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A teacher’s guide to grading in Microsoft Teams Assignments

courtneyfarrow

Grading assignments in Microsoft Teams can be a straightforward, seamless process, making it easier for you as a teacher to manage your workload while still providing valuable feedback to students.

In this guide, we take a deep dive into grading and marking assignments in Teams.

You’ll learn how to:


To start grading, head to the Assignments tab in your class team.

Here, you’ll find all your pending assignments listed under the To return section.

  1. Select the assignment you wish to grade.
  2. View the list of submissions under their statuses (e.g. Turned in by teacher, Handed in or Not handed in).

Tip

💡 Tip

If you’ve already graded some submissions, they’ll appear under the Graded section.


Open a student’s assignment submission

  1. Tap on a student’s name to open their submitted work. Their assignment will appear alongside grading tools, giving you a clear overview of their work.


Add comments and annotations to assignments

You can add comments directly onto a student’s work using Microsoft’s built-in annotation tools:

  1. Open the submission in Word.
  2. Select Reviewing Mode from the toolbar.
  3. Place your comments where needed. These appear in red and are auto-saved, no need to hit save.



Tip

💡 Tip

Annotated comments help students understand specific areas for improvement or where they’ve excelled.


Use rubric for grading

Attaching rubrics to the assignment makes grading even more efficient.

  1. Open the rubric attached to the assignment.
  2. Review each criterion (for example, understanding of the topic, grammar, etc.).
  3. Select the score that best matches the student’s performance for each section. Scores are automatically calculated as you go.

Once grading is complete, click Done to finalize the rubric score.

Tip

💡 Tip

You can toggle between rubric sections or provide detailed feedback for each criterion.


Return assignments to students

When you’re happy with the grade and feedback, you can return assignments to students:

  1. Enter any additional comments in the feedback section on the right.
  2. Attach supplementary materials, such as extra reading resources or videos, if needed.
  3. Choose from the following options to return the assignment:
ReturnMarks work as complete
Return for revision Allows the student to resubmit after making improvements.
Marked as excusedExcludes the student from this assignment.

4. Tap Return to notify the student that their work has been graded.

Tip

💡 Tip

Use the navigation arrows to move quickly between student submissions.


View graded work as a student

Students can view their grades and feedback in the Completed section of their Assignments tab.

Here’s what they’ll see:

  • Annotated comments in red.
  • Rubric scores and feedback.
  • Any attachments or additional materials provided by the teacher.

Students can choose to revise and resubmit their work if the assignment has been returned for revision.


Grading in Microsoft Teams is designed to streamline the feedback process while giving teachers tools to provide constructive, detailed guidance to students. From rubrics to annotations, you have everything you need to ensure students succeed.

Cloud Design Box is a team of Microsoft 365 experts specialising in education. Working with schools and MATs across the UK, we help you streamline teacher workloads, improve communication, and create a collaborative, productive school culture.

Want to know how we can support your school or trust? Book a call with one of our experts.

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