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Using rubrics in Flint

Assess multiple skills within a single Flint activity using rubrics.

Updated September 11, 2026

This article was published on May 5, 2026.

Rubrics let you evaluate student work and give feedback across multiple categories in a single activity.

In this article, you will learn...

  1. How to create a rubric
  2. How to edit rubrics
  3. How to review session grades and leave feedback
  4. How to export grades

How to create a rubric

Build with Sparky

  1. Open your activity and click on "Activity settings".

    The Flint activity page showing the Activity settings button highlighted in the top navigation bar, which the user clicks to access rubric configuration options.

  2. Click on "Build with Sparky".

    The Activity settings panel open with the Build with Sparky option visible, allowing the user to use AI assistance to create a rubric.

  3. In the chat window, describe the assessment categories you want for your activity or the changes you would like to make.

    The Sparky chat window where the user types a description of the assessment categories they want for their rubric, letting AI generate the rubric structure.

Build manually

  1. Open your activity and click on "Activity settings".

    The Flint activity page showing the Activity settings button highlighted in the top navigation bar, which the user clicks to access rubric configuration options.

  2. Click on "Build manually".

    The Activity settings panel open with the Build manually option visible, allowing the user to create a rubric from scratch without AI assistance.

  3. Click on "Grading".

    The Activity settings sidebar with the Grading tab selected, displaying the rubric builder interface where the user can manually configure their rubric.

In the following section we will cover...

  1. Adding categories
  2. Adding grades
  3. Reordering categories
  4. Deleting categories and grade
  5. Adding analysis guidelines for Sparky
Adding categories

  1. Click "Add category" below the rubric table to add a new row.

    A user selecting the "Add category" button while manually building a rubric in the Flint activity builder.

  2. Enter the category name in the first column (e.g., "Content knowledge" or "Grammar").

    An additional category row being populated in a grading rubric in Flint's activity builder after a user clicked on the "Add category" button.

Adding grades

  1. Click the plus button (+) on the right side of the rubric header to add a new grade column.

    The rubric header row showing the plus button on the right side, which the user clicks to add a new grade column to the rubric.

  2. Enter the grade name in the header (e.g., "Excellent", "Proficient") and fill in the grade description for each category.

    The rubric table with a new grade column added, showing the header field where the user enters a grade name like Excellent or Proficient, and the cells below for entering grade descriptions.

Reordering categories

Click and drag the grip icon on the left side of any category row to move it up or down.

The rubric table showing the grip icon on the left side of a category row, which the user clicks and drags to reorder categories within the rubric.

Deleting categories and grades

Click the X button on the right side of a category row to remove that category.

The rubric table showing the X button on the right side of a category row, which the user clicks to delete that category from the rubric.

Click the X button in a grade header to remove that grade column.

The rubric header row showing the X button in a grade column header, which the user clicks to remove that grade column from the rubric.

Adding analysis guidelines for Sparky

Scroll down past the grading rubric to edit Sparky's grading instructions. Sparky already accounts for grade level, language, and response style by default.

The "Analysis guidelines for Sparky" text box, where a user manually building an activity in Flint can give specific instructions for grading.

How to edit rubrics

Converting a single-category rubric to a multidimensional rubric

If you started with a single-category rubric (which appears without a visible category name), you can convert it to a multidimensional rubric.

  1. Open your activity and click on "Activity settings".

    The Flint activity page showing the Activity settings button highlighted in the top navigation bar, which the user clicks to access rubric configuration options.

  2. Click on "Build manually".

    The Activity settings panel open with the Build manually option visible, allowing the user to create a rubric from scratch without AI assistance.

  3. On the lefthand sidebar, click on "Grading". You will see your existing rubric with grade columns but no category labels.

    The Activity settings sidebar with the Grading tab selected, displaying an existing single-category rubric that shows grade columns but no category labels.

  4. Click "Add Category" to add a second category. The original single category will now display a text field where you can enter a category name.

    The rubric builder showing the Add Category button, which when clicked converts a single-category rubric to a multidimensional rubric and reveals the category name field for the original row.

    Your rubric is now multidimensional, allowing you to assess students across multiple categories.

How to review session grades and leave feedback

Viewing session grades

When a student submits a session in a graded activity with a multidimensional rubric, Sparky automatically assigns a grade for each category based on the rubric criteria.

  1. Click on any submitted session to see the Session analysis section.

    The Session analysis section of a submitted student session, showing where the user clicks to view rubric grades and feedback.

  2. You will see a Rubric feedback badge showing the per-category grades.

    The Rubric feedback badge displayed in the Session analysis section, showing a summary of the per-category grades assigned to the student submission.

  3. Click "Edit rubric feedback" to open the full rubric feedback modal.

    The Session analysis section with the Edit rubric feedback button visible, which the user clicks to open the full rubric feedback modal for detailed grade review.

  4. The menu displays the complete rubric with the student's grade highlighted for each category. Each row shows the category name, the assigned grade, and any feedback you have added.

    The rubric feedback modal displaying the complete rubric table with the student grade highlighted in each category row, along with the category names and any teacher feedback.

Changing session grades

  1. Open the rubric feedback menu by clicking "Edit rubric feedback".

    The Session analysis section with the Edit rubric feedback button visible, which the user clicks to open the rubric feedback modal and modify grades.

  2. The menu displays a table with all categories and grades. The currently assigned grade for each category is highlighted with a blue background and checkmark.

    The rubric feedback modal displaying the complete rubric table with the student grade highlighted in each category row, along with the category names and any teacher feedback.

  3. Click on a different grade cell in any category row to change the grade for that category. Here the grade of "2" for "Stage Identification and Sequence" has been changed to a "3".

    The rubric feedback modal showing a grade change in progress, where the user has clicked a different grade cell to change the Stage Identification and Sequence grade from 2 to 3.

    When you change individual category grades, the overall grade at the top right automatically recalculates based on the average score across all categories.

  4. You can also manually override the overall grade by clicking the overall grade dropdown at the top right and selecting a different grade.

    The rubric feedback modal showing the overall grade dropdown at the top right, which the user clicks to manually override the calculated overall grade with a different value.

Leaving feedback

  1. In the rubric feedback menu, click the text area in the "Teacher feedback column" for any category to enter feedback specific to that category.

    The rubric feedback modal showing the Teacher feedback column with text areas for each category, where the user clicks to enter feedback specific to that assessment category.

  2. For overall comments, scroll down and enter text in the "Additional feedback" section at the bottom of the modal.

    The rubric feedback modal scrolled down to show the Additional feedback section at the bottom, where the user enters overall comments about the student submission.

  3. Click "Update feedback" to save your changes.

    The rubric feedback modal showing the Update feedback button at the bottom, which the user clicks to save all grade changes and feedback entered.

How to export grades

CSV exports

  1. Open your activity and click on "Overview".

    The Flint activity page showing the Overview tab selected in the navigation, which the user clicks to access the activity summary and export options.

  2. Scroll down and click on "Download as CSV".

    The activity Overview page scrolled down to show the Download as CSV button, which the user clicks to export all session data including rubric grades to a spreadsheet file.