Merge pull request #3091 from cpennington/ora-metrics

Add metrics around old ORA requests

common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/open_ended_grading_classes/controller_query_service.py

+from dogapi import dog_stats_api
+
 import logging
 from .grading_service_module import GradingService
 
@@ -9,33 +11,28 @@ class ControllerQueryService(GradingService):
     Interface to controller query backend.
     """
 
+    METRIC_NAME = 'edxapp.open_ended_grading.controller_query_service'
+
     def __init__(self, config, system):
         config['system'] = system
         super(ControllerQueryService, self).__init__(config)
         self.url = config['url'] + config['grading_controller']
         self.login_url = self.url + '/login/'
         self.check_eta_url = self.url + '/get_submission_eta/'
-        self.is_unique_url = self.url + '/is_name_unique/'
         self.combined_notifications_url = self.url + '/combined_notifications/'
         self.grading_status_list_url = self.url + '/get_grading_status_list/'
         self.flagged_problem_list_url = self.url + '/get_flagged_problem_list/'
         self.take_action_on_flags_url = self.url + '/take_action_on_flags/'
 
-    def check_if_name_is_unique(self, location, problem_id, course_id):
-        params = {
-            'course_id': course_id,
-            'location': location,
-            'problem_id': problem_id
-        }
-        response = self.get(self.is_unique_url, params)
-        return response
-
     def check_for_eta(self, location):
         params = {
             'location': location,
         }
-        response = self.get(self.check_eta_url, params)
-        return response
+        data = self.get(self.check_eta_url, params)
+        self._record_result('check_for_eta', data)
+        dog_stats_api.histogram(self._metric_name('check_for_eta.eta'), data.get('eta', 0))
+
+        return data
 
     def check_combined_notifications(self, course_id, student_id, user_is_staff, last_time_viewed):
         params = {
@@ -45,8 +42,16 @@ class ControllerQueryService(GradingService):
             'last_time_viewed': last_time_viewed,
         }
         log.debug(self.combined_notifications_url)
-        response = self.get(self.combined_notifications_url, params)
-        return response
+        data = self.get(self.combined_notifications_url, params)
+
+        tags = [u'course_id:{}'.format(course_id), u'user_is_staff:{}'.format(user_is_staff)]
+        tags.extend(
+            u'{}:{}'.format(key, value)
+            for key, value in data.items()
+            if key not in ('success', 'version', 'error')
+        )
+        self._record_result('check_combined_notifications', data, tags)
+        return data
 
     def get_grading_status_list(self, course_id, student_id):
         params = {
@@ -54,16 +59,31 @@ class ControllerQueryService(GradingService):
             'course_id': course_id,
         }
 
-        response = self.get(self.grading_status_list_url, params)
-        return response
+        data = self.get(self.grading_status_list_url, params)
+
+        tags = [u'course_id:{}'.format(course_id)]
+        self._record_result('get_grading_status_list', data, tags)
+        dog_stats_api.histogram(
+            self._metric_name('get_grading_status_list.length'),
+            len(data.get('problem_list', [])),
+            tags=tags
+        )
+        return data
 
     def get_flagged_problem_list(self, course_id):
         params = {
             'course_id': course_id,
         }
 
-        response = self.get(self.flagged_problem_list_url, params)
-        return response
+        data = self.get(self.flagged_problem_list_url, params)
+
+        tags = [u'course_id:{}'.format(course_id)]
+        self._record_result('get_flagged_problem_list', data, tags)
+        dog_stats_api.histogram(
+            self._metric_name('get_flagged_problem_list.length'),
+            len(data.get('flagged_submissions', []))
+        )
+        return data
 
     def take_action_on_flags(self, course_id, student_id, submission_id, action_type):
         params = {
@@ -73,8 +93,11 @@ class ControllerQueryService(GradingService):
             'action_type': action_type
         }
 
