Canvas Update: Rubric Enhancements  

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Canvas has recently released some new updates to make creating and using rubrics easier. These changes can be seen in the “Rubrics” page in a course, the rubric builder, and SpeedGrader for any assignment that includes a rubric.  

Note: At this time, rubric rating descriptions will appear to be missing when an instructor views them through the student view. Students, however, can still see the rubrics and all information in them, including the descriptions for each rating.

Rubrics page 

Previously, the rubrics page in a course was very simple – any rubrics in the course would be listed on the left, and there was also an “Add rubric” button on the right. 

With the update, the rubrics page matches the style of the rest of Canvas – and it includes some new information and features.  

One of the biggest changes with this redesign is the addition of the search bar to help you find a particular rubric quicker. This redesign also makes some information more obvious (like how many points and criteria a rubric has) and adds the very useful “courses and assignments” link. Clicking that link will show you everywhere a particular rubric is used, complete with links to each place. 

Rubric builder 

Creating or editing a rubric has also gotten some quality-of-life improvements! 

The previous rubric builder automatically created the first criterion with two rating levels that you could then modify to fit your needs. Editing the name and description of the criterion also required you to click the pencil icon and edit that section.  

In the update, Canvas gives you a simpler page to start – you can enter the name for your rubric, change your rating order if desired, and easily see the number of possible points for the rubric.  

Drafting criteria is also simplified! Click the “Draft New Criterion” button, and you’ll get a pop-up to enter all your information.  

The name and description are at the top and can be quickly entered, then each rating level can be modified (changing the number of points, the name, and/or the description) or deleted. Once you’d finished filling in all the necessary fields, click “Save Criterion” to return to the “Create Rubric” page. At that point, the number of possible points for the rubric will update, and you can continue creating new criteria until all have been added.  

At the bottom of the “Edit Rubric” page, you have options for how you want to save your progress. If you’re creating a new rubric, you can choose to save it as a draft (has a “draft” label on the Rubrics page and cannot be used for an assignment) or to save the rubric (it’s a fully functional rubric and can be used for an assignment). You also have an option here to “preview rubric” so you can see exactly how it will look in SpeedGrader. 

SpeedGrader 

The final area of change for the rubric is how they appear in SpeedGrader. Previously, rubrics in SpeedGrader had some display issues, with lines separating rating levels not fully defining boxes. Additionally, you could add comments to a specific criterion, but it required you to click the small conversation bubble icon below the number of points.  

With the update, all rating levels have fully defined boxes. But the most exciting updates are that you no longer have to click a button to leave comment on criteria – there’s a convenient “comment” box below each criterion – and you can also change how you view the rubric (the drop-down menu at the top left of the rubric). If you have students completing peer reviews inside Canvas, you can also quickly access their marked rubrics through a drop-down above the rubric (not shown in this screenshot).  

Rubrics will default to the traditional view in SpeedGrader, but you can also change it to either “horizonal” or “vertical” – both of which essentially just remove rating descriptions and present only the ratings for each criterion to click. 

Once you’ve finished entering all your scores/comments, click “Submit Assessment” to save your annotated rubric. If you click “cancel” instead, all information you entered will be deleted.  

And that’s a wrap on the current rubric updates! We’ll keep you updated with additional Canvas updates in the future. In the meantime if you have questions, leave a comment below or email us at ctl@cedarville.edu – we’d love to help!  

Edited August 27 to add the note about rubric rating descriptions not currently showing up in an instructor’s mock student view.