I don't know why Canvas insists upon points for grading. Many of us are moving towards grading systems without points or letter grades (standards-based grading or specifications grading). Linda Nilson's book Specifications Grading has popularized a way of grading that does not use cumulative points, but bases the letter grade on the number and type of assignments completed successfully. Please, Canvas, give us a way to record student grades in a non-point format. I use High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, and Not Yet Passing as the grading scheme for my essays, but there is no way to indicate this in my students' gradebook, aside from in the comments section. I have to use an elaborate work-around to give my students a grade update.