Where student work comes from

Every assignment collects work one of three ways. You choose when you set it up, on the Student submissions section of Instant or the Student work step of Guided, and you can change it later under Settings > Submission rules without losing any work. The choice decides whether students need accounts, what they can see, and how deadlines behave.

The three choices

	I’ll upload the work	Students submit in GradingPal	Students submit in Google Classroom
The card says	Scan or upload files yourself — students don’t need accounts.	Students submit from their own GradingPal account — invite by email or link.	Posted to Classroom — students submit there, no GradingPal account needed.
Student accounts	None needed	Needed. Students join with the class code or invite link	None needed in GradingPal. Students use Classroom
What students see	Nothing, until you share feedback by email or hand it back on paper	The assignment in their To do list once you open it, and their feedback once you share	The assignment in Classroom once you post it, and their grade there once you share
The assignment’s status	No pill. A Teacher-only chip in the class list	Draft, Scheduled, Live or Closed	Draft, Scheduled, Live or Closed, with a Classroom mark
Going live	Nothing to do. Upload and grade	Open for submissions, or Schedule	Post to Google Classroom, or Schedule
The deadline	For your records only	Students can still submit after it. Late work is flagged, not refused	The same, and the date is posted to Classroom
Available when	Always	Always	The class is linked to Google Classroom

What each one is for

I’ll upload the work is for paper. Scan the stack, upload it as separate files or one batch scan, and grade. It’s also the right choice for a high-stakes assessment where students shouldn’t have a copy online. Sharing still works: feedback goes by email to students who have one, or you print reports. Students submit in GradingPal gives the assignment a real lifecycle. You decide when it opens, students turn in from their own account with an attempt count you set, and feedback lands in the same place. Students need to join the class first, with the six-character class code or the invite link. Students submit in Google Classroom keeps students where they already are. Posting the assignment creates it in Classroom, turn-ins flow into GradingPal on their own, and sharing puts the grade on their Classroom submission. Only students whose email Google shares with GradingPal come across on import.

What this does not mean

Choosing a collection mode doesn’t stop you uploading. Upload submission is on the Submissions tab whatever you chose. A student who couldn’t submit can hand you a file and you add it to their row.
A due date passing doesn’t close the assignment. Late work is marked Late. Only Close for submissions stops new work.
Classroom mode doesn’t need a GradingPal account for students. If you switch a Classroom class to collecting in GradingPal, students will need one.

Open, schedule or close an assignment

Control exactly when students can submit.

Collect work through Classroom

Post an assignment and let turn-ins flow in.

Last updated 19 September 2026

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​The three choices

​What each one is for

​What this does not mean

​What to read next

Open, schedule or close an assignment

Collect work through Classroom

The three choices

What each one is for

What this does not mean

What to read next