Create rubrics

To access the Rubrics tool:

1. Click Subject Admin in your site and then click Rubrics.

   

2. The Rubrics tool opens.

   

Click on New Rubric to start creating your rubric.

You can also access the Rubrics tool from the Assignments or Discussions tools. For the steps to follow, see Choose marking and feedback options in Create assignments.

To create a points-based rubric:

1. Open the Rubrics tool in your site.
2. Click New Rubric.

   

   This will launch the Rubrics editor. All work within the editor is saved automatically.
   

3. Name your rubric.
   Keeping in mind that you may need to retrieve, duplicate and sort through many rubrics within Brightspace, be as specific as possible in naming your rubric.
   
   We recommend you include the following:
   • subject code (no sessions, no cohorts – unless you are intending to use different rubrics for different cohorts)
   • task number (e.g. A1, A2, A3, etc.)
   • task title
   • task-type (if not identified in the task title – e.g. Essay)
   • rubric type – points-based or no-score.

4. Configure your rubric.
   • Type: select Analytic (if not already selected). This creates a multi-criterion rubric with levels as columns, and assessment criteria as rows. The alternative, Holistic rubric type, is a single-criterion rubric.
   • Scoring: Change Scoring type to Custom Points.
     Once you change the Scoring type to Custom Points, you will see a numeric mark field for every criterion level. A total criterion mark field will now be visible on the right-hand side.



During the marking process, you can enter a range of possible mark values. The number visible in the mark field when you create or edit the rubric is the maximum possible value for that criterion level.

5. Define your rubric.
   1. Levels: By default, the rubric will come with several columns, initially labelled as Level X. Ensure you have five columns as required by our standard CSU rubric. To add columns, click the + icon on the right-hand side. To remove a column, click the bin icon within the header of the column to be removed.
      
      Replace the default column headings with our CSU rubric headings (HD (85–100%), DI (75–84%), CR (65–74%), PS (50–64%), FL (<50%)) as pictured below.

      

      
      
      Adjust your values
      Brightspace will automatically populate the marks for each criterion level (e.g. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1) and the maximum marks (e.g. 5).

      

      • In each row, start by entering the total criterion mark field on the far right-hand side. For example, if the maximum possible mark for a criterion is 10, enter the value 10 in the total criterion mark field. Brightspace will automatically adjust each of the other numeric mark fields equally across the row.
      • Adjust the individual mark values, if necessary, by entering the highest possible mark for each criterion level. For example, if the maximum possible mark for a criterion were 10, the maximum mark for a Credit (74%) would be 7.4. If it were 5, the maximum mark for a Credit would be 3.7.

      You can use a points-based rubric to mark out of 100. Alternatively, you can use the actual task value/weighting of the assessment item (e.g. 30%) to determine what each criterion (and then the total) is worth. Either way, once you attach the rubric to an assessment item, Brightspace will convert the rubric total mark into the equivalent value identified for the assessment itself.

   2. Criterion: by default, the rubric tool will include several criterion rows. You may need to add rows (click Add Criterion at the bottom) or remove rows (click the three dots and select Delete Row) so that you have the correct number of criteria for your task. Label your criteria, keeping in mind that there are no formatting options available. We recommend you keep these labels as concise as possible.

      

   Brightspace has a character limit for criterion and column header labels of 256 characters. If your existing criteria statements are too long, we recommend that you provide concise versions of them within Brightspace. Expanded criteria could be included as an attachment to the assessment, or in directions to view the full criteria on the Subject Outline.

   Concise criteria statements are a key aspect of effective rubric design. The detail should be in the performance standards which should define how well students need to demonstrate those criteria to earn a specific criterion level.

   If you would like guidance on crafting concise criteria statements, please Log a Service Request.

   You can now populate your criterion levels with text that describes the performance standards that apply by copying and pasting from your source document (e.g. Subject Outline / Excel template). You will note that the Brightspace text editor is available for text within the criterion levels, so bulleting and other format options can be added.

   Initial feedback: The initial feedback option allows you to enter standardised criterion-specific feedback for each criterion level. During marking the initial feedback will be applied automatically to the student’s submission. A marker will be able to personalise the pre-populated feedback as appropriate for the student.

