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Instant setup does not keep a draft. Leaving the page discards the text, the files and the rubric on it. Creating the assignment first keeps everything.

Who can use this?

  • Who: Teachers and co-teachers
  • Plans: All plans
  • Where: New assignment > Instant, from your dashboard or any class page

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Limits and notes

  • Documents up to 100 MB each. Video and audio up to 250 MB each. A batch scan is one PDF up to 250 MB.
  • One assignment can’t mix documents with video or audio.
  • Every submission you upload counts toward your monthly limit. Instant is billed like any other route.
  • Quizzes, exams, worksheets and problem sets are graded from a file. Paste text alone and the form sets up a writing assignment instead. It warns you first.

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Before you start

You need a class to save the assignment to. If you don’t have one yet, the form offers New Class in its side panel. Have the assignment ready as text or a file, and the student work as files if you want it graded now.

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Set up and grade in one pass

1

Start a new assignment

On your dashboard or any class page, select New assignment. Pick the class if you’re asked, choose Instant, then select Continue. The form opens with the line “AI sets up the assignment in one pass”.
2

Add the assignment

In 1. Assignment, paste what you gave students into Assignment details, or switch the tab to Upload and add the file from Your device or Google Drive. Leave Assignment type on Auto-detect unless you want to be sure; the list runs from Writing & Essays to Worksheet.
For a quiz, exam, worksheet or problem set, upload the handout as a file. That’s where the AI reads the questions from.
3

Add a rubric or answer key, or leave it blank

In 2. Rubric / answer key [1], paste your criteria, switch to Upload for a file, or choose From library and Choose from library to reuse one you’ve saved. Leave it blank and the AI generates a rubric from the assignment. You can edit it after grading.
4

Add the student work

In 4. Student submissions [2], keep I’ll upload the work and add the files. Separate files means one file per student; Batch Scan means one PDF holding the whole class, which GradingPal splits into one submission per student.To collect the work from students instead, choose Students submit in GradingPal or Students submit in Google Classroom, then set When students can see it and the Deadline.
Video and audio assignments take media files only, up to 250 MB each, and don’t offer Batch Scan.
5

Check the optional sections

3. Standards focus, 5. Materials & organization, 6. Grading rules and 7. Feedback are optional and start closed. Open Grading rules to change Award partial credit or turn on Check grammar. Open Feedback to change the feedback style and length.
6

Create and grade

In the side panel, check that Save to shows the right class and that the Ready to grade list has ticks. Select Create & grade. The button reads Create assignment when there’s no work to grade yet, and Uploading… while a file is still on its way.

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What happens next

The page changes to Setting up your assignment and lists each step as it runs, from Analyzing Your Assignment through Grading Submissions to Finishing Up. You can leave the page; turn on Notify me when it’s done first and your browser will tell you. When it finishes, the heading changes to Grading is underway and, after a moment, the assignment’s Submissions tab opens on its own. Select View results to go straight there.

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How to tell it worked

On the Submissions tab, each student has a row. Rows show AI grading while the AI is working and Needs review when it’s done. The bar at the top of the assignment reads Review N grades. Any file the AI couldn’t match to a student shows Needs student; select Assign on that row.

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If something goes wrong

Something is still uploading, no class is chosen under Save to, or the files mix documents with video or audio. The form shows an amber note naming the problem.
You chose a question-based type without uploading a file. The form warned: “This type grades from an assignment file.” Create it again with the handout uploaded in 1. Assignment.
Instant keeps no draft. Nothing is saved until you select Create & grade or Create assignment. If you need to stop partway, use Guided, which saves each step.
The page says We couldn’t finish setup and offers Retry and Start over. Try Retry first. Your work up to that point is saved.
Opens GradingPal on the screen this page describes.

Last updated 19 September 2026

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