Creating, Selecting, and Utilizing a Scoring Rubric

Overview

A rubric lets you grade an assignment by clicking one level per criterion; Moodle adds up the points and writes the grade to the gradebook for you. This guide walks faculty and staff through the full lifecycle; attaching a rubric to an assignment, building or reusing it, grading with it, releasing grades, and what students see.

Before you begin

• You need editing teacher (or higher) access to the course.
• The assignment's grade type must be Point. Rubrics don't work with Scale or None.
• Rubrics are available for Assignments. They aren't available for Quizzes.
• Build and test the rubric before students submit. Changing a rubric after grading starts can force regrading.

Rubrics are advanced grading forms used for criteria-based assessment. A scoring rubric can be attached to an assignment to help standardize scoring across multiple graders, and to provide clear expectations for students (if they are allowed to view the rubric). The rubric consists of a set of criteria. For each criterion, several descriptive levels can be created. A numerical grade is assigned to each of these levels. The grader chooses which level answers/describes the given criterion best. The raw rubric score is calculated as a sum of all criteria grades. The final grade is calculated by comparing the actual score with the worst/best possible score that could be received.

Step 1: Set the grading method to Rubric

In VSTAR Learn set the assignment to be  a rubric. You can do this when you create the assignment or on an existing one.

1. Open the assignment and select Settings in the secondary navigation.
2. Expand the Grade section.
3. Set Type to Point and enter the Maximum grade (for example, 100). 
4. Set Grading method to Rubric. 
5. Select Save and display.

1. Select the Save and display button to jump to the Advanced grading page where you can create the rubric
2. From the Advanced Grading page, select "Define New Rubric from Scratch"

 

Step 2: Build the rubric

A rubric is a grid: each row is a criterion, and each cell in the row is a level with a description and a point value.

Open the rubric editor

1. Select Advanced grading in the assignment's secondary navigation. 
2. Confirm Change active grading method to shows Rubric.
3. Choose Define new grading form from scratch (A). To copy an existing rubric instead, choose Create new grading form from a template (B) and go to Step 3.

Part 3 - Adding the Criteria

The rubric editor works via a click to edit interface. Simply click on the criterion, level, or points and a text field will appear. Enter the information and then click away or click on the next element to edit. When needed, click on the Add level or Add criterion button.

Add criteria and levels

1. Enter a Name for the rubric, and optionally a Description. 
2. Click the criterion cell and type the criterion name, such as Clinical reasoning. 
3. Click each level cell to type its description, then click the points to set its value. 
4. Select + Add level to add more columns to that row. Each criterion can have a different number of levels.
5. Select + Add criterion to add another row.  Use the trash and arrow icons to delete or reorder criteria.

Set rubric options and save

1. Review the Rubric options. The most important one is Calculate grade having a minimum score of the minimum achievable for the rubric. With it checked, a student who earns the lowest level on every criterion gets 0.
2. Decide what students see. Allow users to preview rubric lets students view it before they submit; the Display … to those being graded options control points, descriptions, and remarks in their feedback. 
3. Select Save rubric and make it ready. The status changes to Ready for use.
4. 

How the grade is calculated

Moodle converts the rubric score to the assignment's maximum grade. With the minimum-score option checked.

Example: the sample rubric is worth 50 points, and its lowest levels are worth 0. A student who earns 40 points on a 100-point assignment receives 40 ÷ 50 × 100 = 80.

Tip: Save as draft keeps a work-in-progress rubric out of grading. Graders can't use a rubric until it's ready.

Never forget to save your work by clicking Save and Return to Course.

Step 3 (optional): Reuse a rubric from a template

You can copy any rubric you've already made ready in another assignment, or a shared template your site has published. The copy is independent: editing it won't change the original.

1. On the assignment's Advanced grading page, choose Create new grading form from a template.
2. Check Include my own forms to see rubrics from your other assignments and courses. Use the search box to narrow the list.
3. Under the rubric you want, select Use this form as a template. 
4. Confirm when prompted. The rubric opens in the editor so you can rename it and adjust criteria.
5. Select Save rubric and make it ready.
6. 

 

Step 4: Grade a submission with the rubric

1. Open the assignment and select Submissions in the secondary navigation.
2. Find the student and select Grade. The grader opens with the submission on the left and the rubric on the right.

3. For each criterion, click the level that matches the student's work. The selected cell is highlighted. Click a different cell to change it.
4. Optionally, type a remark under any criterion. Remarks appear only if the rubric allows them.
5. Check the calculated grade, then add overall Feedback comments or feedback files if needed. 
6. Check or uncheck Notify student, then select Save changes. 
7. Use the arrows or the student menu at the top to move to the next submission. 
   1. Tip: You must select a level for every criterion before Moodle will save the grade. If a criterion doesn't apply, add a 0-point level such as "Not demonstrated" when you build the rubric.

If Allow users to preview rubric is on, students can also see the blank rubric on the assignment page before they submit.

Changing a rubric after grading has started

You can edit a rubric that's already been used, but Learn may ask whether existing grades need review.

• Small changes (fixing a typo in a description): saved without affecting grades.
• Significant changes (adding or removing criteria or levels, changing points): Learn warns you before saving. Grades already given are kept, but each affected submission is marked for regrading. You'll need to reopen each one, confirm the levels, and save again.

To edit, go to Advanced grading and select Edit the current form definition. If you only need a different rubric for future assignments, copy this one as a template instead of editing it.

 

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Problem	Cause and fix
Rubric isn't in the Grading method list	The grade Type is Scale or None. Change it to Point.
The grader shows a plain grade box, not the rubric	The rubric is still a draft, or none was defined. On Advanced grading, finish it and select Save rubric and make it ready.
Grade won't save	A level hasn't been selected for every criterion.
The grade looks lower or higher than expected	Check the minimum-score option and the rubric's lowest point values (see How the grade is calculated).
Students can't see the rubric before submitting	Turn on Allow users to preview rubric in Rubric options.
Students see the grade but no rubric details	Turn on the Display … to those being graded options you want, then save the rubric.
I want to stop using the rubric	On Advanced grading, change the grading method to Simple direct grading. The rubric is kept and can be switched back on.

 

Need help? Contact the VSTAR Learn support team through a VSTAR Help Ticket.