How to See Grade Statistics in Canvas (Class Average, High and Low)

The short answer: open the course, click Grades, and click the small check-mark icon next to an assignment's score (its tooltip says See scoring details). Canvas shows the class Mean, High, and Low for that assignment, with a small chart showing where your score falls. If you don't see the icon, your teacher has probably turned statistics off. Here's how it works and how to read the numbers.

Step by step

1. Open the course and click Grades in the course menu.
2. Find a graded assignment and click the check-mark icon in its row (hover over it and you'll see See scoring details).
3. A Score Details panel opens below the row with the Mean, High, and Low. Some schools also show the Median and the upper and lower quartiles.
4. To open the details for every assignment at once, click Show All Details in the sidebar.

In the Canvas Student app on Android, the same statistics appear below your grade on the assignment's details screen, when your teacher allows them.

Why you might not see statistics

• Your teacher turned them off. Courses have a setting called Hide grade distribution graphs from students. It's off unless a teacher turns it on, but plenty do.
• Not enough work has been graded. Canvas doesn't show statistics until at least five students' work has been graded, so a small class or an early grade may not have them yet.
• Your own grade isn't visible yet. If the teacher hasn't released the score, the statistics stay hidden too.
• The assignment is worth zero points. There's nothing to compare.

How to read the numbers

The statistics are most useful as context for a score that surprised you:

• Your score is low, and so is the mean. The test was hard for everyone. Teachers sometimes curve or drop a test like that, and it's worth asking.
• Your score is well below the mean. Something specific went wrong for you. Look at the questions you missed and ask about a retake or corrections while the unit is still fresh.
• The mean and median are far apart. A few very low (or very high) scores are pulling the average. The median is the better picture of a typical score.
• The high is far above everyone else. One student aced it. Don't measure yourself against the high; the middle of the class tells you more.

What about the class average for the whole course?

Canvas shows statistics per assignment, not an average for the whole course. Some schools turn on Course Analytics for students (look for it in the course menu), which shows your grade and activity over time, but it doesn't compare you to the class.

Parents: can you see the statistics?

Yes, on the web. A Canvas parent (observer) account sees the same scoring details on each course's Grades page. The Canvas Parent app focuses on grades, assignments, and alerts. If you're setting up parent access, start with how to become an observer on Canvas.

The other half of the picture

Statistics tell you how one assignment went. What usually matters more is the direction of the course grade over the last few weeks. Here's how to see your grade history in Canvas, and every way to see your grades. GradeGlance shows each class grade with an arrow when it has moved 3 or more points in about two weeks, so you can see which way a class is heading at a glance.