Hi @dv2416
The structure of Canvas is such that all graded content (or what Canvas universally calls "Assignments") must exist in an Assignment Group. The default Group is Called Assignments. The Canvas Gradebook then creates a sub-total column for each assignment group, and I get the students' confusion - this confused our faculty when we first migrated to Canvas. The bottom-line is that your cannot remove the default Assignments assignment group.
While it does create a small amount of up-front work (but you only have to do it once, since it transfers in course copies), what might help is to add your own assignment groups that reflect the nature of your graded content - for example, Assignments (or Homework), Quizzes and Discussions and move the graded content into the appropriate groups - a simple matter of drag and drop. Then it becomes much more obvious to your students that those are subtotal columns, rather than totals. You could even use "sub-total" in the group titles: Homework Sub-Total, Quizzes Sub-Total, Participation Sub-Total. In the new Gradebook, you can even rearrange the columns in the Gradebook so that all Homework columns precede the Homework Subtotal.
Keep in mind, that students see a grade report which is entirely different than the teachers gradebook, so arranging columns would only be for your convenience. However, in their grade reports, they will note that those entries are "sub-totals" and be much less confused.
Some helpful Guides:
I hope this is helpful,
Kelley
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