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Create and manage grading rubrics in Microsoft Teams

Use the rubrics tool when creating an assignment in Microsoft Teams to develop and distribute customizable, reusable rubrics that students can reference. Refer to them later for evaluating student work.

Make a new rubric

Sign into microsoft365.com .

Select Teams .

Navigate to your class team and select Assignments .

Select Create > Assignment .

Customize your grading criteria: The Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor defaults can be edited to match your own grading strategy. Customize points here if you decided to add them.

When you finish customizing your rubric, select Attach .

Finish filling in the details of your assignment, then select Assign to send it to your students. When students open this assignment, they’ll be able to reference the rubric.

Tip:  Preview your student's view of the assignment by opening it and selecting Student view .

Re-use a rubric you've already made

Every time you create a rubric and attach it to an assignment, it will be saved to your rubric list. To re-use a rubric:

Navigate to your class team and select Assignments .

Make edits if needed.

Select Attach .

Grade student work using a rubric

Navigate to your class and select Assignments .

Select the assignment you’re reviewing.

Select the document your student has attached underneath Status to open it in the full-screen grading view.

Select the rubric name and it will open to the side of the student’s document.

Enter any personalized feedback you’d like to pair with these criteria in the feedback box.  

Continue until you’ve worked your way through the rubric, then select Done .

If you set point values and weighting while creating your rubric, points for the assignment will already be tabulated. Add additional feedback here if you’d like, too.

Select Return to send this work back to your student now or skip to the next student using the arrows to keep grading.

Delete a rubric so that it no longer appears in your rubric list. This will not remove the rubric from assignments where it's already attached.

Select Add rubric in a new or existing assignment draft.

Note:  Rubrics attached to draft assignments can't be deleted.

Share rubrics you've created in Microsoft Teams by downloading them as a .csv file. When the .csv is uploaded back into Teams, the rubric will retain all of the original's structure and content. Simply adapt for your own use and attach to an assignment.

Download a rubric for sharing

Navigate to your class and select the Assignments tab.

Select an assignment with your rubric attached, then Edit assignment .

Select the rubric to open it.

Now, the .csv file is all set to share with other educators. Share to a PLC or Staff team to give everyone access.

Note:  For best results, edit your rubrics in Teams instead of in other programs.

Upload a .csv rubric file to Teams

Follow these steps to add a .csv rubric that's been shared with you.

Important:  You should only upload .csv rubrics that were originally downloaded from Teams.

Review the rubric you've added in the rubric creator window and make any adjustments.

Select Attach to add it to your assignment. You'll be able to reuse this rubric for future assignments, too.

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University Center for Teaching and Learning

How to create and use rubrics for assessment in canvas.

• Quick Start
• Instructor Help
• Student Help

What is a Rubric?

Rubrics are used as grading criteria for students and can be added to assignments , quizzes, and graded discussions. If you are importing your rubrics from Blackboard, please note that the ratings will be flipped as Blackboard has rubrics criteria from lowest to highest points, left to right, whereas Canvas has rubrics criteria go from highest to lowest, left to right. Unfortunately there is no quick way to switch the criteria to go the other way, so you may need to edit the rubric manually to reflect the assessment accurately.

Notes: Rubrics cannot be edited once they have been added to more than one assignment. When you delete a rubric it will remove the rubric from all associated assignments in the course and delete any existing associated assessments.

How to Create a Rubric

1) Click on Rubrics in your Course Navigation Menu.

2) To add a rubric, click Add Rubric . To edit an existing rubric, click on it as it appears under Course Rubrics.

• Title – can be anything, but should usually be something associated with the assignment so you can easily find it later.
• Criteria – Criteria are the things that you will be determining your students’ grades on. For example, if the rubric were for an art project, criteria could include creativity, use of art materials, or relevancy to the prompt.

• Points – Rubric ratings default to 5 points. To adjust the total point value, enter the number of points in the Points field. The first rating (full marks) updates to the new total point value and the rest of the ratings adjust appropriately.
• +Criterion – Adds another criterium
• Find Outcome – Allows you to use a rubric that you have created before. If you want to use the criterion for scoring, click on the checkbox next to Use this criterion for scoring. If the checkbox is not selected, the point value will not be factored into the rubric and will not be displayed after the rubric is updated. Click the Import button and then click the OK button in the popup window to confirm.

4) Click Create Rubric .

How to Add a Rubric to an Assignment, Quizzes, and Discussion Boards

For the sake of this guide, the screenshots shown are using Assignments as the example. Please note that after Step 2, the process is the same for adding a rubric to assignments, quizzes, and discussions.

1) Click on Assignments, Quizzes, or Discussions in your Course menu.

2) Click on the name of the assignment, quiz, or discussion board to open it.

3) Click the Add Rubric button if adding to Assignments (left).

4) To choose an existing rubric, click on Find a Rubric .

In the first column, select the course or account. In the second column, locate and click the name of the rubric.

5) Click on Use This Rubric button.

6) To edit the rubric, click the pencil icon. To find a new rubric, click the magnifying glass icon. To remove the rubric from the current assignment, click the trash can icon.

Creating a New Rubric:

This is very similar to creating a rubric from scratch, however when attaching it to an assessment there are more options available.

• I’ll write free-form comments – If this option is selected, no ratings are used to assess the student and criterion values are assigned manually.
• Remove points from rubric – If this option is selected, no points are associated with the rubric, but students can still be rated using the rubric criterion.
• Don’t post Outcomes results – students will be able to see rubric and outcome results in the Grades and submission details pages, but results will not be posted to the Learning Mastery Gradebook.
• Use this rubric for assignment grading – if this option is selected, you can use the rubric for grading in SpeedGrader. ONLY appears for assignments and discussion boards – NOT quizzes.
• Hide score total for assessment results – students can still see the point values for each criterion, but the total score will not be shown at the bottom of the rubric. This option is only available if the rubric is not used for grading.

*Note: You can only reach these options if you create the assessment first and then add the rubric after.

Rubrics Help for Instructors

• How do I align an outcome with a rubric in a course?
• How do I add a rubric in a course?
• How do I add a rubric to a quiz?
• How do I manage rubrics in a course?
• How do I add a rubric to a graded discussion?
• How do I add a rubric to an assignment?

Rubrics Help for Students

• How do I view the rubric for a quiz?
• How do I view the rubric for my assignment?
• How do I view the rubric for my external tool assignment?
• How do I view rubric results for my assignment?
• How do I view the rubric for my graded discussion?
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Create or reuse a rubric for an assignment

This article is for instructors.

In Assignments, you can create, reuse, view, grade, and share rubrics for individual assignments. You can give feedback with scored or unscored rubrics. If you use scored rubrics, students see their score when you return their work.

Add or view a rubric 

Rubric overview.

Create a rubric

You can create up to 50 criteria per rubric and up to 10 performance levels per criterion. Before you can create a rubric, the assignment must have a title.  

Important : Before you begin, link your Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals account to Assignments. For details, go to Create an assignment .