-        response = self.post(self.take_action_on_flags_url, params)
-        return response
+        data = self.post(self.take_action_on_flags_url, params)
+
+        tags = [u'course_id:{}'.format(course_id), u'action_type:{}'.format(action_type)]
+        self._record_result('take_action_on_flags', data, tags)
+        return data
 
 
 class MockControllerQueryService(object):
@@ -85,14 +108,6 @@ class MockControllerQueryService(object):
     def __init__(self, config, system):
         pass
 
-    def check_if_name_is_unique(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        """
-        Mock later if needed.  Stub function for now.
-        @param params:
-        @return:
-        """
-        pass
-
     def check_for_eta(self, *args, **kwargs):
         """
         Mock later if needed.  Stub function for now.
@@ -102,15 +117,47 @@ class MockControllerQueryService(object):
         pass
 
     def check_combined_notifications(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        combined_notifications = '{"flagged_submissions_exist": false, "version": 1, "new_student_grading_to_view": false, "success": true, "staff_needs_to_grade": false, "student_needs_to_peer_grade": true, "overall_need_to_check": true}'
+        combined_notifications = {
+            "flagged_submissions_exist": False,
+            "version": 1,
+            "new_student_grading_to_view": False,
+            "success": True,
+            "staff_needs_to_grade": False,
+            "student_needs_to_peer_grade": True,
+            "overall_need_to_check": True
+        }
         return combined_notifications
 
     def get_grading_status_list(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        grading_status_list = '{"version": 1, "problem_list": [{"problem_name": "Science Question -- Machine Assessed", "grader_type": "NA", "eta_available": true, "state": "Waiting to be Graded", "eta": 259200, "location": "i4x://MITx/oe101x/combinedopenended/Science_SA_ML"}, {"problem_name": "Humanities Question -- Peer Assessed", "grader_type": "NA", "eta_available": true, "state": "Waiting to be Graded", "eta": 259200, "location": "i4x://MITx/oe101x/combinedopenended/Humanities_SA_Peer"}], "success": true}'
+        grading_status_list = {
+            "version": 1,
+            "problem_list": [
+                {
+                    "problem_name": "Science Question -- Machine Assessed",
+                    "grader_type": "NA",
+                    "eta_available": True,
+                    "state": "Waiting to be Graded",
+                    "eta": 259200,
+                    "location": "i4x://MITx/oe101x/combinedopenended/Science_SA_ML"
+                }, {
+                    "problem_name": "Humanities Question -- Peer Assessed",
+                    "grader_type": "NA",
+                    "eta_available": True,
+                    "state": "Waiting to be Graded",
+                    "eta": 259200,
+                    "location": "i4x://MITx/oe101x/combinedopenended/Humanities_SA_Peer"
+                }
+            ],
+            "success": True
+        }
         return grading_status_list
 
     def get_flagged_problem_list(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        flagged_problem_list = '{"version": 1, "success": false, "error": "No flagged submissions exist for course: MITx/oe101x/2012_Fall"}'
+        flagged_problem_list = {
+            "version": 1,
+            "success": False,
+            "error": "No flagged submissions exist for course: MITx/oe101x/2012_Fall"
+        }
         return flagged_problem_list
 
     def take_action_on_flags(self, *args, **kwargs):
@@ -131,5 +178,4 @@ def convert_seconds_to_human_readable(seconds):
     else:
         human_string = "{0} days".format(round(seconds / (60 * 60 * 24), 1))
 
-    eta_string = "{0}".format(human_string)
-    return eta_string
+    return human_string

common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/open_ended_grading_classes/grading_service_module.py

@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@
 import json
 import logging
 import requests
+from dogapi import dog_stats_api
 from requests.exceptions import RequestException, ConnectionError, HTTPError
 
-from .combined_open_ended_rubric import CombinedOpenEndedRubric
+from .combined_open_ended_rubric import CombinedOpenEndedRubric, RubricParsingError
 from lxml import etree
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -44,40 +45,66 @@ class GradingService(object):
 
         return response.json()
 
