instructure/canvas-lms · error · DataFormatError

Student with ID not found.

Error message

Student with ID %{student_id} not found.

What it means

RubricAssessmentImport#process_assessments raises DataFormatError when a student ID present in the uploaded assessments CSV does not match any User in the course (students lookup by ID finds nothing). It may also follow an UnauthorizedError for the assessor, but this specific error is purely the missing student record.

Solutions

1. Re-export the student roster from the current course and use the exact Canvas user IDs
2. Verify each student ID in the CSV is currently enrolled in the course
3. Check the file wasn't exported from a different Canvas environment (test/beta/prod) or prior term
4. Fix IDs damaged by spreadsheet auto-formatting (open the CSV in a text editor to verify)

Example fix

// before
student_id,points
455001,10   # ID from a different course
// after
student_id,points
<current course student canvas_id>,10

course_user_ids = course.students.pluck(:id)
bad_ids = csv_student_ids.map(&:to_i) - course_user_ids
raise "unknown student IDs: #{bad_ids.join(', ')}" if bad_ids.any?

begin
  import.process
rescue DataFormatError => e
  flash[:error] = e.message # tells which student_id was not found
end

When it happens

Trigger: The CSV's student identifier column contains an ID not enrolled in the assignment's course — e.g. IDs from a different course/term, a deleted or concluded enrollment, a typo, or using SIS/login IDs instead of Canvas user IDs.

Common situations: Downloading the roster from a previous term or a different course; students dropped from the course after the CSV was generated; Excel stripping leading zeros or reformatting IDs; copying IDs from another Canvas instance (beta/test).

Understand the failure class

Background: Record Not Found Errors: "not found", RecordNotFound, and "was not found" — what they mean and how to fix them — this error's family across 28 libraries.

Related errors

• Missing 'Rubric Name' in some rows.
• The file is empty or does not contain valid assessment data.
• The file is empty or does not contain valid rubric data.
• A cross-listing referenced a non-existent section #
• A student referenced a non-existent user #

AI-assisted analysis of instructure/canvas-lms@1c9f0bb801 (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5a15f8a263f49cac. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at app/models/rubric_assessment_import.rb:127

  end

  def process_assessments
    error_data = []

    rubric_association = assignment.rubric_association
    rubric = rubric_association.rubric
    assessments_by_student = RubricAssessmentCSVImporter.new(attachment, rubric, rubric_association).parse
    raise DataFormatError, I18n.t("The file is empty or does not contain valid assessment data.") if assessments_by_student.empty?

    total_assessments = assessments_by_student.keys.count

    students = User.where(id: assessments_by_student.keys).index_by(&:id)
    student_submissions = assignment.submissions.where(user_id: students.keys).index_by(&:user_id)

    assessments_by_student.each_with_index do |(student_id, assessment), student_index|
      student_to_assess = students[student_id.to_i]

      raise DataFormatError, I18n.t("Student with ID %{student_id} not found.", student_id:) unless student_to_assess
      raise UnauthorizedError unless rubric_association.user_can_assess_for?(assessor: user, assessee: student_to_assess)

      assessment = assessment.to_h do |criterion|
        [:"criterion_#{criterion[:id]}",
         {
           points: criterion[:points],
           comments: criterion[:comments],
           description: criterion[:rating]
         }]
      end
      assessment[:assessment_type] = "grading"

      rubric_association.assess(
        assessor: user,
        user: student_to_assess,
        artifact: student_submissions[student_id.to_i],
        assessment:,
        graded_anonymously: false,

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