assignment design rubric

Assessment Rubrics

A rubric is commonly defined as a tool that articulates the expectations for an assignment by listing criteria, and for each criteria, describing levels of quality (Andrade, 2000; Arter & Chappuis, 2007; Stiggins, 2001). Criteria are used in determining the level at which student work meets expectations. Markers of quality give students a clear idea about what must be done to demonstrate a certain level of mastery, understanding, or proficiency (i.e., "Exceeds Expectations" does xyz, "Meets Expectations" does only xy or yz, "Developing" does only x or y or z). Rubrics can be used for any assignment in a course, or for any way in which students are asked to demonstrate what they've learned. They can also be used to facilitate self and peer-reviews of student work.

Rubrics aren't just for summative evaluation. They can be used as a teaching tool as well. When used as part of a formative assessment, they can help students understand both the holistic nature and/or specific analytics of learning expected, the level of learning expected, and then make decisions about their current level of learning to inform revision and improvement (Reddy & Andrade, 2010). 

Why use rubrics?

Rubrics help instructors:

Provide students with feedback that is clear, directed and focused on ways to improve learning.

Demystify assignment expectations so students can focus on the work instead of guessing "what the instructor wants."

Reduce time spent on grading and develop consistency in how you evaluate student learning across students and throughout a class.

Rubrics help students:

Focus their efforts on completing assignments in line with clearly set expectations.

Self and Peer-reflect on their learning, making informed changes to achieve the desired learning level.

Developing a Rubric

During the process of developing a rubric, instructors might:

Select an assignment for your course - ideally one you identify as time intensive to grade, or students report as having unclear expectations.

Decide what you want students to demonstrate about their learning through that assignment. These are your criteria.

Identify the markers of quality on which you feel comfortable evaluating students’ level of learning - often along with a numerical scale (i.e., "Accomplished," "Emerging," "Beginning" for a developmental approach).

Give students the rubric ahead of time. Advise them to use it in guiding their completion of the assignment.

It can be overwhelming to create a rubric for every assignment in a class at once, so start by creating one rubric for one assignment. See how it goes and develop more from there! Also, do not reinvent the wheel. Rubric templates and examples exist all over the Internet, or consider asking colleagues if they have developed rubrics for similar assignments. 

Sample Rubrics

Examples of holistic and analytic rubrics : see Tables 2 & 3 in “Rubrics: Tools for Making Learning Goals and Evaluation Criteria Explicit for Both Teachers and Learners” (Allen & Tanner, 2006)

Examples across assessment types : see “Creating and Using Rubrics,” Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and & Educational Innovation

“VALUE Rubrics” : see the Association of American Colleges and Universities set of free, downloadable rubrics, with foci including creative thinking, problem solving, and information literacy. 

Andrade, H. 2000. Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning. Educational Leadership 57, no. 5: 13–18. Arter, J., and J. Chappuis. 2007. Creating and recognizing quality rubrics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. Stiggins, R.J. 2001. Student-involved classroom assessment. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Reddy, Y., & Andrade, H. (2010). A review of rubric use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation In Higher Education, 35(4), 435-448.

How to Use Rubrics

A rubric is a document that describes the criteria by which students’ assignments are graded. Rubrics can be helpful for:

• Making grading faster and more consistent (reducing potential bias). 
• Communicating your expectations for an assignment to students before they begin. 

Moreover, for assignments whose criteria are more subjective, the process of creating a rubric and articulating what it looks like to succeed at an assignment provides an opportunity to check for alignment with the intended learning outcomes and modify the assignment prompt, as needed.

Why rubrics?

Rubrics are best for assignments or projects that require evaluation on multiple dimensions. Creating a rubric makes the instructor’s standards explicit to both students and other teaching staff for the class, showing students how to meet expectations.

Additionally, the more comprehensive a rubric is, the more it allows for grading to be streamlined—students will get informative feedback about their performance from the rubric, even if they don’t have as many individualized comments. Grading can be more standardized and efficient across graders.

Finally, rubrics allow for reflection, as the instructor has to think about their standards and outcomes for the students. Using rubrics can help with self-directed learning in students as well, especially if rubrics are used to review students’ own work or their peers’, or if students are involved in creating the rubric.

How to design a rubric

1. consider the desired learning outcomes.

What learning outcomes is this assignment reinforcing and assessing? If the learning outcome seems “fuzzy,” iterate on the outcome by thinking about the expected student work product. This may help you more clearly articulate the learning outcome in a way that is measurable.  

2. Define criteria

What does a successful assignment submission look like? As described by Allen and Tanner (2006), it can help develop an initial list of categories that the student should demonstrate proficiency in by completing the assignment. These categories should correlate with the intended learning outcomes you identified in Step 1, although they may be more granular in some cases. For example, if the task assesses students’ ability to formulate an effective communication strategy, what components of their communication strategy will you be looking for? Talking with colleagues or looking at existing rubrics for similar tasks may give you ideas for categories to consider for evaluation.

If you have assigned this task to students before and have samples of student work, it can help create a qualitative observation guide. This is described in Linda Suskie’s book Assessing Student Learning , where she suggests thinking about what made you decide to give one assignment an A and another a C, as well as taking notes when grading assignments and looking for common patterns. The often repeated themes that you comment on may show what your goals and expectations for students are. An example of an observation guide used to take notes on predetermined areas of an assignment is shown here .

In summary, consider the following list of questions when defining criteria for a rubric (O’Reilly and Cyr, 2006):

• What do you want students to learn from the task?
• How will students demonstrate that they have learned?
• What knowledge, skills, and behaviors are required for the task?
• What steps are required for the task?
• What are the characteristics of the final product?

After developing an initial list of criteria, prioritize the most important skills you want to target and eliminate unessential criteria or combine similar skills into one group. Most rubrics have between 3 and 8 criteria. Rubrics that are too lengthy make it difficult to grade and challenging for students to understand the key skills they need to achieve for the given assignment. 

3. Create the rating scale

According to Suskie, you will want at least 3 performance levels: for adequate and inadequate performance, at the minimum, and an exemplary level to motivate students to strive for even better work. Rubrics often contain 5 levels, with an additional level between adequate and exemplary and a level between adequate and inadequate. Usually, no more than 5 levels are needed, as having too many rating levels can make it hard to consistently distinguish which rating to give an assignment (such as between a 6 or 7 out of 10). Suskie also suggests labeling each level with names to clarify which level represents the minimum acceptable performance. Labels will vary by assignment and subject, but some examples are: 

• Exceeds standard, meets standard, approaching standard, below standard
• Complete evidence, partial evidence, minimal evidence, no evidence

4. Fill in descriptors

Fill in descriptors for each criterion at each performance level. Expand on the list of criteria you developed in Step 2. Begin to write full descriptions, thinking about what an exemplary example would look like for students to strive towards. Avoid vague terms like “good” and make sure to use explicit, concrete terms to describe what would make a criterion good. For instance, a criterion called “organization and structure” would be more descriptive than “writing quality.” Describe measurable behavior and use parallel language for clarity; the wording for each criterion should be very similar, except for the degree to which standards are met. For example, in a sample rubric from Chapter 9 of Suskie’s book, the criterion of “persuasiveness” has the following descriptors:

• Well Done (5): Motivating questions and advance organizers convey the main idea. Information is accurate.
• Satisfactory (3-4): Includes persuasive information.
• Needs Improvement (1-2): Include persuasive information with few facts.
• Incomplete (0): Information is incomplete, out of date, or incorrect.

These sample descriptors generally have the same sentence structure that provides consistent language across performance levels and shows the degree to which each standard is met.

5. Test your rubric

Test your rubric using a range of student work to see if the rubric is realistic. You may also consider leaving room for aspects of the assignment, such as effort, originality, and creativity, to encourage students to go beyond the rubric. If there will be multiple instructors grading, it is important to calibrate the scoring by having all graders use the rubric to grade a selected set of student work and then discuss any differences in the scores. This process helps develop consistency in grading and making the grading more valid and reliable.

Types of Rubrics

If you would like to dive deeper into rubric terminology, this section is dedicated to discussing some of the different types of rubrics. However, regardless of the type of rubric you use, it’s still most important to focus first on your learning goals and think about how the rubric will help clarify students’ expectations and measure student progress towards those learning goals.

Depending on the nature of the assignment, rubrics can come in several varieties (Suskie, 2009):

Checklist Rubric

This is the simplest kind of rubric, which lists specific features or aspects of the assignment which may be present or absent. A checklist rubric does not involve the creation of a rating scale with descriptors. See example from 18.821 project-based math class .

Rating Scale Rubric

This is like a checklist rubric, but instead of merely noting the presence or absence of a feature or aspect of the assignment, the grader also rates quality (often on a graded or Likert-style scale). See example from 6.811 assistive technology class .

Descriptive Rubric

A descriptive rubric is like a rating scale, but including descriptions of what performing to a certain level on each scale looks like. Descriptive rubrics are particularly useful in communicating instructors’ expectations of performance to students and in creating consistency with multiple graders on an assignment. This kind of rubric is probably what most people think of when they imagine a rubric. See example from 15.279 communications class .

Holistic Scoring Guide

Unlike the first 3 types of rubrics, a holistic scoring guide describes performance at different levels (e.g., A-level performance, B-level performance) holistically without analyzing the assignment into several different scales. This kind of rubric is particularly useful when there are many assignments to grade and a moderate to a high degree of subjectivity in the assessment of quality. It can be difficult to have consistency across scores, and holistic scoring guides are most helpful when making decisions quickly rather than providing detailed feedback to students. See example from 11.229 advanced writing seminar .

The kind of rubric that is most appropriate will depend on the assignment in question.

Implementation tips

Rubrics are also available to use for Canvas assignments. See this resource from Boston College for more details and guides from Canvas Instructure.

Allen, D., & Tanner, K. (2006). Rubrics: Tools for Making Learning Goals and Evaluation Criteria Explicit for Both Teachers and Learners. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 5 (3), 197-203. doi:10.1187/cbe.06-06-0168

Cherie Miot Abbanat. 11.229 Advanced Writing Seminar. Spring 2004. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu . License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA .

Haynes Miller, Nat Stapleton, Saul Glasman, and Susan Ruff. 18.821 Project Laboratory in Mathematics. Spring 2013. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu . License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA .

Lori Breslow, and Terence Heagney. 15.279 Management Communication for Undergraduates. Fall 2012. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu . License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA .

O’Reilly, L., & Cyr, T. (2006). Creating a Rubric: An Online Tutorial for Faculty. Retrieved from https://www.ucdenver.edu/faculty_staff/faculty/center-for-faculty-development/Documents/Tutorials/Rubrics/index.htm

Suskie, L. (2009). Using a scoring guide or rubric to plan and evaluate an assessment. In Assessing student learning: A common sense guide (2nd edition, pp. 137-154 ) . Jossey-Bass.

William Li, Grace Teo, and Robert Miller. 6.811 Principles and Practice of Assistive Technology. Fall 2014. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu . License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA .

Rubric Design

Main navigation, articulating your assessment values.

Reading, commenting on, and then assigning a grade to a piece of student writing requires intense attention and difficult judgment calls. Some faculty dread “the stack.” Students may share the faculty’s dim view of writing assessment, perceiving it as highly subjective. They wonder why one faculty member values evidence and correctness before all else, while another seeks a vaguely defined originality.

Writing rubrics can help address the concerns of both faculty and students by making writing assessment more efficient, consistent, and public. Whether it is called a grading rubric, a grading sheet, or a scoring guide, a writing assignment rubric lists criteria by which the writing is graded.

Why create a writing rubric?

• It makes your tacit rhetorical knowledge explicit
• It articulates community- and discipline-specific standards of excellence
• It links the grade you give the assignment to the criteria
• It can make your grading more efficient, consistent, and fair as you can read and comment with your criteria in mind
• It can help you reverse engineer your course: once you have the rubrics created, you can align your readings, activities, and lectures with the rubrics to set your students up for success
• It can help your students produce writing that you look forward to reading

How to create a writing rubric

Create a rubric at the same time you create the assignment. It will help you explain to the students what your goals are for the assignment.

• Consider your purpose: do you need a rubric that addresses the standards for all the writing in the course? Or do you need to address the writing requirements and standards for just one assignment?  Task-specific rubrics are written to help teachers assess individual assignments or genres, whereas generic rubrics are written to help teachers assess multiple assignments.
• Begin by listing the important qualities of the writing that will be produced in response to a particular assignment. It may be helpful to have several examples of excellent versions of the assignment in front of you: what writing elements do they all have in common? Among other things, these may include features of the argument, such as a main claim or thesis; use and presentation of sources, including visuals; and formatting guidelines such as the requirement of a works cited.
• Then consider how the criteria will be weighted in grading. Perhaps all criteria are equally important, or perhaps there are two or three that all students must achieve to earn a passing grade. Decide what best fits the class and requirements of the assignment.

Consider involving students in Steps 2 and 3. A class session devoted to developing a rubric can provoke many important discussions about the ways the features of the language serve the purpose of the writing. And when students themselves work to describe the writing they are expected to produce, they are more likely to achieve it.

At this point, you will need to decide if you want to create a holistic or an analytic rubric. There is much debate about these two approaches to assessment.

Comparing Holistic and Analytic Rubrics

Holistic scoring .

Holistic scoring aims to rate overall proficiency in a given student writing sample. It is often used in large-scale writing program assessment and impromptu classroom writing for diagnostic purposes.

General tenets to holistic scoring:

• Responding to drafts is part of evaluation
• Responses do not focus on grammar and mechanics during drafting and there is little correction
• Marginal comments are kept to 2-3 per page with summative comments at end
• End commentary attends to students’ overall performance across learning objectives as articulated in the assignment
• Response language aims to foster students’ self-assessment

Holistic rubrics emphasize what students do well and generally increase efficiency; they may also be more valid because scoring includes authentic, personal reaction of the reader. But holistic sores won’t tell a student how they’ve progressed relative to previous assignments and may be rater-dependent, reducing reliability. (For a summary of advantages and disadvantages of holistic scoring, see Becker, 2011, p. 116.)

Here is an example of a partial holistic rubric:

Summary meets all the criteria. The writer understands the article thoroughly. The main points in the article appear in the summary with all main points proportionately developed. The summary should be as comprehensive as possible and should be as comprehensive as possible and should read smoothly, with appropriate transitions between ideas. Sentences should be clear, without vagueness or ambiguity and without grammatical or mechanical errors.

A complete holistic rubric for a research paper (authored by Jonah Willihnganz) can be  downloaded here.

Analytic Scoring

Analytic scoring makes explicit the contribution to the final grade of each element of writing. For example, an instructor may choose to give 30 points for an essay whose ideas are sufficiently complex, that marshals good reasons in support of a thesis, and whose argument is logical; and 20 points for well-constructed sentences and careful copy editing.

General tenets to analytic scoring:

• Reflect emphases in your teaching and communicate the learning goals for the course
• Emphasize student performance across criterion, which are established as central to the assignment in advance, usually on an assignment sheet
• Typically take a quantitative approach, providing a scaled set of points for each criterion
• Make the analytic framework available to students before they write  

Advantages of an analytic rubric include ease of training raters and improved reliability. Meanwhile, writers often can more easily diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of their work. But analytic rubrics can be time-consuming to produce, and raters may judge the writing holistically anyway. Moreover, many readers believe that writing traits cannot be separated. (For a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of analytic scoring, see Becker, 2011, p. 115.)