+    def _metric_name(self, suffix):
+        """
+        Return a metric name for datadog, using `self.METRIC_NAME` as
+        a prefix, and `suffix` as the suffix.
+
+        Arguments:
+            suffix (str): The metric suffix to use.
+        """
+        return '{}.{}'.format(self.METRIC_NAME, suffix)
+
+    def _record_result(self, action, data, tags=None):
+        """
+        Log results from an API call to an ORA service to datadog.
+
+        Arguments:
+            action (str): The ORA action being recorded.
+            data (dict): The data returned from the ORA service. Should contain the key 'success'.
+            tags (list): A list of tags to attach to the logged metric.
+        """
+        if tags is None:
+            tags = []
+
+        tags.append(u'result:{}'.format(data.get('success', False)))
+        tags.append(u'action:{}'.format(action))
+        dog_stats_api.increment(self._metric_name('request.count'), tags=tags)
+
     def post(self, url, data, allow_redirects=False):
         """
-        Make a post request to the grading controller
+        Make a post request to the grading controller. Returns the parsed json results of that request.
         """
         try:
             op = lambda: self.session.post(url, data=data,
                                            allow_redirects=allow_redirects)
-            r = self._try_with_login(op)
-        except (RequestException, ConnectionError, HTTPError) as err:
+            response_json = self._try_with_login(op)
+        except (RequestException, ConnectionError, HTTPError, ValueError) as err:
             # reraise as promised GradingServiceError, but preserve stacktrace.
             #This is a dev_facing_error
             error_string = "Problem posting data to the grading controller.  URL: {0}, data: {1}".format(url, data)
             log.error(error_string)
             raise GradingServiceError(error_string)
 
-        return r.text
+        return response_json
 
     def get(self, url, params, allow_redirects=False):
         """
-        Make a get request to the grading controller
+        Make a get request to the grading controller. Returns the parsed json results of that request.
         """
         op = lambda: self.session.get(url,
                                       allow_redirects=allow_redirects,
                                       params=params)
         try:
-            r = self._try_with_login(op)
-        except (RequestException, ConnectionError, HTTPError) as err:
+            response_json = self._try_with_login(op)
+        except (RequestException, ConnectionError, HTTPError, ValueError) as err:
             # reraise as promised GradingServiceError, but preserve stacktrace.
             #This is a dev_facing_error
             error_string = "Problem getting data from the grading controller.  URL: {0}, params: {1}".format(url, params)
             log.error(error_string)
             raise GradingServiceError(error_string)
 
-        return r.text
+        return response_json
 
     def _try_with_login(self, operation):
         """
@@ -101,35 +128,29 @@ class GradingService(object):
             response = operation()
             response.raise_for_status()
 
-        return response
+        return resp_json
 
     def _render_rubric(self, response, view_only=False):
         """
-        Given an HTTP Response with the key 'rubric', render out the html
+        Given an HTTP Response json with the key 'rubric', render out the html
         required to display the rubric and put it back into the response
 
         returns the updated response as a dictionary that can be serialized later
 
         """
         try:
-            response_json = json.loads(response)
-        except:
-            response_json = response
-
-        try:
-            if 'rubric' in response_json:
-                rubric = response_json['rubric']
+            if 'rubric' in response:
+                rubric = response['rubric']
                 rubric_renderer = CombinedOpenEndedRubric(self.system, view_only)
                 rubric_dict = rubric_renderer.render_rubric(rubric)
                 success = rubric_dict['success']
                 rubric_html = rubric_dict['html']
-                response_json['rubric'] = rubric_html
-            return response_json
+                response['rubric'] = rubric_html
+            return response
         # if we can't parse the rubric into HTML,
-        except etree.XMLSyntaxError, RubricParsingError:
+        except (etree.XMLSyntaxError, RubricParsingError):
             #This is a dev_facing_error
-            log.exception("Cannot parse rubric string. Raw string: {0}"
-            .format(rubric))
+            log.exception("Cannot parse rubric string. Raw string: {0}".format(response['rubric']))
             return {'success': False,
                     'error': 'Error displaying submission'}
         except ValueError:

common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/open_ended_grading_classes/openendedchild.py

