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Letter grades and grading schemes

To assess an assignment in Canvas with the usual grading scales at KTH, you need to use letter grades. This facilitates the transfer of grades to Ladok. Letter grades require management of grading schemes. It is possible to use preset grading schemes and to create your own, as well as set one for the entire course.

Letter grades enable transfer to Ladok

Letter grades without percentages

It is often not possible to easily translate a grading scale into percentages or points, but if you want to use letter grades, you still need to have a grading scheme. Keep in mind that Canvas can calculate grades that are not correct, for example in the case of automatically assessed quizzes.

Letter grades are a way to communicate the results for an assignment in Canvas that is similar to a grading scale. Letter grades are also required to transfer grades to Ladok with the KTH Transfer to Ladok function.

Letter grades require grading scheme

When you choose to use letter grades in Canvas, you need to manage grading schemes. Grading schemes are letters or phrases linked to percentage or point criteria. You can use preset grading schemes and create your own. There are two preset assessment schedules from KTH, one for A-F and one for Pass/Fail. This facilitates transfer to Ladok.

Set up letter grades and choose grading scheme

To set letter grades on an assignment:

  1. Go to "Display grade as" in the assignment settings and select "Letter grade".
  2. Choose which grading scheme you want to use in the dropdown menu. Click "View/Edit" to see the grading scheme. 

For more detailed instructions, see the guide "How do I add a grading scheme to an assignment" (community.canvaslms.com) .

Create your own grading scheme

If the grading schemes that exist do not fit, you can create your own. This may for example be needed if you want to adjust the percentage or point limits. Keep in mind that if you want to use KTH Transfer to Ladok, it is important that the names of the different levels match the grading scale in Ladok.

To create your own grading scheme:

  1. Click "Manage All Grading Schemes".
  2. Click the button "+ Add grading scheme". Then you get to name your new grading scheme and set percentage levels. If you want to set point levels instead of percentage levels, you can select that under "Grade by".

For more detailed instructions, see the guide "How do I add a grading scheme in a course" (community.canvaslms.com) .

The course grading scheme, a standard for the entire course

If you frequently use the same grading scheme for multiple assignments, you can set it as the default for your course. The course's grading scheme will be preselected when you choose letter grades for an assignment or quiz. The grading scheme is also used to calculate an overall grade that you can see in the Gradebook.

In course and examination rooms, the course's grading scheme is preset, but it is possible to change the grading scheme or to deactivate the setting.

You can find the setting if you go to "Settings" in the course menu and then to "Grading scheme" under the tab "Course details". The function is enabled if the check box is checked. Then you can also click on "view grading scheme " to manage the grading scheme. This is done in the same way as for an assignment.

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Last changed: Sep 18, 2023