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Grade Free Response Questions with Luna

Use Luna to help score student responses with a rubric while keeping teachers in control of the final grade.

Written by Neta Raz Studnitski

What Is Grade with Luna?

Grade with Luna helps teachers score free response questions faster and more consistently.

When a student submits a written response, Luna can review the question, the student's answer, and the rubric. Luna then suggests rubric levels and provides a short explanation for each rubric decision.

Teachers can review Luna's suggested grade, adjust it if needed, and continue grading from the Results page.

When Can I Use Grade with Luna?

Grade with Luna is available for supported free response questions from the Results page.

To use Grade with Luna:

  • The activity must have student responses.

  • A single student response must be selected.

  • The question must have points available.

  • The question must use a rubric, or Luna must generate one first.

If a question does not already have a rubric, Luna can help generate one. Teachers review and save the rubric before Luna uses it to grade the response.

How Grade with Luna Works

  1. Open the activity's Results page.

  2. Select a free response question.

  3. Select a student's response.

  4. In the grading sidebar, select Grade with Luna.

  5. If the question does not have a rubric, review Luna's suggested rubric and save it.

  6. Luna reviews the student response against the rubric.

  7. Review the suggested rubric levels and explanations.

  8. Adjust the grade if needed.

Note: If the response has already been graded, the button may appear as Regrade with Luna.

What Luna Reviews

Luna can use the following information when suggesting a grade:

  • The question text

  • Related passage or parent-question content

  • The student response

  • The rubric criteria and levels

  • Images included in the question or related content

  • Images included in the student's response

For student response images, Luna treats visible work as part of the student's answer. This can include uploaded pictures or screenshots of written work.

Rubrics and Grade with Luna

Grade with Luna uses a rubric to suggest a grade.

If a rubric already exists, Luna uses that rubric directly. If no rubric exists, Luna can generate a draft rubric based on the question and point value.

Teachers should review the generated rubric before saving it. After the rubric is saved, Luna can use it to grade the selected response.

Reviewing Luna's Suggested Grade

After Luna grades the response, the rubric shows Luna's suggested level for each criterion.

Luna also provides short explanations to help teachers understand why each level was or was not selected. These explanations are intended to help the teacher review the grading decision.

Teachers can still adjust the rubric levels or score after Luna grades the response.

Teacher Control

Luna is a grading assistant. Teachers remain responsible for the final grade.

Teachers can:

  • Review Luna's suggested rubric levels

  • Read Luna's explanations

  • Adjust the selected rubric levels

  • Regrade with Luna if needed

  • Edit the rubric separately

  • Override the final score

Tips for Best Results

  • Use clear question wording.

  • Add a rubric before grading when possible.

  • Review generated rubrics before saving.

  • Check image-based student work carefully.

  • Adjust Luna's suggestion when the student response needs teacher judgment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Luna automatically grade every student response?

No. Grade with Luna is used from the Results sidebar for a selected student response.

Can Luna grade without a rubric?

Luna needs a rubric to grade. If the question does not have one, Luna can generate a draft rubric first. The teacher reviews and saves the rubric before Luna grades the response.

Can I change Luna's suggested grade?

Yes. Teachers can adjust the rubric levels or score after Luna suggests a grade.

Can Luna review images of student work?

Yes. Luna can consider images included in the student's response, including visible handwritten work or uploaded pictures.

What happens if a response was already graded?

Teachers can use Regrade with Luna to ask Luna to review the response again.

Is the grade final when Luna suggests it?

No. Luna helps apply a rubric and suggests a grade, but teachers remain in control and can review or adjust the grade.

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