Understanding Error Messages in CoGrader and How to Fix Them

If CoGrader runs into a problem while importing, grading, or exporting student work, you may see a message explaining what happened and what to do next.

The good news is that many of these messages do not mean anything is wrong with your CoGrader account. For example, a student may not have attached their work, a Google Doc may need different sharing permissions, or your Google connection may simply need to be refreshed.

This guide explains the most common messages and what to do when you see them.

CoGrader's error messages include a What to do section with the recommended next step.

Depending on the issue, you may be asked to:

If several students have the same issue, CoGrader may group them together so you can see that multiple submissions need the same fix.

When CoGrader cannot grade a submission, the message will tell you what is preventing the submission from being processed.

The student submitted the assignment without attaching their work.

What to do: Ask the student to attach their work. Once the submission is updated, return to CoGrader and click Sync.

This is informational. It does not indicate a problem with CoGrader.

CoGrader cannot read the type of file that was submitted.

What to do: Have the student submit their work as a Google Doc, Word document, PDF, or supported image format.

If necessary, convert the original file to Google Docs or PDF and upload it again.

You may see messages indicating that the submission has no content, the file is empty, or CoGrader cannot find readable content.

What to do: Open the student's original file and confirm that their work is visible. Then re-upload a legible version of the file.

For scanned work, make sure the scan clearly contains the student's writing.

CoGrader could not properly open the submitted file.

What to do: Return to the original document and export or download a fresh copy, then upload it again.

The submitted attachment does not contain enough file information for CoGrader to process it.

What to do: Have the student attach the original document again and make sure the file has a filename.

CoGrader may prevent a file from being processed if it is blocked during a security scan.

What to do: Re-export the document from its original source and upload a clean copy.

One of the most common issues occurs when CoGrader can see that a Google Doc exists but does not have permission to open it.

You may see a message such as:

“Please share the doc with us.”

Open the affected document in Google Drive and:

Some school districts restrict external sharing. If you cannot change the sharing option, contact your school's Google Workspace administrator.

Sometimes the issue is not with a student's document. CoGrader may need to refresh its connection to your Google account.

You might see:

“Please reconnect CoGrader with your Google account”

or

“We need additional Google permission to complete this action.”

Click Reconnect Google and follow the Google sign-in and permission prompts.

This can happen when your Google authorization expires or CoGrader needs a permission that was not included in the previous connection.

Click Retry.

If the problem continues, refresh CoGrader and try again.

Open Google Classroom directly and confirm that the class, assignment, or resource still exists and that you have access to it. Then return to CoGrader and retry.

Check your internet connection and click Retry.

If your connection is working normally, wait a few moments and try again.

Select the file again and retry the import.

If the same file continues to fail, try downloading it and uploading a fresh copy.

Try again using a rubric under 5 pages.

You can also review our rubric formatting guidelines for help preparing the rubric.

Wait a moment and click Retry.

If it continues after retrying, contact CoGrader Support.

If you're using CoGrader with Canvas or Schoology through the Chrome extension, you may occasionally see an import or export message.

Return to your LMS tab and start the import again.

The import may already have been processed.

Click Go to Assignments and check whether the assignment is already available in CoGrader before importing it again.

Click Retry from the extension.

If the grades still do not transfer, post the grades in CoGrader and use your regular Canvas export.

CoGrader does not currently have access to the student's file.

What to do: Make sure the document is shared appropriately, or ask the student to update its sharing permissions.

If the document has an Only me or similar restricted setting, that restriction will need to be removed before CoGrader can access it.

Download the student's work and convert or save it as a PDF, then attach it again.

An export error usually does not mean your grades or feedback have been lost.

If you see:

“Grades didn't make it into Google Classroom”

Wait about a minute and click Retry.

For messages such as:

Try the export again after a moment.

For a printing error, you can also download the assignment as a PDF and print the PDF instead. These are the intended recovery paths for CoGrader's export errors.

You may see a message such as:

“4 of your essays have the same problem and need a quick fix before we can grade them.”

You do not need to restart the entire assignment.

Check the affected submissions and follow the instructions shown for that issue. After correcting them, click Sync so CoGrader can process the updated submissions.

This is especially useful when several students have the same sharing, attachment, or file-format problem.

If you've followed the What to do instructions and the same error continues, click Talk to us from the error message.

That will connect you with CoGrader Support so we can help investigate the issue.

When contacting us, it helps to include:

We'll take it from there.