• Go to your learning management system (LMS).
• Click the course.
• Create an assignment. For more information, go to  Create an assignment .

• (Optional) If you turned on scoring, next to Sort the order of points by , select how to view the criteria, either descending or ascending in value. Note : You can enter levels in any order, and rubrics automatically sorts the levels by value. 
• Under Criterion , enter your first criterion. For example, enter  Grammar , Teamwork , or Citations .

• Under Points , enter the number of points awarded for the performance level. Note : The rubric's total score automatically updates as you add points.
• Under Level , enter a level of performance. For example, enter  Excellent , Full mastery , or Level B .
• Under Description , enter the performance expectations.

• To add a blank criterion, in the bottom-left corner, click Add a criterion and repeat steps 6–11.
• To copy a criterion, in the bottom-right corner, click Duplicate criterion and repeat steps 6–11.
• To save your rubric, in the bottom-right corner, click Save .

Reuse a rubric

You can reuse rubrics you previously created. You can preview the rubric you want to reuse, and then edit it in your new assignment. Your edits don’t affect the original rubric. To reuse a rubric, your new assignment needs a title. 

• Go to your learning management system (LMS).
• Create an assignment. For more information, go to Create an assignment .

• (Optional) To reuse the rubric, click Select .
• To reuse the rubric, click Select .

See an assignment’s rubric 

Share a rubric with export and import

• When you export a rubric , it saves as a spreadsheet in your Google Drive, in a folder called Rubric Exports . If you share the Rubric Exports folder with another teacher, they can import your rubric to their assignment.
• After you import a shared rubric , you can edit it in your assignment. Your edits don’t affect the original rubric. Don’t edit the shared rubric spreadsheet in the Drive folder. 

Share a rubric with export

• Under Rubric , click the rubric.

• To share your entire Rubric Exports folder, right-click the Rubrics Exports folder.
• Click Send .

Import a shared rubric

• Go to your LMS.
• Click the course. 
• (Optional) Edit the imported rubric in Assignments. Note : Don't edit the shared rubric spreadsheet in the Drive folder.
• In the top-right corner, click Save .

Edit or delete a rubric 

Edit an assignment's rubric.

You can’t edit a rubric after you start grading with it.

Delete an assignment’s rubric

Note : You can’t delete a rubric after you start grading with it. 

• To confirm, click Delete .

Related article

• Grade with a rubric

Need more help?

Try these next steps:.

Documentation

• Marking guide
• 1 About rubrics
• 2 Enable a rubric in your assignment
• 3 Define your rubric
• 4 Grading submissions with a rubric
• 5 Grade calculation
• 6 How students access the rubric
• 7 How teachers access the rubric
• 8.1 Where do you go to edit a rubric?
• 8.2 Can you copy rows of the rubric?
• 8.3 How do you choose another rubric for an assignment?
• 8.4 Why are total grades coming out strange?

About rubrics

Rubrics are an advanced grading method used for criteria-based assessment. The rubric consists of a set of criteria plotted against levels of achievement. A numeric grade is assigned to each level. For each criterion, the assessor chooses the level they judge the work to have reached. The raw rubric score is calculated as a sum of all criteria grades. The final grade is calculated by comparing the actual score with the worst/best possible score that could be received.

Enable a rubric in your assignment

There are two ways.

The first is at the point of setting up the Assignment.

• In your assignment's Settings, expand the Grade section.
• From the Grading method menu, choose Rubric.
• Note the Maximum grade setting - whatever numeric grade you assign to your criteria levels, the ultimate grade for the assignment will be recalculated as the proportion of that maximum grade.
• Save the settings; Rubric is now enabled for that particular Assignment.

The other is via the Assignment's Settings block:

• From the Assignment's summary page, in its Settings block, click Advanced grading ; a new page displays a menu.
• From the Change active grading method to menu, choose Rubric ; this initiates the rubric setup process.

Define your rubric

To define a new rubric from scratch:

• Go to the Rubric editor via the Advanced grading link in the assignment's Settings block.
• Click Define a new rubric from scratch .
• Type in a brief distinctive Name and (if needed) a description.
• Click to edit a criterion and Click to edit level lets you tab through the rubric to type a description and assign points to each level.
• Describe further criteria and levels as appropriate.
• Set Rubric options .
• Finally save the rubric definition by clicking Save rubric and make it ready or Save as draft . These set the form definition status respectively as described at the Advanced grading methods page.
• Unless there is a good reason otherwise, enable Allow users to preview rubric so that they know in advance the standards by which they will be judged. Enabling Remarks allows assessors to make constructive suggestions for each criterion.
• Numeric points are required, but if you want to use your rubric to give feedback without a numeric grade it is possible to hide these from students, and hide the final calculated grade from students.
• You can enter negative points, for example as a late submission penalty.
• You can modify the weight of any criterion by setting the value of the points assigned to its levels. If there is one criterion with levels 0, 1, 2, 3 and the second one with levels 0, 2, 4, 6 then the latter's impact on the final grade is twice as much as the former's.
• You can use the Tab key to jump to the next level/criteria and even to add new criteria.
• In Moodle 3.2 onwards, a new rubric option 'Calculate grade based on the rubric having a minimum score of 0' allows you to choose whether the grade is calculated as in previous versions of Moodle (box unticked) or whether an improved calculation method is used (box ticked). Please see below for details of the calculation.

Grading submissions with a rubric

• To access the submissions, click a link to the Assignment; its summary page displays.
• Click Grade ; the Student Grading Page displays the work of the first student listed in the Grading Table.
• The rubric you have set up will display as a table on one side of the screen - you can display it larger by clicking its Expand / arrowheads icon (to dock the rubric, click the icon again).
• For each criterion, select a level by clicking in its cell; when selected the level displays shaded (default pale green).
• If enabled on the rubric form, you can type in comments for each criterion.
• Save changes.
• As well as the rubric you can add summary Feedback comments for the work, and optionally Feedback files .
• A level must be selected for each criterion, otherwise the rubric is not validated by the server as the final grade can't be calculated.
• If the rubric filling is re-edited later, the previously selected level displays temporarily shaded (default: pink).
• Students may need to be instructed to scroll down to find the completed rubric and any other comments - the example rubric continues to display at the top of their assignment Submission status page.

Grade calculation

The rubric normalized score (i.e. basically a percentage grade) is calculated as

Example of a single criterion can be: Overall quality of the paper with the levels 5 - An excellent paper , 3 - A mediocre paper , 0 - A weak paper (the number represent the number of points).

Example: let us have an assessment form with two criteria, which both have four levels 1, 2, 3, 4. The teacher chooses level with 2 points for the first criterion and 3 points for the second criterion. Then the normalized score is:

Note that this calculation may be different from how you intuitively use rubric. For example, when the teacher in the previous example chose both levels with 1 point, the plain sum would be 2 points. But that is actually the lowest possible score so it maps to the grade 0 in Moodle.

How students access the rubric

Assuming 'Allow users to preview rubric' is ticked (recommended), when students click on an assignment which has a rubric attached to it, they will see the rubric as part of the information about their assignment. Thus, they can see the rubric before they submit.

