diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/grades/management/commands/compute_grades.py b/lms/djangoapps/grades/management/commands/compute_grades.py
index f9015449a8..2271614649 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/grades/management/commands/compute_grades.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/grades/management/commands/compute_grades.py
@@ -107,7 +107,9 @@ class Command(BaseCommand):
             # and consumed one at a time.
             for task_arg_tuple in tasks._course_task_args(course_key, **options):
                 all_args.append(task_arg_tuple)
-        all_args.sort(key=lambda x: hashlib.md5(b'{!r}'.format(x)))
+
+        all_args.sort(key=lambda x: hashlib.md5('{!r}'.format(x).encode('utf-8')).digest())
+
         for args in all_args:
             yield {
                 'course_key': args[0],