Rubrics
A rubric is an assessment tool that clearly indicates achievement criteria for different components of any type of work, including written, oral, and visual. It can be used for marking assignments, class participation, or overall grades. There are two types of rubrics: holistic and analytical.
The first step of creating a rubric involves identifying the criteria or crucial elements required in the student’s work to demonstrate their learning. This should be drawn from the assignment outline or assignment requirements, which relates back to the learning outcomes. You must also decide how many levels of achievement you will include on the rubric and how they will relate to your grading scheme. For each criterion, describe what the performance at each achievement level looks like. Leave space for additional, tailored comments or overall impressions and a final grade.
- Develop a different rubric for each assignment.
- Be transparent. Give students a copy of the rubric when you assign the performance task and hand the rubric back with the assignment.
- Leverage rubrics to manage your time. When you mark the assignment, circle or highlight the achieved level of performance for each criterion on the rubric.
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Holistic rubrics
Holistic rubrics group several different assessment criteria and classify them together under grade headings or achievement levels.
Score
Description
5
Research report is well-written and meets all outlined criteria. The proposed research question is relevant and addresses a knowledge gap in the field. The thesis statement is clear and original. Research results are presented in a logical way and discussed in the report. Sentences are clear, without grammatical or mechanical errors.
4
Research report is well-written and meets most of the outlined criteria. It may have excellent clarity and relevance, but the presented information may not be as comprehensive as expected. It may also show occasional problems in sentence structure or correctness.
3
Research report is acceptable, but not excellent. It meets at least two of the outlined criteria. It may show weaker quality of writing or may be well-written but not provide enough evidence to support the thesis statement.
2
Research report requires improvement but meets at least one of the outlined criteria. It may lack consistency, accuracy and relevance. It may not identify a knowledge gap in the field or provide a relevant hypothesis.
1
Research report is unsatisfactory and does not meet any of the outlined criteria. It presents numerous errors and ambiguities. The thesis statement and discussion are weak or not present.
Adapted from John Bean, Engaging Ideas, Exhibit 15.4: Holistic Scale for Grading Article Summaries (262)
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Analytic rubrics
Analytic rubrics separate different assessment criteria and address them comprehensively.
Criteria
Exemplary
(5)
Good
(4)
Acceptable
(3)
Needs Improvement
(2)
Unsatisfactory
(1)
Content
Content is robust and highly relevant. Addresses a knowledge gap in the field.
Content is meaningful and relevant. Arguments mostly address a knowledge gap in the field.
Content is mostly relevant and somewhat meaningful. Knowledge gap is identified but not addressed.
Content is not relevant. No knowledge gap is identified or addressed.
No meaningful content included.
Argument and Evidence
Argument is clearly articulated with substantial evidence.
Argument is articulated with enough evidence.
Argument is articulated with some evidence.
Argument is unclear with little supporting evidence.
No clear argument or evidence presented.
Flow and organization
Content is presented in a logical and sequential manner. Includes a clear introduction and conclusion.
Content is presented coherently with sufficient transitions throughout the report.
Content is mostly presented logically but some arguments are not integrated well. Transitions are not used throughout the report.
Content lacks logical organization and flow. Introduction and/or conclusion is present and somewhat relevant.
Content lacks logical organization and flow. No clear introduction or conclusion.
Style and format
Meets all formatting guidelines. All margins, spacing and indentations are correct. Report is within the page limit.
Meets most formatting guidelines. All margins, spacing and indentations are correct. Report is not within the page limit.
Meets some formatting guidelines. Some margins, spacing and indentations are incorrect. Report is not within the page limit.
Meets some formatting guidelines but shows significant errors with margins, spacing and indentation. Report is not within the page limit.
Formatting guidelines were not met. All margins, spacing and indentations are incorrect. Report is not within the page limit.
Spelling and grammar
No spelling and/or grammar errors
Few spelling and/or grammar errors
Some spelling and/or grammar errors
Many spelling and/or grammar errors
Spelling and grammar errors impact legibility
References
Sections of this page were adapted from Rubrics: Useful Assessment Tools. (2020, May 13). Centre for Teaching Excellence. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/assessing-student-work/grading-and-feedback/rubrics-useful-assessment-tools
