Rubrics
Heidi Goodrich, a rubrics expert, defines a rubric as "a scoring tool that lists the criteria for a piece of work or 'what counts.' " For example, a rubric for an essay might tell students that their work will be judged on purpose, organization, details, voice, and mechanics.
A good rubric also describes levels of quality for each of the criteria, usually on a point scale. Under mechanics, for example, the rubric might define the lowest level of performance as "many misspellings, grammar, and punctuation errors," and the highest level as "all words are spelled correctly; your work shows that you understand subject-verb agreement, when to make words possessive, and how to use commas, semicolons and periods."
- They help students and teachers define "quality" and reduce subjectivity.
- When students use rubrics regularly to judge their own work, they begin to accept more responsibility for the end product and produce higher levels of work.
- Rubrics make grading criteria known to students and parents. This clearly shows the student what is expected, and how it will be evaluated.
- Parents can use rubrics when helping with homework when they know the qualitative standards aligned with the task and/or assignment.
- Rubrics provide useful feedback regarding the effectiveness of the instruction.
Different Kinds of Rubrics: To see definitions and examples of each type, click on the links below. To view rubric construction tools, click on the link to the right of the rubric type.
| Holistic General Holistic Specific Rubric Analytic General Analytic Specific |
Constructing Holistic Rubrics Constructing Analytic Rubrics Constructing Criterion-based Checklists |
Reflective Questions
Things to Think About when Constructing a Rubric
Rubric to Assess a Rubric
Description of the qualitative standards of a good rubric.
Constructing A Rubric
Resources
Rubrics