TLDR: SpeedGrader will be rendered unusable when there are “too many” submissions (2500+). Canvas needs to implement a solution so that SpeedGrader can still be used in this case. The solution does not necessarily have to increase SpeedGrader’s capacity. An alternative would be to limit how many submissions SpeedGrader loads at once. Partitioning by the course’s sections is a possibility and the functionality is already there in SpeedGrader (in the screenshot). However, the option does not appear because the SpeedGrader UI does not load before the error is thrown. More suggestions are offered in the "Suggestions" section below.

Overview: Canvas recently added an error message that is visible to the instructor when SpeedGrader takes too long to load the submissions. This message was necessary because the browser eventually timeouts, ceasing any further loading. The error (in the screenshot) informs the client to try again or that there may be too many records to load in SpeedGrader. Although this error illuminates a bit more on the situation, Canvas does not give a viable solution or workaround, effectively rendering SpeedGrader useless for a large class.  Yes, it is possible that an instructor can download the submissions, manually grade each, and then input the grades back into Canvas.  However, for 2500+ students, this is not practical. We would really like to have some functionality to use SpeedGrader to grade large classes on Canvas.

Suggestions:

    •    Change the way SpeedGrader loads such that the UI still loads even if the submissions do not load.

    •    Add a setting to load a single section by default.

    •    Add a dropdown menu that can select which section (set to All by default) to load in SpeedGrader.

    •    The section that the Gradebook is set to filter to will be the inherited filter for SpeedGrader.

Steps to Reproduce:

• *Prerequisite Canvas course must have 2500+ students*
• Create an assignment (issue is most apparent in a file submission assignment).
• Load SpeedGrader for the assignment. 

Expected: Provide a workaround when SpeedGrader fails to load after the browser times out (suggestions offered above) and describe the workaround in the displayed error message.

Actual: SpeedGrader is stuck on the “loading…” white screen and displays an error to try again. Despite trying again, the same outcome will occur and instructors will still be unable to grade using SpeedGrader.