How to turn off What-if Grades to save student sanity?

Question

I teach middle school and my students have recently discovered the ability to play the "what-if" game with grades.  They are now obsessed and are playing with it all the time.  For the preservation of their sanity I would like to turn it off but don't want to hide their course grade.  Is there a way to do so?  PLEASE HELP by commenting or liking. Thanks.

jeremyfw · Accepted Answer

Short answer first (because this one comes up a lot): you can’t turn What-If Grades off in Canvas, and there’s no setting that disables it without also hiding grades entirely.

A bit more context that may help you (and your students):

* What-If Grades are student-only and temporary. They don’t change real scores, don’t save, and don’t affect the Gradebook in any way.
* Canvas intentionally treats them as a planning / reflection tool, which is why instructors can’t disable them at the course or account level.
* Because they’re not “real grades,” Canvas doesn’t see them as something that can be restricted without removing grade visibility altogether.

What can help in practice (especially for middle school)

* What-If grades are estimates only and do not reflect actual scores.
* Delay posting future assignments (or keep them unpublished) so students have fewer levers to obsessively tweak.
* Consider whether hiding the total grade temporarily (during a unit or assessment window) reduces anxiety, even if you re-enable it later.

You’re definitely not alone in this frustration, and many instructors have asked for a “disable What-If Grades” toggle over the years. For now, though, Canvas’s stance is that clarity and guidance are the only real levers available, not control.