Upload the Work You Already Have
No assignment to build first, no rubric to write, no import to configure. Bring the files as they are and GradingPal works out the rest — about a minute of setup, then it grades.
Free plan. No credit card. Nothing goes to students until you send it.
Most Grading Software Asks You to Do the Work Twice
First you build the assignment in the software. Then you rebuild the rubric you already have in a form it accepts. Then you work out how the student work gets in. Twenty minutes later you have set up a tool and marked nothing, and the stack on the desk has not moved. Most teachers never come back after that evening — and they are right not to.
Whatever State It’s In, That’s Fine
The assignment exists somewhere already. Wherever that is, start there.
Upload a file
The Word document, the PDF, the photo of the worksheet you handed out. As it is, unedited.
Paste the text
If the assignment only really exists as three lines you wrote on the board, paste those.
Pull from Google Drive
Straight out of the folder it already lives in, without downloading anything first.
It Recognises What Kind of Assignment This Is
Essay, worksheet, quiz, problem set, lab report, slide deck, video. GradingPal reads what you gave it and picks the right one, and the grading view changes shape to match. If it picks wrong, change it — it is a dropdown, not a decision you have to get right first.
You Don’t Need a Rubric to Start
Three routes, and the third is the one nobody expects.
Bring your own
The rubric you already use, in whatever form you have it.
Pick one
Take a reviewed rubric to start from and adjust it, or don’t.
Leave it blank
GradingPal drafts one from the assignment itself. You can edit it afterwards — including after grading, in which case it offers to regrade exactly the submissions the change affected.
Bring the Work, or Collect It
Add student work the same three ways — files, pasted text, Google Drive. Or turn it around and let the work come to you: students submit in GradingPal with a class code, or through collecting through Google Classroom, and it arrives as it is done. Paper works too; scan a whole class on paper as one PDF and it splits itself.
Set How It Marks Without Leaving the Page
Partial credit for working shown, grammar checking, the language the feedback comes back in, the feedback style, tone and length — all of it sits in the same flow, not in a settings area you have to go and find. Change nothing and the defaults are sensible ones. It is every setting in one place.
No Spinner, No Wondering
You see what it is doing while it does it:
- 1analysing the assignment
- 2extracting the details
- 3generating the rubric
- 4processing submissions
- 5grading
Not a progress bar that could mean anything — the actual step, named, updating as it goes. Nothing to refresh, nothing to guess at.
About a Minute of Setup
From opening GradingPal to having everything it needs takes about a minute — the upload, the type, the rubric decision, the settings you care about. Grading itself takes as long as it takes, and you can watch it happen. The minute is the part you spend; the rest is the part you don’t.
You Arrive at Graded Work, Not a Dashboard
The flow ends inside the real grading view, with real results on real submissions: a suggested score on every criterion, the reasoning, and the quote from the student’s own work behind it. Change anything you disagree with. Nothing reaches a student until you share it. That is how the marking actually works.
Not Ready to Upload Anything?
Fair enough. You can see it grade a sample in your own subject before you give it anything of yours — no account, no upload, and the sample never mixes with your real work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a rubric before I can grade anything?
No. Bring your own, pick one from the library, or leave it blank and GradingPal drafts one from the assignment itself. You can edit that rubric afterwards, including after grading — it will offer to regrade exactly the submissions your change affects.
How long does setup take?
About a minute: the upload, the assignment type, the rubric decision and any settings you want to change. Grading itself takes longer than that and you can watch it happen, step by step, rather than waiting on a progress bar.
What can I upload?
Files, pasted text, or anything in your Google Drive. Student work comes in the same three ways, or students submit it themselves through a class code or Google Classroom. Scanned paper works too — a whole class as one PDF splits into a submission each.
What if it picks the wrong assignment type?
Change it. GradingPal detects the type from what you uploaded and sets the grading view to match, but it is a dropdown you can override at any point, not a decision you have to get right up front.
Do I have to set anything up for my whole class first?
No. You can grade one assignment without creating a class, importing a roster or inviting anyone. Set the class up later, if and when it is useful.
Does anything go to students automatically?
No. The flow ends at graded results in front of you. Every score is a suggestion until you approve it, and nothing reaches a student until you choose to share it.
Bring the Stack You Already Have
No assignment to build, no rubric to write. Upload what is on your desk and land on graded results with the evidence behind every score.