You can enable parallel grading and assign graders when you create an assessment. You can also enable parallel grading even after students make submissions. The system randomly assigns graders you choose so each student has two graders for the assessment. The grading workload is distributed evenly among the graders. Graders can only open the submissions for the students assigned to them.

Students aren't notified that the assessment has more than one grader unless you inform them. Students see only the final grade and feedback the reconciler provides.

At this time, you can’t create groups or add questions when parallel grading is enabled. Graders, teaching assistants, and course builders can't enable or disable parallel grading.

Review examples of various use cases for parallel / delegated grading.

Tell Me

There are three steps to use parallel grading: Setting up, Grading, and Reconciling.

Step A - Set up the assignment for parallel marking.

  1. Access your Ultra course and create an Assignment. 
  2. Click the gear icon to enable parallel marking. Click the link to Assign graders. If needed, check the box to hide student names.



  3. Click Assign graders to open the grading panel. TAs and graders appear first in the Unassigned list. 

    NOTE: The roles you assign only pertain to the current assessment.
    A grader provides feedback and a grade. A reconciler determines all the final grades. You can have multiple graders and reconcilers, but a user cannot be a grader and a reconciler at the same time.  You can assign a user a different role for an assessment, even after students make submissions.
  4. Open each user's menu and select Grader or Reconciler. You can also Assign All users as Graders to distribute the grading workload evenly among the graders. 



    • To remove a grader or reconciler, open that user's menu and select Unassign if needed.
  5. Select Save when you're finished.

Parallel grading works best with multiple graders and at least one reconciler. If you don't have at least two graders and one reconciler, the system warns you. You're allowed to save without the minimal recommendation.


Use caution before you make changes to graders and reconcilers after grading has begun.

  • Unassigned reconcilers lose access to assign final grades, but prior work is maintained. If a reconciler assigns some final grades and then is unassigned or disallowed in the roster, the final grades remain. Another reconciler can make changes to those final grades.

  • Unassigned graders' previously completed evaluations are retained. Incomplete evaluations are no longer associated with the students. The system evenly distributes the work to the remaining graders.

    If a student already has grades from two graders and then one grader is unassigned, the two grades are retained. A third grader is added. Even if you've reconciled and posted some grades, a third grader is added. The third grader only sees attempts are ready to grade if you haven't reconciled grades. You may have three grades to reconcile for some attempts if a grader is removed during the parallel grading process.

    When you disallow a user's access in the roster and then allow access again, the user appears in the Unassignedlist on the Assign Graders page.

Step B - Grade student submissions

When you enable parallel grading, graders can only access the assessment attempts assigned to them. At this time, graders don't receive notifications in the activity stream when attempts in the parallel grading workflow are ready to grade.

Reconcilers receive notifications when grades are ready to reconcile. As the final grader, the reconciler can't assign grades for graders.

  1. There are 3 ways to access student submissions:
    1. Within the course (preferred)
    2. From the course gradebook
    3. From the Grades tab on the Bb dashboard 
  2. Once the assignment displays on the screen, select Submission from the top right corner. A number will indicate how many submissions there are to grade.



  3. The assignment's submission page will display.



  4. Select a student's name to begin grading.
    1. Type a numeric value of no more than five digits. You can include two additional digits after a decimal point.
    2. If you assign grades directly on this page, an override label appears next to the grade.
  5. After you assign a value, click anywhere outside the grade area to save.

After graders provide grades and feedback for their sets of submissions, their work is complete. Graders can't post grades. Instructors and reconcilers can't view a grader's rubric or edit a grader's grade and feedback.

About Multiple Attempts

When you allow multiple attempts on an assessment, graders can view their workload on the Submissions page. The final grader can reconcile grades even if graders don't grade all the attempts.

Step C - Reconciling grades

When grades are ready to reconcile, you'll receive an activity stream notification. You receive the notification after the assigned graders have graded one student's attempt.

  1. Log into the course. There are 3 ways to access student submissions:
    1. Within the course (preferred)
    1. From the course gradebook
    2. From the Grades tab on the Bb dashboard 
  2. Once the assignment displays on the screen, select Submission from the top right corner to reveal the list of student submissions.
  3. Select a student's name to show the student's grade and feedback.



    1. Select the grade pill to assign a grade or open the rubric. Reminder: You can't view a grader's rubric or annotations on student files. You also can't edit a grader's grade and feedback.
    2. Select a feedback icon to open the Feedback panel and review the graders' feedback.
    3. Add your feedback. Students won't see the graders' feedback, but the reconciler's feedback appears when you post the final grades.

NOTE: After you post the final grades, graders can only see the final grades and feedback. Graders can't access their evaluations to edit them after final grades are posted. Students only see the grade, feedback, and rubric from the reconciler. Students don't see anything provided by the individual graders.

Reconcile All Submissions

If you have confidence in your graders and want to assign the average of their grades to each attempt, you can reconcile all attempts with one or more grades from graders. On the Submissions page, select the Reconcile All link. Select the grade to use average, highest, or lowest of grades.

This action is irreversible. Reconciliation doesn't override manually reconciled or previously reconciled grades.

You always see that attempts are ready to reconcile if students have made attempts. Graders don't have to assign grades and feedback before the attempts are ready to reconcile. If you choose to reconcile all grades and you've associated a rubric with the assessment, an Override label appears on the Submissions list page only.

Disabling Parallel Marking

You can disable parallel grading for an assessment even after submissions exist or graders have provided grades and feedback. The graders' provisional grades are removed, but the system retains them. If you enable parallel grading again, the previous provisional grades and feedback are restored.

If you disable parallel grading after you post grades, the final grades remain. No record of the provisional grades remain.

Graders, teaching assistants, and course builders can't disable parallel grading.