How to add a rubric to a Canvas assignment
Short answer: open the assignment, click Add Rubric, add a row for each thing you grade, set the points, and click Create Rubric. Or open Course++ in your course and type: “Add a four-row rubric to the persuasive essay, 20 points total: claim, evidence, counterargument, conventions.”
The problem
You know what you grade. Typing it into boxes takes forever.
A rubric has rows, and each row has several ratings, and every rating needs a name, a description and a point value. Four rows is already a few dozen boxes to fill in, and the points have to add up.
dozens of boxespoints to add up by hand
The fix
Name the rows. Course++ builds the rubric.
It shows you the plan first, then builds the rubric and attaches it to the assignment. Course++ sets up the rubric. You do the grading.
1 sentencepoints add up
Prompts you can copy
Open your Canvas course, open Course++ beside it, and paste one of these. Change the names and numbers to match your course.
Add a four-row rubric to the persuasive essay, 20 points total: claim, evidence, counterargument, conventions.
For a new rubric when you know the rows.Add a rubric to the Unit 3 lab report with Hypothesis, Data, Analysis and Safety rows, 4 ratings each, 40 points total.
When you want more than three ratings per row.Write a rubric for the Lord of the Flies essay from its instructions. Keep it to 5 rows and 25 points.
When you want a first draft to edit.Which assignments in this course have no rubric yet? List them by module.
A quick check. It only reads; nothing changes.
How to add a rubric in Canvas by hand
- In Course Navigation, click Assignments, then click the assignment’s name.
- Click Add Rubric. If your school uses Enhanced Rubrics, the screen looks different: choose to create a new rubric instead of Find Rubric.
- Give the rubric a title.
- Fill in each row (Canvas calls them criteria) and its ratings and points. Add rows with Add Criterion (Draft New Criterion in Enhanced Rubrics).
- To grade with it in SpeedGrader, tick Use this rubric for assignment grading.
- Click Create Rubric.
Good to know
- Make the points match. If you grade with the rubric and its total differs from the assignment’s points, Canvas warns you. Click Change to match the assignment’s points, or Leave different.
- Grading is still yours. Course++ builds the rubric and attaches it. It can’t grade, and it refuses to read student work or grades.
- Using one rubric on many assignments? See how to reuse a rubric.
Questions teachers ask
How do I add a rubric to an assignment in Canvas?
Open the assignment, click Add Rubric, fill in the rows and points, and click Create Rubric. Tick Use this rubric for assignment grading if you want to score with it in SpeedGrader.
Can Course++ write the rubric for me?
Yes. Tell it the rows, or ask it to draft a rubric from the assignment’s instructions, then edit the result in Canvas. It shows you the plan before it builds anything.
Does Course++ grade with the rubric?
No. It sets up rubrics and attaches them to assignments. It doesn’t grade, and it refuses to read submissions or grades.
Do rubric points have to match the assignment points?
They should, if you grade with the rubric. Canvas warns you when they differ, and you can click Change to update the assignment’s points or Leave different.
250 FREE credits to try it. No credit card.
Canvas steps checked against Instructure’s own Canvas guides in October 2026. Canvas changes its screens from time to time, and schools turn features on and off, so a button may be named a little differently in yours.