For example, a partial analytic rubric for a single trait, “addresses a significant issue”:

• Excellent: Elegantly establishes the current problem, why it matters, to whom
• Above Average: Identifies the problem; explains why it matters and to whom
• Competent: Describes topic but relevance unclear or cursory
• Developing: Unclear issue and relevance

A  complete analytic rubric for a research paper can be downloaded here.  In WIM courses, this language should be revised to name specific disciplinary conventions.

Whichever type of rubric you write, your goal is to avoid pushing students into prescriptive formulas and limiting thinking (e.g., “each paragraph has five sentences”). By carefully describing the writing you want to read, you give students a clear target, and, as Ed White puts it, “describe the ongoing work of the class” (75).

Writing rubrics contribute meaningfully to the teaching of writing. Think of them as a coaching aide. In class and in conferences, you can use the language of the rubric to help you move past generic statements about what makes good writing good to statements about what constitutes success on the assignment and in the genre or discourse community. The rubric articulates what you are asking students to produce on the page; once that work is accomplished, you can turn your attention to explaining how students can achieve it.

Works Cited

Becker, Anthony.  “Examining Rubrics Used to Measure Writing Performance in U.S. Intensive English Programs.”   The CATESOL Journal  22.1 (2010/2011):113-30. Web.

White, Edward M.  Teaching and Assessing Writing . Proquest Info and Learning, 1985. Print.

Further Resources

CCCC Committee on Assessment. “Writing Assessment: A Position Statement.” November 2006 (Revised March 2009). Conference on College Composition and Communication. Web.

Gallagher, Chris W. “Assess Locally, Validate Globally: Heuristics for Validating Local Writing Assessments.” Writing Program Administration 34.1 (2010): 10-32. Web.

Huot, Brian.  (Re)Articulating Writing Assessment for Teaching and Learning.  Logan: Utah State UP, 2002. Print.

Kelly-Reilly, Diane, and Peggy O’Neil, eds. Journal of Writing Assessment. Web.

McKee, Heidi A., and Dànielle Nicole DeVoss DeVoss, Eds. Digital Writing Assessment & Evaluation. Logan, UT: Computers and Composition Digital Press/Utah State University Press, 2013. Web.

O’Neill, Peggy, Cindy Moore, and Brian Huot.  A Guide to College Writing Assessment . Logan: Utah State UP, 2009. Print.

Sommers, Nancy.  Responding to Student Writers . Macmillan Higher Education, 2013.

Straub, Richard. “Responding, Really Responding to Other Students’ Writing.” The Subject is Writing: Essays by Teachers and Students. Ed. Wendy Bishop. Boynton/Cook, 1999. Web.

White, Edward M., and Cassie A. Wright.  Assigning, Responding, Evaluating: A Writing Teacher’s Guide . 5th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. Print.

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How to design effective rubrics.

Rubrics can be effective assessment tools when constructed using methods that incorporate four main criteria: validity, reliability, fairness, and efficiency. For a rubric to be valid and reliable, it must only grade the work presented (reducing the influence of instructor biases) so that anyone using the rubric would obtain the same grade (Felder and Brent 2016). Fairness ensures that the grading is transparent by providing students with access to the rubric at the beginning of the assessment while efficiency is evident when students receive detailed, timely feedback from the rubric after grading has occurred (Felder and Brent 2016). Because the most informative rubrics for student learning are analytical rubrics (Brookhart 2013), the steps below explain how to construct an analytical rubric.

Five Steps to Design Effective Rubrics

The first step in designing a rubric is determining the content, skills, or tasks you want students to be able to accomplish (Wormeli 2006) by completing an assessment. Thus, two main questions need to be answered:

• What do students need to know or do? and
• How will the instructor know when the students know or can do it?

Another way to think about this is to decide which learning objectives for the course are being evaluated using this assessment (Allen and Tanner 2006, Wormeli 2006). (More information on learning objectives can be found at Teaching@UNL). For most projects or similar assessments, more than one area of content or skill is occurring, so most rubrics assess more than one learning objective. For example, a project may require students to research a topic (content knowledge learning objective) using digital literacy skills (research learning objective) and presenting their findings (communication learning objective). Therefore, it is important to think through all the tasks or skills students will need to complete during an assessment to meet the learning objectives. Additionally, it is advised to review examples of rubrics for a specific discipline or task to find grade-level appropriate rubrics to aid in preparing a list of tasks and activities that are essential to meeting the learning objectives (Allen and Tanner 2006).

Once the learning objectives and a list of essential tasks for students is compiled and aligned to learning objectives, the next step is to determine the number of criteria for the rubric. Most rubrics have three or more criteria with most rubrics having less than a dozen criteria. It is important to remember that as more criteria are added to a rubric, a student’s cognitive load increases making it more difficult for students to remember all the assessment requirements (Allen and Tanner 2006, Wolf et al. 2008). Thus, usually 3-10 criteria are recommended for a rubric (if an assessment has less than 3 criteria, a different format (e.g., grade sheet) can be used to convey grading expectations and if a rubric has more than ten criteria, some criteria can be consolidated into a single larger category; Wolf et al. 2008). Once the number of criteria is established, the final step for the criteria aspect of a rubric is creating descriptive titles for each criterion and determining if some criteria will be weighted and thus be more influential on the grade for the assessment. Once this is accomplished, the right column of the rubric can be designed (Table 1).

The third aspect of a rubric design is the levels of performance and the labels for each level in the rubric. It is recommended to have 3-6 levels of performance in a rubric (Allen and Tanner 2006, Wormeli 2006, Wolf et al. 2008). The key to determining the number of performance levels for a rubric is based on how easy it is to distinguish between levels (Allen and Tanner 2006). Can the difference in student performance between a “3” and “4” be readily seen on a five-level rubric? If not, should only four levels be used for the rubric for all criteria. If most of the criteria can easily be differentiated with five levels, but only one criterion is difficult to discern, then two levels could be left blank (see “Research Skills” criterion in Table 1). It is also important to note that having fewer levels makes constructing the rubric faster but may result in ambiguous expectations and difficulty providing feedback to students.

Once the number of performance levels are set for the rubric, assign each level a name or title that indicates the level of performance. When creating the name system for the performance levels of a rubric, it is important to use terms that are not subjective, overly negative, or convey judgements (e.g., “Excellent”, “Good”, and “Bad”; Allen and Tanner 2006, Stevens and Levi 2013) and to ensure the terms use the same aspect of language (all nouns, all verbs ending in “-ing”, all adjectives, etc.; Wormeli 2006). Examples of different performance level naming systems include:

• Exemplary, Competent, Not yet competent
• Proficient, Intermediate, Novice
• Strong, Satisfactory, Not yet satisfactory
• Exceeds Expectations, Meets Expectations, Below Expectations
• Proficient, Capable, Adequate, Limited
• Exemplary, Proficient, Acceptable, Unacceptable
• Mastery, Proficient, Apprentice, Novice, Absent

Additionally, the order of the levels needs to be determined with some rubrics designed to increase in proficiency across the levels (lowest, middle, highest performance) and other designed to start with the highest performance level and move toward the lowest (highest, middle, lowest performance).

It is essential to evaluate how well a rubric works for grading and providing feedback to students. If possible, use previous student work to test a rubric to determine how well the rubric functions for grading the assessment prior to giving the rubric to students (Wormeli 2006). After using the rubric in a class, evaluate how well students met the criteria and how easy the rubric was to use in grading (Allen and Tanner 2006). If a specific criterion has low grades associated with it, determine if the language was too subjective or confusing for students. This can be done by asking students to critique the rubric or using a student survey for the overall assessment. Alternatively, the instructor can ask a colleague or instructional designer for their feedback on the rubric. If more than one instructor is using the rubric, determine if all instructors are seeing lower grades on certain criterion. Analyzing the grades can often show where students are failing to understand the content or the assessment format or requirements.

Next, look at how well the rubric reflects the work turned in by the students (Allen and Tanner 2006, Wormeli 2006). Does the grade based on the rubric reflect what the instructor would expect for the student’s assignment? Or does the rubric result in some students receiving a higher or lower grade? If the latter is occurring, determine which aspect of the rubric needs to be “fudged” to obtain the correct grade for the assessment and update the criteria that are problematic. Alternatively, the instructor may find that the rubric is good for all criteria but that some aspects of the assessment are under or over valued in the rubric (Allen and Tanner 2006). For example, if the main learning objective is the content, but 40% of the assessment is on writing skills, the rubric may need to be weighed to allow content criteria to have a stronger influence on the grade over writing criteria.

Finally, analyze how well the rubric worked for grading the assessment overall. If the instructor needed to modify the interpretation of the rubric while grading, then the levels of performance or the number of criteria may need to be edited to better align with the learning objectives and the evidence being shown in the assessment (Allen and Tanner 2006). For example, if only three performance levels exist in the rubric, but the instructor often had to give partial credit on a criterion, then this may indicate that the rubric needs to be expanded to have more levels of performance. If instead, a specific criterion is difficult to grade or distinguish between adjacent performance levels, this may indicate that too much is being assessed in the criterion (and thus should be divided into two or more different criteria) or that the criterion is not well written and needs to be explained with more details. Reflecting on the effectiveness of a rubric should be done each time the rubric is used to ensure it is well-designed and accurately represents student learning.

Rubric Examples & Resources

UNCW College of Arts & Science “ Scoring Rubrics ” contains links to discipline-specific rubrics designed by faculty from many institutions. Most of these rubrics are downloadable Word files that could be edited for use in courses.

Syracuse University “ Examples of Rubrics ” also has rubrics by discipline with some as downloadable Word files that could be edited for use in courses.

University of Illinois – Springfield has pdf files of different types of rubrics on its “ Rubric Examples ” page. These rubrics include many different types of tasks (presenting, participation, critical thinking, etc.) from a variety of institutions

If you are building a rubric in Canvas, the rubric guide in Canvas 101 provides detailed information including video instructions: Using Rubrics: Canvas 101 (unl.edu)

Allen, D. and K. Tanner (2006). Rubrics: Tools for making learning goals and evaluation criteria explicit for both teachers and learners. CBE – Life Sciences Education 5: 197-203.

Stevens, D. D., and A. J. Levi (2013). Introduction to Rubrics: an assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback, and promote student learning. Stylus Publishing, Sterling, VA, USA.

Wolf, K., M. Connelly, and A. Komara (2008). A tale of two rubrics: improving teaching and learning across the content areas through assessment. Journal of Effective Teaching 8: 21-32.

Wormeli, R. (2006). Fair isn’t always equal: assessing and grading in the differentiated classroom. Stenhouse Publishers, Portland, ME, USA.

This page was authored by Michele Larson and last updated September 15, 2022

Related Links

• How to build and use rubrics in Canvas
• Introduction to rubrics
• Grading and Feedback

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Best Practices for Designing Effective Rubrics

By Philip Arcuria & Maryrose Chaaban

Rubrics: A Definition

Rubrics have become a highly touted and ubiquitous tool in the proverbial assessment toolbox of higher education instructors. Rubrics can provide a wide range of benefits, from providing consistent feedback to students to decreasing overall grading time.

So, what is a rubric? Formally defined, a rubric is a “…coherent set of criteria for students’ work that includes descriptions of levels of performance quality on the criteria” (Brookhart, 2013, p. 4). In short, rubrics distinguish between levels of student performance on a given activity.

More broadly, a rubric is an evaluation tool that has three distinguishing features: evaluative criteria, quality definitions, and a scoring strategy (Popham, 2000).

• Evaluative criteria represent the dimensions on which a student activity or artifact (e.g., an assignment) is evaluated.
• Quality definitions comprise qualitative descriptions that distinguish student performance across a continuum for a given criterion.
• The scoring strategy articulates the process of converting the qualitative evaluations of student performance related to each criterion into an overall judgement of the quality of the artifact.

Benefits of a Rubric

Rubrics can be used to provide objective, meaningful, and substantive feedback on a variety of assignments including papers, presentations, discussions, and projects. A carefully designed rubric can provide benefits to instructors and students alike.

Rubrics can help instructors:

• reduce the amount of time spent grading
• ensure consistency and objectivity in grading
• reduce uncertainty and complaints about grades
• adjust instruction or provide additional resources based on the overall performance of an entire class

Rubrics can also help students:

• understand an instructor’s expectations on an assignment
• understand how the assignment aligns to the course objectives
• improve their performance by integrating instructor feedback
• evaluate their own work

Getting Started with Designing a Rubric

There are two main types of rubrics instructors can design: holistic rubrics and analytic rubrics. Holistic rubrics provide one overall score and do not provide students with feedback on how they performed on each individual assignment criterion. Conversely, analytic rubrics provide students with a score on each criterion. This article focuses on analytic rubrics, which tend to be preferable for formative assessments given they provide students with specific guidance and feedback related to each relevant criterion (Brookhart, 2013).

Analytic rubrics can be broken down into three parts:

• Performance criteria are the factors being measured (e.g., Organization of Essay , Thesis Statement , etc.) and are commonly represented as the rows of a rubric.
• Performance levels represent gradations of performance and typically take the form of the column headings of a rubric. The performance labels can be numeric (e.g., 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ) or textual (e.g., Poor , Acceptable , Good , Excellent ).
• Performance level descriptors articulate observable characteristics of performance for the intersection of a given criteria and performance level and comprise the cells of a rubric.

Best Practices when Designing Rubric

One of the first steps in designing a quality rubric is to identify the skills and knowledge students should demonstrate in the assignment based on the overall course or module learning objectives.

Building off of the recommendations of van Leusen (2013), you can use the following questions to get started:

• What knowledge and skills is the assignment designed to assess? (Learning Objective)
• What observable criteria represent those knowledge and skills? (Performance Criteria)
• How can you best divide those criteria to represent distinct and meaningful levels of student performance? (Performance Levels)
• What observable characteristics of students’ work differentiate among the performance levels for each criterion? (Performance Level Descriptors)

Addressing these questions can go a long way in helping you pinpoint the criteria you should include in a high-quality rubric. Once you have identified your criteria, you can start designing your rubric. Generally speaking, a high-quality analytic rubric should:

• Consist of 3-5 performance levels (Popham, 2000; Suskie, 2009).
• Include two or more performance criteria, and the labels for the criteria should be distinct, clear, and meaningful (Brookhart, 2013; Nitko & Brookhart, 2007; Popham, 2000; Suskie, 2009).
• Include performance level descriptors that: distinguish between qualitative differences in performance that are observable and measurable; are consistent within each criterion; and clearly articulate the expectations for each performance level (Banta & Palomba, 2015; Brookhart, 2013; Nitko & Brookhart, 2007; Popham, 2000; Suskie, 2009).

Evaluating Your Rubric

Once you have created a rubric, you can use the following checklist to evaluate its level of quality. This checklist is based on research by the ASU EdPlus Action Lab , where it is used for automated scoring of rubrics to assess basic structure.

Click the following link to download the checklist: Analytic Rubric Checklist

Examples of Exemplary Rubrics

The Association of American Colleges and Universities created a series of high-quality rubrics entitled VALUE rubrics that span intellectual and practical skills (i.e. critical thinking, written communication, teamwork), personal and social responsibility (i.e. civic engagement, global learning, and ethical reasoning), and integrative learning.

These rubrics are open source and available to download directly from their website. To view these rubrics, please visit the Association of American Colleges and Universities – VALUE Rubrics .

