Rubrics That Work

Rubrics That Work: Feedback and Grading That Support Student Learning

By Tim Whiting

“They (students) need to understand what excellent work is and what poor work is and be able to know what they can do to improve.” - Kiruthika Ragupathi and Adrian Lee, Beyond Fairness and Consistency in Grading: The Role of Rubrics in Higher Education 

Rubrics. We have heard of them. We know they exist. We probably have been assessed with them and, most likely, we have assessed with them as well.  But do we use them regularly and effectively? 

What is a rubric? 

Let’s start with a working definition.  If you choose to dive into it, you will find that it is not as easy as one might imagine.  For our purposes, we will say that: 

“Rubrics are documents that articulate the expectations of an assignment by listing the criteria for what is particularly important and by describing levels of quality on a scale from excellent to poor. Rubrics have three features: assessment criteria, a grading strategy and standards/quality definitions.” (Panadero & Romero, 2014) 

In essence, rubrics are used as a means to guide students, a means to provide feedback, and a means to score.   

Benefits of using rubrics 

“Why?”  It’s a question that originates with toddlers and continues throughout one’s life.  Students need to know why they scored what they did, and they need to know what they can do to improve.  Well-constructed rubrics 

• allow for feedback (it should not be the only feedback given). 

• provide expectations and criteria that are clear to both the student and the instructor. 

• provides and demonstrates alignment between the assignment or assessment and learning objectives. 

• support the instructions provided for the assignment. 

• establishes levels of performance and scoring system. 

• can be seen as fair and consistent. 

• can be efficient and saves both time and effort for both the instructor and the student. 

• “reduce time spent on grading; increase time spent teaching.” (Using Rubrics - the Center for Teaching and Learning, 2025) 

• answer questions before they are asked. 

• allow students to focus on the assignment with clear expectations. 

• allows for self-assessment in the learning process 

(Chowdhury, 2018)  (Using Rubrics - the Center for Teaching and Learning, 2025) 

Types of rubrics 

Holistic vs Analytic Rubrics.   The holistic rubric looks at the big picture and gives a range of performance.  It may use such categories as superior, meets expectations, and developing.  As an instructor, you are evaluating the whole assignment to see how it meets the objectives.  Holistic rubrics are more likely to be used on a summative assessment as it looks at the whole picture.  

Example of a holistic rubric for a final paper (Rubric Best Practices, Examples, and Templates – Teaching Resources, n.d.) 

The analytic rubric evaluates each criterion separately.  They are usually longer and take more time to complete as the instructor is digging into each piece.  They are usually associated with formative assessments. 

Example of an analytic rubric for a final paper (Rubric Best Practices, Examples, and Templates – Teaching Resources, n.d.) 

General vs Task-Specific Approaches to Rubrics.  Taking a general approach to a rubric involves using the rubric for more than one task.  This allows the student to become familiar with the criteria and expectations as they know that for a number of tasks, the same rubric will be used.  For example, an instructor might decide to use a general rubric for discussions throughout the semester.  On the other hand, a task-specific approach will focus on specific tasks to be completed.  This approach can be used when completing the steps on a project.   

There is no right or wrong approach to using rubrics.  Each has its own reasons and purposes. 

When to use a rubric 

If there were marks against us on a work evaluation, we would want to know why.  Consider this true with assignments and assessments in your course.  Feedback should be provided for any activity in which a student’s work is evaluated and scored.  Methods of feedback can vary.  A rubric is not only an effective method of feedback, but it is also a tool students could use to become a self-directed learner that evaluates their own work.  Therefore, a rubric could be used in any instance where a student’s work is evaluated. 

• Assessments 

• Assignments 

• Discussions 

• Essays 

• Group Activities 

• Interviews 

• Oral Presentations 

• Portfolios 

• Projects 

• Reflections 

• Skills-based assessments 

The one exception is an assessment or assignment that has clear right or wrong answers, such as multiple-choice questions or math related problems.  

How to create a rubric 

There are many options when creating a rubric.  Examples and even potential rubrics can be discovered online, and, with the advancement of AI, rubrics can be created within minutes.  Of course, the “tried and true” method of having the syllabus and the assignment sitting at your side while you crank it out on a spreadsheet works as well.  All in all, no matter which method you choose, knowing the breakdown of each part ensures that you create an effective rubric.  

Start with the task description.   You must first know what you want accomplished through the assignment or assessment.  What are the objectives that are to be met, and how will the students meet them?  This is provided to students through the assignment or assessment description but can also be included at the top of the rubric.  With the use of an LMS, rubrics can often be attached to the assignment. 

Next, consider the scale.  What are the levels of performance expected from students?  Various terms can be used.  Below are common terms used by Huba and Freed (2000). 

• High level; Middle level; Beginning level.  

• Distinguished; Proficient; Intermediate; Novice.  

• Accomplished; Average; Developing; Beginning.   

Commonly, three levels are used but could be adjusted depending on the complexity of the assignment.   Recently, a trend has developed to use a Single Point Rubric (SPR) in which there is one performance method (Novak, 2025).  Either students get it, or they don’t.  Again, evaluate your assignment or assessment to see which works best. 

In developing the rubric, we next look at dimensions.  Here, the instructor breaks down the dimensions, otherwise known as criteria.  Overall, what is being evaluated and what skills are expected?  When this is decided, determine what value each dimension is worth. 