@@ -533,10 +533,6 @@ class OpenEndedChild(object):
     def get_eta(self):
         if self.controller_qs:
             response = self.controller_qs.check_for_eta(self.location_string)
-            try:
-                response = json.loads(response)
-            except:
-                pass
         else:
             return ""
 

common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/open_ended_grading_classes/peer_grading_service.py

 import json
 import logging
+from dogapi import dog_stats_api
 
 from .grading_service_module import GradingService, GradingServiceError
 
@@ -11,6 +12,8 @@ class PeerGradingService(GradingService):
     Interface with the grading controller for peer grading
     """
 
+    METRIC_NAME = 'edxapp.open_ended_grading.peer_grading_service'
+
     def __init__(self, config, system):
         config['system'] = system
         super(PeerGradingService, self).__init__(config)
@@ -28,54 +31,78 @@ class PeerGradingService(GradingService):
 
     def get_data_for_location(self, problem_location, student_id):
         params = {'location': problem_location, 'student_id': student_id}
-        response = self.get(self.get_data_for_location_url, params)
-        return self.try_to_decode(response)
+        result = self.get(self.get_data_for_location_url, params)
+        self._record_result('get_data_for_location', result)
+        for key in result.keys():
+            if key in ('success', 'error', 'version'):
+                continue
+
+            dog_stats_api.histogram(
+                self._metric_name('get_data_for_location.{}'.format(key)),
+                result[key],
+            )
+        return result
 
     def get_next_submission(self, problem_location, grader_id):
-        response = self.get(
+        result = self._render_rubric(self.get(
             self.get_next_submission_url,
             {
                 'location': problem_location,
                 'grader_id': grader_id
             }
-        )
-        return self.try_to_decode(self._render_rubric(response))
+        ))
+        self._record_result('get_next_submission', result)
+        return result
 
     def save_grade(self, **kwargs):
         data = kwargs
         data.update({'rubric_scores_complete': True})
-        return self.try_to_decode(self.post(self.save_grade_url, data))
+        result = self.post(self.save_grade_url, data)
+        self._record_result('save_grade', result)
+        return result
 
     def is_student_calibrated(self, problem_location, grader_id):
         params = {'problem_id': problem_location, 'student_id': grader_id}
-        return self.try_to_decode(self.get(self.is_student_calibrated_url, params))
+        result = self.get(self.is_student_calibrated_url, params)
+        self._record_result(
+            'is_student_calibrated',
+            result,
+            tags=['calibrated:{}'.format(result.get('calibrated'))]
+        )
+        return result
 
     def show_calibration_essay(self, problem_location, grader_id):
         params = {'problem_id': problem_location, 'student_id': grader_id}
-        response = self.get(self.show_calibration_essay_url, params)
-        return self.try_to_decode(self._render_rubric(response))
+        result = self._render_rubric(self.get(self.show_calibration_essay_url, params))
+        self._record_result('show_calibration_essay', result)
+        return result
 
     def save_calibration_essay(self, **kwargs):
         data = kwargs
         data.update({'rubric_scores_complete': True})
-        return self.try_to_decode(self.post(self.save_calibration_essay_url, data))
+        result = self.post(self.save_calibration_essay_url, data)
+        self._record_result('show_calibration_essay', result)
+        return result
 
     def get_problem_list(self, course_id, grader_id):
         params = {'course_id': course_id, 'student_id': grader_id}
-        response = self.get(self.get_problem_list_url, params)
-        return self.try_to_decode(response)
+        result = self.get(self.get_problem_list_url, params)
+        self._record_result('get_problem_list', result)
+        dog_stats_api.histogram(
+            self._metric_name('get_problem_list.result.length'),
+            len(result.get('problem_list',[]))
+        )
+        return result
 
     def get_notifications(self, course_id, grader_id):
         params = {'course_id': course_id, 'student_id': grader_id}
-        response = self.get(self.get_notifications_url, params)
-        return self.try_to_decode(response)
-
-    def try_to_decode(self, text):
-        try:
-            text = json.loads(text)
-        except:
-            pass
-        return text
+        result = self.get(self.get_notifications_url, params)
+        self._record_result(
+            'get_notifications',
+            result,
+            tags=['needs_to_peer_grade:{}'.format(result.get('student_needs_to_peer_grade'))]
+        )
+        return result
 