Additional Resources

Here is a list of additional resources regarding rubrics:

• Cr eating a Rubric in Canvas – Instructure
• Creating and Using Rubrics – Carnegie Melon University Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation
• Designing Scoring Rubrics for Your Classroom – Journal of Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation
• Developing and Using Rubrics – Office of Academic Assessment, The University of Oklahoma
• Repository of Sample Rubrics – Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education
• Rubric Development Guidelines – Yale Center for Teaching and Learning
• Scoring Rubrics: What, When, and How? – Journal of Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation

Arcuria, P., Morgan, W., & Fikes, T. G. (2019). Validating the use of LMS-derived rubric structural features to facilitate automated measurement of rubric quality. International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge.

Banta, T. W., & Palomba, C. A. (2015). Assessment essentials: planning, implementing, and improving assessment in higher education . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Brookhart, Susan M. (2013). How to create and use rubrics for formative assessment and grading . Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Nitko, A. J., & Brookhart, S. M. (2007). Educational Assessment of Students (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Popham, W. J. (2000). Modern educational measurement: Practical guidelines for educational leaders (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Suskie, L. (2009). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

van Leusen, P. (2013). Assessments with rubrics. ASU TeachOnline. Retreived from https://teachonline.asu.edu/2013/08/assessments-with-rubrics/

About the Action Lab

The Action Lab, a dedicated digital teaching and learning laboratory within EdPlus, engages in deep learning analytics, leveraging expertise in learning, cognitive, social, and data sciences to provide continuous program improvement that drives student success. Our mission is to make technology- enabled education research useful for systemic, scalable and radical advancement in digital teaching and learning.

Special Thanks

We would like to thank Tom Fikes, Director of Research, EdPlus Action Lab, and Julie Allen, Sr. Instructional Designer, EdPlus Instructional Design & New Media for their editing prowess.

Join the conversation

Extremely well explained article! thanks

This is an extremely well done resource! Great job Phil and Mary!!

Thanks for this. The Performance Criteria — Clarity, Organization, and Mechanics — are good criteria. Clarity refers to the “What?” question: Is “what” the student engaging with clearly stated and elaborated upon? The Organization criterion refers to the “How?” question: Is the way in which the “What?” question is elaborated upon, done so in a series of connected sentences and connected paragraphs? Do these sentences and paragraphs assemble the reasons that support the “What?” question in a coherent manner? The third criterion refers to spelling errors and grammatical errors in the attempt to address both the “What?” and the “How?”. To these three criteria we may add a fourth criterion: “So what?” which refers to some Critical Thinking. Having engaged with the “thesis”, is there room now to outline the limits of the thesis. How far does the thesis go? Where does it stop? Why does it stop where it does? And so on…

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• AACU VALUE Rubrics

Using rubrics

A rubric is a type of scoring guide that assesses and articulates specific components and expectations for an assignment. Rubrics can be used for a variety of assignments: research papers, group projects, portfolios, and presentations.  

Why use rubrics? 

Rubrics help instructors: 

• Assess assignments consistently from student-to-student. 
• Save time in grading, both short-term and long-term. 
• Give timely, effective feedback and promote student learning in a sustainable way. 
• Clarify expectations and components of an assignment for both students and course teaching assistants (TAs). 
• Refine teaching methods by evaluating rubric results. 

Rubrics help students: 

• Understand expectations and components of an assignment. 
• Become more aware of their learning process and progress. 
• Improve work through timely and detailed feedback. 

Considerations for using rubrics 

When developing rubrics consider the following:

• Although it takes time to build a rubric, time will be saved in the long run as grading and providing feedback on student work will become more streamlined.  
• A rubric can be a fillable pdf that can easily be emailed to students. 
• They can be used for oral presentations. 
• They are a great tool to evaluate teamwork and individual contribution to group tasks. 
• Rubrics facilitate peer-review by setting evaluation standards. Have students use the rubric to provide peer assessment on various drafts. 
• Students can use them for self-assessment to improve personal performance and learning. Encourage students to use the rubrics to assess their own work. 
• Motivate students to improve their work by using rubric feedback to resubmit their work incorporating the feedback. 

Getting Started with Rubrics 

• Start small by creating one rubric for one assignment in a semester.  
• Ask colleagues if they have developed rubrics for similar assignments or adapt rubrics that are available online. For example, the  AACU has rubrics  for topics such as written and oral communication, critical thinking, and creative thinking. RubiStar helps you to develop your rubric based on templates.  
• Examine an assignment for your course. Outline the elements or critical attributes to be evaluated (these attributes must be objectively measurable). 
• Create an evaluative range for performance quality under each element; for instance, “excellent,” “good,” “unsatisfactory.” 
• Avoid using subjective or vague criteria such as “interesting” or “creative.” Instead, outline objective indicators that would fall under these categories. 
• The criteria must clearly differentiate one performance level from another. 
• Assign a numerical scale to each level. 
• Give a draft of the rubric to your colleagues and/or TAs for feedback. 
• Train students to use your rubric and solicit feedback. This will help you judge whether the rubric is clear to them and will identify any weaknesses. 
• Rework the rubric based on the feedback. 

• Faculty & Staff

A rubric is a tool built from a set of criteria that can be used to both guide and evaluate student performance on an assignment. When designed and used effectively, rubrics can help instructors:

• Grade more efficiently and consistently
• Align coursework with learning outcomes
• Effectively communicate expectations and what success looks like
• Precisely identify specific strengths and weaknesses in students’ work
• Guide students to do more effective self-assessment and/or peer review

Some instructors worry that using a rubric will limit students’ critical thinking or creativity. But providing students with a rubric before they begin an assignment means that students don’t have to guess what you want – it can help them better understand the parameters of the assignment and the hallmarks of excellence. With your expectations in mind, they are more likely to take risks and try new approaches – particularly if your rubric specifies this as a goal.

Components of a rubric

Effective rubrics generally consist of three core components:

• Criteria : These are areas an instructor has determined to be key to student success on an assignment. They constitute the backbone of an instructor’s assessment of a student’s performance. Typically, criteria focus on the quality of the assignment’s content, methods, reasoning, communication, and/or format. To identify rubric criteria ask: What will I look at when I’m grading that will help me determine if a student is successful?
• Performance Levels : Similar to Likert scale ratings, performance levels are ratings that articulate the level of success demonstrated by the student on a particular criterion. They might be expressed in simple terms such as Complete / Incomplete, as a range of numbers or letters (e.g., 1-5 or A-F), or as a more detailed range of ratings (e.g., Sophisticated, Good, Competent, Average, Needs work, or Poor).
• Performance Descriptions : These are short descriptions of each performance level for a given criterion. For example, if the criterion is “Use of Research” and the performance levels range from A to F, the instructor would write five separate performance descriptions – one that articulates the characteristics an “A” quality use of research, one that articulates the characteristics of a “B” quality use of research, etc.

Types of rubrics

There are many different types of rubrics, each of which might be more or less suited to your particular teaching context. Most fall into one of three basic types of rubrics.

A holistic rubric is organized around performance levels rather than criteria. Each performance level includes a description of all the qualities that characterize the performance level. The instructor typically assigns a single score (usually using numbered or letter-based scale) based on their overall assessment of the student’s work.

Use when you are interested in giving the student feedback on the quality of their overall performance , rather than detailed feedback on multiple elements.

Single-point rubric

A single-point rubric is similar to an analytic rubric in that it is organized around a set of criteria and is set up as a matrix. However, single-point rubrics don’t have multiple performance levels, but instead only describe what proficiency looks like. Rather than articulating potential weaknesses in advance (as is the case in an analytic rubric), single point rubrics make space for instructors to provide specific feedback on areas of excellence and opportunities for improvement.

Use when you want to focus students on the criteria rather than the grade.

An analytic rubric is typically set up as a matrix with the criteria for the assignment listed in the leftmost column and the levels of performance listed across the top row, often using a numbered scale or descriptive tags. The cells within the matrix ideally would contain performance descriptions. When using an analytic rubric each of the criteria is scored individually. Students are able to understand the characteristics that distinguish an excellent submission from an unsatisfactory submission.

Use when you want to weigh criteria differently and provide detailed feedback on multiple, specific elements .

How to develop a rubric

• Articulate your learning outcomes for the assignment. What will students learn and/or do as a result of completing this assignment?
• Determine the type of rubric that will work best for assessing these outcomes and communicating feedback to students.
• Identify the criteria that will help you measure whether students have met the learning outcomes for the assignment.
• Determine the performance levels and write out the performance descriptions. Keep these as brief as possible–the fewer criteria you have, the easier it will be for students to prioritize what’s most important (and for you to grade their work).
• Decide how and when you will share the rubric with students. To get the most use out of your rubric, share it at the same time that you introduce the assignment. Knowing from the start how the assignment will be assessed will help students approach it most effectively.

Tips for developing an effective rubric

• Limit rubric criteria to the most important aspects of the assignment.
• Use specific, descriptive language to articulate the assignment requirements and assessment criteria.
• Ensure consistency by using similar language in each section of the rubric.
• Share the rubric with students when introducing an assignment.
• Consider co-creating rubrics with your students to help them better understand their own learning.

The examples below are meant to demonstrate the basic concepts and structure of a rubric. They are not meant to apply to any particular assignment. With a particular assignment in mind, instructors will need to articulate both the criteria that will guide their assessment of students’ performance and the performance descriptions for each level.

Holistic Rubric

Single-point rubric, analytic rubric.

Basic rubric examples Word doc

Additional resources

• Guide to creating rubrics on Canvas
• Writing@UW: What is a rubric, and how do I use it?

Creating rubrics for effective assessment management

How this will help:

Regardless of whether your course is online or face to face, you will need to provide feedback to your students on their strengths and areas for growth. Rubrics are one way to simplify the process of providing feedback and consistent grades to your students.

What are rubrics?

Rubrics are “scoring sheets” for learning tasks. There are multiple flavors of rubrics, but they all articulate two key variables for scoring how successful the learner has been in completing a specific task: the criteria for evaluation and the levels of performance. While you may have used rubrics in your face-to-face class, rubrics become essential when teaching online. Rubrics will not only save you time (a lot of time) when grading assignments, but they also help clarify expectations about how you are assessing students and why they received a particular grade. It also makes grading feel more objective to students (“I see what I did wrong here”), rather than subjective (“The teacher doesn’t like me and that’s why I got this grade.”). 

When designing a rubric, ideally, the criteria for evaluation need to be aligned with the learning objectives [link to learning objectives] of the task. For example, if an instructor asks their learners to create an annotated bibliography for a research assignment, we can imagine that the instructor wants to give the students practice with identifying valid sources on their research topic, citing sources correctly (using the appropriate format), and summarizing sources appropriately. The criteria for evaluation in a rubric for that task might be

• Quality of sources
• Accuracy of citation format for each source type
• Coherence of summaries
• Accuracy of summaries

The levels of performance don’t necessarily have a scale they must align with. Some rubric types might use a typical letter grading scale for their levels – these rubrics often include language like “An A-level response will….” Other rubric types have very few levels of performance; sometimes they are as simple as a binary scale – complete or incomplete (a checklist is an example of this kind of rubric). How an instructor thinks about the levels of performance in a rubric is going to depend on a number of factors, including their own personal preferences and approaches to evaluating student work, and on how the task is being used in the learning experience. If a task is not going to contribute to the final grade for the course, it might not be necessary (or make sense) to provide many fine-grained levels of performance. On the other hand, an assignment that is designed to provide detailed information to the instructor as to how proficient each student is at a set of skills might need many, highly specific levels of performance. At the end of this module, we provide examples of different types of rubrics and structures for levels of performance.

What teaching goals can rubrics help meet?

In an online course, clear communication from the instructor about their expectations is critical for student success and success of the course. Effective feedback, where it is clear to the learner what they have already mastered and where there are gaps in the learners knowledge or skills, is necessary for deep learning. Rubrics help an instructor clearly explain their expectations to the class as a whole while also making it easier to give individual students specific feedback on their learning.

Although one of the practical advantages to using rubrics is to make grading of submitted assignments more efficient, they can be used for many, not mutually exclusive, purposes:

• highlighting growth of a students’ skills or knowledge over time
• articulating to learners the important features of a high-quality submission
• assessing student participation in discussion forums
• guiding student self-assessments 
• guiding student peer-reviews
• providing feedback on ungraded or practice assignments to help students identify where they need to focus their learning efforts.

Examples of different rubrics

Different styles of rubrics are better fits for different task-types and for fulfilling the different teaching aims of a rubric . Here we focus on four different styles with varying levels of complexity: single point rubric, Specific task rubrics, general rubrics, holistic rubrics and analytical rubrics (Arter, J. A., & Chappuis, J., 2007).

Single point rubric

Sometimes, simple is easiest. A single point rubric can tell students whether they met the expectations of the criteria or not. We’d generally recommend not using too many criteria with single point rubrics, they aren’t meant for complicated evaluation. They are great for short assignments like discussion posts.

Example task : Write a 250 discussion post reflecting on the purpose of this week’s readings. (20 points)

Example rubric:

Specific task rubric

This style of rubric is useful for articulating the knowledge and skill objectives (and their respective levels) of a specific assignment.

Example task:

Design and build a trebuchet that is adjustable to launch a 

• 5g weight a distance of 0.5m
• 7g weight a distance of 0.5m
• 10g weight a distance of 0.75m

Holistic rubric

This style of rubric enables a single, overall assessment/evaluation of a learner’s performance on a task

Write a historical research paper discussing ….

( Adapted from http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/rubrics.htm#versus )

General rubric

This style of rubric can be used for multiple, similar assignments to show growth (achieved and opportunities) over time.

Write a blog post appropriate for a specific audience exploring the themes of the reading for this week.

(Adapted from http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/a-rubric-for-evaluating-student-blogs/27196 )

Analytic rubric

This style of rubric is well suited to breaking apart a complex task into component skills and allows for evaluation of those components. It can also help determine the grade for the whole assignment based on performance on the component skills. This style of rubric can look similar to a general rubric but includes detailed grading information.

( Adapted from http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/a-rubric-for-evaluating-student-blogs/27196 )

Designing your own rubric

You can approach designing a rubric from multiple angles. Here we outline just one possible procedure to get started. This approach assumes the learning task is graded, but it can be generalized for other structures for levels of performance. 

• Start with the, “I know it when I see it,” principle. Most instructors have a sense of what makes a reasonable response to a task, even if they haven’t explicitly named those traits before. Write out as many traits of a “meets expectations” response as you can come up with – these will be your first draft of the criteria for learning.
• For each type of criterion, describe what an “A” response looks like. This will be your top level of performance.
• For complicated projects, consider moving systematically down each whole-grade level (B, C, D, F),  describe, in terms parallel to how you described the best response, what student responses at that level often look like. Or, for more simple assignments, create very simple rubrics – either the criterion was achieved or not. Rubrics do not have to be complicated [link to single point rubric]! 
• Share the rubric with a colleague to get feedback or “play test” the rubric using past student work if possible. 
• After grading some student responses with it, you may be tempted to fine-tune some details. However, this is not recommended. For one, Canvas will not allow you to change a rubric once it has been used for grading. But it is also not recommended to change the metrics of grading after students have already been using a rubric to work from. If you find that your rubric is grading students too harshly on a particular criterion, Also, make sure you track what changes you want to make. You may want to adjust your future course rubrics or at least for the next iteration of the task or course.