   

   3. Add Criteria Group: the Rubrics tool includes a feature to allow clustering of criteria under different headings (criteria groups).
      Overall Score: the Rubrics tool includes a row for the overall mark. This will be populated automatically during the marking process based on the marks entered for individual criteria. Copy the column headings you have used above, and add the maximum overall mark at each grade level. You can also add overall level descriptions in the text fields.
6. Configure rubric Options.
   At the bottom of the rubric editor is an Options section allowing you to customise your rubric further (pictured below).

   

   Rubric Visibility: There are three different options for rubric visibility:

   • Rubric is visible to students: Students will be able to view the rubric before submitting their work and then the marked rubric.
   • Rubric is hidden from students: Students do not see rubrics or rubric feedback. However, if you select Include rubric feedback in overall feedback, the learner can see any feedback provided on the rubric as part of the overall feedback.
   • Rubric is hidden from students until feedback is published: Students can see both the rubric and the feedback only after the mark is published.

   Score Visibility: Consider if you need to amend the Score Visibility setting. Selecting this option will hide scores from students in the rubric feedback, though they will still see checkmarks. The overall mark for the assessment item will be visible in My Grades once the mark is published.

   Description: This text is only visible to staff users via the rubric dashboard. Adding this text might be helpful to distinguish between rubrics in the dashboard. This text is optional, but if you do use it, we recommend the description is kept short.

   Advanced Availability: refers to other Brightspace tool areas currently not being utilised – please ignore.

7. Close (finish) your new rubric. 
   Once you click Close at the very bottom of the editor, you will be returned to the Rubrics tool main screen.

To create a no-score rubric, follow the steps in Create a points-based rubric above, selecting No Score rather than Custom Points at step 4.

Numeric fields will not appear in a no-score rubric.

If you need to copy an existing rubric within your subject site, the Rubrics tool makes it easy.

1. Access the Rubrics tool.
2. Click the drop-down arrow next to the name of the rubric you wish to copy.
3. Click Copy.

You will now see Copy of <rubric name> listed in the Rubrics tool main screen. Edit this as appropriate, noting that its status is initially set to Draft. Do not forget to rename it using the convention described in Create a points-based rubric, step 3.

Other options available from the drop-down include:

• Edit: Opens the rubric editor.
• Preview: Opens the full rubric for the instructor to view (and print if desired).
• Set Status: Changes rubric readiness between Draft, Published, & Archived.
• View Statistics: Allows learner data for the task to be scrutinised (Session Subject site).
• Delete: Name says it all!

To add a rubric to an assignment:

1. Access the Assignments tool.
   
   
   At this point you can either create a new assignment or edit an existing one.
2. To edit an existing assignment, click on the the arrow next to the assignment, then click Edit Assignment.
   
3. On the assignment creation screen, open the Evaluation and Feedback expanding accordion bar on the right hand side.
4. Click the Add Rubric drop-down menu and select Add Existing.
   
   
   A dialogue box will appear with a list of all the rubrics in your site.
5. Select the rubric you wish to attach and then click Add Selected.
   
   
   Once your rubric is attached you will be able to see it listed in the Evaluation & Feedback expanding accordion bar. A chain icon will also appear next to the name of the assignment in the Assignments tool main screen.
   

You can add multiple rubrics to an assignment.  Brightspace will derive the overall assignment mark automatically from the first percentage/points-based rubric added to an assignment. If necessary, the automatically derived mark can be overridden by entering a numeric value manually in the Overall Grade field for the assignment.

To add a rubric to a discussion topic:

1. Access the Discussions tool.
   
   
   
   You can choose to create a new discussion or edit an existing topic. To edit an existing discussion topic, click the arrow next to the discussion topic and then click Edit Topic.
   
   
2. In the discussion topic creation screen, open the Evaluation and Feedback expanding accordion bar on the right hand side, then click Add Rubric and select Add Existing to attach a rubric to the discussion topic.
   
   
3. A dialogue box will appear with a list of all the rubrics in your site.
   
   Select the rubric you wish to attach and then click Add Selected .
   
   Once your rubric is attached you will be able to see it listed in the Evaluation & Feedback expanding accordion bar.
   
   

You can add multiple rubrics to a discussion topic.  Brightspace will derive the overall discussion topic mark automatically from the first percentage/points-based rubric added to a discussion topic, unless Allow evaluation of individual posts is selected. If necessary, the automatically derived mark can be overridden by entering a numeric value manually in the Overall Grade field.