 
 """

common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/peer_grading_module.py

@@ -539,8 +539,7 @@ class PeerGradingModule(PeerGradingFields, XModule):
         error_text = ""
         problem_list = []
         try:
-            problem_list_json = self.peer_gs.get_problem_list(self.course_id, self.system.anonymous_student_id)
-            problem_list_dict = problem_list_json
+            problem_list_dict = self.peer_gs.get_problem_list(self.course_id, self.system.anonymous_student_id)
             success = problem_list_dict['success']
             if 'error' in problem_list_dict:
                 error_text = problem_list_dict['error']

lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/open_ended_notifications.py

@@ -165,9 +165,8 @@ def combined_notifications(course, user):
 
     try:
         #Get the notifications from the grading controller
-        controller_response = controller_qs.check_combined_notifications(course.id, student_id, user_is_staff,
+        notifications = controller_qs.check_combined_notifications(course.id, student_id, user_is_staff,
                                                                          last_time_viewed)
-        notifications = json.loads(controller_response)
         if notifications.get('success'):
             if (notifications.get('staff_needs_to_grade') or
                 notifications.get('student_needs_to_peer_grade')):

lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/staff_grading_service.py

@@ -44,28 +44,28 @@ class MockStaffGradingService(object):
 
     def get_next(self, course_id, location, grader_id):
         self.cnt += 1
-        return json.dumps({'success': True,
-                           'submission_id': self.cnt,
-                           'submission': 'Test submission {cnt}'.format(cnt=self.cnt),
-                           'num_graded': 3,
-                           'min_for_ml': 5,
-                           'num_pending': 4,
-                           'prompt': 'This is a fake prompt',
-                           'ml_error_info': 'ML info',
-                           'max_score': 2 + self.cnt % 3,
-                           'rubric': 'A rubric'})
+        return {'success': True,
+                'submission_id': self.cnt,
+                'submission': 'Test submission {cnt}'.format(cnt=self.cnt),
+                'num_graded': 3,
+                'min_for_ml': 5,
+                'num_pending': 4,
+                'prompt': 'This is a fake prompt',
+                'ml_error_info': 'ML info',
+                'max_score': 2 + self.cnt % 3,
+                'rubric': 'A rubric'}
 
     def get_problem_list(self, course_id, grader_id):
         self.cnt += 1
-        return json.dumps({'success': True,
-                           'problem_list': [
-                               json.dumps({'location': 'i4x://MITx/3.091x/problem/open_ended_demo1',
-                                           'problem_name': "Problem 1", 'num_graded': 3, 'num_pending': 5,
-                                           'min_for_ml': 10}),
-                               json.dumps({'location': 'i4x://MITx/3.091x/problem/open_ended_demo2',
-                                           'problem_name': "Problem 2", 'num_graded': 1, 'num_pending': 5,
-                                           'min_for_ml': 10})
-                           ]})
+        return {'success': True,
+                 'problem_list': [
+                     json.dumps({'location': 'i4x://MITx/3.091x/problem/open_ended_demo1',
+                                 'problem_name': "Problem 1", 'num_graded': 3, 'num_pending': 5,
+                                 'min_for_ml': 10}),
+                     json.dumps({'location': 'i4x://MITx/3.091x/problem/open_ended_demo2',
+                                 'problem_name': "Problem 2", 'num_graded': 1, 'num_pending': 5,
+                                 'min_for_ml': 10})
+                 ]}
 
     def save_grade(self, course_id, grader_id, submission_id, score, feedback, skipped, rubric_scores,
                    submission_flagged):
@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ class StaffGradingService(GradingService):
     Interface to staff grading backend.
     """
 
+    METRIC_NAME = 'edxapp.open_ended_grading.staff_grading_service'
+
     def __init__(self, config):
         config['system'] = LmsModuleSystem(
             static_url='/static',
@@ -106,7 +108,7 @@ class StaffGradingService(GradingService):
             grader_id: who is grading this?  The anonymous user_id of the grader.
 
