Grade Passback - Spotting & Resolving Canvas/Synergy Grade Discrepancies
Possible reasons for grade (class percentage) differences between what teachers see in Canvas and what they see in Synergy and how to resolve them.
Updated 10-8-2024: to include information in clearing deleted scores.
Make Sure All Assignments Are Syncing
In Canvas go to the "Assignments" screen and look at the sync column to the left of the publish/unpublish column.
icon means the assignment is not set to sync. If you want it to sync, click the icon to turn it green.
icon means the assignment is set to sync.
Run Remaster Grade Passback
This will force all assignments/scores to sync and will help spot any issues.
Running "Remaster Grade Passback"
- Go to Grade Sync → Utilities in your Canvas course. (if you have hidden this in course settings → navigation, unhide it. Student's won't see it)
- Hit the "remaster grade passback" button.
- Make sure all assignments are selected and then hit "remaster grades."
- Return to the "history" tab and when the sync has completed, check the status.
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indicates a successful sync.
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indicates there was an issue. If you see an issue, copy your Canvas course name into a tech request and we'll help you sort it out.
"Remaster Grade Passback" Video Instructions
Spotting Discrepancies
Note: This step should only be done after getting a successful remaster grade passback in step 2.
- In Canvas, make sure the "Total" Column in your grade book is next to the list of student names. (click
and select "move to front" from the menu that appears)
- In Canvas, filter to a section.
- Open the Synergy grade book to the same section.
- Compare the percentages in the Canvas "Total" column to those in the "Grade" column in Synergy, looking for differences.
Resolving Discrepancies
Problem Source
How To Fix It
You deleted an assignment score in Canvas, but the score still exists in the Synergy grade book.
Solution: If you deleted an assignment score in Canvas, the "regular" sync won't delete it. The remaster grade passback process from step 2 above should have deleted it from Synergy. If not, you can break the sync for the assignment temporarily in Synergy (instructions).
Note: to delete an entire assignment from Synergy you will need to manually delete it by "breaking the sync" (instructions).
Your Canvas "Assignment Group" weighting setup doesn't match your Synergy "Assignment Type" weighting.
Solution: Review "Getting Set Up for Grade Passback" in our grade passback setup article to ensure that the Canvas and Synergy setups match.
You set a "drop score" preference in Canvas and Synergy
Both systems let you drop a student's lowest score for a given "Assignment Group" (Canvas) or "Assignment Type" (Synergy)
Canvas & Synergy handle this drop score setting differently.
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Synergy simply looks at the lowest score as a percentage of possible points for that assignment type and drops it from the calculation.
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Canvas looks at the score that has the greatest negative impact within that assignment group and drops that from the calculation, even if it isn't the lowest percentage. You can read additional information here...
Example: You have 2 assignments, one worth 4 points and another worth 100 points. A student scores 1/4 (25%) and 50/100 (50%). Synergy will drop the 1/4 score, but Canvas will drop the 50/100 score since it has a greater negative impact.
Solution: In this situation, you'll need to decide which system you prefer.
- If you want to use Synergy's calculation you are all set.
- If you want to use Canvas's system, you will likely need to adjust some students' calculated letter grades when posting to the report card.