How teachers access the rubric

Teachers will see the rubric when they click 'View/grade all submissions' and access the work of a particular student. They don't by default see the rubric on the grading page before grading. If you wish to allow teachers to see the rubric, then the site administrator must set the capability mod/assign:viewownsubmissionsummary to 'Allow' for the editing teacher role in that assignment (or sitewide if really necessary).

Where do you go to edit a rubric?

To edit a rubric click on an Assignment and then click Advanced Grading and 'Edit the current form definition.'

Can you copy rows of the rubric?

A 'duplicate' button allows you to quickly make a copy of a row:

How do you choose another rubric for an assignment?

From Administration>Assignment administration>Advanced grading access your rubric and delete it. The see #5 in Advanced grading methods

Why are total grades coming out strange?

If you are using a criterion without a 0-points level or with a level with negative points, then the rubric option 'When converting rubric score to points/scale assume that minimum number of points is 0' (new in 3.2) should be ticked to avoid unexpected grades.

• Advanced grading methods page for general concepts of advanced grading in Moodle
• School demo example of student view of rubric (Log in as username student /password moodle )
• School demo example of teacher view of rubric in student assignment (Log in as username teacher /password moodle )
• Rubric description at Wikipedia
• http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ - a free tool to help teachers create quality rubrics
• My Teacher is a Zombie – Marking by Rubric on Moodle Using an electronic rubric frees up the time to ...

Rubric Best Practices, Examples, and Templates

A rubric is a scoring tool that identifies the different criteria relevant to an assignment, assessment, or learning outcome and states the possible levels of achievement in a specific, clear, and objective way. Use rubrics to assess project-based student work including essays, group projects, creative endeavors, and oral presentations.

Rubrics can help instructors communicate expectations to students and assess student work fairly, consistently and efficiently. Rubrics can provide students with informative feedback on their strengths and weaknesses so that they can reflect on their performance and work on areas that need improvement.

How to Get Started

Best practices, moodle how-to guides.

• Workshop Recording (Fall 2022)
• Workshop Registration

Step 1: Analyze the assignment

The first step in the rubric creation process is to analyze the assignment or assessment for which you are creating a rubric. To do this, consider the following questions:

• What is the purpose of the assignment and your feedback? What do you want students to demonstrate through the completion of this assignment (i.e. what are the learning objectives measured by it)? Is it a summative assessment, or will students use the feedback to create an improved product?
• Does the assignment break down into different or smaller tasks? Are these tasks equally important as the main assignment?
• What would an “excellent” assignment look like? An “acceptable” assignment? One that still needs major work?
• How detailed do you want the feedback you give students to be? Do you want/need to give them a grade?

Step 2: Decide what kind of rubric you will use

Types of rubrics: holistic, analytic/descriptive, single-point

Holistic Rubric. A holistic rubric includes all the criteria (such as clarity, organization, mechanics, etc.) to be considered together and included in a single evaluation. With a holistic rubric, the rater or grader assigns a single score based on an overall judgment of the student’s work, using descriptions of each performance level to assign the score.

Advantages of holistic rubrics:

• Can p lace an emphasis on what learners can demonstrate rather than what they cannot
• Save grader time by minimizing the number of evaluations to be made for each student
• Can be used consistently across raters, provided they have all been trained

Disadvantages of holistic rubrics:

• Provide less specific feedback than analytic/descriptive rubrics
• Can be difficult to choose a score when a student’s work is at varying levels across the criteria
• Any weighting of c riteria cannot be indicated in the rubric

Analytic/Descriptive Rubric . An analytic or descriptive rubric often takes the form of a table with the criteria listed in the left column and with levels of performance listed across the top row. Each cell contains a description of what the specified criterion looks like at a given level of performance. Each of the criteria is scored individually.

Advantages of analytic rubrics:

• Provide detailed feedback on areas of strength or weakness
• Each criterion can be weighted to reflect its relative importance

Disadvantages of analytic rubrics:

• More time-consuming to create and use than a holistic rubric
• May not be used consistently across raters unless the cells are well defined
• May result in giving less personalized feedback

Single-Point Rubric . A single-point rubric is breaks down the components of an assignment into different criteria, but instead of describing different levels of performance, only the “proficient” level is described. Feedback space is provided for instructors to give individualized comments to help students improve and/or show where they excelled beyond the proficiency descriptors.

Advantages of single-point rubrics:

• Easier to create than an analytic/descriptive rubric
• Perhaps more likely that students will read the descriptors
• Areas of concern and excellence are open-ended
• May removes a focus on the grade/points
• May increase student creativity in project-based assignments

Disadvantage of analytic rubrics: Requires more work for instructors writing feedback

Step 3 (Optional): Look for templates and examples.

You might Google, “Rubric for persuasive essay at the college level” and see if there are any publicly available examples to start from. Ask your colleagues if they have used a rubric for a similar assignment. Some examples are also available at the end of this article. These rubrics can be a great starting point for you, but consider steps 3, 4, and 5 below to ensure that the rubric matches your assignment description, learning objectives and expectations.

Step 4: Define the assignment criteria

Make a list of the knowledge and skills are you measuring with the assignment/assessment Refer to your stated learning objectives, the assignment instructions, past examples of student work, etc. for help.

  Helpful strategies for defining grading criteria:

• Collaborate with co-instructors, teaching assistants, and other colleagues
• Brainstorm and discuss with students
• Can they be observed and measured?
• Are they important and essential?
• Are they distinct from other criteria?
• Are they phrased in precise, unambiguous language?
• Revise the criteria as needed
• Consider whether some are more important than others, and how you will weight them.

Step 5: Design the rating scale

Most ratings scales include between 3 and 5 levels. Consider the following questions when designing your rating scale:

• Given what students are able to demonstrate in this assignment/assessment, what are the possible levels of achievement?
• How many levels would you like to include (more levels means more detailed descriptions)
• Will you use numbers and/or descriptive labels for each level of performance? (for example 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and/or Exceeds expectations, Accomplished, Proficient, Developing, Beginning, etc.)
• Don’t use too many columns, and recognize that some criteria can have more columns that others . The rubric needs to be comprehensible and organized. Pick the right amount of columns so that the criteria flow logically and naturally across levels.

Step 6: Write descriptions for each level of the rating scale

Artificial Intelligence tools like Chat GPT have proven to be useful tools for creating a rubric. You will want to engineer your prompt that you provide the AI assistant to ensure you get what you want. For example, you might provide the assignment description, the criteria you feel are important, and the number of levels of performance you want in your prompt. Use the results as a starting point, and adjust the descriptions as needed.

Building a rubric from scratch

For a single-point rubric , describe what would be considered “proficient,” i.e. B-level work, and provide that description. You might also include suggestions for students outside of the actual rubric about how they might surpass proficient-level work.

For analytic and holistic rubrics , c reate statements of expected performance at each level of the rubric.