Practical Tips

• Creating learning objectives for each task, as you design the task, helps to ensure there is alignment between your learning activities and assessments and your course level learning objectives. It also gives a head start for the design of the rubric.
• When creating a rubric, start with just a few levels of performance. It is easier to expand a rubric to include more specificity in the levels of performance than it is to shrink the number of levels. Smaller rubrics are much easier for the instructor to navigate to provide feedback.
• Using a rubric will (likely) not eliminate the need for qualitative feedback to each student, but keeping a document of commonly used responses to students that you can copy and paste from can make the feedback process even more efficient.
• Explicitly have students self-assess their task prior to submitting it. For example, when students submit a paper online, have them include a short (100 word or less) reflection on what they think they did well on the paper, and what they struggled with. That step seems obvious to experts (i.e. instructors) but isn’t obvious to all learners. If students make a habit of this, they will often end up with higher grades because they catch their mistakes before they submit their response(s).
• Canvas and other learning management systems (LMS) have tools that allow you to create point and click rubrics. You can choose to have the tools automatically enter grades into the LMS grade book.
• Rubrics can be used for students to self-evaluate their own performance or to provide feedback to peers.

University of Michigan

CRLT – Sample lab rubrics

Cult of Pedagogy – The single point rubric

Other Resources

The Chronicle of Higher Ed – A rubric for evaluating student blogs

Canvas – Creating a rubric in Canvas

Jon Mueller – Authentic assessment toolkit

Arter, J. A., & Chappuis, J. (2007). Creating & recognizing quality rubrics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Gilbert, P. K., & Dabbagh, N. (2004). How to structure online discussions for meaningful discourse: a case study. British Journal of Educational Technology , 36 (1), 5–18. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2005.00434.x

Wyss, V. L., Freedman, D., & Siebert, C. J. (2014). The Development of a Discussion Rubric for Online Courses: Standardizing Expectations of Graduate Students in Online Scholarly Discussions. TechTrends , 58 (2), 99–107. doi: 10.1007/s11528-014-0741-x

Serena Williams’ father speaks out about Will Smith being banned from the Oscars because of the slap. Richard Williams – father of tennis players Serena and Venus Williams – has spoken out about Will Smith’s “cancellation” over the slap to American actor and stand-up comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars a year ago. He was quoted by NME. Williams, who Smith played in the biographical film “King Richard,” which won the Best Actor award, backed the actor. “I think he did the best of what he had to do, but I never felt disgusted with Mr. Smith. In fact, I appreciate Mr. Smith,” he said. “It’s time everyone forgave Will Smith,” Williams added. In his opinion, the ban on the actor’s participation in the Academy Awards for ten years should be lifted. In late March 2022, during the Oscars, host Chris Rock made an unfortunate joke about Smith’s wife. The showman noted the “amazing, Will Smith oscar very short hair” of Smith’s wife, who suffers from alopecia. Rock compared her to the heroine of “Soldier Jane.” The actor then took the stage, slapped him in the face and yelled at him not to make jokes about his wife.

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Teaching excellence & educational innovation, grading and performance rubrics, what are rubrics.

A rubric is a scoring tool that explicitly represents the performance expectations for an assignment or piece of work. A rubric divides the assigned work into component parts and provides clear descriptions of the characteristics of the work associated with each component, at varying levels of mastery. Rubrics can be used for a wide array of assignments: papers, projects, oral presentations, artistic performances, group projects, etc. Rubrics can be used as scoring or grading guides, to provide formative feedback to support and guide ongoing learning efforts, or both.

Advantages of Using Rubrics

Using a rubric provides several advantages to both instructors and students. Grading according to an explicit and descriptive set of criteria that is designed to reflect the weighted importance of the objectives of the assignment helps ensure that the instructor’s grading standards don’t change over time. Grading consistency is difficult to maintain over time because of fatigue, shifting standards based on prior experience, or intrusion of other criteria. Furthermore, rubrics can reduce the time spent grading by reducing uncertainty and by allowing instructors to refer to the rubric description associated with a score rather than having to write long comments. Finally, grading rubrics are invaluable in large courses that have multiple graders (other instructors, teaching assistants, etc.) because they can help ensure consistency across graders and reduce the systematic bias that can be introduced between graders.

Used more formatively, rubrics can help instructors get a clearer picture of the strengths and weaknesses of their class. By recording the component scores and tallying up the number of students scoring below an acceptable level on each component, instructors can identify those skills or concepts that need more instructional time and student effort.

Grading rubrics are also valuable to students. A rubric can help instructors communicate to students the specific requirements and acceptable performance standards of an assignment. When rubrics are given to students with the assignment description, they can help students monitor and assess their progress as they work toward clearly indicated goals. When assignments are scored and returned with the rubric, students can more easily recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their work and direct their efforts accordingly.

Examples of Rubrics

Here are links to a diverse set of rubrics designed by Carnegie Mellon faculty and faculty at other institutions. Although your particular field of study and type of assessment activity may not be represented currently, viewing a rubric that is designed for a similar activity may provide you with ideas on how to divide your task into components and how to describe the varying levels of mastery.

Paper Assignments

• Example 1: Philosophy Paper This rubric was designed for student papers in a range of philosophy courses, CMU.
• Example 2: Psychology Assignment Short, concept application homework assignment in cognitive psychology, CMU.
• Example 3: Anthropology Writing Assignments This rubric was designed for a series of short writing assignments in anthropology, CMU.
• Example 4: History Research Paper . This rubric was designed for essays and research papers in history, CMU.
• Example 1: Capstone Project in Design This rubric describes the components and standard of performance from the research phase to the final presentation for a senior capstone project in the School of Design, CMU.
• Example 2: Engineering Design Project This rubric describes performance standards on three aspects of a team project: Research and Design, Communication, and Team Work.

Oral Presentations

• Example 1: Oral Exam This rubric describes a set of components and standards for assessing performance on an oral exam in an upper-division history course, CMU.
• Example 2: Oral Communication
• Example 3: Group Presentations This rubric describes a set of components and standards for assessing group presentations in a history course, CMU.

Class Participation/Contributions

• Example 1: Discussion Class This rubric assesses the quality of student contributions to class discussions. This is appropriate for an undergraduate-level course, CMU.
• Example 2: Advanced Seminar This rubric is designed for assessing discussion performance in an advanced undergraduate or graduate seminar. 

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Assessment and Curriculum Support Center

Creating and using rubrics.

Last Updated: 4 March 2024. Click here to view archived versions of this page.

On this page:

• What is a rubric?
• Why use a rubric?
• What are the parts of a rubric?
• Developing a rubric
• Sample rubrics
• Scoring rubric group orientation and calibration
• Suggestions for using rubrics in courses
• Equity-minded considerations for rubric development
• Tips for developing a rubric
• Additional resources & sources consulted

Note:  The information and resources contained here serve only as a primers to the exciting and diverse perspectives in the field today. This page will be continually updated to reflect shared understandings of equity-minded theory and practice in learning assessment.

1. What is a rubric?

A rubric is an assessment tool often shaped like a matrix, which describes levels of achievement in a specific area of performance, understanding, or behavior.

There are two main types of rubrics:

Analytic Rubric : An analytic rubric specifies at least two characteristics to be assessed at each performance level and provides a separate score for each characteristic (e.g., a score on “formatting” and a score on “content development”).

• Advantages: provides more detailed feedback on student performance; promotes consistent scoring across students and between raters
• Disadvantages: more time consuming than applying a holistic rubric
• You want to see strengths and weaknesses.
• You want detailed feedback about student performance.

Holistic Rubric: A holistic rubrics provide a single score based on an overall impression of a student’s performance on a task.

• Advantages: quick scoring; provides an overview of student achievement; efficient for large group scoring
• Disadvantages: does not provided detailed information; not diagnostic; may be difficult for scorers to decide on one overall score
• You want a quick snapshot of achievement.
• A single dimension is adequate to define quality.

2. Why use a rubric?

• A rubric creates a common framework and language for assessment.
• Complex products or behaviors can be examined efficiently.
• Well-trained reviewers apply the same criteria and standards.
• Rubrics are criterion-referenced, rather than norm-referenced. Raters ask, “Did the student meet the criteria for level 5 of the rubric?” rather than “How well did this student do compared to other students?”
• Using rubrics can lead to substantive conversations among faculty.
• When faculty members collaborate to develop a rubric, it promotes shared expectations and grading practices.

Faculty members can use rubrics for program assessment. Examples:

The English Department collected essays from students in all sections of English 100. A random sample of essays was selected. A team of faculty members evaluated the essays by applying an analytic scoring rubric. Before applying the rubric, they “normed”–that is, they agreed on how to apply the rubric by scoring the same set of essays and discussing them until consensus was reached (see below: “6. Scoring rubric group orientation and calibration”). Biology laboratory instructors agreed to use a “Biology Lab Report Rubric” to grade students’ lab reports in all Biology lab sections, from 100- to 400-level. At the beginning of each semester, instructors met and discussed sample lab reports. They agreed on how to apply the rubric and their expectations for an “A,” “B,” “C,” etc., report in 100-level, 200-level, and 300- and 400-level lab sections. Every other year, a random sample of students’ lab reports are selected from 300- and 400-level sections. Each of those reports are then scored by a Biology professor. The score given by the course instructor is compared to the score given by the Biology professor. In addition, the scores are reported as part of the program’s assessment report. In this way, the program determines how well it is meeting its outcome, “Students will be able to write biology laboratory reports.”

3. What are the parts of a rubric?

Rubrics are composed of four basic parts. In its simplest form, the rubric includes:

• A task description . The outcome being assessed or instructions students received for an assignment.
• The characteristics to be rated (rows) . The skills, knowledge, and/or behavior to be demonstrated.
• Beginning, approaching, meeting, exceeding
• Emerging, developing, proficient, exemplary 
• Novice, intermediate, intermediate high, advanced 
• Beginning, striving, succeeding, soaring
• Also called a “performance description.” Explains what a student will have done to demonstrate they are at a given level of mastery for a given characteristic.

4. Developing a rubric

Step 1: Identify what you want to assess

Step 2: Identify the characteristics to be rated (rows). These are also called “dimensions.”

• Specify the skills, knowledge, and/or behaviors that you will be looking for.
• Limit the characteristics to those that are most important to the assessment.

Step 3: Identify the levels of mastery/scale (columns).

Tip: Aim for an even number (4 or 6) because when an odd number is used, the middle tends to become the “catch-all” category.

Step 4: Describe each level of mastery for each characteristic/dimension (cells).

• Describe the best work you could expect using these characteristics. This describes the top category.
• Describe an unacceptable product. This describes the lowest category.
• Develop descriptions of intermediate-level products for intermediate categories.

Important: Each description and each characteristic should be mutually exclusive.

Step 5: Test rubric.

• Apply the rubric to an assignment.
• Share with colleagues.

Tip: Faculty members often find it useful to establish the minimum score needed for the student work to be deemed passable. For example, faculty members may decided that a “1” or “2” on a 4-point scale (4=exemplary, 3=proficient, 2=marginal, 1=unacceptable), does not meet the minimum quality expectations. We encourage a standard setting session to set the score needed to meet expectations (also called a “cutscore”). Monica has posted materials from standard setting workshops, one offered on campus and the other at a national conference (includes speaker notes with the presentation slides). They may set their criteria for success as 90% of the students must score 3 or higher. If assessment study results fall short, action will need to be taken.

Step 6: Discuss with colleagues. Review feedback and revise.

Important: When developing a rubric for program assessment, enlist the help of colleagues. Rubrics promote shared expectations and consistent grading practices which benefit faculty members and students in the program.

5. Sample rubrics

Rubrics are on our Rubric Bank page and in our Rubric Repository (Graduate Degree Programs) . More are available at the Assessment and Curriculum Support Center in Crawford Hall (hard copy).

These open as Word documents and are examples from outside UH.

• Group Participation (analytic rubric)
• Participation (holistic rubric)
• Design Project (analytic rubric)
• Critical Thinking (analytic rubric)
• Media and Design Elements (analytic rubric; portfolio)
• Writing (holistic rubric; portfolio)

6. Scoring rubric group orientation and calibration

When using a rubric for program assessment purposes, faculty members apply the rubric to pieces of student work (e.g., reports, oral presentations, design projects). To produce dependable scores, each faculty member needs to interpret the rubric in the same way. The process of training faculty members to apply the rubric is called “norming.” It’s a way to calibrate the faculty members so that scores are accurate and consistent across the faculty. Below are directions for an assessment coordinator carrying out this process.

Suggested materials for a scoring session:

• Copies of the rubric
• Copies of the “anchors”: pieces of student work that illustrate each level of mastery. Suggestion: have 6 anchor pieces (2 low, 2 middle, 2 high)
• Score sheets
• Extra pens, tape, post-its, paper clips, stapler, rubber bands, etc.

Hold the scoring session in a room that:

• Allows the scorers to spread out as they rate the student pieces
• Has a chalk or white board, smart board, or flip chart
• Describe the purpose of the activity, stressing how it fits into program assessment plans. Explain that the purpose is to assess the program, not individual students or faculty, and describe ethical guidelines, including respect for confidentiality and privacy.
• Describe the nature of the products that will be reviewed, briefly summarizing how they were obtained.
• Describe the scoring rubric and its categories. Explain how it was developed.
• Analytic: Explain that readers should rate each dimension of an analytic rubric separately, and they should apply the criteria without concern for how often each score (level of mastery) is used. Holistic: Explain that readers should assign the score or level of mastery that best describes the whole piece; some aspects of the piece may not appear in that score and that is okay. They should apply the criteria without concern for how often each score is used.
• Give each scorer a copy of several student products that are exemplars of different levels of performance. Ask each scorer to independently apply the rubric to each of these products, writing their ratings on a scrap sheet of paper.
• Once everyone is done, collect everyone’s ratings and display them so everyone can see the degree of agreement. This is often done on a blackboard, with each person in turn announcing his/her ratings as they are entered on the board. Alternatively, the facilitator could ask raters to raise their hands when their rating category is announced, making the extent of agreement very clear to everyone and making it very easy to identify raters who routinely give unusually high or low ratings.
• Guide the group in a discussion of their ratings. There will be differences. This discussion is important to establish standards. Attempt to reach consensus on the most appropriate rating for each of the products being examined by inviting people who gave different ratings to explain their judgments. Raters should be encouraged to explain by making explicit references to the rubric. Usually consensus is possible, but sometimes a split decision is developed, e.g., the group may agree that a product is a “3-4” split because it has elements of both categories. This is usually not a problem. You might allow the group to revise the rubric to clarify its use but avoid allowing the group to drift away from the rubric and learning outcome(s) being assessed.
• Once the group is comfortable with how the rubric is applied, the rating begins. Explain how to record ratings using the score sheet and explain the procedures. Reviewers begin scoring.
• Are results sufficiently reliable?
• What do the results mean? Are we satisfied with the extent of students’ learning?
• Who needs to know the results?
• What are the implications of the results for curriculum, pedagogy, or student support services?
• How might the assessment process, itself, be improved?

7. Suggestions for using rubrics in courses

• Use the rubric to grade student work. Hand out the rubric with the assignment so students will know your expectations and how they’ll be graded. This should help students master your learning outcomes by guiding their work in appropriate directions.
• Use a rubric for grading student work and return the rubric with the grading on it. Faculty save time writing extensive comments; they just circle or highlight relevant segments of the rubric. Some faculty members include room for additional comments on the rubric page, either within each section or at the end.
• Develop a rubric with your students for an assignment or group project. Students can the monitor themselves and their peers using agreed-upon criteria that they helped develop. Many faculty members find that students will create higher standards for themselves than faculty members would impose on them.
• Have students apply your rubric to sample products before they create their own. Faculty members report that students are quite accurate when doing this, and this process should help them evaluate their own projects as they are being developed. The ability to evaluate, edit, and improve draft documents is an important skill.
• Have students exchange paper drafts and give peer feedback using the rubric. Then, give students a few days to revise before submitting the final draft to you. You might also require that they turn in the draft and peer-scored rubric with their final paper.
• Have students self-assess their products using the rubric and hand in their self-assessment with the product; then, faculty members and students can compare self- and faculty-generated evaluations.

