How Do I Add a Rubric to an Assignment?

Rubrics give students clear grading criteria up front and can speed up your own grading in SpeedGrader. This guide covers building a rubric from scratch, attaching one to an assignment, and the options that control how it affects the final grade.

Before You Start: Preparation Checklist

Before you edit your assignment in Canvas, decide on the following:

• Are you building a brand-new rubric, or reusing one you already created for another assignment?
• List your criteria — the dimensions you’re grading — and how many points each is worth.
• Decide whether the rubric’s points should count toward the grade, or serve as feedback only.
• Know that once a rubric is attached to more than one assignment, Canvas won’t let you edit it — finalize your ratings before that happens.

Create a Rubric

1. In Course Navigation, click Rubrics.
2. Click Add Rubric.
3. Enter a Title that connects to the assignment it’s for, so it’s easy to find later.
4. For your first Criterion, enter a name and description of what you’re grading.
5. Set your Ratings — individual point values by default, or check Range to allow point ranges instead. Adjusting the top Points value scales the other ratings proportionally.
6. Click + Criterion to add more grading dimensions, or Find Outcome to import a previously created outcome — check Use this criterion for scoring if its points should count toward the final grade.
7. Click Save.

Attach a Rubric to an Assignment

1. Open the assignment you want to grade with a rubric.
2. Click Add Rubric.
3. To use a rubric you already built, click Find a Rubric, choose the course or account it’s saved in, select its name from the list (a preview appears alongside it), and click Use This Rubric. To build a new one without leaving the assignment, follow the Create a Rubric steps above instead.
4. Check Use this rubric for assignment grading if you want the rubric’s total to automatically become the assignment score in SpeedGrader; leave it unchecked to use the rubric as feedback only.
5. Click Save Rubric.

Adding a Rubric to Quizzes and Discussions

• Quizzes: Open the quiz, click the options (three-dot) menu, and choose Show Rubric.
• Discussions: Open the discussion, click the options menu, and choose Add Rubric. Note that rubric-based grading in SpeedGrader is only available for assignments and graded discussions — not quizzes.

Rubric Options When Building One Inside an Assignment

These options only appear when you create a rubric from within an already-existing assignment, rather than attaching one you built ahead of time under Rubrics:

• I’ll write free-form comments: Skip numeric ratings and grade with narrative feedback instead.
• Remove points from rubric: Keep the rubric’s structure without any point values.
• Don’t post Outcomes results: Keeps outcome results out of the Learning Mastery Gradebook, while still showing them in Grades and submission details.
• Use this rubric for assignment grading: Ties the rubric’s total to the assignment score in SpeedGrader — available for assignments and graded discussions, not quizzes.
• Hide score total for assessment results: Lets students see each criterion’s points without seeing the overall total. Only available when the rubric isn’t used for grading.

Best Practices

• Give each rubric a title that names its assignment, so it’s easy to spot later in Find a Rubric.
• Finalize your rating structure before attaching a rubric to more than one assignment — Canvas locks it from editing after that.
• Use range-based ratings when you want more flexibility than a single point value per criterion allows.
• Pair rubrics with SpeedGrader for large classes — checking “Use this rubric for assignment grading” saves you from entering scores by hand.
• If you’re migrating rubrics from Blackboard, double-check your ratings — Blackboard orders criteria from lowest to highest points left to right, the opposite of Canvas.

Troubleshooting

Issue: You can no longer edit a rubric.

Solution: Once a rubric is attached to more than one assignment, Canvas locks it from editing. Build a new rubric instead, or remove it from all but one assignment first if you truly need to change it.

Issue: SpeedGrader isn’t calculating the assignment score from the rubric.

Solution: Check whether Use this rubric for assignment grading is checked. Without it, you’ll need to enter the assignment score by hand even after scoring with the rubric.

Issue: A rubric imported from Blackboard looks reversed.

Solution: Blackboard orders ratings from lowest to highest points, left to right; Canvas does the opposite. Review the imported ratings and reorder them if needed.

Self-Check Questions

• Have I decided whether this rubric’s points count toward the grade, or serve as feedback only?
• Is my rating structure finalized, since I won’t be able to edit it once it’s on more than one assignment?
• Did I check “Use this rubric for assignment grading” if I want SpeedGrader to total the score automatically?
• Am I attaching an existing rubric, or building a new one for this assignment specifically?
• If this is a quiz or discussion, did I use the right menu path to add the rubric?

Additional Resources

• Instructure Community: How Do I Add a Rubric to an Assignment?
• Instructure Community: What Is Speedgrader?
• Instructure Community: How Do I Add a Rubric in a Course?
• University of Pittsburgh Teaching Center: How to Create and Use Rubrics for Assessment in Canvas

Need Extra Support?

If you’d like help designing a rubric or setting one up for grading, reach out to the TLC.