5.10 | Rubric DNA and Exemplars

Anatomy of a Rubric

Rubrics are displayed in a table format. The criteria appear in the first column, and the performance ratings (sometimes called the range) appear in the top row: 

Components of a Rubric
Advanced Proficient Developing
Criterion 1
Criterion 2
Criterion 3

 

An effective rubric uses descriptive criteria and performance ratings to provide transparency to both students and the instructor about:

  • What criteria will be used to evaluate student work
  • What is the difference between good work and developing work
  • What the expectations of an assignment are, and,
  • Whether, how well, and in what areas an objective has been successfully performed

Steps to Developing a Rubric

To begin designing a rubric, one must start with the learning objective. As an example, consider the following unit objective from a critical thinking course:

Write a cogent, argumentative essay.

The question that immediately comes to mind is: what counts as a successful cogent argumentative essay? What does an unsuccessful essay look like? As subject matter experts and members of academic departments, instructors get to decide the answers to those questions, and a rubric makes those decisions explicit and transparent.

Here, then, are the steps to creating an effective analytic rubric (adapted from Suskie, 2017):

  1. Decide the rubric’s purpose--is it formative (analytic) or summative (holistic) Links to an external site.?
  2. Identify clear learning objective(s).
  3. Determine the criteria that demonstrate mastery of the learning objective(s).
  4. Identify/label the performance levels (performance ratings/range).
  5. Define minimally adequate levels; endeavor to use positive language.
  6. Create descriptions for every criterion at every level.
  7. Develop or review the learning activity (assignment).

Rubric Samples and Exemplars

Rubrics can be challenging to create. The good news is that you don't have to start from scratch or reinvent the wheel. Below are tools and resources that you can draw upon to create a rubric that will provide fair and equitable scoring for your assessment.

You may notice that some of these examples provide criteria for items such as "discussion participation," or "timeliness of post," which as discussed in this module assess behavioral aspects of a student's performance more than actual academic mastery. Remember that these examples can be modified, criterion can be added or omitted, and each example can be customized to meet your course assessment needs. 

Works Cited

  • Assessing Digital Learning by CVC-OEI (CC BY). Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  • Association of College and University Educators (ACUE): Promoting Active Learning Online.
  • Suskie, L., & Ikenberry, S. (2014). Five dimensions of quality: A common sense guide to accreditation and accountability. John Wiley & Sons.

Please select Next to go to the next page