8. Equity-minded considerations for rubric development

Ensure transparency by making rubric criteria public, explicit, and accessible

Transparency is a core tenet of equity-minded assessment practice. Students should know and understand how they are being evaluated as early as possible.

• Ensure the rubric is publicly available & easily accessible. We recommend publishing on your program or department website.
• Have course instructors introduce and use the program rubric in their own courses. Instructors should explain to students connections between the rubric criteria and the course and program SLOs.
• Write rubric criteria using student-focused and culturally-relevant language to ensure students understand the rubric’s purpose, the expectations it sets, and how criteria will be applied in assessing their work.
• For example, instructors can provide annotated examples of student work using the rubric language as a resource for students.

Meaningfully involve students and engage multiple perspectives

Rubrics created by faculty alone risk perpetuating unseen biases as the evaluation criteria used will inherently reflect faculty perspectives, values, and assumptions. Including students and other stakeholders in developing criteria helps to ensure performance expectations are aligned between faculty, students, and community members. Additional perspectives to be engaged might include community members, alumni, co-curricular faculty/staff, field supervisors, potential employers, or current professionals. Consider the following strategies to meaningfully involve students and engage multiple perspectives:

• Have students read each evaluation criteria and talk out loud about what they think it means. This will allow you to identify what language is clear and where there is still confusion.
• Ask students to use their language to interpret the rubric and provide a student version of the rubric.
• If you use this strategy, it is essential to create an inclusive environment where students and faculty have equal opportunity to provide input.
• Be sure to incorporate feedback from faculty and instructors who teach diverse courses, levels, and in different sub-disciplinary topics. Faculty and instructors who teach introductory courses have valuable experiences and perspectives that may differ from those who teach higher-level courses.
• Engage multiple perspectives including co-curricular faculty/staff, alumni, potential employers, and community members for feedback on evaluation criteria and rubric language. This will ensure evaluation criteria reflect what is important for all stakeholders.
• Elevate historically silenced voices in discussions on rubric development. Ensure stakeholders from historically underrepresented communities have their voices heard and valued.

Honor students’ strengths in performance descriptions

When describing students’ performance at different levels of mastery, use language that describes what students can do rather than what they cannot do. For example:

• Instead of: Students cannot make coherent arguments consistently.
• Use: Students can make coherent arguments occasionally.

9. Tips for developing a rubric

• Find and adapt an existing rubric! It is rare to find a rubric that is exactly right for your situation, but you can adapt an already existing rubric that has worked well for others and save a great deal of time. A faculty member in your program may already have a good one.
• Evaluate the rubric . Ask yourself: A) Does the rubric relate to the outcome(s) being assessed? (If yes, success!) B) Does it address anything extraneous? (If yes, delete.) C) Is the rubric useful, feasible, manageable, and practical? (If yes, find multiple ways to use the rubric: program assessment, assignment grading, peer review, student self assessment.)
• Collect samples of student work that exemplify each point on the scale or level. A rubric will not be meaningful to students or colleagues until the anchors/benchmarks/exemplars are available.
• Expect to revise.
• When you have a good rubric, SHARE IT!

10. Additional resources & sources consulted:

Rubric examples:

• Rubrics primarily for undergraduate outcomes and programs
• Rubric repository for graduate degree programs

Workshop presentation slides and handouts:

• Workshop handout (Word document)
• How to Use a Rubric for Program Assessment (2010)
• Techniques for Using Rubrics in Program Assessment by guest speaker Dannelle Stevens (2010)
• Rubrics: Save Grading Time & Engage Students in Learning by guest speaker Dannelle Stevens (2009)
• Rubric Library , Institutional Research, Assessment & Planning, California State University-Fresno
• The Basics of Rubrics [PDF], Schreyer Institute, Penn State
• Creating Rubrics , Teaching Methods and Management, TeacherVision
• Allen, Mary – University of Hawai’i at Manoa Spring 2008 Assessment Workshops, May 13-14, 2008 [available at the Assessment and Curriculum Support Center]
• Mertler, Craig A. (2001). Designing scoring rubrics for your classroom. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation , 7(25).
• NPEC Sourcebook on Assessment: Definitions and Assessment Methods for Communication, Leadership, Information Literacy, Quantitative Reasoning, and Quantitative Skills . [PDF] (June 2005)

Contributors: Monica Stitt-Bergh, Ph.D., Yao Z. Hill Ph.D., TJ Buckley.

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Designing Rubrics

Design rubrics for consistency, clarity, and feedback.

Rubrics help instructors:

• Evaluate student work with consistency.
• Make expectations for assignments clear.
• Communicate students’ strengths and weaknesses.

A rubric supports consistency and fairness in grading as it standardizes the elements of an assignment that are graded. It shows the attainable tiers of performance.

Sharing rubrics along with assignments gives students up-front knowledge of the expectations for their work. Consider discussing the rubric prior to an assignment due date, to help students focus their efforts.

Ask students to pay attention to rubric scores and comments across multiple assignments. Students who notice patterns in areas of excellence or in areas for improvement are better able to make adjustments in learning strategies.

Examples of excellent rubrics appear at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) Value Rubric website . You will find detailed rubrics on analytical thinking, written communication, oral communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and more. Examples of rubrics from a College of IST course appear below in Figures 1–4.

Building rubrics in Canvas saves time in grading. You can integrate rubrics in Canvas with the SpeedGrader grading tool. This allows instructors and graders to show numerical scores and comments on the rubrics. For directions on how to create rubrics in Canvas, see rubrics  in the Canvas Instructor’s Guide.

Choose a type of rubric for grading your assignment

There are four common types of rubrics, ranging from minimal guidance and feedback to detailed guidance and feedback. Use Checklist or Simple rubrics for low-stakes assignments; essay exam scoring guides; or small, rapid-feedback assignments done in class. Use Analytic or Holistic rubrics for larger assignments like research papers, group projects, lab reports, and presentations.

Checklist Rubrics

Checklists include the criteria for evaluation only. 

Figure 1 provides an example of a checklist rubric for an assignment where a student has to submit a portfolio. The only elements included in this rubric type are the criteria for evaluation—the things (skills, knowledge, etc.) that students must demonstrate. Students have either provided evidence or not. They earn points for how many things they have accomplished.

Figure 1. Evaluation criterion for a checklist rubric describing the things needed to complete the assignment

Simple Rubrics

Simple Rubrics include criteria for evaluation and performance levels. 

The Simple Rubric shown in Figure 2 has two elements: a) criteria for evaluation and b) a scale to indicate the level of understanding or growth that is communicated by the student’s work. There is no further elaboration about how the grader determined the score that is awarded. This type of rubric is good for giving students some approximate feedback, but it wouldn’t be very helpful for final ratings of a large, significant project.

Figure 2. Simple Rubric contains information about the elements of the assignment being evaluated and an undefined 6 – 10 point scale.

Analytic Rubrics

Analytic Rubrics combine criteria for evaluation and levels of performance with a description.

Analytic Rubrics are the most common type of rubric used in the College of IST (see example in Figure 3). Similar to the Checklist and Simple rubrics, the Analytic rubric includes a) the criteria for evaluation; and like the Simple rubric, the Detailed rubric includes b) a scale to indicate performance levels. In addition, the Detailed rubric also has a  description of each performance level . The student and the grader know what it means to get a low, middle, or high rating on each criterion, because there is a description in each cell.

Figure 3. Analytic Rubric contains information about the elements of the assignment being evaluated, a scale for evaluation, and a description associated with each point along the scale.

Holistic Rubrics

Holistic Rubrics provide a scale of possible performance levels, along with a holistic description of the performance at that level.

The Holistic Rubric (see Figure 4) is similar to the Analytic rubric. Both include criteria for evaluation, a scale to indicate performance levels, and a description of each performance level. However, whereas the Analytic rubric separates out each evaluation criterion, the Holistic rubric lists all criteria together for a particular point on the performance scale, providing a holistic description of what it means to achieve the highest mark, middle marks, and the lowest mark.

Figure 4. Holistic Rubric contains a holistic, summary description of the achievement that was reached at each of the points of the performance scale.

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Evaluating student performance for feedback and fairness.

On this page:

The importance of rubrics.

A rubric is an assessment tool that includes:

• Criteria: The categories or characteristics that you value in the task or assignment.
• Performance levels: A detailed description of the levels of quality for each criterion.

When grading an assignment, the rater goes through each criterion and determines which performance level was achieved. These scores are then added together to create an overall performance evaluation. Written feedback can also be given to the student to explain why the assignment fell within the indicated performance level.

Rubrics have several benefits for instructors and students:

Benefits for Instructors

• Improves fairness and objectivity in grading.
• Adds guidance for grading complex assignments.
• Offers clearer feedback to students (see Feedback ).
• Creates consistency across assignments and increases interrater reliability.
• Can be used repeatedly.
• Can easily be adjusted and adapted.

Benefits for Students

• Sets clear expectations for assignments.
• Guides students to reach learning outcomes.
• Offers the opportunity for peer and self-evaluation, supporting self-reflection.
• Provides students with effective feedback.

While rubrics require an investment to create and calibrate, the long-term savings in time and the improved quality of feedback and objectivity in grading makes them a valuable resource to include in your course.

Using Rubrics in Your Course

Types of rubrics.

The following are different types of rubrics you may consider using depending on the type of assignment or situation.

Used to quantitatively evaluate knowledge, attributes or skills while providing detailed feedback about strengths and weaknesses. Includes explicit descriptions of criteria required to meet the level of quality present for each dimension.

Used when assessing a performance or attribute as well as for grading assignments quickly. Holistic rubrics don’t necessarily provide in depth feedback to students.

Used to identify whether criteria are present. For example, a student receives a point value of 1 for each component that is presented and a 0 for each one that is missing. A total score is then calculated. You can also allot more than one point or partial credit for each component.

Higher Order Thinking Skills

It is often difficult to create concrete measurable criteria to assess higher order thinking skills. For example, what makes one argument more critical than another? The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has created a variety of rubrics to assess student learning in the following areas:

Applying Rubrics

Rubrics are useful when determining if a grade is subjective or assignments are open-ended. Rubric use is especially beneficial when:

• Assignments do not have a single correct answer, such as essays, projects or videos.
• Consistency between raters is required, such as multiple graders or grading over time.
• Transparency and fairness are paramount, such as practice interviews with students.
• Feedback is provided on a large scale, such as grading presentations or projects.
• Reflectiveness of the assessment is important, such as when scores impact student future performances.

One impactful way to apply rubrics is to guide students. Consider using a rubric as follows:

• Share the rubric before the assignment begins and have a discussion with students about its categories and criteria. Answer any additional questions that may arise.
• Review an assignment example or exemplar with the class and think aloud while using the rubric as an evaluation tool.  Ask students to help grade the example in each category and justify their responses with evidence. Support students through this process through modeling, scaffolding and feedback.
• After students are comfortable using the rubric, have them give peer feedback while also practicing independent critical thinking skills. Both peer and instructor feedback can be used formatively to improve the assignment.
• Use the rubric as a summative assessment tool to evaluate student work and provide transparency in grading and feedback. This can help students understand the rationale for their assignment’s assessment and grade.

The following rubric workbook has compiled important information for creating and using rubrics in your course:

When you are done choosing or creating rubrics continue:

or move on to:

Additional resources

Third party tools to help you create your own rubric.

An excellent guide to help you design a high-quality rubric.

Rubric examples for different disciplines and topics.

Additional templates and examples to help with creating a rubric.

Examples of rubrics created by professionals organized by grade level and subject.

Free rubric building tool that is great for project-based learning activities.

Guide for developing several types of rubrics.

Examples of rubrics organized by assignment type: paper, project, presentations and participation.

Use of single point rubrics to help students goal set and assess their own achievement.

Provides a different explanation of rubric times and gives authentic examples for each type.

Explains why communicating assessment with students can help improve teaching and learning.

• OSCQR – Standard #46 Explains the importance and benefits of using rubrics in your course.
• Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning outcomes: An integrated approach to designing college courses. Jossey-Bass. Pages 99-102
• Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design . Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

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Design a rubric

These tips and tricks are written by the learning developers of ESA department of Teaching & Learning Services.

Table of contents

Rubrics can help.

• How to create a rubric
• Tips for keeping rubrics clear, fair and efficient.

Checklist for rubrics

Grading rubric (empty) Example Rubric

For summative assignments it is recommended to add a rubric to your assignment. It will make grading more consistent between different graders, speed up grading, and give students insight into how their grades came into being.

A rubric is an answer model for assignments, usually in the form of a matrix or grid. It is a tool used to interpret and grade students’ work against criteria and standards derived from the learning objectives of the assignment.

Adopted from  https://teachonline.asu.edu/2019/02/best-practices-for-designing-effective-rubrics/

1. How to create a rubric

We know that creating a rubric takes time. The step-by-step plan below will help you set up a rubric as effectively as possible. This template is used at TU Delft to develop rubrics.

If the assignment has been well articulated, with clear and specific learning goals in mind, the language for your rubric can come straight from the assignment as written. Otherwise, try to unpack the assignment, identifying areas that are not articulated clearly. If the learning objectives are too vague, your rubric will be less useful (and your students will have a difficult time understanding your expectations). If, on the other hand, your stated objectives are too mechanistic or specific, your rubric will not accurately reflect your grading expectations. Assess how your course relates to the learning outcome. Are the learning objectives concrete enough?

Another approach is to figure out what areas really matter to the quality of the work that’s being produced. Whether it’s an essay, a project, a digital story, a portfolio or a presentation, what evidence of the student’s learning will you assess in the final product?

• List all the possible criteria you might want students to demonstrate in the assignment. Include criteria for the process of creating the product and the quality of the product.
• Decide which of those criteria are “non-negotiable.”
• Ideally, your rubric will have three to five performance criteria.
• What are the learning outcomes of this assignment?
• Which learning outcomes will be listed in the rubric?
• Which skills are essential at competent or proficiency levels for the assignment to be complete?

Determine how you are able to see when and at what level the student has achieved a learning objective. Aggregate the criteria to come to a clear-cut number. Formulate the criteria in key words.

For each criterion, determine what a ‘pass’ performance should consist of. Describe these performances in 1 or 2 sentences arranged into a column of descriptors. Specify these descriptors to the same level as the standard (therefore, avoid relative descriptions such as ‘better than…’, etc). Determine ‘unsatisfactory’ and ‘good’ (and other scoring). Carefully check that the descriptors are sufficiently distinguishable.

These often are the basic requirements for submission, like name and student id, timely submission, word count, number of pages, quality of images as set in the assignment.

Describe when a performance is considered so poor that it falls below even extremely unsatisfactory, or alternatively so well done that the performance can be considered outstanding.

Determine whether all criteria will be considered in equal measure. Clarify how you will determine the end score and end appraisal.

Try to fit the rubric onto one sheet of A4. Summarise descriptors, aggregate and leave room for interpretation.

It is essential to try your rubric out and make sure it accurately reflects your grading expectations. If available, use sample work from previous semesters. Alternatively, it is recommended to test your rubric on a sampling of student papers and then revise the rubric before you grade the rest. But be aware that you are not substantially altering the grading criteria.

