Rubric scoring in Dapple lets you define a structured set of criteria for a Review Round so every reviewer scores the same dimensions in the same way. Each criterion has a name, a description, a Max score (the rating scale reviewers use), and a Weight (how much that criterion contributes to the final score). Set it up in Step 4 — Scoring of the Review Round wizard, or switch it on at any time from the Scoring section of an existing round's settings.
Rubric scoring is powerful because it forces every reviewer to judge the same criteria in the same way — making scores comparable across the Review Group and across rounds.
How do I enable rubric scoring on a Review Round?
When creating a new round:
Open Workflow & Reviews in your project.
Click + Add review round on the stage column.
Work through Steps 1–3, then continue to Step 4 — Scoring.
Select Rubric scoring as the scoring type.
Add your criteria (see below).
Continue through Steps 5–6 and save.
On an existing round:
Open Workflow & Reviews and click the review round card.
Select Scoring from the left-hand navigation.
Switch the scoring type to Rubric scoring.
Add your criteria and click Save changes.
How do I add a criterion?
In the Scoring step or section, click Add criterion.
Set the criterion type to Score/Vote/Comment.
Enter a Criterion name — for example, "Originality" or "Impact".
Add a description to help reviewers understand what they are scoring. This text is shown on the review form.
Set the Max score — the top of the rating scale for this criterion (e.g. 5 means reviewers score from 1 to 5).
Set the Weight — how heavily this criterion factors into the overall weighted average.
Repeat for each criterion you need. You can reorder criteria by dragging.
What is the difference between Max score and Weight?
These two settings do different things — Max score changes what reviewers see, Weight changes what Dapple does with the number afterwards.
Setting | What it controls |
Max score | The top end of the rating scale a reviewer sees for this criterion. A Max score of 5 means reviewers choose from 1–5. A Max score of 10 means 1–10. Dapple normalises each criterion score to a percentage before applying the weight, so two criteria with different Max scores are still comparable. |
Weight | How much this criterion contributes to the final weighted average score out of 100. A criterion with Weight 2 counts twice as much as one with Weight 1. Use this to reflect the relative importance of each criterion to your programme. |
Example: a criterion scored 4 out of 5 (Max score 5, Weight 2) contributes more to the final score than one scored 7 out of 10 (Max score 10, Weight 1), because its weight is higher even though the raw number is lower.
What do reviewers see when rubric scoring is enabled?
Reviewers see each criterion listed on their review form with its name, description, and a star-rating scale up to the Max score you set. After rating all criteria, Dapple calculates a weighted average and displays an overall score out of 100 for that submission. Reviewers can see how their individual criterion scores combine into the final figure.
Can I edit criteria after reviewers have started scoring?
Yes — you can add, edit, or remove criteria after the round is live. However, changing the Max score or Weight on a criterion after reviewers have already submitted scores changes how those existing scores feed into the weighted average. The raw scores already submitted stay the same, but the calculated totals will update immediately.
Finalise your rubric before submissions are sent to the round wherever possible. If you need to make a change mid-round, update your Review Group so they know scores are being recalculated.
Best practices for rubric scoring
Finalise criteria before you open the round — changing Max score or Weight after scores are in recalculates everything.
Use descriptive criterion names and write clear descriptions. Vague criteria produce inconsistent scores across your Review Group.
Order criteria by importance — the first criterion on the form sets the tone for reviewers.
Use Weight to reflect genuine priority, not just to bump overall scores. If two criteria are equally important, give them equal weights.
Keep the number of criteria manageable — five to eight well-defined criteria produces better data than twelve vague ones.
Preview the review form before sending submissions to the round. Check that each criterion reads clearly from a reviewer's perspective, not just an admin's.
Test the weighted average with a sample score before going live — enter test numbers for each criterion and confirm the final score reflects the balance you intended.
Where to go next