Brightspace Tip #167: Interactive Rubrics

Brightspace interactive rubrics help instructors:

• Increase Efficiency - Rubrics are built into the grading workflow. Rubrics click-and-score simplicity saves time.
• Provide Consistent and Quality Feedback - Rubrics enable instructors to provide consistent evaluation and contextual feedback to students.
• Promote 21st Century Skills - Rubrics make it easier to assign essay questions, individual and group assignments, and discussion forums as assessment activities which foster critical thinking and collaboration.

Rubrics allow instructors to establish set criteria for grading assignments; instructors can attach rubrics to submission folders so that the criteria are available to students before they submit their assignment.

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. In Brightspace, you can use a rubric to calculate scores for multiple criteria to determine an overall score for an assignment.

Rubrics can be used to display the number of points students were awarded for each criterion after the assignment is graded and rubrics can also be used to provide customized feedback.

Instructors can choose to have the rubrics visible to students at any time, only after grading has been completed, or not shown to the students at all.

If you are looking for more information on rubrics, check out these resources:

• TLEE Podcast #87: Jay Todd on Rubrics
• Creating and Using Rubrics (Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning at Yale)
• Sample Discussion Rubrics (pdf)
• Grading Rubrics: Sample Scales

NOTE: The Brightspace Rubrics tool is different from Turnitin Rubrics.

Follow these steps to do it.

To create a rubric you should:

1. On the navbar, click Course Admin.
2. Click Rubrics.
3. On the Rubrics page, click New Rubric.
4. Enter a name for your rubric.
5. Change the status of your rubric, if necessary.
6. Choose the rubric Type and Scoring method.
7. Enter the criteria, levels, criteria/level details, and initial feedback for your rubric.
8. Enter details for the Overall Score feedback.
9. Click Options and choose the options for your rubric.
10. Click Close.

Note: Rubric changes are automatically saved.

To attach a rubric to a Discussion topic:

Note: You must first create a rubric and set its Status to Published.

1. On the course home page, click Discussions in the NavBar.
2. Click Edit Topic from the context menu of the discussion topic you want to attach a rubric to.
3. In the Assessments tab, click Add Rubric.
4. Select the check box for the rubric you want to attach to the discussion topic.
5. Click Add Selected.
6. Click Save and Close.

To attach a rubric to an Assignment:

Note: You must first create a rubric and set its Status to Published.

1. On the NavBar, click Activities and then click on Assignments.
2. Click Edit Assignment from the context menu of the assignment you want to attach a rubric to.
3. In the Properties tab, click Add Rubric.
4. Select the check box for the rubric you want to attach to the assignment.
5. Click Add Selected.
6. Click Save and Close.

Want more information?

Rubrics Tool Quick Reference Guide (pdf)
Create a Rubric
Create an Analytic Rubric (video)
Create a Weighted Rubric (video)
Create a Holistic Rubric (video)
Add a Rubric to an Existing Activity (video)
Attach a Rubric to a Discussion Topic (video)
Grading with a Rubric
Add Feedback and Evaluations to Assignments (video)
Rubrics FAQ

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Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.

Image credit: "rubric" by Cleonard1973 licensed under CC BY-SA-4.0