Grading a Standards-Based Rubric Assessment
This article will show you how to grade an assessment that uses a non-points grading scale (mastery levels).
Monica Burke avatar
Written by Monica Burke
Updated over a week ago

This article will show you how to grade a rubric assessment that uses a standards-based grading scale, for example: Mastery, Near Mastery, Approaching, Below...

If you want to see the article for grading a rubric assessment that uses a points-based grading scale, click the button below.

Article Table of Contents

First, you'll need to access the rubric.

  • Locate the assessment by navigating to your Assigned Assessments module and choosing the correct class.


Whole-Class Grading

When you initially enter the assessment from the assigned assessments page, you will see the whole-class grading page.

See below for information regarding:

➡️ Completion Status

  • These statuses are given automatically; they are not able to be manually adjusted.

  • Possible options: not started, in progress, turned in, graded. For more information on how each completion status is determined, click here.

➡️ Submission Status and Submitted Timestamp

  • The Submission column will display the submission status of the assessment.

    • Possible options: on time, missing, late, excused, excluded. Fore more information on how each submission status is used, click here.

  • The Submitted column will display the date and time the student submitted the assessment.

💡 Tips from the Otus Team:

  • Any submission status can be manually changed.

  • If the Submitted column is blank, but the assessment is marked graded, that means the student never actually submitted the assessment from their account (the teacher would have graded the assessment).

  • Any score given for assessments that have been marked as excused or excluded will not add into the student's total class grade, but the points will still be visible in the points gradebook.

➡️ Portfolio (Star) and Comments (Comment Bubble)

  • You can select the star icon to add the assessment to the student's portfolio. You can leave a comment on the overall assessment by selecting the comment bubble

➡️ Scores

  • Select form the dropdown menu to choose a score.

  • To clear a score, select Clear Grade from the dropdown

➡️ Auto-Fill Scores

  • You can give multiple students the same score at the same time.

  • Step 1: Select their names.

  • Step 2: Score the first student in your selection.

  • Step 3: The scores will autofill for the names you selected.


Individual Student Grading

Select any student from the whole-class grading page to see their assessment in greater detail.

The individual grading page will look slightly different based on if the student has submitted attachments with the rubric or not. See below:

With Student Attachments

Without Student Attachments

Below you will find details for:

➡️ Scoring Each Descriptor

  • Select a score for each of the descriptors

  • To clear a score, simply re-select the score on the descriptor.

  • Do you need to see the descriptions for each of the descriptors? Select the expand button indicated below. To collapse the expanded version, select the collapse button.

➡️ Leaving Comments

  • You can leave a comment on either the assessment as a whole (which can be viewed in the Gradebook and main grading page as well), or on each individual descriptor.

  • Option 1 in the above example indicates how to leave a comment on the assessment as a whole.

  • Option 2 indicates how to leave a comment on the individual descriptor.

➡️ Viewing or Changing the Status

  • Possible options: on time, missing, late, excused, excluded. For more information on how each submission status is used, click here.

➡️ Viewing Attachments

  • If the student included attachments on the rubric assessment, they will be visible to the right of the rubric.

  • A student can add up to 5 attachments.

  • Each type of attachment has its own icon. Selecting the icons from the top will display each attachment. The example below shows an image, file upload, video, link, and audio recording attachment, respectively.


Leaving Feedback

You can leave feedback for a student to view on a rubric assessment! The type of attachments you can leave here are the same ones that you can add to the assessment when building it.

Where you begin will look slightly different based on If the student has submitted attachments with the rubric or not. See below:

With Student Attachments

Without Student Attachments

💡 Tip from the Otus Team: If you've already added the maximum of 5 attachments when you built the assessment, not to worry! You can add up to 3 additional attachments as feedback, for a total of 8 teacher attachments if needed.

If you would like further details on how to leave audio or video feedback, select the button below:


Otus Live

Below is a video from our Otus Live series on how to grade a points or standards based rubric assessment.


Next Steps

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