Rubrics

A rubric is a scoring tool you can use to evaluate graded work. When you create a rubric, you divide the assigned work into parts. You can provide clear descriptions of the characteristics of the work associated with each part, at varying levels of skill. 

You can create multiple rubrics in your course. Rubrics consist of rows and columns. There are no limits to the number of rows and columns you can add. The rows correspond to the assessed criteria. The columns correspond to the level of achievement that describes each criterion. 

Rubrics help students understand the expectations for the assessment. There are four types of rubrics that can be created in a course.

Percentage-based rubrics 

For percentage-based rubrics, the criteria total percentage must equal 100%. You may only use whole numbers. You may add rows set to 0% as long as your total percentage amounts to 100. 

Percentage-range rubrics 

For percentage-range rubrics, each level of achievement has a range of values. When you grade, you select the appropriate percentage level for a particular level of achievement. The system calculates the points earned by multiplying the weight times the achievement percentage times the item points. 

Points-range rubrics 

For points-range rubrics, the maximum possible points should be less than or equal to 99,999. You may only use whole numbers. You may add rows set to 0 as long as your total points are less than or equal to 99,999. The point range for each criterion must go from a lower range to a higher range. 

Points-based rubrics 

For points-based rubrics, the maximum possible points should be less than or equal to 99,999. You may only use whole numbers. You may add rows set to 0 as long as your total points are less than or equal to 99,999. 

Create Rubrics 

There are two ways to create rubrics. 

NOTE: Only one rubric can be associated with an item.  

Option 1 – Create Rubric from an Item 

1. To create a rubric from an assignment, discussion, or journal, access the item and select the Settings button.  

2. In the Additional Tools section near the bottom, select Add grading rubric.  

3. Select Create. 

Option 2 – Create Rubric from the Gradebook 

1. You can also create a rubric in your gradebook by selecting the Settings button.  

2. Scroll down to the Course Rubrics section and select Create. 

Building the Rubric 

1. Enter a title. If you do not add a title, “New Rubric” and the date appears as the title. 

2. Choose the “Rubric Type.” 

3. By default, four criteria rows and four achievement level columns appear.  

4. Hover over a cell to access the edit and delete icons.  

5. Select the plus sign wherever you want to add a row or column and type a title.  

6. When you add an achievement level, a percentage is automatically added.  

7. For new and existing levels of achievement, you can add an optional description. 

NOTE: Achievement titles have a 40-character limit. Criteria and description cells have a 1,000-character limit. Rubrics support plain text only. You can paste text from another document, but the formatting does not carry over. 

8. Press the Enter key on the keyboard to confirm you are finished. Your entry will be saved.  

Associate Rubrics to Assessments 

Instructors can associate an existing rubric to an item unless you have already graded the item. You may associate only one rubric to each item.  

1. On the assignment, discussion, or journal page, select the Settings icon.  

2. In the Additional Tools section, select Add grading rubric.  

3. Select View to edit, delete, or copy the rubric. 

4. Select Add to associate the rubric with the item. 

5. Click Save. 

When you associate a rubric and view a student’s assignment or test submission, the grade pill displays a rubric icon. 

Remove Associations 

You can remove a rubric from an assessment you have graded, and the grades will remain. The grades are no longer associated with the rubric, but now appear as grades you added manually. 

1. Return to the Item’s Settings panel and hover over the associated rubric’s title. 

2. The delete button will appear. Select it to remove the rubric association. 

Student View of Rubrics 

Students can view a rubric before they open an assignment, test, and discussion and after they start the attempt. When they access an item, students will select This item is graded with a rubric to view the rubric. 

Delete Rubrics 

NOTE: After you use a rubric for grading, you cannot edit it, but you can make a copy that you can edit and rename. 

1. Go to the Gradebook. Select the Settings icon to bring up the Gradebook Settings panel. Scroll down to the Course Rubrics section. 

2. Access a rubric’s menu by selecting the three-dot icon and then select Duplicate. The copied rubric opens with the date and “Copy” added to the title. You can make edits as needed.  

3. Select Delete to permanently delete a rubric from your course even if you used it in grading and the grades will remain. The grades will no longer be associated with the rubric, but now appear as grades you added manually. 

4. Select Save to save the duplicate rubric. 

Note: If you copy an existing percentage-based rubric and change it to a percentage-range rubric, all the descriptions are cleared. 

Copy Rubrics 

If you have already used a rubric to grade submissions, you can copy the rubric and edit the duplicate version.  

1. From the Gradebook Settings panel, click on a rubric to open it. 

2. Select Create a Copy at the bottom-right of the screen.  

3. When you create a copy of a rubric you used to grade a test or assignment, the new rubric is associated with the item. Any grades calculated with the original rubric are preserved, but these grades are converted to overrides. You can regrade these submissions with the new rubric.