A rubric is never really complete. Each period, you may want to evaluate where any ambiguities appeared and adjust these accordingly. Use your rubric to clarify your assignments and to improve your teaching.

2. Tips for keeping rubrics clear, fair and efficient

• In case your columns are ordered from ‘worst’, to ‘best, the good thing is that you can diminish the text in the descriptors, by making, for example, the ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ level build upon the ‘sufficient’ level.
• An example of these ‘incremental’ descriptors, using ‘…’ for the part that is repeated is the following:
• Sufficient: ‘Mathematical formulation is correct and variables are individually explained’
• Good: ‘…in relation to each other’
• Excellent: ‘…and to the model.’
• This helps to keep the rubric simple and clear in a glance.
• Consider using the rubric for peer feedback for, for example, a draft product. You may replace the grade calculation table by a simple formula, if that suits you better, whether or not you add some minimum levels for all or for certain criteria or criteria groups.
• You might (or might not) find it useful to give a better overview by clustering criteria into criteria groups. For example: split the criteria group ‘writing style’ into the criteria ‘clarity’, ‘conciseness’, and ‘objectivity’.
• About knock-out criteria: Instead of giving a maximum number of pages excluding figures, you might want to give a maximum number of words, including captions (which makes it easier to check). This might prevent students from using terribly small fonts or placing all figures at the end of their report (making it more difficult to read & grade) to enable them to count the number of pages without figures.
• When you are grading with a number of colleagues, you will most likely have a meeting (sometimes called ‘calibration session’) in which you will all grade one or a couple of products (reports, code, etc.) and discuss how you make the grading as objective and uniform as possible and what to do in case you are questioning how to grade a particular criterion or student’s product.
• Ensure that assessment rubrics are prepared and available for students well before they begin work on tasks, so that the rubric contributes to their learning as they complete the work. You also may want to consider practicing using rubrics in class. Have students assess their own, their peers’ and others’ work.
• Provide the assessment rubric for a task to students early, to increase its value as a learning tool. For example, you might distribute it as part of the assignment briefing. This helps students understand the assignment and allows them to raise any concerns or questions about the assignment and how it will be assessed.
• Write rubrics in plain English and phrase them so that they are as unambiguous as possible.
• Involve students in improving the rubric and invite them to give feedback and suggestions to rephrase.
• You could also use the  rubrics tool in Brightspace . This way your rubrics are directly accessible when grading assignments in the  Brightspace Assignment tool.
• Is it clear what the weightings of the criteria are?
• Is it clear how the grade is derived?
• Does performance at the minimum level of a pass lead to a pass grade?
• Is it possible to get a 10, judging by the criteria descriptors?
• Is it feasible to get a 10, judging by the descriptors of the highest levels?
• Are the descriptors objectively formulated (not just ‘sufficient’ ‘excellent’)?
• Are the descriptors specific and clear?
• Are the descriptors of each criterion unique (no overlap between descriptors of adjacent levels)?
• Does the rubric give a good overview at first glance (not too many rows or columns)? The rubric fits on one A4. The lay-out is clear.
• Is the amount of details suitable (not too detailed / no information that belongs in a course book)?
• Does it allow for specific (individual) feedback?

Grading rubric (empty)

Click  here  to download an empty Grading Rubric (Word file)

Example Rubric

If you use a  Brightspace rubric , it could look like the one below. You can divide the rubric into subquestions and their steps and mandatory items (e.g. units and rounding) and/or criteria (e.g. explanation results and correctness of conclusion). When scoring the students’ work, click on the applicable cell for each row and the total score is automatically calculated.

• Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning
• Instructional Guide
• Rubrics for Assessment

A rubric is an explicit set of criteria used for assessing a particular type of work or performance (TLT Group, n.d.) and provides more details than a single grade or mark. Rubrics, therefore, will help you grade more objectively.

Have your students ever asked, “Why did you grade me that way?” or stated, “You never told us that we would be graded on grammar!” As a grading tool, rubrics can address these and other issues related to assessment: they reduce grading time; they increase objectivity and reduce subjectivity; they convey timely feedback to students and they improve students’ ability to include required elements of an assignment (Stevens & Levi, 2005). Grading rubrics can be used to assess a range of activities in any subject area

Elements of a Rubric

Typically designed as a grid-type structure, a grading rubric includes criteria, levels of performance, scores, and descriptors which become unique assessment tools for any given assignment. The table below illustrates a simple grading rubric with each of the four elements for a history research paper. 

Criteria identify the trait, feature or dimension which is to be measured and include a definition and example to clarify the meaning of each trait being assessed. Each assignment or performance will determine the number of criteria to be scored. Criteria are derived from assignments, checklists, grading sheets or colleagues.

Examples of Criteria for a term paper rubric

• Introduction
• Arguments/analysis
• Grammar and punctuation
• Internal citations

Levels of performance

Levels of performance are often labeled as adjectives which describe the performance levels. Levels of performance determine the degree of performance which has been met and will provide for consistent and objective assessment and better feedback to students. These levels tell students what they are expected to do. Levels of performance can be used without descriptors but descriptors help in achieving objectivity. Words used for levels of performance could influence a student’s interpretation of performance level (such as superior, moderate, poor or above or below average).

Examples to describe levels of performance

• Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor
• Master, Apprentice, Beginner
• Exemplary, Accomplished, Developing, Beginning, Undeveloped
• Complete, Incomplete

Levels of performance determine the degree of performance which has been met and will provide for consistent and objective assessment and better feedback to students.

Scores make up the system of numbers or values used to rate each criterion and often are combined with levels of performance. Begin by asking how many points are needed to adequately describe the range of performance you expect to see in students’ work. Consider the range of possible performance level.

Example of scores for a rubric

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 2, 4, 6, 8

Descriptors

Descriptors are explicit descriptions of the performance and show how the score is derived and what is expected of the students. Descriptors spell out each level (gradation) of performance for each criterion and describe what performance at a particular level looks like. Descriptors describe how well students’ work is distinguished from the work of their peers and will help you to distinguish between each student’s work. Descriptors should be detailed enough to differentiate between the different level and increase the objectivity of the rater.

Descriptors...describe what performance at a particular level looks like.

Developing a Grading Rubric

First, consider using any of a number of existing rubrics available online. Many rubrics can be used “as is.” Or, you could modify a rubric by adding or deleting elements or combining others for one that will suit your needs. Finally, you could create a completely customized rubric using specifically designed rubric software or just by creating a table with the rubric elements. The following steps will help you develop a rubric no matter which option you choose.

• Select a performance/assignment to be assessed. Begin with a performance or assignment which may be difficult to grade and where you want to reduce subjectivity. Is the performance/assignment an authentic task related to learning goals and/or objectives? Are students replicating meaningful tasks found in the real world? Are you encouraging students to problem solve and apply knowledge? Answer these questions as you begin to develop the criteria for your rubric.

Begin with a performance or assignment which may be difficult to grade and where you want to reduce subjectivity.

• List criteria. Begin by brainstorming a list of all criteria, traits or dimensions associated task. Reduce the list by chunking similar criteria and eliminating others until you produce a range of appropriate criteria. A rubric designed for formative and diagnostic assessments might have more criteria than those rubrics rating summative performances (Dodge, 2001). Keep the list of criteria manageable and reasonable.
• Write criteria descriptions. Keep criteria descriptions brief, understandable, and in a logical order for students to follow as they work on the task.
• Determine level of performance adjectives.  Select words or phrases that will explain what performance looks like at each level, making sure they are discrete enough to show real differences. Levels of performance should match the related criterion.
• Develop scores. The scores will determine the ranges of performance in numerical value. Make sure the values make sense in terms of the total points possible: What is the difference between getting 10 points versus 100 points versus 1,000 points? The best and worst performance scores are placed at the ends of the continuum and the other scores are placed appropriately in between. It is suggested to start with fewer levels and to distinguish between work that does not meet the criteria. Also, it is difficult to make fine distinctions using qualitative levels such as never, sometimes, usually or limited acceptance, proficient or NA, poor, fair, good, very good, excellent. How will you make the distinctions?

It is suggested to start with fewer [score] levels and to distinguish between work that does not meet the criteria.

• Write the descriptors. As a student is judged to move up the performance continuum, previous level descriptions are considered achieved in subsequent description levels. Therefore, it is not necessary to include “beginning level” descriptors in the same box where new skills are introduced.
• Evaluate the rubric. As with any instructional tool, evaluate the rubric each time it is used to ensure it matches instructional goals and objectives. Be sure students understand each criterion and how they can use the rubric to their advantage. Consider providing more details about each of the rubric’s areas to further clarify these sections to students. Pilot test new rubrics if possible, review the rubric with a colleague, and solicit students’ feedback for further refinements.

Types of Rubrics

Determining which type of rubric to use depends on what and how you plan to evaluate. There are several types of rubrics including holistic, analytical, general, and task-specific. Each of these will be described below.

All criteria are assessed as a single score. Holistic rubrics are good for evaluating overall performance on a task. Because only one score is given, holistic rubrics tend to be easier to score. However, holistic rubrics do not provide detailed information on student performance for each criterion; the levels of performance are treated as a whole.

• “Use for simple tasks and performances such as reading fluency or response to an essay question . . .
• Getting a quick snapshot of overall quality or achievement
• Judging the impact of a product or performance” (Arter & McTighe, 2001, p 21)

Each criterion is assessed separately, using different descriptive ratings. Each criterion receives a separate score. Analytical rubrics take more time to score but provide more detailed feedback.

• “Judging complex performances . . . involving several significant [criteria] . . .
• Providing more specific information or feedback to students . . .” (Arter & McTighe, 2001, p 22)

A generic rubric contains criteria that are general across tasks and can be used for similar tasks or performances. Criteria are assessed separately, as in an analytical rubric.

• “[Use] when students will not all be doing exactly the same task; when students have a choice as to what evidence will be chosen to show competence on a particular skill or product.
• [Use] when instructors are trying to judge consistently in different course sections” (Arter & McTighe, 2001, p 30)

Task-specific

Assesses a specific task. Unique criteria are assessed separately. However, it may not be possible to account for each and every criterion involved in a particular task which could overlook a student’s unique solution (Arter & McTighe, 2001).

• “It’s easier and faster to get consistent scoring
• [Use] in large-scale and “high-stakes” contexts, such as state-level accountability assessments
• [Use when] you want to know whether students know particular facts, equations, methods, or procedures” (Arter & McTighe, 2001, p 28) 

Grading rubrics are effective and efficient tools which allow for objective and consistent assessment of a range of performances, assignments, and activities. Rubrics can help clarify your expectations and will show students how to meet them, making students accountable for their performance in an easy-to-follow format. The feedback that students receive through a grading rubric can help them improve their performance on revised or subsequent work. Rubrics can help to rationalize grades when students ask about your method of assessment. Rubrics also allow for consistency in grading for those who team teach the same course, for TAs assigned to the task of grading, and serve as good documentation for accreditation purposes. Several online sources exist which can be used in the creation of customized grading rubrics; a few of these are listed below.

Arter, J., & McTighe, J. (2001). Scoring rubrics in the classroom: Using performance criteria for assessing and improving student performance. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

Stevens, D. D., & Levi, A. J. (2005). Introduction to rubrics: An assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback, and promote student learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

The Teaching, Learning, and Technology Group (n.d.). Rubrics: Definition, tools, examples, references. http://www.tltgroup.org/resources/flashlight/rubrics.htm

Selected Resources

Dodge, B. (2001). Creating a rubric on a given task. http://webquest.sdsu.edu/rubrics/rubrics.html

Wilson, M. (2006). Rethinking rubrics in writing assessment. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Rubric Builders and Generators

eMints.org (2011). Rubric/scoring guide. http://www.emints.org/webquest/rubric.shtml

General Rubric Generator. http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/general/

RubiStar (2008). Create rubrics for your project-based learning activities. http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Suggested citation

Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. (2012). Rubrics for assessment. In Instructional guide for university faculty and teaching assistants. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide

• Active Learning Activities
• Assessing Student Learning
• Direct vs. Indirect Assessment
• Examples of Classroom Assessment Techniques
• Formative and Summative Assessment
• Peer and Self-Assessment
• Reflective Journals and Learning Logs
• The Process of Grading

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Designing Assignments for Learning

The rapid shift to remote teaching and learning meant that many instructors reimagined their assessment practices. Whether adapting existing assignments or creatively designing new opportunities for their students to learn, instructors focused on helping students make meaning and demonstrate their learning outside of the traditional, face-to-face classroom setting. This resource distills the elements of assignment design that are important to carry forward as we continue to seek better ways of assessing learning and build on our innovative assignment designs.

On this page:

Rethinking traditional tests, quizzes, and exams.

• Examples from the Columbia University Classroom
• Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

Reflect On Your Assignment Design

Connect with the ctl.

• Resources and References

Cite this resource: Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (2021). Designing Assignments for Learning. Columbia University. Retrieved [today’s date] from https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/teaching-with-technology/teaching-online/designing-assignments/

Traditional assessments tend to reveal whether students can recognize, recall, or replicate what was learned out of context, and tend to focus on students providing correct responses (Wiggins, 1990). In contrast, authentic assignments, which are course assessments, engage students in higher order thinking, as they grapple with real or simulated challenges that help them prepare for their professional lives, and draw on the course knowledge learned and the skills acquired to create justifiable answers, performances or products (Wiggins, 1990). An authentic assessment provides opportunities for students to practice, consult resources, learn from feedback, and refine their performances and products accordingly (Wiggins 1990, 1998, 2014). 

Authentic assignments ask students to “do” the subject with an audience in mind and apply their learning in a new situation. Examples of authentic assignments include asking students to: 

• Write for a real audience (e.g., a memo, a policy brief, letter to the editor, a grant proposal, reports, building a website) and/or publication;
• Solve problem sets that have real world application; 
• Design projects that address a real world problem; 
• Engage in a community-partnered research project;
• Create an exhibit, performance, or conference presentation ;
• Compile and reflect on their work through a portfolio/e-portfolio.

Noteworthy elements of authentic designs are that instructors scaffold the assignment, and play an active role in preparing students for the tasks assigned, while students are intentionally asked to reflect on the process and product of their work thus building their metacognitive skills (Herrington and Oliver, 2000; Ashford-Rowe, Herrington and Brown, 2013; Frey, Schmitt, and Allen, 2012). 

It’s worth noting here that authentic assessments can initially be time consuming to design, implement, and grade. They are critiqued for being challenging to use across course contexts and for grading reliability issues (Maclellan, 2004). Despite these challenges, authentic assessments are recognized as beneficial to student learning (Svinicki, 2004) as they are learner-centered (Weimer, 2013), promote academic integrity (McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, 2021; Sotiriadou et al., 2019; Schroeder, 2021) and motivate students to learn (Ambrose et al., 2010). The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning is always available to consult with faculty who are considering authentic assessment designs and to discuss challenges and affordances.   

Examples from the Columbia University Classroom 

Columbia instructors have experimented with alternative ways of assessing student learning from oral exams to technology-enhanced assignments. Below are a few examples of authentic assignments in various teaching contexts across Columbia University. 

