What & Why
Tip & Examples
For Reviewers

ALIGNED: Rubrics or descriptive criteria for desired outcomes are included in most or all assessment activities.

A well-constructed rubric is a powerful communication tool that will provide a clear, measurable preparation process for students and a time-efficient, consistent grading process for you. That means less time grading, fewer questions or complaints about why they got a particular grade, and improved student performance in meeting your assignment standards and learning objectives.

Sounds pretty good, right?

Assignment rubrics are located below the assignment instructions. Discussion rubrics may be accessed by clicking the options menu (three little dots) in the upper-right corner of the discussion. Once you've created a rubric, you can easily attach it to another assignment/discussion (even in a different shell) using the "Find a rubric" option in the editing screen of the rubric.

If you prefer not to use the Canvas rubric tool, please ensure each assignment and assessment includes clearly described grading criteria that set expectations and provide guidance on successful completion of the assessment.

There are three parts to the rubric grid in Canvas:

Criteria: These are the big-picture categories for grading. In a Discussion, for example, your criteria might be “Initial Post” and “Replies to Classmates.”
Ratings: These are the explicit descriptions of the levels of performance that might be achieved within the specific criteria category.
Points: This is your rating scale.

Below are a couple of generic example rubrics and here's a short Byte-sized Canvas episode on rubrics. We encourage student-friendly titles and descriptions for your ratings. The term "developing" is less likely to dishearten a student than being graded as "poor," "unsatisfactory," or "failing."

Example: Discussion Rubric
Example: Essay Rubric

Rubric table with points and criteria
Points	10	7	3	0
Quality of Post	Exemplary: Insightful comments of at least 100 words that indicate clear understanding of the topic.	Accomplished: Appropriate comments of at least 50 words that reflect at least some understanding of the topic.	Developing: Responds, but with minimum effort. (e.g. "I agree with Bill")	No post made
Relevance of Post	Exemplary: Posts are directly related to discussion topic, respectful of other's postings AND prompt further discussion of topic.	Accomplished: Posts are generally related to discussion content.	Developing: Posts do not relate to the discussion content; makes short or irrelevant remarks	No post made

Rubric table with criteria and ratings
Criteria	Ratings			Points
Length of evaluation	Length of essay is between 500-750 words 5.0 pts	Length of essay is between 450-300 words 3.0 pts	Length of essay is less than 250 words 1.0 pt	5 points total
Spelling, grammar and punctuation	Virtually no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors. 5.0 pts	Some spelling, grammar and punctuation errors but the content is readable 3.0 pts	Spelling, grammar and punctuation errors make the essay difficult to understand. 1.0 pt	5 points total
Use of supporting details	The points made are supported by specific details and examples. 5.0 pts	Some points are supported by specific details and examples. 3.0 pts	Almost no details or examples are used to support points made. 1.0 pt	5 points total

The CVC-OEI Course Design Resources by CVC-OEI is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Development of this course was funded by a grant from the California Community Colleges' Chancellor's Office.

Where to Look

Look in all assessments.

What to Look For

While we encourage the use of Canvas rubrics, they are not required in order to align with this element. If assignments/quizzes include clear descriptive grading criteria, that is acceptable.

If rubrics are used, they also need to include multiple clear descriptive criteria.

Be sure to review the relevant tabs before you leave this page.

The CVC-OEI Course Design Resources by CVC-OEI is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Development of this course was funded by a grant from the California Community Colleges' Chancellor's Office.