UMass Amherst integrated Gradescope, an AI-assisted grading tool, into its Canvas learning management system as an optional tool for faculty. The AI groups similar student responses together so instructors can review and grade an entire cluster at once, rather than evaluating each submission individually. Gradescope has been available to Amherst faculty through the IDEAS instructional design team and is actively promoted campus-wide.

Gradescope's AI-assisted grouping feature uses recognition and clustering algorithms to analyze student responses on fixed-template PDF assignments and sort them into suggested groups by similarity. Instructors review the suggested groups, adjust them as needed, and then apply a rubric to grade the whole group at once. The AI does not assign grades; a human instructor must approve every group before any score is recorded. Gradescope supports handwritten exam scans, typed responses, and programming assignments, and is integrated with UMass Amherst's Canvas LMS so grades sync automatically. The UMass system piloted Gradescope at UMass Lowell starting in Spring 2019; it is now available to all Amherst faculty through the IDEAS instructional design team and is used extensively in the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences.