Student grades reverting to zero before due date

Question

Has anyone had the issue of assignment grades changing to zero before the due date? Yes, the teacher has the "automatically apply grade for missing submission" turned on, but Canvas is not waiting for the due date. This is not happening all the time, just every now and then and I cannot figure out why.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

Cheri

LauraCira · Accepted Answer

Hi @cheri_masters this is a known issue, especially if assignments were copied forward into that course from a previous course where those settings were enabled, and the due dates were in the past. The bug is that the assignments don't reset even if the due dates have been updated.

Here is an existing thread regarding this issue: Imported Assignments automatically assigning "0%" to students

Jeff_F · Accepted Answer

@cheri_masters Yes, this is a known Canvas behavior, and it is usually not random even though it feels that way.

When the Automatically apply grade for missing submissions option is enabled, Canvas does not strictly wait for the due date in all situations. The missing grade can be applied earlier under a few specific conditions, which explains why it only happens sometimes.

The most common cause is an Available Until date. If an assignment has an Available Until date set earlier than expected, Canvas treats the assignment as closed at that time. When the assignment closes, the Missing Submission policy is triggered immediately, even if the due date has not passed. This often happens when assignments are copied from prior terms or when dates are adjusted later.

Another frequent cause is section specific due dates. If one section has an earlier due date or availability window, Canvas may apply the missing grade for students in that section based on their dates, not the main assignment dates. This can make the behavior appear inconsistent across students.

Manual grading actions can also trigger it. If an instructor opens SpeedGrader and enters or clears a grade field before the due date, Canvas may interpret that as a grading event and apply the missing policy for students without submissions. This does not happen every time, which contributes to the confusion.

For New Quizzes, the behavior can be slightly different. If a quiz auto submits or closes due to availability settings, Canvas may mark non submitters as missing immediately, even if the due date is later.

Time zone mismatches are another edge case. If the course time zone differs from the account time zone, the missing policy can apply earlier than expected based on how Canvas calculates the close time.

What to check when this happens:

* Confirm there is no Available Until date set, or that it matches the due date
* Verify section specific due dates and availability
* Check whether grades were manually entered or cleared before the due date
* Review quiz settings if this is happening with New Quizzes
* Confirm the course time zone matches institutional expectations

Workarounds many institutions use:

* Do not use Available Until dates unless absolutely necessary
* Disable the missing policy temporarily and re enable it after the due date
* Avoid opening SpeedGrader until after the due date when possible

You are not doing anything wrong. This is a known limitation of how Canvas applies late and missing policies, and the inconsistent timing is almost always tied to one of the conditions above.