Using Rubrics in Brightspace

Owned by Skylar Grant
Last updated: Nov 04, 2024 by Dylan Reichert
4 min read

IMPORTANT: This article discusses the technical aspects of creating and using Rubrics in Brightspace. There are a number of evidence-based design strategies and time-saving "life hacks" in rubrics that can help you with your productivity, clarity of feedback, and speed-of scoring students. These will be discussed in an upcoming "Learning Design Matters with Brightspace Rubrics" article: TBA. 

Rubrics are valuable tools in education for assessing and evaluating student work systematically and consistently. In Brightspace, you can create and use rubrics to streamline grading, provide clear expectations, and offer constructive feedback to your students. This article will guide you through the process of using rubrics in Brightspace.

Creating a Rubric

  1. Log in to your Brightspace course.

  2. Navigate to the Course Admin

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  1. Under the Assessment section Select Rubrics

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  1. Click on New Rubric and give it a name and description.

  1. Select Holistic or Analytic to select a rubric style

  1. Add criteria and levels to the rubric, along with descriptions for each level.

  2. Save the rubric.

Attaching a Rubric to an Assignment:

  1. Go to the assignment you want to assess using a rubric

  1. Click on Edit or New Assignment

  1. In the "Evaluation and Feedback" section on the right, find the "Rubric" field and select the rubric you created.

  1. Save your changes.

Attaching a Rubric to a Discussion

  1. Go to the discussion topic you want to assess using a rubric by Selecting Assignments > Discussions

  1. Click on Edit Topic

  1. Under Evaluation & Feedback tab, find the Add Rubric field and select the rubric you created.

  1. Save your changes.

Attaching a Rubric to a Quiz

Rubrics can only be attached to Quiz questions that are Written Responses.

  1. Go to the quiz you want to assess using a rubric.

  1. Click on Edit or New Quiz

  2. Find the question you want to add a rubric to or create one by selecting Create New > Written Response

  3. Next select Add Rubric and select the rubric you want to apply to the question

 

  1. Save your changes.

Grading with Rubrics:

  • When grading an assignment or discussion access the rubric by clicking on the assignment or discussion’s name.

  • Evaluate each criterion by clicking on the appropriate level for each.

  • The rubric will automatically calculate the total score.

  • Optionally, add overall comments or feedback per-item when allowed.

Grading Quiz Written Response questions with Rubrics

  • Click the drop down arrow next to the quiz you would like to grade and select Grade

  • Select the attempts you want to grade

  • You will be met with an option to enter the “new quiz evaluation experience” select Turn it on button to enable it so you can grade using rubrics.

  • Fill out the criterion defined by the rubric and the scores will automatically calculate.

Editing and Deleting Rubrics:

  • To edit a rubric, click on it in the "Rubrics" section and select "Edit."

  • To delete a rubric, click on the rubric and choose "Delete.