• Consider what descriptor is appropriate for each criteria, e.g., presence vs absence, complete vs incomplete, many vs none, major vs minor, consistent vs inconsistent, always vs never. If you have an indicator described in one level, it will need to be described in each level.
• You might start with the top/exemplary level. What does it look like when a student has achieved excellence for each/every criterion? Then, look at the “bottom” level. What does it look like when a student has not achieved the learning goals in any way? Then, complete the in-between levels.
• For an analytic rubric , do this for each particular criterion of the rubric so that every cell in the table is filled. These descriptions help students understand your expectations and their performance in regard to those expectations.

Well-written descriptions:

• Describe observable and measurable behavior
• Use parallel language across the scale
• Indicate the degree to which the standards are met

Step 7: Create your rubric

Create your rubric in a table or spreadsheet in Word, Google Docs, Sheets, etc., and then transfer it by typing it into Moodle. You can also use online tools to create the rubric, but you will still have to type the criteria, indicators, levels, etc., into Moodle. Rubric creators: Rubistar , iRubric

Step 8: Pilot-test your rubric

Prior to implementing your rubric on a live course, obtain feedback from:

• Teacher assistants

Try out your new rubric on a sample of student work. After you pilot-test your rubric, analyze the results to consider its effectiveness and revise accordingly.

• Limit the rubric to a single page for reading and grading ease
• Use parallel language . Use similar language and syntax/wording from column to column. Make sure that the rubric can be easily read from left to right or vice versa.
• Use student-friendly language . Make sure the language is learning-level appropriate. If you use academic language or concepts, you will need to teach those concepts.
• Share and discuss the rubric with your students . Students should understand that the rubric is there to help them learn, reflect, and self-assess. If students use a rubric, they will understand the expectations and their relevance to learning.
• Consider scalability and reusability of rubrics. Create rubric templates that you can alter as needed for multiple assignments.
• Maximize the descriptiveness of your language. Avoid words like “good” and “excellent.” For example, instead of saying, “uses excellent sources,” you might describe what makes a resource excellent so that students will know. You might also consider reducing the reliance on quantity, such as a number of allowable misspelled words. Focus instead, for example, on how distracting any spelling errors are.

Example of an analytic rubric for a final paper

Example of a holistic rubric for a final paper, single-point rubric, more examples:.

• Single Point Rubric Template ( variation )
• Analytic Rubric Template make a copy to edit
• A Rubric for Rubrics
• Bank of Online Discussion Rubrics in different formats
• Mathematical Presentations Descriptive Rubric
• Math Proof Assessment Rubric
• Kansas State Sample Rubrics
• Design Single Point Rubric

Technology Tools: Rubrics in Moodle

• Moodle Docs: Rubrics
• Moodle Docs: Grading Guide (use for single-point rubrics)

Tools with rubrics (other than Moodle)

• Google Assignments
• Turnitin Assignments: Rubric or Grading Form

Other resources

• DePaul University (n.d.). Rubrics .
• Gonzalez, J. (2014). Know your terms: Holistic, Analytic, and Single-Point Rubrics . Cult of Pedagogy.
• Goodrich, H. (1996). Understanding rubrics . Teaching for Authentic Student Performance, 54 (4), 14-17. Retrieved from   
• Miller, A. (2012). Tame the beast: tips for designing and using rubrics.
• Ragupathi, K., Lee, A. (2020). Beyond Fairness and Consistency in Grading: The Role of Rubrics in Higher Education. In: Sanger, C., Gleason, N. (eds) Diversity and Inclusion in Global Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.

• Learning Management System Support >
• Guides for Instructors >
• Assessment and Grading in Brightspace >

Using Rubrics in Brightspace

Create rubrics  to establish specific criteria and performance expectations for assignments and discussions to make your grading expectations and criteria transparent and consistent. While rubrics require an investment to create and calibrate, the long-term savings in time, the improved quality of feedback and objectivity in grading makes them a valuable resource to include in your course.

Brightspace allows you to create rubrics that can be attached to an assignment , grade item or other assessed items such as discussion topics . There are many  benefits of rubrics  and a variety of types available in Brightspace. To develop a rubric, first determine the performance levels, criterion categories, a description each level and a grading structure. The following steps guide you through creating and attaching rubrics to your course assignments and discussions. 

On this page:

Rubric options.

When creating your rubric, you have the flexibility to create multiple, varying rubrics, depending on your grading needs.

Selecting the Type of Rubric

Within your course, you will have the option to create one or both types of rubrics: 

• Holistic – one dimensional, with single criterion and predefined performance levels. 
• Analytic – multidimensional, with various criterion categories. Allows for additional customization.  

Setting the Status of Your Rubric

While building your rubric, it can be beneficial to put its status in draft form. This is particularly important when the rubric will not be finished in one sitting and remains as a work in progress. When completed and ready, change the rubric status to "published." You can also archive previous rubrics you may want to revisit at a later point in time.  Change the status within the rubric editor by selecting the Status dropdown in the upper righthand corner. 

A rubric will automatically publish unless the status of the rubric is changed manually to Archived or Draft . To change the status, click on Status: Published   in the right hand corner of the rubric interface, and select your preferred publication status. 

Scoring Your Rubric

Each rubric type has a unique scoring structure. Select your preferred point format under the Scoring drop down at the top of the rubric editor.  

• Points – Creates a shared value across each performance level and criterion category.  
• Custom points – Used to differentiate or weight specific criterion categories. This can be used when criterion vary in their value or emphasis.  
• No points – Removes all point values. This can be used for low-stakes formative assessment, self-grading or practice assignments. 
• Percentage – Assigns a percentage score based on a general set of criteria. 
• No points - Removes all point values. This can be used for low-stakes formative assessment, self-grading or practice assignments.

Building Rubrics

It is recommended that you first build the rubric within the Rubrics tab on the navigation bar under Course Tools . If you do not see it here, first select All Course Tools and click Rubrics . After the rubrics are built, they can easily be attached to assignments and discussions.

How to Create a Rubric From the Rubrics Tool

• Please note : You can customize your navbar for quick access to the Rubrics Tool.
• Under Assessment , select Rubrics .
• Select New Rubric .
• Please note : the status of your new rubric will automatically be set to "Published" unless manually changed to "Archived" or "Draft."
• Select Close .

How to Create and Add a Rubric From the Grades Tool

• Select Grades in the navbar.
• Select New , and click Item .
• Select your Grade Item Type .
• Please note, this will open the Rubrics Tool in a new browser tab. 
• Edit your rubric.
• Select Close . 
• Return to your New Item tab.
• Click Add Rubric .
• Select your new rubric from the list. Click Add Selected .
• Select Save and Close . 

Reviewing and Editing an Existing Rubric

Once complete, it is helpful to review the rubric from the students’ perspective. To do this, return to the Rubrics tool homepage. Find the rubric listed and click the chevron icon  [⌵] to the right of the rubric's name, select preview. You can also print a student friendly copy in this window. To make additional changes to the rubric, select view using the same process. 

Adding Rubrics to Assignments or Discussions

Before attaching a rubric, ensure that its status is set to published. 

