Review submissions and grade
Open a content block user overview, review each student's submission, enter grades, and publish them when the cohort is ready.
For content blocks that collect student work — such as Hand-in, Exam, Assessment, and Interactive File — you can review each submission and assign a grade from within the course. Review happens at the block level: open the block, open its Users overview, inspect each submission, then enter grades that stay unpublished until you share them.
This workflow connects day-to-day teaching in the learning journey with formal evaluation in grading and analytics. Students submit through blocks such as Hand-in; you return results through grade entry and publishing.
Why it matters
Universities need a reliable chain from assignment → evidence of work → grade → student visibility. Reviewing inside the block keeps that chain intact: the same place students submitted is where you read their files or interactive responses and record outcomes. Separating entering grades from publishing them lets teaching teams finish marking before results go live, which reduces mid-marking confusion and supports fair release across the cohort.
In pedagogical terms, timely review supports both formative feedback (when you comment or return work for learning) and summative decisions (when the grade contributes to module or course assessment). Publishing is the gate that turns private marks into official student-facing results.
How it fits
| Related area | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Add a content block | Create deliverable blocks and set due dates before review begins |
| Submit a hand-in (students) | Student upload and submit steps that populate the overview |
| View and publish course grades | Publish all grades to students (or unpublish to correct) |
| Content block analytics | Completion and grade distribution for individual blocks |
| Monitor progress | Journey-level completion alongside per-block review |
| Grading and analytics | Course-wide grades and engagement metrics |
Key concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| User overview | Per-block list of enrolled students and their submission status |
| Submission | What the student handed in — a file, written answer, or completed interactive document |
| Grade field / grade selector | Control where you enter the grade for a student on that block |
| Unpublished grade | Saved for staff but not yet visible to students |
| Published grades | Shared with students; publishing also locks further edits to the content block until you unpublish |
| Formative vs summative | Formative review guides learning; summative grades measure achievement — both can use the same review tools |
Open the submission overview for a block
Open the course and go to the Learning Journey section.
Find the content block you want to review and click on it to open its details.
In the block details panel, click Users (or the users icon) to open the block’s user overview. This lists all enrolled students and their submission status.
Review an individual submission
In the block’s user overview, find the student whose submission you want to review.
Click on the student’s row to open their submission.
Review the submitted content — this may be a file download, a written answer, or a completed interactive document.
What you see depends on the block type. Hand-ins typically provide files; exams and assessments surface answers; interactive documents show completed work inside the platform.
Enter a grade
After reviewing a submission, locate the grade field for that student in the user overview.
Click the grade field and enter the grade using the grade selector.
Confirm the grade. It is saved immediately but remains unpublished until you choose to share it with students.
Publish grades
Grades are not visible to students until you publish them. See View and publish course grades for instructions on publishing all grades at once.
Best practices
- Mark in batches by status (submitted first, then missing) so late work is visible in the same overview.
- Enter grades as you go; keep them unpublished until the marking team agrees the set is consistent.
- Align grade release with your exam office or module rules — students often check the Management tab after announcement.
- For interactive or Workbench-style work, open the full submission before grading so you are not marking from status alone.
- Use content block analytics after release to spot unusual grade distributions or low completion.
Common pitfalls
- Entering grades but never publishing — students see nothing and assume work was not received.
- Publishing too early, then discovering the block needs edits — you must unpublish before you can change the content block.
- Reviewing only from Drive or chat copies instead of the block overview, which breaks the link to submission status and grading.
- Forgetting that missing submissions still appear in the user overview — treat absences explicitly rather than leaving blank rows unexplained in your own records.
FAQ
Are grades visible as soon as I enter them?
No. Grades are saved immediately but remain unpublished until you publish them. See View and publish course grades.
Can I edit a block after grades are published?
Not while grades stay published. Unpublish first if you need to make corrections to the content block, then publish again when ready.
Which blocks support this review flow?
Blocks that collect student work — such as Hand-in, Exam, Assessment, and Interactive File. Info-only blocks (for example plain Files or Text) do not produce submissions to review in the same way.