How to Open Assess
- Open your Schoology course.
- Find the Assess link in your course materials or navigation. Your administrator added it as an External Tool.
- Click it. Assess opens in the same browser window — no separate login is required.
If you do not see the link, contact your school’s IT administrator. The link must be added to the course before any teacher can use it.
The Three-Column Screen
When Assess opens, you see three columns side by side.
Left Column — Your Assignments
This lists the assignments Assess knows about in your course. Each row shows the assignment title and the maximum point value. Use this column to choose which assignment you want to review. A Sync Submissions button sits here — press it to pull the latest student work from Schoology into Assess.
Middle Column — Submissions
Once you select an assignment, this column lists every student submission. Each row shows:
- The student’s name
- Their current score, if one has been assigned
- A status badge (see the table below)
A counter at the top tells you how many submissions are waiting for your review.
Right Column — Evaluation Panel
When you select a submission, the details appear here. This is where you review the AI’s suggestion and make your decision.
The Evaluation Panel in Detail
| Element | What it shows |
|---|---|
| AI Score | The score the AI assigned, expressed in the same units as your rubric. |
| Confidence bar | A 0–100% indicator of how certain the AI is. A lower number means you should read more carefully. |
| Overall rationale | A plain-language explanation of why the AI gave that score. |
| Rubric criteria breakdown | Each criterion in your rubric, with the AI’s score and reasoning for that criterion. |
| Feedback box | Editable. This is the written feedback the student will see after you approve. Change it freely. |
| Score field | Editable. Override the AI’s score here before approving. |
The Four Action Buttons
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Approve | Accepts the AI’s score and feedback as-is and posts the grade to the Schoology gradebook. |
| Approve with Edit | Posts the grade to Schoology using whatever changes you made to the score or feedback fields. |
| Reject | Discards the AI’s suggestion. No grade is posted. You can re-run later. |
| Re-run | Asks the AI to grade the submission again from scratch. Use this if the first result seems clearly off. |
Grades reach the Schoology gradebook only when you choose Approve or Approve with Edit.
Status Badge Reference
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | The submission has been synced but AI grading has not started yet. |
| Processing | The AI is currently grading this submission. Wait a moment, then refresh. |
| Needs Review | The AI has finished. The submission is waiting for your decision in the Evaluation panel. |
| Approved | You approved this submission. The grade is in the Schoology gradebook. |
| Rejected | You rejected the AI suggestion. No grade was posted. |
| Failed | The AI could not grade this submission (for example, the file could not be read). Try Re-run, or score it manually in Schoology. |
Next Steps
You are ready to grade. Select an assignment, click Sync Submissions, pick a submission, and click Run Grade to start. For administrator setup details, see For Admins & IT: Install, Register, and Operate.