Assignments

To add a rubric to an existing assignment, select the corresponding item under the Assignments tab. Then complete the following steps:

• Click Edit Assignment and open the Evaluation & Feedback drop-down on the right.
• Click Add Rubric and select the rubric for this assignment. 
• Next, click Add Selected .
• Click Save and Close .

Discussions

To add a rubric to an existing discussion, select the corresponding item in the Discussion tool.

• Select the chevron icon [⌵] to the right of the desired Discussion topic. 
• Click Edit Topic.
• Locate the Assessment tab
• To add an existing rubric, choose Add Rubric . 
• To add a new rubric, select Create Rubric in New Window . 
• Click Add Selected .

Note : You cannot add an assessment to a forum. There must first be a topic added, then the rubric can be added to the discussion topic. 

Copying, Deleting and Sharing Rubrics

You may want to use the same rubric for various courses you are teaching or share your rubric with colleagues in your department. You can easily copy, delete or share a rubric following the guide below.

Using a Rubric to Grade

Once the rubric is attached to an assignment or discussion, it is easy to use as a grade tool.  

Grading Assignments

• The rubric will populate on the right side of each submission under the Evaluation & Feedback header. 
• Open the associated rubric and select the performance level for each of the criterion. 
• If the rubric uses points or percentages, the grade will calculate automatically; however, you can manually change category scores, total score and overall score. 
• When finished with the rubric, select Close .  

Grading Discussions

• Locate the discussion topic, select the chevron icon  [⌵] and click Assess Topic . 
• Under View Options , choose Show Topic Scores . 
• If you have attached a rubric and the Assess with Embedded Rubrics feature is enabled, it will populate here. You can also view the learner’s threads and replies within this window for easier grading.
• Use the preassigned feedback or customize each section as desired. 
• If the rubric uses points or percentages, the grade will calculate automatically; however, you can manually change category scores, overall score and topic score. 
• Scroll down to add general feedback as desired. 
• When finished with the rubric, select Publish .
• Continue grading other learner submissions. 
• When done grading, select the  Published checkbox for all new grades you would like added to the grade book. 
• When finished, click  Save and Close . 

Canvas Tutorials: Assignments, Discussions, and Rubrics

• Getting Started in Canvas
• Syllabus & Home Page
• Files & Pages
• Using Images in Canvas
• Assignments, Discussions, and Rubrics
• Gradebook, SpeedGrader, Attendance
• Announcements
• Google Assignments (LTI 1.3)
• VoiceThread
• Copying Courses
• Training Session Recordings
• Sakai (WISE) to Canvas

Assignments, Discussions, Rubrics

Assignments

• Discussions
• Video Tutorials: Assignments, Discussions, Rubrics

Canvas Instructor Guide: Assignments • Assignments Video Tutorial

Canvas allows you to create many different types of assignments, so you can choose the best format for your courses. Broadly speaking, Canvas supports five assignment types :  Quizzes, Discussions, and assignments that take online submissions (including entries into text boxes, uploaded files, and so on), external tools, and ungraded assignments. Assignments can be assigned to everyone in a course to to specific groups. When you create any type of assignment, it automatically shows up in the grade book and can be graded using the SpeedGrader tool. As an instructor, you can select an assignment type when creating an assignment shell. However, you can also create assignments within an assignment type by visiting each type's respective Index Page.

>> Be sure to set a due date when you create an assignment; when you do this, Canvas creates an entry in the To Do list on the student's Dashboard to help them track their assignments.

When creating an assignment in Canvas, instructors can specify the following information:

• Assignment name and description: This is where instructors can provide students with details about the assignment, such as its purpose, requirements, and due date.
• Submission type: Instructors can specify how students should submit the assignment, such as uploading a file or typing directly into a text box.
• Grading criteria: Instructors can specify how the assignment will be graded, including the grading scale, rubrics, or criteria for partial credit.
• Availability and due dates: Instructors can specify when the assignment is available to students and its due date.
• Assignment group: Instructors can group assignments by category, such as "quizzes," "papers," or "presentations."

Adding Documents to an Assignment:

You can attach documents to an assignment by clicking the Attach button and selecting the file you want to attach. You can choose from course files and/or your computer.

Editing Assignments

When editing assignments, make sure to click the notification box at the bottom of the page before saving so students receive a notification about any changes made, if necessary.

Peer Review

Canvas peer review is a feature that allows instructors to enable students to review and provide feedback on each other's work. Setting up Peer Review:

• Create an assignment: To enable peer review, you must first create an assignment in Canvas.
• Enable peer review: In the assignment details page, click on the "Peer Reviews" tab. From there, you can enable peer review and configure the settings for the review process. You can choose whether reviews are anonymous or not, how many reviews each student should complete, and the criteria for review.
• Assign reviewers: Once peer review has been enabled, you can assign reviewers to each submission. Canvas will automatically assign reviewers based on the settings you specified, but you can also manually assign reviewers if necessary.
• Review submissions: Once peer review has been completed, you can review the feedback provided by each reviewer. You can access the reviews by going to the "SpeedGrader" tab in the assignment details page. From there, you can view the original submission, the reviewer's comments, and the reviewer's score.

External Tools

Canvas features integrations for Perusall, Turnitin, and VoiceThread, which allow instructors to incorporate additional feedback and promote academic integrity.

Additionally, Canvas's analytics tools allow instructors to track student progress on assignments and identify areas where students may need additional support.

• View Course Analytics
• What are Assignments?

Allowing or Restricting Late Assignments

When you create or edit an assignment you can set limits on how many times a student can submit an assignment under the "Submission Attempts" section. 

You set the assignment due date in the "Assign" section at the bottom of the page. In this section you also set when an assignment is available to students. Be sure to enter a date in the "Available from" box, or students will not be able to make a submission. If you do not want to allow late assignments, enter the submission cut off date in the "Until" box.

Ungraded and Graded Discussions

Discussions allow students and instructors to create posts in response to a prompt you create, or they can take the form of a group discussion. You can choose to make your Discussions ungraded or graded. 

Canvas Instructor Guide: Discussions  • Discussions Video Tutorial

Discussion Types

• Focused Discussion: Use a focused discussion for single posts and related comments. One discussion leader typically posts a message and multiple learners comment on it.
• Threaded Discussion: This type of discussion allows participants to respond to a post and create a thread of replies. Threaded discussions include infinite layers of response nesting, allowing commenters to continue responding on a single nested thread. Threaded discussions lend themselves to the refining of complex ideas.
• Student-Generated Discussions: Students are able to create their own discussions. If you would like to remove this option, open "Discussions" from the course navigation menu at left and click the settings gear (first image below), then unclick the "Create Discussion Topics" box under "Student Settings" in the pop-up modal that will appear on the screen (second image below). 

Creating a Discussion

To begin, click on "Discussion" in the the course's left side bar. Then on the Discussion's page, click the red "+ Discussion" button in the top right corner. 

On the new Discussion page, you can enter your prompt. If you look for the word "Options" near the bottom of the page, you'll see check boxes that allow you to allow students to respond to each other in threaded replies, you can require students to post before viewing other responses by checking the appropriate box, and you can check a box to set a Discussion as graded or ungraded. 

