Before we get into the details of how to make rubrics in Canvas, it's important to think about why, or even if, we should create rubrics. There are thoughtful educators on both sides of the argument.

This article is an interesting introduction to the arguments against rubrics.

Here's an article in favor of rubrics, with some examples and advice on how to create them.

Something semi-heretical that I'd like to suggest is that, contrary to popular opinion, rubrics are not objective instruments for assessing work. They are subjective tools that can be used to add structure to instructor feedback. They provide a foundation and an entry point to discussing student work.

Anyone who has ever used a rubric has also been faced with student work that doesn't fit within the rubric's boundaries. As thoughtful educators, we need to be willing to acknowledge when work is outstanding, but the rubric doesn't allow us to recognize it. We also need to allow space within our assessment strategies that will allow us to appropriately assess student work that meets the discrete criteria laid out in the rubric, but still doesn't meet larger expectations for student work in a particular course. Usually you would want to address this in a course-level grading policy.

Creative Commons License Content created by Tom Gibbons of South Seattle College under a Creative Commons Attribution License, unless otherwise indicated.