Syncing paper test grades to Canvas: a step-by-step guide

If your school uses Canvas, you can stop manually entering scores from paper tests. The PaperScorer LTI integration posts grades directly to your Canvas gradebook, scores student dashboards, and handles weighting automatically. Here's how to set it up.

Before you start

Canvas Free for Teachers users: you can do all of this yourself — no admin required. Skip to Step 2.

Institutional Canvas users: the first-time LTI registration happens at the Canvas account level, which requires an admin. If you're a teacher, forward this guide to your LMS administrator to complete Step 1. Once the tool is registered, individual teachers add it to courses without admin help.

Step 1: Admin — Register PaperScorer as an LTI tool

An admin does this once per Canvas instance:

1. In Canvas, go to Admin → Developer Keys → LTI Key
2. Click + Developer Key → + LTI Key
3. Name it "PaperScorer"
4. Method: Enter URL
5. URL: https://app.paperscorer.com/lti/config.json
6. Save, then set state to On
7. Note the Client ID shown — you'll need it for Step 2

After this, individual courses can install the tool.

Step 2: Teacher — Install in your course

In your Canvas course:

1. Go to Settings → Apps → + App
2. Configuration Type: By Client ID
3. Paste the Client ID from Step 1
4. Submit

For Canvas Free for Teachers (skip Step 1):

1. Go to Settings → Apps
2. Search for "PaperScorer"
3. Install

Step 3: Connect your PaperScorer account

Once the tool is installed:

1. Open your course navigation
2. Click PaperScorer in the menu
3. Sign in with your PaperScorer account (or create a free one)
4. The LTI handshake completes automatically

Your Canvas course is now linked to your PaperScorer account. Course rosters and assignments will sync going forward.

Step 4: Sync your roster

In PaperScorer, open the linked Canvas course. Click Sync Roster. Students from Canvas are imported into PaperScorer with their Canvas student IDs. This is the connection that lets grades flow back correctly.

Step 5: Create a linked assignment

In Canvas, create an assignment as usual:

1. Assignments → + Assignment
2. Set the name, due date, and point value
3. Submission Type: External Tool
4. Select PaperScorer
5. Save

In PaperScorer, the assignment appears automatically. You'll create the actual test (question types, answer key, etc.) on the PaperScorer side.

Step 6: Administer and scan as usual

The assessment workflow from here is standard:

1. Print answer sheets from PaperScorer
2. Administer the test
3. Scan via mobile app, document scanner, or email

Step 7: Watch grades flow to Canvas

As sheets are scanned, grades post automatically to the linked Canvas assignment. Students see their scores in their Canvas dashboard. Weighted assignment groups are handled correctly.

Sync happens in near-real-time. There's no "submit grades" button — the sync is automatic.

Common issues

Grades aren't posting. Check three things:

1. Is the assignment linked via External Tool to PaperScorer? (Not just a regular assignment)
2. Is the student in the PaperScorer roster? (Re-sync if recently added)
3. Is the assignment published in Canvas? (Posting fails if it's in draft state)

Student sees wrong score. Usually this is a linked-assignment mismatch. Verify the PaperScorer assessment is linked to the correct Canvas assignment.

"Access denied" on grade post. The Canvas admin may have restricted LTI grade posting to specific assignment types. Check with your admin.

Advanced: weighted groups and custom scales

Canvas supports weighted assignment groups and custom point scales. PaperScorer handles both correctly — scores post in proportion to the Canvas assignment's point value, so a 100-point Canvas assignment receives scores scaled to 100 points regardless of how PaperScorer calculated internally.

No manual adjustment needed for standard setups.

Verifying the integration works

After setup, run a quick end-to-end test:

1. Create a 5-question test in PaperScorer
2. Link it to a test Canvas assignment (visible only to you)
3. Print one bubble sheet, fill it out as if you were a student
4. Scan it
5. Check Canvas — the grade should appear within a few seconds

If this works, you're set. Your real classes will follow the same flow.