Because I want this to be a graded discussion, I checked the "Graded" box in this options section, which brings up more fields like "Points Possible," a drop down menu for the groups you want to assign the discussion to, and information to fill out about when the Discussion assignment is due. 

Be sure to save and publish your Discussion! 

Canvas Instructor Guide: Rubrics •  Canvas Rubrics Overview Video

Rubrics in Canvas are a feature that allows instructors to create a set of criteria for evaluating student work and assigning grades. Rubrics provide a clear and transparent framework for grading assignments, making it easier for instructors to provide feedback and for students to understand what is expected of them.

To create a rubric in Canvas, instructors can navigate to the Assignments tool and select the assignment they want to create a rubric for. They can then select the "View Rubric" option and create a new rubric, or edit an existing one.

Rubrics in Canvas can be based on a variety of criteria, such as content, organization, grammar, and citation. Instructors can also customize the criteria to align with specific learning objectives and course outcomes.

Once a rubric is created, instructors can use it to evaluate student work by selecting the appropriate rubric when grading an assignment. The rubric provides a clear set of expectations and criteria for each level of achievement, which allows instructors to assign grades more accurately and provide more effective feedback to students.

Rubrics can also be added to discussions and Quizzes .

Demonstration of Rubrics

Here is a sample rubric in editing mode.

To add a rubric to an assignment, open the assignment and click the "+ Rubric" button at the bottom of the assignment's page.

This will open a pop-up with any rubrics you have created. Select the rubric you want to apply to the assignment, then click the "Use This Rubric" button at the bottom of the pop-up.

Here is what a sample assignment with a rubric looks like.

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Teaching Commons > Teaching Guides > Technology > Desire2Learn > Tools > More Tools > Rubrics

Rubrics in D2L

Rubrics contain criteria that list the attributes on which an assignment will be assessed and levels that list the standards each criterion must meet. A specific grade or score is usually assigned to each level.

Once a rubric is created, there are a number of ways it can be used:

• Create a Rubric
• Attach a Rubric to a Submission Folder
• Attach a Rubric to a Discussion Topic
• Grade Submissions with an Associated Rubric
• Grade Discussion Board Posts with an Associated Rubric

Instructors can also modify rubrics:

• Modify Rubric Visibility Settings
• Edit a Rubric
• Modify Rubric Accessibility Status
• Copy a Rubric

For more information on designing rubrics, visit the Rubrics teaching guide .

Create a New Rubric

• Select Edit Course in the course navigation bar.
• Select Course Administration from the dropdown menu.
• Select Rubrics under the Assessment heading.
• Select  New Rubric . 
• Enter a name for the rubric.
• Select a Rubric type from the dropdown menu.
• Analytic  (default option): Multiple criterion rubrics that assess granular achievement on an activity. This is the recommended option.
• Holistic : Single criterion rubrics that assess overall achievement on an activity.
• Select a Scoring method  from the dropdown menu.
• Points  (default option): The rubric will calculate a numeric score with all criteria weighted equally.
• Custom Points : The rubric will calculate a numeric score with some criteria weighted more heavily than others.  Individual criterion cells in custom point rubrics dynamically scale when editing the criterion out-of value. 
• No Score : The rubric will display only text feedback, not a numeric score.
• Percentage (only available if Holistic was selected as the rubric Type):  A percentage can be assigned based on the level score of the associated activity.
• To add levels, select the +  button [A].

• To add a Criterion, select   +Add Criterion  [A].
• To remove a Criterion, select the ellipsis [B].

• All Level and Criteria text, as well as point values, can be changed by clicking in the corresponding field or box.
• To assess different aspects of an assignment separately, such as grammar usage and writing style, one can add more than one section or group of criteria. Each Criteria Group can include different descriptions and point values. To add the new group, select the Add Criteria Group button.
• The Overall Score section totals the scores earned on each Level for each Criterion.
• Select  Close  when finished setting up the rubric.

Set Additional Options for Rubric and Score Visibility 

Choose if the rubric will be visible to students and when.  D2L has three options for rubric visibility and the option to hide scores, both listed under Options.  If necessary, select the dropdown arrow to expand Options.

• Rubric is visible to learners: Students will be able to see the empty Rubric before submitting work, and then see a link to the graded Rubric once assessments are published.
• Rubric is hidden from students: Only instructors, TAs and Graders will see the rubric attached to a tool.
• Rubric is hidden until feedback published: Students will see a link to the graded Rubric once assessments are published.
• Hide scores from students : If this box is checked, students will still see check marks without a numerical score in each Level and the Overall Score Level in the rubric. The published score for the entire assignment will appear in the Score field.

Change the Status of a Rubric from the Rubrics Homepage

• Select  Edit Course in the course navigation bar
• Select Course Administration  from the dropdown menu.
• Select  Rubrics under the Assessment heading.
• Select the dropdown arrow [A] next to the name of the rubric.

• Select  Published . 

Note: Keep in mind that before a rubric can be linked to an assessment item in D2L, it needs to be "Published".

Associate a Rubric with a Submission Folder

When a rubric is associated with a Submission Folder, this makes it so that the criteria are available to students before submitting an assignment. It also allows instructors to easily grade Submissions with the rubric.

• Go to the Submissions area.
• Select the dropdown arrow [A] next to the name of the submission folder. 

• Under the Evaluation and Feedback section, select  Add Rubric . 
• The Select Rubric window will open. Select the checkbox next to the rubric that needs to be associated.
• Choose Add Selected . 
• Select Save and Close .

Associate a Rubric with a Discussion Board

• Go to the Discussions  area.
• Select the dropdown arrow [A] next to name of the discussion topic.

• Select the Evaluation & Feedback  tab.
• Select  Add Rubric . 
• Select Create New  or Add Existing . If creating a new rubric, see Creating a Rubric .
• If adding an existing rubric, a popup window will open. Select the checkbox next to the rubric that needs to be associated.
• Choose Add Selected .
• Select  Save and Close .

Edit a Rubric

Once a rubric has been used to assess a student, only its textual components can be edited. If edits to the point values are necessary,  make a copy of the existing rubric and then associate the new rubric.

• Select  Edit Course  in the course navigation bar.
• Select Rubrics under the Assessment heading. 
• Select the dropdown arrow [A] next to the name of the rubric.

• The "Edit" page will open with the following message: "The rubric is locked to structural changes because it has already been used to assess learner work." Select Edit Text next to this message.
• A warning message will open with information about how the edits will be applied. Once reviewed, select Edit Text .
• Make any changes to the text areas of the rubric. These changes will be applied to past and future evaluations with the rubric.
• When finished, select Close .

Copy a Rubric

Rubrics can be copied if changes to point values must be made after a rubric has been used for evaluation. The copy will need to be associated with the activity to be used.

• Select the name of the copied rubric.
• Replace the name of the rubric with a new name.
• Make changes to the rubric's properties, levels or criteria if needed.
• To associate the new rubric to a grade item, follow the steps for "Associating a Rubric with a Discussion Board" or "Associating a Rubric with a Submission Folder."