         Returns:
-            json string with the response from the service.  (Deliberately not
+            dict with the response from the service.  (Deliberately not
             writing out the fields here--see the docs on the staff_grading view
             in the grading_controller repo)
 
@@ -114,7 +116,14 @@ class StaffGradingService(GradingService):
             GradingServiceError: something went wrong with the connection.
         """
         params = {'course_id': course_id, 'grader_id': grader_id}
-        return self.get(self.get_problem_list_url, params)
+        result = self.get(self.get_problem_list_url, params)
+        tags = [u'course_id:{}'.format(course_id)]
+        self._record_result('get_problem_list', result, tags)
+        dog_stats_api.histogram(
+            self._metric_name('get_problem_list.result.length'),
+            len(result.get('problem_list', []))
+        )
+        return result
 
     def get_next(self, course_id, location, grader_id):
         """
@@ -127,17 +136,25 @@ class StaffGradingService(GradingService):
             grader_id: who is grading this?  The anonymous user_id of the grader.
 
         Returns:
-            json string with the response from the service.  (Deliberately not
+            dict with the response from the service.  (Deliberately not
             writing out the fields here--see the docs on the staff_grading view
             in the grading_controller repo)
 
         Raises:
             GradingServiceError: something went wrong with the connection.
         """
-        response = self.get(self.get_next_url,
-                            params={'location': location,
-                                    'grader_id': grader_id})
-        return json.dumps(self._render_rubric(response))
+        result = self._render_rubric(
+            self.get(
+                self.get_next_url,
+                params={
+                    'location': location,
+                    'grader_id': grader_id
+                }
+            )
+        )
+        tags = [u'course_id:{}'.format(course_id)]
+        self._record_result('get_next', result, tags)
+        return result
 
     def save_grade(self, course_id, grader_id, submission_id, score, feedback, skipped, rubric_scores,
                    submission_flagged):
@@ -145,7 +162,7 @@ class StaffGradingService(GradingService):
         Save a score and feedback for a submission.
 
         Returns:
-            json dict with keys
+            dict with keys
                 'success': bool
                 'error': error msg, if something went wrong.
 
@@ -162,12 +179,20 @@ class StaffGradingService(GradingService):
                 'rubric_scores_complete': True,
                 'submission_flagged': submission_flagged}
 
-        return self.post(self.save_grade_url, data=data)
+        result = self._render_rubric(self.post(self.save_grade_url, data=data))
+        tags = [u'course_id:{}'.format(course_id)]
+        self._record_result('save_grade', result, tags)
+        return result
 
     def get_notifications(self, course_id):
         params = {'course_id': course_id}
-        response = self.get(self.get_notifications_url, params)
-        return response
+        result = self.get(self.get_notifications_url, params)
+        tags = [
+            u'course_id:{}'.format(course_id),
+            u'staff_needs_to_grade:{}'.format(result.get('staff_needs_to_grade'))
+        ]
+        self._record_result('get_notifications', result, tags)
+        return result
 
 
 # don't initialize until staff_grading_service() is called--means that just
@@ -249,7 +274,7 @@ def get_next(request, course_id):
     p = request.POST
     location = p['location']
 
-    return HttpResponse(_get_next(course_id, grader_id, location),
+    return HttpResponse(json.dumps(_get_next(course_id, grader_id, location)),
                         mimetype="application/json")
 
 def get_problem_list(request, course_id):
@@ -278,7 +303,6 @@ def get_problem_list(request, course_id):
     _check_access(request.user, course_id)
     try:
         response = staff_grading_service().get_problem_list(course_id, unique_id_for_user(request.user))
-        response = json.loads(response)
 
         # If 'problem_list' is in the response, then we got a list of problems from the ORA server.
         # If it is not, then ORA could not find any problems.
@@ -373,14 +397,14 @@ def save_grade(request, course_id):
     location = p['location']
 
     try:
-        result_json = staff_grading_service().save_grade(course_id,
-                                                         grader_id,
-                                                         p['submission_id'],
-                                                         p['score'],
-                                                         p['feedback'],
-                                                         skipped,
-                                                         p.getlist('rubric_scores[]'),
-                                                         p['submission_flagged'])
+        result = staff_grading_service().save_grade(course_id,
+                                                    grader_id,
+                                                    p['submission_id'],
+                                                    p['score'],
+                                                    p['feedback'],
+                                                    skipped,
+                                                    p.getlist('rubric_scores[]'),
+                                                    p['submission_flagged'])
     except GradingServiceError:
         #This is a dev_facing_error
         log.exception(
@@ -388,9 +412,6 @@ def save_grade(request, course_id):
                 request, course_id))
         #This is a staff_facing_error
         return _err_response(STAFF_ERROR_MESSAGE)
-
-    try:
-        result = json.loads(result_json)
     except ValueError:
         #This is a dev_facing_error
         log.exception(
@@ -406,7 +427,7 @@ def save_grade(request, course_id):
         return _err_response(STAFF_ERROR_MESSAGE)
 
     # Ok, save_grade seemed to work.  Get the next submission to grade.
-    return HttpResponse(_get_next(course_id, grader_id, location),
+    return HttpResponse(json.dumps(_get_next(course_id, grader_id, location)),
                         mimetype="application/json")
 
 

lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/tests.py

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ class EmptyStaffGradingService(object):
         """
         Return a staff grading response that is missing a problem list key.
         """
-        return json.dumps({'success': True, 'error': 'No problems found.'})
+        return {'success': True, 'error': 'No problems found.'}
 
 
 def make_instructor(course, user_email):
@@ -62,10 +62,9 @@ class StudentProblemListMockQuery(object):
     def get_grading_status_list(self, *args, **kwargs):
         """
         Get a mock grading status list with locations from the open_ended test course.
-        @returns: json formatted grading status message.
+        @returns: grading status message dictionary.
         """
-        grading_status_list = json.dumps(
-            {
+        return {
                 "version": 1,
                 "problem_list": [
                     {
@@ -95,8 +94,6 @@ class StudentProblemListMockQuery(object):
                 ],
                 "success": True
             }
-        )
-        return grading_status_list
 
 
 @override_settings(MODULESTORE=TEST_DATA_MIXED_MODULESTORE)

lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/utils.py

@@ -118,12 +118,10 @@ class StudentProblemList(object):
         self.success = False
         try:
             #Get list of all open ended problems that the grading server knows about
-            problem_list_json = self.controller_qs.get_grading_status_list(self.course_id, self.user_id)
+            problem_list_dict = self.controller_qs.get_grading_status_list(self.course_id, self.user_id)
         except GradingServiceError:
             log.error("Problem contacting open ended grading service " + self.course_error_ending)
             return self.success
-        try:
-            problem_list_dict = json.loads(problem_list_json)
         except ValueError:
             log.error("Problem with results from external grading service for open ended" + self.course_error_ending)
             return self.success

lms/djangoapps/open_ended_grading/views.py

@@ -197,8 +197,7 @@ def flagged_problem_list(request, course_id):
     # Make a service that can query edX ORA.
     controller_qs = create_controller_query_service()
     try:
-        problem_list_json = controller_qs.get_flagged_problem_list(course_id)
-        problem_list_dict = json.loads(problem_list_json)
+        problem_list_dict = controller_qs.get_flagged_problem_list(course_id)
         success = problem_list_dict['success']
         if 'error' in problem_list_dict:
             error_text = problem_list_dict['error']
@@ -326,7 +325,7 @@ def take_action_on_flags(request, course_id):
     controller_qs = create_controller_query_service()
     try:
         response = controller_qs.take_action_on_flags(course_id, student_id, submission_id, action_type)
-        return HttpResponse(response, mimetype="application/json")
+        return HttpResponse(json.dumps(response), mimetype="application/json")
     except GradingServiceError:
         log.exception(
             u"Error taking action on flagged peer grading submissions, "