• E-portfolios: Statia Cook shares her experiences with an ePorfolio assignment in her co-taught Frontiers of Science course (a submission to the Voices of Hybrid and Online Teaching and Learning initiative); CUIMC use of ePortfolios ;
• Case studies: Columbia instructors have engaged their students in authentic ways through case studies drawing on the Case Consortium at Columbia University. Read and watch a faculty spotlight to learn how Professor Mary Ann Price uses the case method to place pre-med students in real-life scenarios;
• Simulations: students at CUIMC engage in simulations to develop their professional skills in The Mary & Michael Jaharis Simulation Center in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Helene Fuld Health Trust Simulation Center in the Columbia School of Nursing; 
• Experiential learning: instructors have drawn on New York City as a learning laboratory such as Barnard’s NYC as Lab webpage which highlights courses that engage students in NYC;
• Design projects that address real world problems: Yevgeniy Yesilevskiy on the Engineering design projects completed using lab kits during remote learning. Watch Dr. Yesilevskiy talk about his teaching and read the Columbia News article . 
• Writing assignments: Lia Marshall and her teaching associate Aparna Balasundaram reflect on their “non-disposable or renewable assignments” to prepare social work students for their professional lives as they write for a real audience; and Hannah Weaver spoke about a sandbox assignment used in her Core Literature Humanities course at the 2021 Celebration of Teaching and Learning Symposium . Watch Dr. Weaver share her experiences.  

​Tips for Designing Assignments for Learning

While designing an effective authentic assignment may seem like a daunting task, the following tips can be used as a starting point. See the Resources section for frameworks and tools that may be useful in this effort.  

Align the assignment with your course learning objectives 

Identify the kind of thinking that is important in your course, the knowledge students will apply, and the skills they will practice using through the assignment. What kind of thinking will students be asked to do for the assignment? What will students learn by completing this assignment? How will the assignment help students achieve the desired course learning outcomes? For more information on course learning objectives, see the CTL’s Course Design Essentials self-paced course and watch the video on Articulating Learning Objectives .  

Identify an authentic meaning-making task

For meaning-making to occur, students need to understand the relevance of the assignment to the course and beyond (Ambrose et al., 2010). To Bean (2011) a “meaning-making” or “meaning-constructing” task has two dimensions: 1) it presents students with an authentic disciplinary problem or asks students to formulate their own problems, both of which engage them in active critical thinking, and 2) the problem is placed in “a context that gives students a role or purpose, a targeted audience, and a genre.” (Bean, 2011: 97-98). 

An authentic task gives students a realistic challenge to grapple with, a role to take on that allows them to “rehearse for the complex ambiguities” of life, provides resources and supports to draw on, and requires students to justify their work and the process they used to inform their solution (Wiggins, 1990). Note that if students find an assignment interesting or relevant, they will see value in completing it. 

Consider the kind of activities in the real world that use the knowledge and skills that are the focus of your course. How is this knowledge and these skills applied to answer real-world questions to solve real-world problems? (Herrington et al., 2010: 22). What do professionals or academics in your discipline do on a regular basis? What does it mean to think like a biologist, statistician, historian, social scientist? How might your assignment ask students to draw on current events, issues, or problems that relate to the course and are of interest to them? How might your assignment tap into student motivation and engage them in the kinds of thinking they can apply to better understand the world around them? (Ambrose et al., 2010). 

Determine the evaluation criteria and create a rubric

To ensure equitable and consistent grading of assignments across students, make transparent the criteria you will use to evaluate student work. The criteria should focus on the knowledge and skills that are central to the assignment. Build on the criteria identified, create a rubric that makes explicit the expectations of deliverables and share this rubric with your students so they can use it as they work on the assignment. For more information on rubrics, see the CTL’s resource Incorporating Rubrics into Your Grading and Feedback Practices , and explore the Association of American Colleges & Universities VALUE Rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). 

Build in metacognition

Ask students to reflect on what and how they learned from the assignment. Help students uncover personal relevance of the assignment, find intrinsic value in their work, and deepen their motivation by asking them to reflect on their process and their assignment deliverable. Sample prompts might include: what did you learn from this assignment? How might you draw on the knowledge and skills you used on this assignment in the future? See Ambrose et al., 2010 for more strategies that support motivation and the CTL’s resource on Metacognition ). 

Provide students with opportunities to practice

Design your assignment to be a learning experience and prepare students for success on the assignment. If students can reasonably expect to be successful on an assignment when they put in the required effort ,with the support and guidance of the instructor, they are more likely to engage in the behaviors necessary for learning (Ambrose et al., 2010). Ensure student success by actively teaching the knowledge and skills of the course (e.g., how to problem solve, how to write for a particular audience), modeling the desired thinking, and creating learning activities that build up to a graded assignment. Provide opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills they will need for the assignment, whether through low-stakes in-class activities or homework activities that include opportunities to receive and incorporate formative feedback. For more information on providing feedback, see the CTL resource Feedback for Learning . 

Communicate about the assignment 

Share the purpose, task, audience, expectations, and criteria for the assignment. Students may have expectations about assessments and how they will be graded that is informed by their prior experiences completing high-stakes assessments, so be transparent. Tell your students why you are asking them to do this assignment, what skills they will be using, how it aligns with the course learning outcomes, and why it is relevant to their learning and their professional lives (i.e., how practitioners / professionals use the knowledge and skills in your course in real world contexts and for what purposes). Finally, verify that students understand what they need to do to complete the assignment. This can be done by asking students to respond to poll questions about different parts of the assignment, a “scavenger hunt” of the assignment instructions–giving students questions to answer about the assignment and having them work in small groups to answer the questions, or by having students share back what they think is expected of them.

Plan to iterate and to keep the focus on learning 

Draw on multiple sources of data to help make decisions about what changes are needed to the assignment, the assignment instructions, and/or rubric to ensure that it contributes to student learning. Explore assignment performance data. As Deandra Little reminds us: “a really good assignment, which is a really good assessment, also teaches you something or tells the instructor something. As much as it tells you what students are learning, it’s also telling you what they aren’t learning.” ( Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode 337 ). Assignment bottlenecks–where students get stuck or struggle–can be good indicators that students need further support or opportunities to practice prior to completing an assignment. This awareness can inform teaching decisions. 

Triangulate the performance data by collecting student feedback, and noting your own reflections about what worked well and what did not. Revise the assignment instructions, rubric, and teaching practices accordingly. Consider how you might better align your assignment with your course objectives and/or provide more opportunities for students to practice using the knowledge and skills that they will rely on for the assignment. Additionally, keep in mind societal, disciplinary, and technological changes as you tweak your assignments for future use. 

Now is a great time to reflect on your practices and experiences with assignment design and think critically about your approach. Take a closer look at an existing assignment. Questions to consider include: What is this assignment meant to do? What purpose does it serve? Why do you ask students to do this assignment? How are they prepared to complete the assignment? Does the assignment assess the kind of learning that you really want? What would help students learn from this assignment? 

Using the tips in the previous section: How can the assignment be tweaked to be more authentic and meaningful to students? 

As you plan forward for post-pandemic teaching and reflect on your practices and reimagine your course design, you may find the following CTL resources helpful: Reflecting On Your Experiences with Remote Teaching , Transition to In-Person Teaching , and Course Design Support .

The Columbia Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is here to help!

For assistance with assignment design, rubric design, or any other teaching and learning need, please request a consultation by emailing [email protected] . 

Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) framework for assignments. The TILT Examples and Resources page ( https://tilthighered.com/tiltexamplesandresources ) includes example assignments from across disciplines, as well as a transparent assignment template and a checklist for designing transparent assignments . Each emphasizes the importance of articulating to students the purpose of the assignment or activity, the what and how of the task, and specifying the criteria that will be used to assess students. 

Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) offers VALUE ADD (Assignment Design and Diagnostic) tools ( https://www.aacu.org/value-add-tools ) to help with the creation of clear and effective assignments that align with the desired learning outcomes and associated VALUE rubrics (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education). VALUE ADD encourages instructors to explicitly state assignment information such as the purpose of the assignment, what skills students will be using, how it aligns with course learning outcomes, the assignment type, the audience and context for the assignment, clear evaluation criteria, desired formatting, and expectations for completion whether individual or in a group.

Villarroel et al. (2017) propose a blueprint for building authentic assessments which includes four steps: 1) consider the workplace context, 2) design the authentic assessment; 3) learn and apply standards for judgement; and 4) give feedback. 

References 

Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., & DiPietro, M. (2010). Chapter 3: What Factors Motivate Students to Learn? In How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching . Jossey-Bass. 

Ashford-Rowe, K., Herrington, J., and Brown, C. (2013). Establishing the critical elements that determine authentic assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 39(2), 205-222, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2013.819566 .  

Bean, J.C. (2011). Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom . Second Edition. Jossey-Bass. 

Frey, B. B, Schmitt, V. L., and Allen, J. P. (2012). Defining Authentic Classroom Assessment. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation. 17(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.7275/sxbs-0829  

Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., and Oliver, R. (2010). A Guide to Authentic e-Learning . Routledge. 

Herrington, J. and Oliver, R. (2000). An instructional design framework for authentic learning environments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 23-48. 

Litchfield, B. C. and Dempsey, J. V. (2015). Authentic Assessment of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 142 (Summer 2015), 65-80. 

Maclellan, E. (2004). How convincing is alternative assessment for use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 29(3), June 2004. DOI: 10.1080/0260293042000188267

McLaughlin, L. and Ricevuto, J. (2021). Assessments in a Virtual Environment: You Won’t Need that Lockdown Browser! Faculty Focus. June 2, 2021. 

Mueller, J. (2005). The Authentic Assessment Toolbox: Enhancing Student Learning through Online Faculty Development . MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 1(1). July 2005. Mueller’s Authentic Assessment Toolbox is available online. 

Schroeder, R. (2021). Vaccinate Against Cheating With Authentic Assessment . Inside Higher Ed. (February 26, 2021).  

Sotiriadou, P., Logan, D., Daly, A., and Guest, R. (2019). The role of authentic assessment to preserve academic integrity and promote skills development and employability. Studies in Higher Education. 45(111), 2132-2148. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1582015    

Stachowiak, B. (Host). (November 25, 2020). Authentic Assignments with Deandra Little. (Episode 337). In Teaching in Higher Ed . https://teachinginhighered.com/podcast/authentic-assignments/  

Svinicki, M. D. (2004). Authentic Assessment: Testing in Reality. New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 100 (Winter 2004): 23-29. 

Villarroel, V., Bloxham, S, Bruna, D., Bruna, C., and Herrera-Seda, C. (2017). Authentic assessment: creating a blueprint for course design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 43(5), 840-854. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1412396    

Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice . Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

Wiggins, G. (2014). Authenticity in assessment, (re-)defined and explained. Retrieved from https://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/authenticity-in-assessment-re-defined-and-explained/

Wiggins, G. (1998). Teaching to the (Authentic) Test. Educational Leadership . April 1989. 41-47. 

Wiggins, Grant (1990). The Case for Authentic Assessment . Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation , 2(2). 

Wondering how AI tools might play a role in your course assignments?

See the CTL’s resource “Considerations for AI Tools in the Classroom.”

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Using Rubrics

You should add a rubric to each assignment prior to assigning it to students.

Rubrics can reduce the time it takes you to grade assignments, but what's more, rubrics provide students with clear expectations on how to successfully complete an assignment.

Rubric criteria should give learners the information they need to understand how a grade on an assignment or activity is calculated.

If your rubric utilizes graded criteria, ensure the total point value available in the rubric adds up to the same point value the assignment is worth.

Writing Rubrics

Rubrics should use language that is clear to students, free from abbreviations, jargon, and technical language that could be confusing to students. Text should clearly articulate what the expectations are for each performance level for a given criterion, and should provide meaningful feedback to students.

Performance Levels

Performance levels should not emphasize the negative at lower performance levels (avoid words such as "poor"). Performance level labels should be descriptive, not discouraging, and should focus on students' ability to improve.

Examples of performance levels you could use are:

Accomplished | Proficient | Developing | Novice | No Marks

Exemplary | Accomplished | Developing | Beginning

Sophisticated | Competent | Partly Competent | Not Yet Competent

Guides to Creating Rubrics

Best Practices for Designing Effective Rubrics (ASU)

Canvas Guide: How do I add a rubric in a course?

Canvas Guide: How do I add a rubric to an assignment?

Canvas Guide: How do I use a rubric to grade submissions in SpeedGrader?

Public Rubrics

Departmental rubrics.

Your Dean, or other Canvas account administrators, can add rubrics to your departmental sub-account that can be accessed by anyone teaching a course in your department. This is an effective way to share common rubrics. For more information or help setting up departmental rubrics, please contact the TLC team .

School Rubrics

TLC has made many rubrics available to the whole school:

NCSSM Rubric for Academic Writing

Rubric for Discussion Forums

Rubric for ePortfolios

Lab Report Rubric

Scientific Research Rubric

Capstone or Major Project Rubric

Class Participation Rubric

Computer Programming Grading Rubric

Response to Reading / Short paper Rubric

and many more ...

Finding and Adding NCSSM Rubrics to Assignments

To use these rubrics as-is or edit them for your assignments, when adding a rubric to an assignment:

Choose to "Find a Rubric"

In the list of courses, find "NC School of Science and Math"

Choose the rubric you wish to use.

Guide to finding and adding NCSSM rubrics to your assignments .

Example Rubric

Rubric Generator

The Rubric Generator is a versatile MagicSchool AI powered tool designed to simplify the process of creating well-structured and clear rubrics for your classroom assignments. With this AI-powered resource, educators can effortlessly generate rubrics in a convenient table format, ensuring that assessment criteria are explicitly defined and readily accessible for both students and instructors.

Key Features

Ease of Use: The Rubric Generator streamlines the creation of rubrics, saving educators time and effort. It provides an efficient and user-friendly way to design assessment tools that align with the learning objectives of your assignments.

Table Format: This tool presents rubrics in a table format, making it easy to organize and present assessment criteria and performance levels in a clear and visually appealing manner. The tabular structure enhances the accessibility and comprehensibility of the rubric.

• Assignment Clarity : Use the Rubric Generator to create rubrics that provide students with a clear and detailed understanding of your expectations for their assignments. A well-structured rubric can enhance assignment clarity and facilitate better student performance.
• Objective Assessment: The generated rubrics assist educators in objectively assessing and grading assignments. By explicitly defining assessment criteria, the rubric ensures fairness and consistency in evaluation. ‍
• Feedback and Improvement: Rubrics generated by this tool can also be used to provide feedback to students, guiding them on areas of strength and areas for growth in their work. This feedback helps students understand their performance and how to improve.

In summary, the Rubric Generator is a valuable resource for educators seeking to create well-organized, table-format rubrics that clarify assignment expectations and facilitate objective assessment. By enhancing assignment clarity, assessment objectivity, and feedback for improvement, this tool promotes effective teaching and learning practices. It is an indispensable companion for educators dedicated to providing transparent and fair assessment tools for their students.

Information Literacy Toolkit

• Welcome to the Toolkit
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• Comparing Sources
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• Research Log
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• Source Analysis/Evaluation
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• Why Use Sources Exercise
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• Assignment Design Rubric for Research Assignments
• Annotated Bibliography Rubric
• Research Log Rubric
• Research Topic Rubric
• Blog Post Rubric
• Information Literacy Rubric

Assessment Resource Description

First-year students learn best from assignments that provide concrete and specific guidance on research methods.  Librarians can help you design assignments that will guide your students toward effective research, and this rubric is one tool we use to do that.