Grade a Submission with a Rubric

• Select  Submissions  in the course navigation bar.
• Select the name of the submission folder.
• Select the name of the file that needs to graded. 
• Select the name of the rubric associated with the submission folder.  It is listed under the Evaluation and Feedback section. 
• The rubric will appear in a new window. Select the box for the level the student achieved for each criterion.  As scores are selected for each criteria, the rubric will automatically update the overall score.
• Select Add Feedback in the criteria column to enter qualitative feedback.

Note: Selecting the X in the feedback window will clear all text that was just entered. 

• The rubric will automatically save as information is entered. When finished scoring the rubric, select Close .
• Select  Save Draft or Publish.

Note: Until  Publish is selected, all assessments and feedback entered are hidden from student view. 

Grade a Discussion Post with a Rubric

• Select Discussions  in the course navigation bar.
• Select the dropdown arrow [A] next to the name of the discussion topic. 

• For each student, select Topic Score .
• The rubric will appear in a new window. Select the  box for the level the student achieved for each criterion.  As scores are selected for each criteria, the rubric will automatically update the overall score.
• Select  Add Feedback  in the criteria column to enter qualitative feedback.
• The rubric will automatically save as information is entered. Select  Save Draft  or​   Publish.

How do I add/edit a rubric in Brightspace?

Brightspace , Instructor Help

This post will walk you through how to add or edit a rubric and how to associate a rubric with an assignment or discussion topic. Sample rubrics and more information on rubrics are available below.

Please note that rubrics that have already been used to provide any form of student feedback (including drafts) will be locked, so no more changes can be made to it. If you would like to edit a locked rubric, you can select the drop-down arrow icon next to the rubric name and select  Copy . A copy of the rubric will appear at the top of the list, which you can then edit.

Adding or Editing a Rubric

Select “Course Admin” from “Course Tools” in the navigation bar.

Under Assessment, select Rubrics.

• On the  Rubrics  page, click  New Rubric . If you are editing a rubric, select it from the list.
• Enter/edit your rubric details. The rubric will automatically save any changes you make. For more information (e.g., types of rubrics, scoring methods, visibility, etc.), see the notes below or New / Edit Rubric page – Properties tab.
• Once you are finished, click Close .

Associating a Pre-existing Rubric with an Assignment

Select “Assignments” from the drop-down menu.

Select “Edit Assignment” from the drop-down menu next to the title of the assignment you want to add a rubric to.

You can add a rubric or create a new one when editing an assignment.

• Once you are finished, click  Save and Close .

Associating a Pre-existing Rubric with a Discussion Topic

Click on “Discussions”.

Click “Edit Topic”.

You can add a rubric under the “Assessment” tab when editing a discussion topic.

Sample Rubrics

An example of an analytic rubric with four levels of scoring.

A holistic rubric with four levels of scores.

Customizable Rubric Details

The following is a list of rubric terms and definitions, from top to bottom.

Name : A unique name for the rubric, for example, Critical Evaluation.

Rubric Status : The availability of the rubric:

• Draft : The initial status of a rubric. Draft rubrics are not yet available for new associations with assessments (e.g., assignments and/or grade items).
• Published : Associations with assessments can be made with published rubrics. Once a rubric has an association, you cannot change the rubric’s name, description, levels, and criteria.
• Archived : Archived rubrics do not appear in default search results and are not available for new associations. Existing associations with archived rubrics remain functional. Note : Users with permission to change a rubric’s status can do so at any time.

Rubric Type : The type of rubric:

• Analytic : Two-dimensional rubrics with levels of achievement as columns and assessment criteria as rows. Allows you to assess participants’ achievements based on multiple criteria using a single rubric. You can assign different weights (value) to different criteria and include an overall achievement by totaling the criteria. With analytic rubrics, levels of achievement display in columns, and your assessment criteria display in rows. Analytic rubrics may use points, customs points, or text only scoring method. Points and custom points analytic rubrics may use both text and points to assess performance; with custom points, each criterion may be worth a different number of points. For both points and custom points, an Overall Score is provided based on the total number of points achieved. The Overall Score determines if learners meet the criteria determined by instructors. You can manually override the Total and the Overall Score of the rubric.
• Holistic : Single criterion rubrics (one-dimensional) used to assess participants’ overall achievement on an activity or item based on predefined achievement levels. Holistic rubrics may use a percentage or text only scoring method.

Scoring Method : used to assess rubrics with textual performance levels such as  Excellent , or with text and numeric score such as  Excellent (90 points) . There are several ways to score a rubric:

• No Score : Performance levels indicated by the text. For example, three performance levels for a rubric can be Poor, Good, and Excellent.
• Points : This scoring method is only available to analytic rubrics. Performance levels indicated by points. For example, three performance levels for a rubric can be Poor (0 points), Good (75 points), and Excellent (125 points).
• Custom Points : This scoring method is only available to analytic rubrics. The Custom Points scoring method is similar to the Points scoring method, but you can customize the points given for each criterion. For example, if performance levels are Poor, Good, and Excellent, then the criterion Spelling and Grammar can be worth 0 points, 10 points, and 20 points for each level and the criterion Expression can be worth 0 points, 30 points, and 60 points, making it worth three times the points of Spelling and Grammar.
• Percentages : This scoring method is only available to holistic rubrics. A holistic rubric using Percentages can be automatically assessed based on the score of its associated item, for example, a Grade item.

Under Options

Rubric Visibility:  The visibility of the rubric. Hiding a rubric is useful for preventing learners from using the preview rubric as an answer key for an activity. For more information, see  Visibility of rubrics .

Hide Scores : Hide scores from learner view.

Description : A detailed description of the rubric. Note that this description is not shown to learners and is only visible to instructors. For example, Critical thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion.

Advanced Availability : Associates a rubric with a tool such as Competencies or Brightspace ePortfolio as a means of assessing items created in those tools. When you create an association for a rubric, you cannot edit or delete the rubric. To make changes after associating it with a tool, you should change the rubric’s status to Archived, then copy the rubric and make your changes to the new copy. To associate your rubric with Competencies or Brightspace ePortfolio, select the  Competencies  or  ePortfolio checkboxes.

Rubric options, including visibility and description.

Please note the following:

• The top of the page displays the rubric type and scoring method. You can change the type and scoring method at any time; however, changing your rubric from analytic to holistic will cause all but the first row of your rubric to be deleted.
• As you add or edit rubric information, your changes are automatically saved.
• You can re-order criteria using drag and drop or using your keyboard.
• A rubric description is what is required to achieve the level for each criterion. Achievement level descriptions help evaluators determine which level best reflects a user’s achievement. The more detailed your descriptions are, the more consistent evaluations will be.
• You can add bolding, italics, and lists to rubric descriptions. You can also use Insert Stuff to add third-party content, for example, images. Rubric descriptions do not support replace strings and additional HTML code.
• You can add predefined feedback that appears to users who achieve a specific level, and it is an easy way to communicate a rubric’s evaluation methodology. Predefined feedback does not support HTML.
• If you are creating a holistic rubric that uses a percentage scoring method, enter a start range. The start range for your lowest achievement level is automatically set to 0%. The start range for other levels should be the lowest percentage acceptable for the level. The highest percentage is determined by the start range for the level above.

