> ## 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.

# How GradingPal works

> What the AI actually does with student work, what it produces, and where you stay in control.

export const updated_0 = "19 September 2026"

export const page_0 = "/teachers/get-started/how-gradingpal-works"

GradingPal grades student work against criteria you approve, then waits for you. Nothing reaches a student until you share it. Once those two sentences make sense, the rest of the app does too.

## Two ways work is graded

When you choose an assignment type, the picker shows two groups.

|                       | Open response                                                                | Question based                                                               |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Types                 | Writing & Essays, Presentations, Art & Design, Video & Audio                 | Quizzes, Exams, Worksheets, Problem Sets                                     |
| The AI grades against | A rubric you design, or approve after the AI drafts it                       | An answer key you approve, one per question the AI pulls out of your handout |
| You get back          | A level and points per criterion, overall feedback, and comments on the work | A score and feedback per question, a total, and overall feedback             |

Video and audio is set up like open response, but it has its own upload rules and its own grading screen with a player.

## The four steps, in the order the app runs

1. **Create.** Give GradingPal the assignment and a rubric or answer key. With Instant the AI drafts everything in one pass. With Guided you approve each part first. [Create an assignment](/teachers/create/index)
2. **Collect.** Upload the work yourself, or let students submit in GradingPal or Google Classroom. [Collect student work](/teachers/collect/index)
3. **Review.** Every graded submission lands in **Needs review**. You read the AI's scores and reasoning, change what you disagree with, and approve. [Review grades and feedback](/teachers/review/index)
4. **Share.** Feedback goes out when you say so, digitally or on paper, and the row changes to **Shared**. [Share feedback](/teachers/share/index)

## Where you stay in control

* **You check everything.** The AI proposes scores and feedback. You can change any level, any points and any sentence before a student sees it.
* **Approving is not sharing.** Approving a grade marks it **Ready to share**. It sends nothing to anyone.
* **Nothing is visible to students until you share.** Not the score, not the feedback, not the comments.
* **The AI's reasoning is for you.** Students see the score, the rubric levels, the feedback and the comments. They never see the AI's analysis.

## What this does not mean

* The AI does not decide when students see anything. You do, by sharing.
* The AI does not score a multiple-choice, true/false, matching or ordering question by judgment. That score is worked out from the recorded answer against your answer key.
* The AI does not detect plagiarism or AI-written work, and GradingPal never claims to.
* Grammar findings never change a score.

## What to read next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Grade your first assignment" icon="rocket" href="/teachers/get-started/grade-your-first-assignment">
    The 20-minute quickstart, one path only.
  </Card>

  <Card title="How AI grading works" icon="robot" href="/teachers/trust/how-ai-grading-works">
    What the AI reads, when it declines to score, and what it never does.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

<hr />

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