Blackboard Ultra (Faculty) - Gradebook: Post Grades to Students

This article explains how to post grades in the gradebook so students can see them.

After grading student work in Blackboard Ultra, grades are not always visible to students right away. Blackboard uses a posting workflow that allows instructors to review and finalize grades before releasing them to the class. Once grades are posted, students can view their scores and any associated feedback.

Understanding Grading vs. Posting

In Blackboard Ultra, grading and posting are two separate actions:

  • Grade the submission by entering a score and feedback.
  • Post the grade to make it visible to students.

Until an instructor posts a grade, they can see the score in the Gradebook, but students cannot view the grade, feedback, or related grade calculations.

Posting Grades for an Individual Student

  1. Open your course.
  2. Select Gradebook. 
  3. Locate the assignment, test, discussion, or other graded item.
  4. Open the student submission.
  5. Enter the grade and feedback, if applicable.
  6. Select Post Grade next to the student's score.

    Post individual grade button

The grade and feedback will immediately become visible to that student.

Post Grades for All Students

If you have finished grading all submissions for an assessment:

  1. Open the course Gradebook.
  2. Select the assignment, test, or graded activity.
  3. Verify all grades are accurate.
  4. Select Post All Grades.

    Post all grades button

This releases all unposted grades for that assessment at the same time.

Enable Automatic Grade Posting

For assessments where you do not need to control the release of grades:

  1. Open the assessment.
  2. Select the Settings (gear icon).
  3. Locate the Grading & Submissions section.
  4. Select the checkbox next to Post assessment grades automatically.
  5. Save your changes.

When enabled, grades are released automatically as soon as submissions are graded.

Note: Blackboard automatically enables grade posting for some newly created tests. Review your assessment settings to confirm the desired behavior.

Verify Whether Grades Are Posted

You can easily identify the status of grades in the Gradebook:

  • Posted grades are visible to students.
  • Unposted grades are only visible to instructors and other users with grading privileges.

If grades still need to be released, Blackboard displays posting indicators and reminders in the Gradebook.

  • In list view, the 

    Gradebook list view with button to post grade or descriptor of posted.

  • In grid view, the paper and pencil icon means there are items that need grading. The paper airplane icon means there are grades to be posted. The purple dot means there is a new attempt that needs to be reviewed and graded.

    The grid view of gradebook with paper and pencil, paper airplane, and purple dot icons.

Troubleshooting

Students cannot see their grades.

Check the following:

  • The grade has been entered.
  • The grade has been posted.
  • The student has submitted the assessment.
  • The assessment is available to students.

Students can only view grades and feedback after the grades have been posted.

Need Additional Support?

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please contact the ITS Help Desk:

This guide aims to provide useful information, but as technology changes, interfaces or steps might vary. Please use the Comment button to let us know if anything differs from your experience. Your feedback helps us keep this information accurate. Thank you!

See Also


Keywords:
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Doc ID:
164818
Owned by:
Ashley C. in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Created:
2026-10-14
Updated:
2026-10-14
Sites:
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville