> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gradingpal.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create your account and first class

> Sign up, get through onboarding, and end up with one real class ready for an assignment.

export const updated_0 = "19 September 2026"

export const page_0 = "/teachers/get-started/create-your-account"

export const label_0 = "Create your educator account"

export const href_0 = "https://app.gradingpal.ai/signup/teacher"

export const who_0 = "Anyone who teaches, coaches or grades"

export const plans_0 = "Free to start"

export const where_0 = "app.gradingpal.ai"

<Card title="Who can use this?" icon="user-check">
  * **Who:** {who_0}
  * **Plans:** {plans_0}
  * **Where:** {where_0}
</Card>

### Limits and notes

* Your name is captured during onboarding and can't be changed later from a settings screen. Type it the way you want students to see it.
* Signing up with Google also lets you import from Google Classroom later with one click.
* There is no profile page, no account settings page and no notification preferences. [Your account](/teachers/account/your-account) explains where things live instead.

## Sign up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose educator">
    Go to app.gradingpal.ai and select **Sign up**. Under **I'll be using GradingPal as…**, choose **An educator**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sign in">
    Select **Continue with Google**, or type your school email and select **Continue** for a sign-in link. The email comes from [hello@mail.gradingpal.ai](mailto:hello@mail.gradingpal.ai) and is titled **Sign in to GradingPal**; check spam if it doesn't arrive.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Answer the onboarding questions">
    Onboarding asks, in order: your name if Google didn't supply it, **What best describes your role?**, **What do you teach?**, **Which levels are you teaching?**, and how you found GradingPal. The subjects and levels tune the sample work and the reading level of the feedback.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose what to do first">
    Under **What should we do first?**, pick **I have work to grade now** to create a class and go straight to Instant setup, or **Show me how it works first** to watch a ready-made sample get graded.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Your first class

If you chose to grade now, the next screen is **Create your first class**. Fill in **Class name**, **Grade level** and **Subject** and select **Continue**, or select **Google Classroom** under **Import from your LMS** to bring a course across with its students. Either way you land in Instant setup for that class.

If you watched the sample instead, your dashboard has a **New Class** button under **My Classes**. [Create a class](/teachers/classes/create-a-class) takes it from there.

## The sample class

Picking a sample creates a sample class, pinned at the top of your class list with a **Sample class** label. It holds the sample assignment, already graded, with made-up students. It's there to explore: nothing in it counts toward your monthly limit, and it stays out of the pickers when you create real assignments.

## How to tell it worked

Your dashboard greets you by name, the class rail shows your class, and the checklist widget **Get started with GradingPal** ticks off "create a class".

## If something goes wrong

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The sign-in email never arrived">
    Check spam for a message from [hello@mail.gradingpal.ai](mailto:hello@mail.gradingpal.ai). If it isn't there, go back and request another. Sign-in links expire; use the newest one.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I signed up as a student by mistake">
    Sign out and sign up again with the same email, choosing **An educator**. If the account is stuck as a student, contact support with the email address.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="It's asking where I teach">
    Some accounts are asked to pick a school before the dashboard opens. Search for yours; it's used for school-wide sharing of rubrics.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related tasks

* [Create a class](/teachers/classes/create-a-class)
* [Find your way around](/teachers/get-started/find-your-way-around)
* [Your account](/teachers/account/your-account)

<Card title={label_0} icon="arrow-up-right-from-square" href={href_0} horizontal>
  Opens GradingPal on the screen this page describes.
</Card>

<hr />

<p style={{ fontSize: "0.875rem", opacity: 0.75 }}>Last updated {updated_0}</p>

<p>
  <strong>Was this page helpful?</strong>{" "}
  <a href={"mailto:support@gradingpal.com?subject=" + encodeURIComponent("Help page feedback (helped): " + page_0)}>Yes, this helped</a>

  {" · "}

  <a href={"mailto:support@gradingpal.com?subject=" + encodeURIComponent("Help page feedback (problem): " + page_0) + "&body=" + encodeURIComponent("Which of these fits? Couldn't find the step / Didn't match what I see / Missing information / Out of date / Other\n\nTell us more:\n")}>No, something's wrong</a>
</p>

<p style={{ fontSize: "0.875rem" }}>
  <a href={"mailto:support@gradingpal.com?subject=" + encodeURIComponent("Problem with help page: " + page_0)}>Report a problem with this page</a>
</p>