Watch a video about associating rubrics


Associate a rubric

You can associate rubrics with these types of gradable content:

  • Assignments 
  • Essay, Short Answer, and File Response test questions  
  • Blogs and journals  
  • Wikis
  • Discussion forums and threads

You can also associate a rubric with any non-calculated Grade Center column. For example, you can associate a rubric with a manually created column for class participation and use the rubric to grade participation. Access a column's menu and select Edit Column Information.

To associate a rubric, access the Add Rubric menu and choose one of these options:

  • Select Rubric from those you've created. 
  • Create New Rubric opens a window so you can create a rubric.
  • Create From Existing uses an existing rubric as a template to create a new rubric.

In the Type column, you can designate a rubric as Used for Grading or Used for Secondary Evaluation. If you associate multiple rubrics, you can use only one as the primary grading rubric.

  The Rubric settings in Blackboard, showing the Add Rubric button


Show Rubric to Students has four options for rubric visibility:

  • No: Students can't view the rubric.   
  • Yes (With Rubric Scores): Students can view the rubric when you make the item available, including possible point or percentage values.  
  • Yes (Without Rubric Scores): Students can view the rubric when you make the item available, but they can't see the possible point or percentage values.
  • After Grading: Students can view the rubric only after you've finished grading their submissions.

For a percent-based rubric, type the points possible. For a points-based rubric, you're prompted to use the rubric's point value as the item's possible points.

Point values for test questions are handled in the main test or pool canvas. Both point and percent-based rubrics adjust their calculations to match the assigned point value for the test question. Questions you've associated with a rubric appear with the rubric icon next to the points box.