Google Classroom is great at collecting work and terrible at helping you grade it against a rubric. The usual workaround is copying each submission into another tool, then copying the score back. That takes almost as long as grading by hand.
Here's a workflow that keeps everything next to the Classroom page you already use.
What you need
- Google Chrome (or another Chromium browser that supports Chrome extensions)
- A Google Classroom assignment with written student work
- A rubric with points for each criterion, as a PDF or Word file
- The ClassGrade Pilot extension and a free account
Step 1: Install the extension and sign in
Install ClassGrade Pilot from the Chrome Web Store, then pin it to your toolbar using the puzzle-piece icon. Click the icon to open the side panel, then click Sign in. A secure window opens where you can sign in with Google or with email. If you're already signed in on the website, it connects instantly.
Tip: If you signed up with email, enter the 6-digit verification code from your inbox before you grade. The side panel will remind you if it's still pending.
Step 2: Open the assignment's "Student work" tab
In Google Classroom, open the assignment and click Student work, not Instructions. This is the page that lists each student with their status and grade box. The side panel tells you if you're on the wrong page and offers a button to open Classroom.
Step 3: Import the roster
Click Import roster from this page. The side panel reads the student list from the Classroom page:
- Short-answer questions fill in automatically with each student's response.
- Google Docs and attachments are marked "Paste from Doc." Open the student's doc, copy the text, and paste it into their row.
- Students who haven't turned anything in yet are flagged so you don't spend credits on empty work. Hit Refresh later to pick up late submissions.
Step 4: Choose or upload your rubric
Select a saved rubric or upload a PDF or Word file. The rubric is converted into criteria, levels, and points. If your scores later look off, the rubric wording is the first thing to check. Our guide on writing a rubric AI can grade accurately covers the fixes that make the biggest difference.
Add the assignment title so your grading history stays organized.
Step 5: Grade
Click Grade. Each submission is scored against every rubric criterion, with a short explanation and an overall comment. Large classes are graded in batches, and the panel shows progress as it goes ("Graded 16 of 28 students"). Keep the side panel open until it finishes.
Step 6: Review every score
This is the step that makes AI grading trustworthy. For each student you'll see:
- The total score and the score for each criterion
- The reasoning behind each criterion score
- Suggested overall feedback
Approve the scores you agree with and uncheck the ones you want to handle yourself. Focus your attention on borderline totals, unusually short responses, and creative answers that took an unexpected approach. For a fuller checklist, see is AI grading accurate and fair?
Step 7: Send approved grades to Classroom
Click Apply to enter the approved scores into the Classroom grade boxes on the page. They're saved as draft grades, so students don't see anything until you return the work. If any row can't be filled automatically, the panel lists which students to enter by hand.
Step 8: Return work with feedback
Use the AI's overall comment as a starting point for private comments, edited in your own voice. Short, specific, next-step feedback gets read far more often than long paragraphs. More on that in feedback students actually read.
Troubleshooting
- "No students were found." Make sure you're on Student work and the list has finished loading. Then click Import again.
- Clicking the icon doesn't open the panel. Update Chrome to a recent version. The side panel needs Chrome 116 or newer.
- "Session expired." Click Sign in again. Your rubrics and history are saved to your account, not the browser.
- Plan limit reached. The free plan covers 30 student submissions per month. Pro raises that to 350.
How much time does this save?
The biggest savings come from not writing first-draft feedback for every criterion and not copying scores between tabs. Pair this workflow with a tight rubric and the batching habits in cut essay grading time in half, and a class set that used to take a weekend can fit into a planning period plus a review pass.
Ready to try it on your own assignment? Get started with ClassGrade Pilot for Google Classroom.