Canvas does not natively round up individual assignment scores in Grades. Instead, scores are calculated exactly to whole-number percentage ranges.

To round up grades, you may override final grades manually in the last Grades Override column after the Total column. But even for a relatively small class, this can be an onerous and time-consuming task prone to errors.

Instead, you can create a new grading scheme with partial percentage ranges that will apply to all graded items in a course and the course's total grade.

In this article, we will show how to create a grading scheme that rounds grades up by the nearest 0.5 percentage points.

Note: Be sure to consult with your department or faculty about the boundaries used in assigning letter grades.

In the following example, the course has one assignment, "Grade demo," worth 100% of the final grade.  In a real course situation, whichever grading scheme is used, its settings will apply to individual graded items and to the aggregated final grade total.

All examples below are based on the Default U of A Grading Scheme, which uses whole numbers to set the percentage boundaries between letter grades.

Grading scheme examples

In the example on the left, the final grade is calculated using the default grading scheme with whole numbers at range boundaries. In the example, students achieving a grade of 89.4% or 89.5% both receive a B+. Both are less than 90% at the default whole number range value.

In the first example, the final grade is calculated using a grading scheme with letter boundaries set to 0.5% at the range boundaries:

Compare with the second example, where students achieving 79.4% receive a B+, while those achieving 79.5% receive an A-. Instead of 90%, the range lower boundary is set to 89.5%:

Viewing a grading scheme

To begin modifying the grading scheme with whole-number or 0.5% at the range boundaries, go to your course Settings and on the Course Details tab, scroll down to the Grading Scheme section.

To view the current grading scheme, click View:

The grading scheme will assign a letter grade corresponding to a value below the corresponding percentage range. For example, an A- is any value in the range 90% to 93% inclusive:

Note: Canvas does not use the less-than (<) sign to represent a value less than the range.

Modifying a grading scheme

Because you cannot edit the range boundaries of whichever grading scheme you have set as the default, you can choose to Copy the existing default grading scheme or click to create a New Grading Scheme:

When choosing either option, a grade scheme editing window will open.

You must enter a new Grading Scheme Name and set it to Grade by percentage points:

Note: To avoid confusion when changing range boundaries, start with the lowest value. This is good practice for any modifications to any grading scheme.

To round a grade up when a student achieves a grade ending in 0.5 or greater, lower the range value on the right by 0.5%:

Lower each value above by 0.5%, starting with the next lowest value.

Click Save when finished editing.

Once you have made your grading scheme the default, be sure to click Update Course Details at the bottom of the Settings > Course Details page.

Editing a grading scheme

Before you can edit an existing grading scheme, you must make another grading scheme the default. You cannot edit an default grading scheme.

Click to View the grading scheme:

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Then click the pencil icon to open the editor interface: