Set up your gradebook
In this article
The gradebook gives you a complete view of every student's performance in a class. Pick a class, see the grid, and start entering scores — EMStudio calculates totals and letter grades automatically.
Open the gradebook
Click Grades in the sidebar and select a class from the left panel. The gradebook loads in two panels:
- Left panel — your classes, with student count, assignment count, and class average below.
- Main panel — the gradebook grid.
Topic management lives on the Classwork page now, not here. The Grades page is the place to view scores and enter grades; the Classwork page is where you create and configure topics, weights, and grading scales.
The gradebook grid
The grid is where you track scores. Students run down the left side, assignments run across the top.
- Assignment columns — each column is one assignment, color-coded to match its grade topic.
- Total column — the second column shows each student's weighted total and letter grade, calculated automatically.
- Class averages row — the row below the header shows the average score for each assignment across the whole class.
Enter scores
Click any cell in the grid and type a score. It saves instantly and the total recalculates automatically. For details on creating assignments, see Add assignments & scores →
Press Enter after typing a score to jump to the next student down. This lets you grade an entire column without touching your mouse.
If the assignment's topic is in Select mode (for qualitative marks like Pass/Fail or Excellent/Good/Needs work), the cell opens a label dropdown instead of a number input. Pick a label and it saves immediately.
Edit or create an assignment
Click the pencil icon (or right-click an assignment column header) to edit it. Click + New Assignment in the toolbar — or the Add column at the right edge of the grid — to create one. Both flows open the same assignment viewer, where you can edit the title, topic, points, due date, and instructions.
The viewer is the same one used on the Classwork page, so create-and-edit feel identical from either page.
View weighted contribution
Want to see how much each cell contributes to the final grade? Click the eye icon in the gradebook toolbar. Each cell shows the contribution percentage (e.g., a 90/100 in a 50%-weight topic with two assignments shows ~23%) below the score.
The cell contribution badge is an approximation that assumes assignments inside a topic count equally. For topics where assignments have different point values, the actual final grade still uses points-weighted aggregation — the per-cell badges may not sum to it exactly.
Spot patterns over time
Want to see how a class is trending? Open grade trends for charts and per-topic breakdowns. To dig into one student, click their name in the grid to open their student profile.
If a student's total looks wrong, walk through common issues — most often it's an excused grade, a no-weight topic, or an unlinked assignment.
Still have questions?
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