diff --git a/electron/main/ipc.ts b/electron/main/ipc.ts
index f5ff205..2df439a 100644
--- a/electron/main/ipc.ts
+++ b/electron/main/ipc.ts
@@ -255,11 +255,7 @@ export function setupIpc(win: BrowserWindow): void {
   ipcMain.handle('rubric:storeData', (_event, data: any) => {
     const d = getDb()
     const questions = data?.questions || []
-    // Don't clear rubric data when saving empty data (preserve existing)
-    if (questions.length === 0) {
-      rubricPayload = data
-      return
-    }
+    if (questions.length === 0) return
     d.prepare('DELETE FROM rubric').run()
     const insert = d.prepare('INSERT INTO rubric (question_title, max_score, reference_answer, rubric, sort_order) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)')
     for (let i = 0; i < questions.length; i++) {
@@ -270,19 +266,27 @@ export function setupIpc(win: BrowserWindow): void {
   })
 
   ipcMain.handle('rubric:getData', () => {
-    if (rubricPayload) return rubricPayload
-    const d = getDb()
-    const rows: any[] = d.prepare('SELECT * FROM rubric ORDER BY sort_order').all()
-    if (rows.length) {
-      return {
-        questions: rows.map(r => ({
-          questionTitle: r.question_title,
-          maxScore: r.max_score,
-          referenceAnswer: r.reference_answer,
-          rubric: r.rubric
-        })),
-        currentIndex: 0
+    function fromDb() {
+      const d = getDb()
+      const rows: any[] = d.prepare('SELECT * FROM rubric ORDER BY sort_order').all()
+      if (rows.length) {
+        return {
+          questions: rows.map(r => ({
+            questionTitle: r.question_title,
+            maxScore: r.max_score,
+            referenceAnswer: r.reference_answer,
+            rubric: r.rubric
+          })),
+          currentIndex: 0
+        }
       }
+      return null
+    }
+    if (rubricPayload && rubricPayload.questions?.length) return rubricPayload
+    const dbResult = fromDb()
+    if (dbResult) {
+      rubricPayload = dbResult
+      return dbResult
     }
     return null
   })