Overview

Rubrics are an advanced grading method used for criteria-based assessment. A rubric consists of a set of criteria, each with defined levels of achievement. Each level is assigned a numeric score.

When grading, teachers select the level that best reflects the student’s performance for each criterion. The system then calculates a total score and converts it into the final grade.

In this tutorial, we’ll guide you through how to set up and use rubrics as a grading method in an assignment activity.

Step Tutorial

Setting Up Rubrics

1. From the course page, either add a new Assignment activity or edit an existing one.

For more information on setting up an assignment activity, refer to this tutorial: How to Setup an Assignment Activity v2

2. In the assignment settings, scroll to the Grade section and set the following:

1. Grade type: Point (Recommended for rubrics)
2. Maximum grade: e.g., 100 or your preferred total score
3. Grading method: Rubric
   

IMPORTANT: Do not use Scale or None as the grade type — rubric scoring requires numeric values to calculate the final grade properly.

NOTE: Ensure other assignment settings are configured based on your requirements.

Click Save and display. You’ll be taken to the Advanced grading tab automatically.

3. Click Define new grading form from scratch.

4. Set the following:

1. Name - Enter a title for the rubric.
2. Description - Enter a description if needed
   

Here's a sample for reference:

TIP: You can duplicate a criterion by clicking the duplicate icon, located just below the trash icon.

1. Rubric options - These options let you customize how the rubric behaves during grading and how much students can see:
   
1. Calculate grade having a minimum score of the minimum achievable grade for the rubric - This setting only applies if the sum of the minimum number of points for each criterion is greater than 0.
2. Allow users to preview rubric (otherwise it will only be displayed after grading) - Allows students to view the full rubric before submitting their work.
3. Display rubric description during evaluation - Shows the rubric’s overall description to the grader while evaluating submissions.
4. Display rubric description to those being graded - Shows the rubric’s description to students before or after grading (depending on visibility settings).
5. Display points for each level during evaluation - Displays numeric point values for each level to the grader during evaluation.
6. Display points for each level to those being graded - Displays the point values to students so they understand how grades are determined.
7. Allow grader to add text remarks for each criterion - Enables graders to write individual comments for each rubric criterion.
8. Show remarks to those being graded - Makes those criterion-level comments visible to students after grading.
   

Add requirements > tick Receive a grade > tick Any grade or Passing grade

This ensures the assignment is marked complete only after the student has been graded using the rubric.

Other settings can be configured as needed.

Grading Submission Using the Rubric

1. After logging in, navigate to the course where you need to grade an assignment. Then click on the assignment activity to open it.

2. On the assignment page, there are two (2) ways to grade the submissions.

First option: Under the Assignment tab, click Grade.

Second option: Go to the Submissions tab, then click Grade.

After clicking the Grade button, the grading page will be displayed.

2. The rubric you have set up will display as a table on one side of the screen. You can display it larger by clicking the expand icon (to dock the rubric, click the icon again).

For each criterion:

1. Click the level that best represents the student’s submission.
2. The selected level will highlight in green.
3. If enabled, you can add comments for individual criteria in the remark boxes.
   

The total grade will be calculated automatically as you select levels.

Click Save changes to record the grade and return to the submissions list.

NOTE:

1. As well as the rubric you can add summary Feedback comments for the work, and optionally Feedback files. These fields are located just below the Grade section.
2. A level must be selected for each criterion, otherwise the rubric is not validated by the server as the final grade can't be calculated.
3. If the rubric filling is re-edited later, the previously selected level displays temporarily shaded (default: pink).
4. Students may need to be instructed to scroll down to find the completed rubric and any other comments - the example rubric continues to display at the top of their assignment Submission status page.
   

And that’s how to set up and use rubrics for assignment grading in the LMS!

Congratulations on completing this tutorial. We hope this has been helpful to you and your organisation. For any questions or concerns regarding this function, please reach out to the contact support via email.

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FAQs

Can I edit a rubric after I’ve started grading?

Once you begin grading and there are active submissions, some fields in the rubric — like levels and criterion structure — become locked and cannot be edited.

To make changes, you may need to create a new rubric or duplicate and edit the existing one before applying it again.

Will students see the rubric before submitting?

Yes — if the option 'Allow users to preview rubric' is enabled during setup, students can view the rubric before submitting their work.

This helps them understand how their assignment will be assessed.

Can I reuse a rubric in other assignments or courses?

Rubrics in Moodle are tied to each activity. While there is no native 'global rubric' feature, you can:

1. Duplicate an assignment with the rubric, or
2. Use the template option to save and reapply the rubric within the same course.
   

Do I need to complete all rubric criteria when grading?

Yes. Moodle requires that you select a level for every criterion in the rubric before saving the grade.

If any criterion is left unmarked, the grade cannot be submitted.

Can multiple teachers use the same rubric to grade?

Yes. As long as the assignment uses the rubric and multiple teachers have grading access in the course, any assigned teacher can use the same rubric to assess student submissions.