Editing Outcome Mastery Description When Used in a Rubric

C_Strubes

Hello,

I am using a course outcome as a rubric for a written assignment. I would like to be able to add a description under scoring criteria that helps define what the assignment should include in order to "Exceed Expectations" for example. Rubrics are used by students to help guide their responses and they should have an idea of why they received a specific score. There doesn't appear to be a way to edit that in the assignment (I can edit other criterion). I could try a roundabout way and edit it in the global course outcomes in the Mastery tab, but those descriptions of "Exceeds expectations" may be different for each assignment. Anyone have suggestions?

jeremyfw

Hi @C_Strubes

You can’t directly do what you’re asking inside an Outcomes-based rubric, and that’s by design.

Why this feels broken (but isn’t accidental)

When you attach a Course or Institutional Outcome to a rubric:

• The rating labels and mastery descriptions (Exceeds / Meets / Does Not Meet) are locked
• They are pulled verbatim from the Outcome definition
• Canvas treats these as global, canonical descriptors, not assignment-specific guidance

That’s why:

• You can’t edit the “Exceeds Expectations” description at the assignment level
• Editing it in Outcomes → Mastery would affect every assignment using that outcome
• Canvas assumes outcomes are for measurement consistency, not instructional nuance

So your instinct is correct: outcomes are doing double duty (grading + guidance), and Canvas only optimizes for the grading half.

A practical way to skin the cat

Pair the Outcome with a non-outcome criterion

Keep the outcome clean and standardized - then add clarity next to it.

How

• Use the Outcome-based criterion only for mastery tracking
• “What ‘Exceeds Expectations’ looks like for this assignment”
• Put detailed descriptors there

Why this works

• Outcomes stay consistent for reporting
• Students still get assignment-specific guidance
• Instructors can grade with nuance without corrupting the outcome

This is the pattern Canvas quietly expects power users to land on.

Here’s a concrete, visualizable example of what an Outcome + companion criterion looks like in practice. I’ll show it the way an instructor and a student would actually experience it.

Scenario

Assignment: Literary Analysis Essay
Outcome: “Uses evidence to support claims” (institutional outcome)
Goal: Keep outcome mastery consistent but clarify what “Exceeds Expectations” means for this specific essay

What the rubric looks like (side-by-side logic)

Criterion 1: Outcome-based criterion (locked, standardized)

(Used for mastery tracking only)

Outcome: ENG.2.3.b - Uses textual evidence effectively
Threshold: 5 pts

✅ This feeds Learning Mastery / Outcomes reports
❌ No assignment-specific language here (by design)

Criterion 2: Assignment-specific clarification (custom rubric row)

(Used for student guidance + grading nuance)

Criterion name:
👉 What “Exceeds Expectations” looks like on this essay

✅ Students see exactly what “Exceeds” means here
✅ Instructors can grade with clarity
❌ This row does not affect institutional mastery reporting (by design)

How this behaves during grading

• Instructor clicks both rows
• Outcome row updates mastery dashboards
• Custom row provides:
  • Meaningful feedback
  • Transparent justification
  • Assignment-level nuance

Students see:

“I exceeded expectations because I integrated evidence and explained its significance, not just because I got a 5.”

Admins see:

“Outcome ENG.2.3.b met at level X across assignments.”

Both needs are satisfied without corrupting either system.

Why this pattern works so well

• Outcomes stay clean → reliable reporting
• Rubrics stay pedagogical → useful to students
• No cloning outcomes → no analytics chaos
• No global edits → no unintended side effects

This is the pattern most institutions quietly converge on once they’ve been burned by overloading Outcomes with instructional detail.

Rule of thumb (worth remembering)

Outcomes answer “Did the student meet the standard?”
Custom rubric rows answer “What does good work look like here?”

Once you separate those two jobs, Canvas rubrics stop fighting you.

Cheers,

J