LXD Documentation Help

Grading in Canvas

Rubrics

Rubrics should be specific to each assignment. We currently use holistic rubrics, though we are researching the possibility of shifting to analytic rubrics (timestamp: Spring 2023).

Rubric Guidance

  • Criteria should not total more than 10 points in value

  • Unless the criterion specifically targets aspects of the assignment that can be assessed as either "completed" or not, all criterion must value more than 2 points.

  • The total value of any assignment/discussion should stick to whole numbers divisible by 10 or 25, such as

    • 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 75, etc.

  • Each criterion should be adequately described to promote fair grading practices

Typically rubric settings are the following:

  • Create a rubric from scratch with the title matching the title of the assignment/discussion.

    • Click "+Rubric" at the bottom of the assignment or the "..." for Discussions to access the rubric.

    • ex: Rubric title should read as "Week 1 Assignment 2: [Assignment title]".

    • You can import previous rubrics from other assignments instead of creating them from scratch each time but be aware that you may see a (1) next to the title. Click "magnifying glass" to look for another rubric, then click "use for this assignment" and then edit as necessary.

  • Check the boxes "Freeform comments" and "Use this rubric for assignment grading".

  • You can duplicate or add criteria to the bottom of rubrics (but they cannot be reordered or reformatted) to expand on previous rubrics.

    • The text for rubric criteria cannot easily have line breaks when formatting, so it is best to not try to use lists when writing rubric text.

  • In some cases, the ID can change the point totals to standardize rubrics (e.g., in ENCJ, rubrics that only added up to 80 was changed to add up to 100).

Schemes

Grading schemes are specific to graduate and undergraduate levels and measure scores against a specific criteria. This is part of the Update checklist on the Trello card.

To enable a grading scheme:

  1. Go to the course settings.

  2. Check the box "Enable Course Grading Scheme".

  3. Select the appropriate grading scheme: courses of 500 and up = grad; 400 and less = undergrad.

    A checkbox with 'Enable course grading scheme' selected, a dropdown menu displaying
'DE Undergraduate Programs', a button saying 'View/Edit', and a clickable link that reads 'Manage All Grading Schemes'.

Course Grading Category Percentages

On the Syllabus page, a table on the right side of the page displays the grade breakdown for the course (e.g. Assignments 30%, Discussion 40%, Course Project 30%). This is not editable on the syllabus page, but is found on the Assignments page. Click "Assignments" in the left column then "edit" and the overall course percentages will be editable on this page, then autofill into the Syllabus page.

Last modified: 26 June 2025