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Guide to Using Rubrics

Use rubrics to grade course assignments and discussions by measuring performance of your students.

Rubrics may be added to the following course materials:

• Assessments (subjective questions only)
• Assignments
• Discussions
• Tests/Quizzes (Short Answer/Essay Question only)

Create Rubrics

You can create a custom rubric in the Grade Setup area of a course, or you can create them directly from an assignment or graded discussion and save them in Grade Setup for reuse.

You may also create rubrics in your Resources and copy them to any course you administer, and you can copy individual rubrics between courses or to your Resources from the Grade Setup area of your courses.

You can add two types of criteria to a rubric:

• Custom criteria that you add and update manually.
• Criteria aligned to standardized learning objectives, such as Common Core or state standards.

To save a custom rubric to a course:

• Select Grade Setup in the left menu of the Course Page.
• In the upper-right corner of the page, click the Add menu in the Scales-Rubrics section and then select Rubric to open the Rubric Editor.
• Add a Rubric Title .
• Add titles and descriptions for each learning objective.
• To add additional rows of custom criteria, click +Criteria below the rubric.
• Click Align Learning Objective below the rubric.
• Click through the standards browser levels to each desired objective, or type keywords in the search box.
• When you reach the desired learning objective, click to highlight it, and then click Add Learning Objective to add it as a criteria.

To replace the rubric’s grading scale with a custom scale from your course, click Apply Grading Scale in the upper-right corner and then select the desired point-based scale from the menu.

You can only apply point-based grading scales to rubrics. You cannot undo this action after completing it.

• Use the menu items on the upper left to close, expand, or hide the rubric.
• As you add rows and columns and adjust points scales, the total points available for the rubric update automatically in the Total Pts field.
• Click Create to complete.

Further customize your rubric

• To add additional columns to the scale, hover over the cell and click the + icon that appears to the left and right of each cell.
• To change the points and descriptions for individual grading scale levels, click into their respective fields, and add new ones.
• To remove a row or column, hover over the cell and click on the x icon that appears in the upper right.
• To reorder the rows, click on the double bars to the left and drag it to the appropriate location.

To create a rubric directly from a course discussion or assignment:

• Create the discussion or assignment, or click the gear icon to the right and select Edit in the menu to open an existing discussion or assignment.
• Open the Scale/Rubric menu and select Create New to open the Rubric Editor.
• Follow the above instructions to create a rubric, starting at step 4, to complete the rubric.

Adding Criteria, Learning Objectives, and Grading Scales to Rubrics

• The first two rows in the Criteria column are standards-aligned criteria. Click +Learning Objectives to add standards-based criteria to your rubric, and track your students' progress on these criteria in Mastery .
• The second two rows are custom criteria. Click +Criteria to create your own criteria to add to the rubric.

Alternatively, you may choose one of your grading scales from the menu to replace the rubric’s current grading scale. Click Apply Grading Scale in the upper-right corner of the rubric to apply your scale to your rubric.

Use Rubrics for Grading

• Rubrics cannot be used to grade an entire Test/Quiz or Assessment. Rather, they can be used to evaluate a specific question on a test, such as a short answer question.
• Only one rubric may be added to a course material or item. It is not possible to add multiple rubrics to one item.

To add rubrics to assignments or graded discussions:

• Click on the Scale/Rubric menu.
• Select an existing rubric, or create a new one specific to the graded item.

Changing the Overall Score of a Rubric-Graded Assignment

You can also change the overall score of the assignment in the rubric without changing any of the scores for the individual criteria — for example, if you need to lower the grade for a late submission, but don’t want student mastery reporting to inaccurately reflect a lack of understanding of a criterion in the rubric.

To change the overall score in the rubric, click in the Total Pts cell, and add the new score. After changing the score, a clear override link displays below the score — click this link to revert the score back to the total of the individual criterion scores.

Display Rubrics to Students

When your students view the assignment description, the rubric is included with the description.

Edit, Copy, Delete, or Save to Resources

When you change an existing rubric, the change applies to the rubric in all the materials that use the rubric throughout the course. If you want to change a rubric for a specific item, we recommend that you create a new rubric instead of adjusting an existing one.

Changes made to a rubric do not affect copies of the rubric that you have added to other courses.

To edit a rubric:

• To add additional columns to the scale, hover over the cell and click on the + icon that displays to the left and right of each cell.
• To remove a row or column, hover over the cell and click on the x icon that appears in the upper-right.
• To reorder the rows, click on the double bars to the left and drag the criterion to the desired row.
• Click Save to save your changes.

You can also copy a rubric you’ve created in one course and add it to any other courses in which you’re an Administrator.

To copy a rubric and add it to a different course in which you are an A dministrator:

• In Grade Setup , click Rubrics in the Scales/Rubrics area to display a list of all rubrics in your course.
• Select Copy to Course in the menu that displays.
• In the Copy to menu, click the box next to each course to which you want to copy your rubric.
• Click Add to add the rubric to each course you selected in the list.

To copy all rubrics and add to a different course in which you are an Administrator:

• In Grade Setup, click Copy Settings on the top right of the page.
• Under Select Settings to Copy , check the box next to Rubrics .
• Select each course you wish the rubrics to be copied over to.
• Click Copy to complete.

To delete a rubric:

Once you have removed the rubric from all graded items, click Delete in the menu to remove the rubric from the course.

You cannot retrieve rubrics after deleting them from a course. Deleting a rubric is a permanent action.

To save a rubric to your Resources area :

• Select Save to Resources in the menu that displays.
• In the Save Rubric to Resources menu, select the Collection and the Folder in your Resources to which you want to add the Rubric.
• Click Save Copy to add the rubric to the Resource area you selected.

Copy Gradebook Settings

You can copy grading categories, scales, and rubrics from one course to another course you administer.

To copy Gradebook settings:

• In the upper-right of the course's Grade Setup area, click Copy Settings .
• Select the options you'd like to copy to another course.

Please note, these errors can depend on your browser setup.

If this problem persists, please contact our support.

Create and edit an assignment's rubric from the Admin Console

What is a rubric?

Every Assignment can have a rubric. A rubric consists of rubric categories . Rubric categories consist of rubric comments .

How to edit a rubric

To edit an assignment's rubric, navigate to the Rubric Editor as shown below. 

To add a category, hit the "Create a category" button. ​

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Editing Rubrics in Assignments

In Teams, you can't edit a rubric once it's been added to an Assignment.

The workaround is to remove the rubric, and then add it again to get the 'edit rubric' box. It would be excellent if Microsoft added a simple "edit rubric" function that allowed you to edit a rubric without having to remove the rubric, wait for it to be removed (as it's not instant) and then re-adding.

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