Apply the Assignment Design Rubric for Research Assignments to your assignment to ensure that it has:

• Clear expectations about source requirements
• A clear rationale and context for resource requirements
• Focus on the research process
• Library engagement

Assignment Design Rubric

• Assignment Design Rubric - Google Drive Link
• Assignment Design Rubric - Download Link

Updated: June 2017

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• Last Updated: Mar 17, 2022 4:25 PM
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Information Literacy Toolkit

• Assignment design rubric for research assignments
• Welcome to the Toolkit
• Information Literacy rubric
• Annotated Bibliography
• Avoiding Plagiarism Tutorial
• Background Information and Class Expert
• Citation managers and research organization skills
• Comparing Sources
• Developing a Research Question
• Developing and Researching a Controversy
• Digital Projects
• Everything But the Paper
• News and Media Literacy
• Primary Source Literacy
• How to Read a Scholarly Source (humanities)
• How to Read a Scholarly Source (sciences/social sciences)
• Research Log
• Research Question Abstract
• Self-Guided Tour of PCL This link opens in a new window
• Source Analysis/Evaluation
• Using Scholarly Sources (Synthesizing Sources)
• Why Use Sources Exercise
• Write for Wikipedia
• LAH 350: Treasure Hunt in Campus Archives: Discovering Islands of Order, Creating Original Humanities Research Projects
• RHE 368C: Writing Center Internship
• TC 302: Pathways to Civic Engagement
• UGS 303: Jerusalem
• UGS 303: Modern Day Slavery
• UGS 302: Social Inequality and Education in Latin America
• UGS 302: Tales of Troy
• Guides for Students
• Open Educational Resources (OERs) This link opens in a new window

Assessment Resource Description

Undergraduates learn best from assignments that provide concrete and specific guidance on research methods. Librarians can help you design assignments that will guide your students toward effective research, and this rubric is one tool we use to do that.

Apply the assignment design rubric to your assignment to ensure that it has:

• Clear expectations about source requirements
• A clear rationale and context for resource requirements
• Focus on the research process
• Library engagement
• Request a tailored assignment or session with a librarian
• Toolkit Feedback If you use toolkit materials or notice an omission, please give us feedback.
• Assignment Design Rubric - Google Drive Link
• Assignment Design Rubric - Download Link

Updated 7/21

• Last Updated: Apr 11, 2024 7:44 AM
• URL: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/toolkit

The D2L Help pages are moving to a new home!

This site retires on March 12, 2024. Visit the Instructor Help and Student Help pages for our updated support resources. 

You must update  any D2L Help Page links in your syllabi or courses, as they will no longer work after the transition.

Assess Assignments with Rubrics

Haven't opted in to the new experience?  Help page for the older Assignment interface . Want the old experience back? Turn off new assignment experience .

To use a Rubric   to assess Assignments, you must first create the Rubric in D2L. See the Rubrics Help Pages  for detailed instructions.

Note: If you want to use a Rubric to score an Assignment that is connected to a Grade Item in the grade book, you must attach the Rubric to the Assignment, not the Grade Item.

1. Attach: Existing Rubric to Assignment 

Attach a Rubric previously created in D2L to an Assignment.

• On the Assignment page, click on the down-arrow to the right of the assignment where you want to attach a Rubric and select  Edit Assignment .
• Select  Evaluation & Feedback .

• Select  Add Existing .  

• Save and Close  when complete.

2. Create: New Rubric in Assignment 

Create and attach a new Rubric to an Assignment.

• Select  Create New .  
• A new rubric will open. Follow the steps to create a new analytic rubric . When finished, select  Attach Rubric .

3. Assess: Assignments with Rubric

Use a rubric created in D2L to assess assignments. 

• Click the  Assignments  tab on your course navbar.
• Click the name of the Assignment you would like to leave feedback/score for.

NOTE:   You must score every criterion in your rubric before you can publish the assignment feedback. If your assignment score is not being published to the associated grade item, check to see that all criteria in the rubric have a level selected and points assigned.

Click the  Publish  button to make the feedback and grade immediately available to the student. Or, click the  Save Draft  button to save your work without releasing it to the student.

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Center for Educational Effectiveness

Combining grading efficiency with effective assessment, strategies and techniques for instructors.

• April 11, 2024

When looking for ways to efficiently evaluate student work, instructors can modify their assessments to streamline grading and feedback, while ensuring that the assessment supports student learning. This resource provides guidance and strategies for combining grading efficiency and effective assessment. To frame our discussion, we begin with some guidelines for grading in ways that are efficient for instructors while promoting learning.

Free yourself of the need to grade  everything .  Instructors may feel that it’s necessary to comprehensively evaluate every piece of work that a student produces. While grades can provide students with feedback, the greatest value of an assessment often accrues from the  cognitive and intellectual work that students engage in as they do the assessment. Grades are a byproduct of a much richer cycle of learning and feedback that engages students in the deep learning that is a key part of the university experience. Focus on assessing and providing feedback on those assignments that have the most substantial impact on student learning. Strategies such as  modifying the structure of your grading scheme can assist with this.

Limit grading and substantial feedback to assessments that engage students in higher-order thinking and/or require them to synthesize their learning .  Carefully review your assessments to identify those which ask students to do more critical thinking, analysis, synthesis or other higher-order thinking tasks (see  Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy for a framework for identifying higher- and lower-order thinking skills). Focusing your feedback and grading efforts on assessments that require higher-order thinking will help promote student learning and will be the best use of your feedback and grading time. Examples of tasks that would be comprehensively assessed include research papers, projects, reports, and presentations. The use of  rubrics can greatly increase grading efficiency while also providing students with useful, learning-focused feedback.

Use automated grading systems for assessments that target lower-order thinking skills , for example, memorization of facts, or those cases where quick information retrieval is important.  Multiple choice Canvas quizzes can work well for this ; Canvas question feedback functions can be used to provide students with automatic, formative feedback to improve their learning. Multiple choice exams can also assess higher-level thinking, but require time and careful review of test items. Please visit CEE’s website for  information about CEE consultations on test creation and analysis .

Provide multiple opportunities for feedback.  The instructor is an important source of feedback; however, students can receive helpful feedback from many sources. Varying feedback strategies can help students to engage in more collaborative work ( peer feedback ), gauge their understanding with reference to the rest of the class ( class-level feedback ) and help them develop metacognitive skills necessary to critically evaluate their own academic work ( self-assessment ).

Six Strategies for Streamlining Assessment and Grading  

1. modify grading structures .

Use binary grading (“completed” or “not completed”) for assessments that help students build skills through practice. Examples of this kind of assessment are problem sets in STEM courses, grammar exercises in language classes, and reading guides in courses with a substantial reading component. Instructors can establish a minimum threshold for “completed” by giving students a rubric that sets out the criteria that must be met in order to receive a full-credit grade. Showing students an example of an assignment that meets the full requirement and would receive a grade of “completed” can also help guide students in succeeding with this type of assessment.

Grade a subset of assignments by giving students a choice.  Rather than grade every assignment,  instructors can require students to complete all assignments and allow students to choose a subset of the assignments that they’ll receive a grade and feedback on. This permits students to choose those assessments they feel best represent their work. Requiring students to complete all of the assignments and choose a subset for grading maximizes learning and gives students a larger pool of assessments to choose from.  

2. Automate Formative Feedback through Canvas Quizzes 

Quizzes can be a great formative assessment tool and provide students with instantaneous feedback when designed with certain features in Canvas. When creating a quiz in Canvas, instructors can not only automate quiz scoring but also  pre-load formative feedback into the quiz questions and answer options. Instructors can specify in Canvas when this pre-loaded feedback can be accessed by students. 

When building Quizzes in Canvas, use the color-coded comment boxes underneath each answer to pre-load feedback. Use the green comment box for feedback explaining why this answer is correct and how students might have reasoned toward this answer. Use the red comment box(es) underneath incorrect answer option(s) to provide feedback on why these options are not correct and/or misconceptions that may have led students to these distractors. 

Instructors can also utilize comments for the entire question to provide general feedback, including: how to reason toward the correct answer, common mistakes and/or misconceptions related to the question, and/or relevant course materials to review for further information.  

3. Streamline Feedback with Rubrics & SpeedGrader  

Using Rubrics for Assessment and Feedback: 

Rubrics are a great way to prioritize feedback on only those elements of a student’s assignment that truly matter for the learning outcomes.

Rubrics specify key criteria or standards, levels of proficiency, and descriptions of what each criterion looks like at each proficiency level. Aim for only a few specific and necessary criteria on the rubric. Resist the temptation to include “important but not necessary” criteria in the rubric. 

Rubrics can be the foundation for giving clear and actionable feedback on student work. Streamline feedback by focusing on only those items that are covered in the rubric, which you have already determined to be most necessary. Keep in mind that too many comments can interfere with learning: students lose the signal in the noise. Prioritize the ways in which the work demonstrates particular criteria at relative performance levels. 

Streamlining Assessment Feedback with  SpeedGrader  

Integrating your rubric with the SpeedGrader tool in Canvas can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of feedback. To do this, first  build your rubric in Canvas and then  attach the rubric to the relevant assignment. Once in SpeedGrader, you can utilize the rubric and provide feedback on student work. 

SpeedGrader also allows you to build a  Comment Library for frequent comments. You can preload anticipated comments into your Comment Library as well as save comments to your Comment Library as you interact with student work. 

Typing comments is  one of many options in SpeedGrader, which also includes spoken comments (audio recordings that students can listen to later), video comments (screen capture videos that students can watch later), and speech-to-text comments that translate spoken audio into text (only available in Google Chrome).  

4. Assign Peer Feedback 

Having students review and give feedback on classmates’ work is one strategy for giving timely feedback. Additionally, peer review has many pedagogical benefits, including: increasing engagement and fostering collaboration and community, challenging students to express their thoughts clearly and diplomatically, and reinforcing student learning and metacognition as they reflect on how their thinking changed once reading their classmates’ work.

To streamline the peer feedback process, consider  peer review on assignments or discussions on Canvas . Canvas peer reviews can show student names or display  anonymously . You can  manually  assign peer reviewers or let Canvas  automatically  assign them. You can have students complete a rubric and/or leave a comment in the comment sidebar.

However you decide to have students provide peer feedback, you’ll want to clearly explain how they should (and should not) assess their classmates. Consider modeling appropriate/productive comments.  

5. Save Time with Group- or Class-level Feedback  

Rather than repeating identical comments for multiple students, provide feedback at the group or course level by summarizing trends you notice while grading. Send a classwide e-mail, use the Canvas Announcement tool, or allot time in class to share your feedback.

Besides saving you time and ensuring consistent feedback quality, group feedback also allows students to see where others may be excelling or struggling. This encourages students to self-assess their own work in comparison to the group norms or expectations. Similarly, students can learn from the different perspectives and approaches of their peers. Time saved by efficient collective feedback can go toward tailoring feedback to address specific needs and strengths.

To maximize the benefits of formative assessment, consider a combination of feedback, feed up, and feed forward:

• Feedback helps someone understand what they have or haven't done well based on observations or assessments that have already occurred. It's retrospective, looking back on what has been done to reinforce or correct it.
• Feed up clarifies the objectives or goals by answering the question, "What are we trying to achieve?" Feed up provides a target or standard against which to measure performance. 
• Feed forward includes information or suggestions about what to do next or in the future to improve. Unlike feedback, which looks at past performance, feed forward is future-oriented. It focuses on potential strategies, actions, or behaviors that can enhance future performance. Feed forward offers constructive guidance on how to do better moving forward, rather than just focusing on what went wrong in the past.  

6. Engage Students in Self-Assessment   

This strategy involves students in assessing their own work by engaging in two steps. First, students can review their work by using an answer key or comparing their work to a well-crafted sample assignment. Then, to demonstrate that they’ve fully considered and assessed their work, students can:

• Complete a written reflection based on question(s) provided by the instructor (e.g., “Choose 2-3 areas where you made errors and provide a thoughtful explanation of how you would correct them”). 
• Revise the assignment (or part of the assignment) as part of the self-assessment process, explaining why they made the changes they’ve made. 
• Discuss the reflection with others. The reflection can be used as a point of departure for a pair discussion in class to further increase the learning value of the task, and it can be graded using binary grading to keep the grading load manageable.

Concluding Note: The Necessity of Transparency   

Regardless of the strategies you use to streamline grading and assessment, it is necessary to be transparent with students about your choice of grading methods. Provide a rationale for your practices that are centered on students’ learning and development. 

For example, when using binary grading, it can help to explain to students that you will use this style of grading for those assignments where students are building skills to encourage them to practice, and a more ranked form of grading (e.g., A-F) on major assignments that synthesize their learning in the course. This can reassure them that skills-building assignments have value in and of themselves, even without extensive feedback from the instructor. 

When students understand the expectations for their learning and the reasons behind instructors’ assessment choices, they are more likely to utilize feedback, anticipate challenges, and self-motivate their learning.

Downloadable Version

Resource developed by Erica Bender, Katie Healey, and Patricia Turner for the UC Davis Center for Educational Effectiveness  

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Add an Assignment (Transcript)

thank you assignment so I could click on the plus sign choose assignment from the list create an assignment and then I can say that this is a reading assignment add item so I’m going to click on the title for my assignment I will move it in place in a minute so from there you have your reading assignment summary page you have your rubric we talk about that in the second part of this webinar and I’m going to click on edit and I’m going to do the same thing that I did with my syllabus so I’m going to use a course document and what I’m going to do is I’m going to put in the title of my reading here Allen Poe I’m going to highlight that I’m going to add my reading I’m going to do my link options preview inline and expand it done so there’s my assignment for reading um you can they can download the link they can read it and that can be the assignment 10 points for reading the assignment and we’re going to create a group we’re going to call it readings and add group displayed in points submission type there is an online submission type we’re going to choose text entry and file uploads and then we’re going to scroll down and we’re going to give it a due date and we’re going to have it do on Friday in a couple weeks and make it available from so students will be able to see it anytime that I choose for them to see it so I could choose a specific date and time for them to be able to access the reading assignment or I can leave it blank and it’ll be available today uh as soon as it’ll be available as soon as I publish it and I can also choose the until date which is the day when I can close the submissions and students will no longer be able to access it so this is a good way to limit how late students can submit their assignments so if you allow students to submit their assignments up until the end of the semester you can leave this open if you want to make sure students get it in on time or not so late you can choose the day after it is due and Save so now students have the reading assignment they can read you can give them instructions and set up tell them hey you have to write a reflection about what you’ve read and submit it so now I can go back to my modules and I have my assignment

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Comparative Politics – State-building and Regime-design Exercises

Published: Apr 15, 2024 Contributor: Buket Oztas License: CC BY NC SA 4.0 license – Allows revisions and additions but forbids commercial use.

This semester-long assignment involves students working collaboratively in groups to engage in a three-part workshop series:

State Building : Students start by conceptualizing and rebuilding state institutions for either an existing or a fictional country. This foundational phase is detailed in the initial document, the “State Building Guide,” which also outlines the specific roles each student will assume.

Regime Design and Constitution Writing : Following the establishment of state institutions, students proceed to design the regime institutions and draft a constitution, further solidifying the governance framework of their country.

Conflict Resolution Strategies : The final phase challenges students to anticipate and strategize solutions for potential conflicts and crises that could arise from the political structures they have created. At this stage, I develop specific crisis or conflict scenarios, designed to evaluate the strength and effectiveness of the political institutions they have established. I would be glad to share sample scenarios to give a better understanding of this exercise if anyone is interested.

• State-Building Assignment Guidelines, Group Roles, Rubric Link opens in a new tab.
• Regime Design Project Guidelines Link opens in a new tab.
• Conflict Resolution Workshop Format and Guidelines Link opens in a new tab.
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Resource Type

• Experiential Learning Materials
• Student presentation
• Writing assignment

Course Topic

• Comparative Politics
• Global Politics
• Institutions
• 1-30 students

Course Level

• Introductory

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