teachers can group `CourseWork` assignments in a course into distinct date ranges called *grading periods*. The grading periods can be used to filter coursework in the gradebook view and create distinct buckets for overall grade calculations. For example, a teacher might create "spring" and "fall" semester grading periods. The overall grade score for the spring period would only include `StudentSubmissions` due in the spring date range. The grading system set for the course extends to the grading periods. So if the aforementioned spring and fall example grading periods were set on a course that used weighted grading categories, there would ultimately be three sets of overall grades for students: - The overall grade for *all* assignments in the course. - The overall grade for all the assignments in the spring date range. - The overall grade for all the assignments in the fall date range. All three would calculate the overall grade with weighted categories. See the [grading periods announcement](https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2023/05/grading-periods-google-classroom.html) to get an overview of the feature. Grading periods extend `CourseWork` with a `gradingPeriodId` which identifies the grading period that the assignment falls into. See the [grading periods API guide](https://developers.google.com/workspace/classroom/grading-periods/manage-grading-periods) to learn how to read and manage grading periods with the API. ## Rubrics Teachers can create and associate `Rubrics` with `CourseWork` assignments, and use these rubrics as a guide when grading corresponding `StudentSubmissions`. See the [rubrics article](https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/9335069) to learn how teachers can use rubrics in Classroom. Rubrics extend the `StudentSubmissions` resource with additional fields: - `rubricId` identifies the rubric that corresponds to the submission's `CourseWork`. - `draftRubricGrades` represents the criteria and placeholder scores the teacher has drafted before returning the submission to the student. - `assignedRubricGrades` represents the criteria and scores the student receives after the teacher returns the submission. See the [rubrics API guide](https://developers.google.com/workspace/classroom/rubrics/getting-started) for how to manage rubrics and read related grades with the API. ## Grading scales Classroom supports customizable [grading scales](https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2023/08/expanding-grading-systems-in-google-classroom.html), for example, allowing teachers to translate numeric grades into letter grades. These settings and corresponding data aren't available in the API.