A grading workflow teachers can trust.
Grade Harbor helps you move from rubric to draft scores, feedback, review, and class insights — while keeping every final decision in your hands.
No credit card required | Teacher approval required | Plans start at $5/month
- Step 1:Set up your rubric
- Step 2:Upload essays
- Step 3:Rubric-first AI grading
- Step 4:Review, edit, and override
- Step 5:Lock grades and export feedback
- Step 6:See class patterns
Step 1
Set up your rubric
Start from one of the built-in templates or upload your own rubric. Define each criterion, your point values, and the performance descriptions you already use. Grade Harbor grades against your rubric — not a generic writing scale.
Step 2
Upload essays
Upload a class set as individual files or a bulk zip. No LMS integration is required to get started — individual teachers can begin with a manual upload and no district setup.
Step 3
Rubric-first AI grading
With your rubric in place, trigger grading with one click. Grade Harbor scores each essay criterion by criterion, using your point values and performance descriptions instead of a generic writing scale — and writes a justification for every score.
Step 4
Review, edit, and override
Every AI-suggested score and piece of feedback is a draft, not a final answer. Read the AI's justification for each criterion, accept it, edit the wording, or override the score entirely. Grades are only recorded when you lock them.
Student essay excerpt
“The author uses a series of rhetorical questions to challenge the reader's assumptions and build urgency toward the conclusion…”
Rubric criterion
Needs closer reviewUse of Evidence
AI justification
The student cites two relevant sources and integrates them into the argument, but one citation lacks a clear explanation of its connection to the thesis.
Step 5
Lock grades and export feedback
When you are satisfied, lock the grades for any essay or the entire class set. Export per-student feedback reports in one click — ready to share with students or upload to your gradebook.
Step 6
See class patterns
The class heatmap surfaces patterns across the whole cohort — common errors, score distributions, and criteria where most students struggled. The teacher worklist turns those patterns into prioritized actions so you know exactly what to teach next.
Trust and privacy
Student data is handled with care. We are transparent about what we do — and do not do — with it.
Designed for FERPA-aware classroom use
Grade Harbor is teacher-facing, does not require student accounts, and uses student data only to provide the grading and feedback service. Student essays are not sold, used for advertising, or used to train generalized AI models.
Read our FERPA noticeNo data selling — ever
Student data is used exclusively for grading and instruction within your account. It is never sold, licensed, or used for advertising. Full details are in our Privacy Policy.
Read our Privacy PolicyTeacher always in control
No grade is recorded, no feedback shared, and no action taken without explicit teacher approval. The AI prepares; you decide. That is enforced in the product, not just claimed in marketing.
Read our AI transparency pagePrivacy and compliance language on this page is informational and does not constitute legal advice. See our FERPA notice or contact our legal team with specific compliance questions.
What Grade Harbor is not
Not an automatic final grader
The AI drafts. You decide.
Not a student chatbot
Grade Harbor does not communicate directly with students.
Not a replacement for your rubric
Your rubric drives the grading.
Not a district rollout requirement
Individual teachers can start with manual upload and no LMS setup.
Ready to see it in action?
Start a free trial and grade your first class set in under an hour.
Start free trial — no credit card required