Grading with a Rubric

A Rubric is an assessment tool for communicating expectations of quality.  They are comprised of rows and columns that define the criteria being used and the levels of performance for each criterion.  They can be added to assignments, quizzes and graded discussions.

Creating, Viewing, or Editing a Rubric

Creating a Rubric

  1. In the Course Navigation, click the Rubrics link.
  2. Click the Add Rubric button.
  3. Enter a Title.
  4. By default there is one criteria and two ratings: Full Marks and No Marks.  To edit the Criterion description, click the Pencil icon.
    Screenshot of the rubric creation window. The edit description of criterion button is highlighted.
     
  5. Edit the Description and Long Description.  Click Update Criterion.
  6. To edit the Ratings description, click the Pencil icon next to the rating.
    Screenshot of the Canvas rubric creation screen. The edit button for ratings is highlighted.
     
  7. Edit the Points, Rating Title, and Rating Description.  Click Update Rating.
  8. You can change the maximum points for a criterion by editing the pts field.
  9. To add additional Ratings, click the + icon:
    Screenshot of the Canvas rubric creation page. The add rating button is highlighted.
     
  10. By default Ratings are set to an individual point value.  If you want it to be a range, check the Range box for that criterion and update the rating's point range.
  11. To add a criterion, click the +Criterion button.  You can duplicate an existing criterion or click New Criterion.  Note: currently criterion cannot be reordered after they are added to a rubric.  If you want to display them in a specific order, be sure to create them in that order.
  12. Add a Description and Long Description.  Click Create Criterion.
  13. Edit ratings and points as needed.
  14. When finished adding criteria, click Create Rubric.

Viewing or Editing a Rubric

  1. In the Course Navigation, click the Rubrics link.
  2. Click the desired rubric.
  3. Click the Edit Rubric button.  Note: a rubric cannot be edited once it has been added to more than one assignment.
  4. When finished editing, click the Update Rubric button.  

Adding a Rubric to an Assignment

You can only add a rubric to assignments that use the Online, On Paper, or No Submission submission types.

  1. Access the course and locate and click on the assignment.
  2. Click the +Rubric button:
    Screenshot of an assignment details page in Canvas. The add rubric button is highlighted.
     
  3. You can create a new rubric from this page or click Find a rubric to search for an existing one:
    Screenshot of adding a rubric to an existing Canvas assignment. The "find a rubric" button is highlighted.
     
  4. Click on the course name that has the existing rubric, highlight the rubric and click  Use This Rubric.
  5. If you want to use the rubric to calculate a grade, click the pencil to edit the rubric, check the Use this rubric for assignment grading box, and click Update Rubric.
  6. The rubric will now be added to the assignment.

Adding a Rubric to a Quiz

There are two quiz modes: Classic and New Quizzes. 

Adding a Rubric to a Classic Quiz:

  1. In the course navigation, click the Quizzes link.
  2. Click on the Name of your quiz.
  3. Click the three dots in the top-right corner and select Show Rubric:
    Screenshot of the more options button in a Canvas classic quiz. The "show rubric" button is highlighted.
     
  4. Click Add Rubric.
  5. You can create a new rubric from this page or click Find a rubric to search for an existing one.
  6. Click on the course name that has the rubric, highlight the rubric and click  Use This Rubric.
  7. The rubric will now be added to the quiz.

Adding a Rubric to a New Quiz

  1. In the course navigation, click the Quizzes link.
  2. Click on the Name of your quiz.
  3. Click the +Rubric button at the bottom of the page:
    Screenshot of the +Rubric button on a Canvas quiz.
  4. ​​​​You can create a new rubric from this page or click Find a rubric to search for an existing one.
  5. Click on the course name that has the rubric, highlight the rubric and click  Use This Rubric.
  6. The rubric will now be added to the quiz.

Adding a Rubric to a Graded Discussion

  1. In the course navigation, click the Discussions link.
  2. Click on the desired discussion.
  3. Click the three dots in the top-right corner and select Add Rubric:
    Screenshot of the more options button in a Canvas discussion. The add rubric button is highlighted.
     
  4. You can create a new rubric from this page or click Find a rubric to search for an existing one.
  5. Click on the course name that has the rubric, highlight the rubric and click  Use This Rubric.
  6. The rubric will now be added to the discussion.

Grading with a Rubric in SpeedGrader

  1. Access the assignment, graded discussion, or quiz build area and click SpeedGrader:
  2. Click the View Rubric button:
    Screenshot of the View Rubric button in SpeedGrader
     
  3. If the rubric is too small, you can drag the window to the left to make more columns visible.  Select the rating for each criterion.  If you added scores as a range, adjust the point value in the Pts field for that criterion.  
  4. Click the Speech bubble button under the pts field to leave feedback for that particular rating.
  5. You can also add a comment in the Add a comment field at the bottom.
  6. When finished click Submit.
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