A well-designed rubric includes three core components: criteria, levels of performance, and descriptors. Each one plays a specific role in clarifying expectations and guiding both grading and student work. In this article, you will see how each component works in practice, along with an example to help you develop your own rubric.
After identifying the assessment you want to evaluate, use the sections below to build each part with clarity and purpose.
Parts of a rubric
Criteria identify a trait, feature, or dimension that will be measured. Most rubrics contain multiple criteria with clear definitions to clarify the meaning of the trait being assessed. For example, a term paper rubric might contain multiple criteria analyzing the introduction, thesis, analysis, grammar and punctuation, citations, and references.
To begin identifying criteria, start a list of the knowledge and skills you need to assess. Focus closely on the objectives that are aligned to the assignment. You might find that there are quite a few criteria you want to consider, but your objectives can help to narrow that list.
Once a list of criteria is identified, group the knowledge and skills according to similarities. For example, if you are assessing a research paper you might want to consider spelling, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure. These criteria could be grouped together under a catch-all category like “Grammar and mechanics.”
You’ll want to keep the number of criteria manageable. We recommend around 4-7 criteria total.
Example
In this example, students are asked to bake a 3-layer cake with two complementary flavors for an adult’s birthday party. In order to assess their cake, a list of criteria is created:
“Temperature, dryness, measurements, number of layers, thickness, piping, originality, decoration, style, professionalism, flavor depth, types of flavors, balance, icing flavor, icing texture, chewiness, technique.”
From there, the long list of criteria is compared to the objectives aligned to the assessment. Extraneous criteria are removed and criteria are grouped:
“Baking, decoration, balance of flavors, icing”
| Criteria | Exemplary 4 | Accomplished 3 | Developing 2 | Beginning 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baking | ||||
| Decoration | ||||
| Balance of Flavors | ||||
| Icing |
Levels of performance are the degree to which a student has met a criteria. These levels tell your students what they are expected to do within each criteria in order to reach a certain level of performance. Most often, these levels are labeled as adjectives like superior, moderate, poor, or above or below average. Some faculty prefer to rate levels of performance numerically (1, 2, 3…) or by letter grade (A, B, C, D).
Levels of performance can be different for each criteria. For example, a more complicated criteria may have 4-5 levels of performance, but a more basic criteria may be as simple as met/not met.
Example
When developing levels of performance for our cake baking assessment, we need to consider the type and impact of the assessment on students overall course performance. Because this assessment is formative in nature, it will not carry a large point value and will have minimal impact on the students overall grade.
We also need to consider whether or not each criteria requires a different level of performance. In this case, each criteria can be easily divided into four levels based on our expectations of student performance. We’ll list the highest performing level to the left of the criteria so that students reviewing the rubric will read the highest level of expectation first.
| Criteria | Exemplary 4 | Accomplished 3 | Developing 2 | Beginning 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baking | ||||
| Decoration | ||||
| Balance of flavors | ||||
| Icing |
Descriptors are the explicit description of performance found at the intersection of each criteria and level of performance. These explain in great detail to students what is expected at each level of performance for each criterion. Descriptors are the most time consuming but also the most valuable element of a rubric for both improved grading and for improved communication of expectations. You may also feel that overtime, your descriptors must change and evolve as you utilize the rubric.
Example
To help avoid vague or subjective narratives in your descriptors, write and rewrite the statements to be easily measurable and specific. You might find that it is easier to write one, clear and concise statement of expectations and begin with your most exemplary category. From there, work your way down the levels of achievement and subtract specific performance expectations.
| Criteria | Exemplary 4 | Accomplished 3 | Developing 2 | Beginning 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baking | ||||
| Decoration | Piping is imaginative and professional. Several decorative touches are added. | Piping is clean and professional. Some decorative touches are added. | Piping is smudged or missing in areas. No decorative touches present. | Piping appears rushed and unprofessional. No decorative touches present. |
| Balance of flavors | ||||
| Icing |
Putting it all together
Rubrics are a powerful tool as they can be used to motivate students to assess their own work, used as a personal goal setting guide, and used as a revision and feedback tool. Rubrics are flexible and can be implemented during self-review, peer-review, drafting, and goal setting assignments in your course.
Example
| Criteria | Exemplary 4 | Accomplished 3 | Developing 2 | Beginning 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baking | All layers are perfectly baked to doneness. Layers are evenly measured & spaced. | All layers are baked to doneness. Layers are adequately spaced. | Some layers are over or under baked. Layers are uneven or not adequately spaced. | Most layers are over or underdone. No consideration given to spacing or layering requirements. |
| Decoration | Piping is imaginative and professional. Several decorative touches are added. | Piping is clean and professional. Some decorative touches are added. | Piping is smudged or missing in areas. No decorative touches present. | Piping appears rushed and unprofessional. No decorative touches present. |
| Balance of flavors | Multiple, challenging flavors used. Flavors work together to create comprehensive experience. | Multiple flavors are present that pair well. | Multiple flavors are present, but the pairings do not create harmony. | A single flavor is present. |
| Icing | Buttercream icing is fluffy & acts as binder. | Buttercream icing is present and acts as binder. | Icing is present but is not buttercream. | No icing is present. |
Building rubrics in your LMS
After developing your rubric, utilize the power of your Learning Management System to connect your rubric to your online assessments and speed up your grading process:
