Rubrics

What are the types and purposes of rubrics?

Holistic

• A holistic rubric is the most general kind. It lists three to five levels of performance, along with a broad description of the characteristics that define each level. The levels are generally labeled with numbers like 1 through 4 or words like Below Basic through Advanced. What makes this a holistic rubric is the way the characteristics for each level are described and clumped together.

• Generally this type of rubric is used for large projects.

  • • The advantage to the teacher is they can look at the whole project and give one "Holistic" score. These types of rubrics are easy to set up and in the short run work for assessing student work. 

    • Holistic rubrics are most useful in cases when there’s no time or need for specific feedback.

    • The disadvantage of these rubrics is that they DO NOT provide targeted feedback to the students so that the student is not learning from mistakes and celebrations to gain momentum and skill refinement. 

Here is a link to a Holistic Rubric Template. 

 Analytic

• An analytic rubric breaks down the characteristics of an assignment into parts, the author is able to clearly define what each level of achievement looks like for each measured characteristic. 

• This is the more "traditional" version that is commonly associated with the term rubric. 

• These rubrics allowing the scorer to itemize and define exactly what aspects are strong, and which ones need improvement.

  • • The advantage of these rubrics is it gives students a clearer picture of why they got the score they got. It is a detailed picture of their performance and feedback on that performance is clear, and mostly targeted. 

      • • It is also good for the teacher, because it gives her the ability to justify a score on paper, without having to explain everything in a later conversation.

    • The disadvantage is that these rubrics take a lot of time to write. Just writing up descriptors of satisfactory work is enough of a challenge on its own. But then to have to define all the ways the work could go wrong, and all the ways it could exceed expectations, is a big, big task. 

      • • Another disadvantage is that students don't necessarily read the whole thing, meaning they often don't clearly understand what’s expected of them.

Here is a link to an Analytic Rubric Template.

Single-Point

A single-point rubric is a streamlined assessment tool that focuses on clear expectations for proficiency while leaving room for personalized, targeted feedback. Unlike traditional analytic rubrics, which describe multiple levels of performance across a range of criteria, a single-point rubric defines only the standard for proficient work. The columns for “Areas for Improvement” and “Areas of Excellence” are left blank, allowing teachers to provide individualized comments specific to each student’s performance.

This format encourages student engagement and ownership. In fact, research by Jarene Fluckiger found that student achievement improved when learners helped co-construct single-point rubrics and used them to self-assess their work. By emphasizing clarity over complexity, these rubrics help students better understand what success looks like—without overwhelming them with predefined labels or excess text.

Advantages of Single-Point Rubrics:

• More likely to be read and understood by students

• Faster to create than detailed analytic rubrics

• Provides space for specific, actionable feedback

• Encourages creativity by not capping excellence with a defined “top level”

Challenges of Single-Point Rubrics:

• Requires more individualized feedback from the teacher

• Can be time-consuming to fill out thoroughly when students excel or struggle in multiple areas

• By focusing feedback on what matters most and leaving room for student surprise, single-point rubrics offer a flexible, student-centered approach to assessment.

Here is a link to a single-point rubric template.