Once the dimensions are determined, include descriptions of the dimensions.  This matches the dimensions with the specific scales.  For example, if the dimension is “presentation skills,” the description of dimension for an excellent score in presentation skills could be as follows: “the presenter speaks clearly and loudly, uses regular eye contact, a lively tone, good gestures and body language and engages the audience.”  (Chowdhury, 2018) 

Best practices when creating rubrics 

• Use clear, concise, student-friendly language.  

• Use descriptive language that goes beyond “good” and “excellent.”  For example, instead of stating “uses excellent sources,” describe what an “excellent source” is. 

• Limit to one page. 

• Use similar, parallel language from column to column.   

• Avoid using negative language that focuses on failure.  Instead, use language that coaches toward improvement. 

• Focus on the most important components of the assignment. 

• Avoid creating checklists. 

• Provide rubrics with the assignment instructions to allow students to self-evaluate. 

• Provide exemplar submissions that students can compare to. 

• Discuss rubrics with students, inviting questions and needs for clarification. 

• Consider reusing rubrics and styles as needed.  Often uniformity is easier to understand and comprehend. 

• Consider having students be a part of creating the rubric (if and when necessary) 

• Consider uploading your assignment instructions into an AI tool (MagicSchoolAI, NotebookLM) and have the tool create a rubric that you can edit. 

(Creating High Quality Rubrics - Center for Instructional Technology and Training - University of Florida, n.d.) 

Using AI in creating a rubric 

Before the days of AI (Artificial Intelligence), instructors would find examples of rubrics, specifically online, and adjust them to fit their needs.  The same could be done using AI.   If you decide to use AI, keep a couple of things in mind: 

• You are still the expert.  Review every aspect to ensure that it is in line with the expectations that you have for your course and that any reference to content is correct. 

• Ensure that private information is not shared within the AI tool.  Although there does not seem to be a reason that would happen in this instance, it is still important to be aware. 

Consider these best practices when creating rubrics using AI. 

• Although ChatGPT and other LLMs can create effective rubrics in line with the structures mentioned in this article, consider using a program geared towards education that has rubric creating programs.  MagicSchoolAI has a program geared to just creating rubrics. 

• Ensure that you enter the assignment/assessment details and objectives into the system (copy and paste works).  Programs like NotebookLM only draws from what you submit. If you download a PDF of the assignment/assessment into your specified notebook within NotebookLM, it will focus on just those documents. 

• Be specific in your request and feel free to resubmit.  If it is not to your liking or if something is missing, provide clarification and ask the AI to recreate it. 

• Here is an example of a prompts for creating a rubric in AI: 

• Create a rubric for the following assignment that is in line with the objective of the assignment.  The rubric will need 4 levels of performance, and they are Accomplished; Average; Developing; Beginning.  The rubric will need 5-7 criteria that fall within the levels of performance.  The total score for the rubric will be 50 points.  (paste the assignment details with the objectives) 

• Some AI has the ability to pull content into a Word document.  If not, simply copy and paste it into a Word or Google document.   

Connecting to your Learning Management System (Canvas) 

To be efficient with your grading, it is suggested to incorporate your rubric directly into your Learning Management System (LMS).  By doing this, you can grade directly within the LMS and provide grades and feedback instantly.  Most LMS systems provide a way to import the rubric as well as allowing instructors to provide additional written and recorded (video and audio) feedback.   

At Texas Wesleyan University, we use Canvas as our Learning Management System (LMS).  Canvas allows you to create rubrics, add them within your course, and grade directly from the course.  To learn how to create and use rubrics with your Canvas course, visit this guide provided by Canvas: How do I manage rubrics in a course?  Within this resource, you can dig deeper into other topics related to rubrics within Canvas. 

Conclusion 

Used effectively, rubrics can provide efficiency to the instructor as well as to the students.  Most frustration that students feel when an instructor uses rubrics is that they are vague and unclear (Taylor et al., 2024).  Therefore, ensure that you as the instructor 

• uses language that is clear and understandable. 

• align the rubric with the assignment/assessment. 

• are available for clarification. 

• provide clarification and make changes as needed. 

• provide additional forms of feedback (written, verbal, recorded, personal) that address the specific student and their learning.   

References 

Chowdhury, F. (2018). Application of Rubrics in the Classroom: A Vital Tool for Improvement in Assessment, Feedback and Learning. International Education Studies, 12(1), 61. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v12n1p61 

Creating high quality rubrics - Center for Instructional Technology and Training - University of Florida. (n.d.). https://citt.ufl.edu/resources/assessing-student-learning/providing-effective-feedback/creating-high-quality-rubrics/ 

Huba, M. E., & Freed, J. E. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college campuses: shifting the focus from teaching to learning. Boston, Allyn and Bacon. 

Novak, K. (2025, March 19). Holistic, Single-point, and Analytic Rubrics, Oh My! Novak Education. Retrieved June 12, 2025, from https://www.novakeducation.com/blog/holistic-single-point-and-analytic-rubrics 

Rubric Best Practices, Examples, and Templates – teaching resources. (n.d.). https://teaching-resources.delta.ncsu.edu/rubric_best-practices-examples-templates/ 

Panadero, E., & Romero, M. (2014). To rubric or not to rubric? The effects of self-assessment on self-regulation, performance and self-efficacy. Assessment in Education Principles Policy and Practice, 21(2), 133–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594x.2013.877872 

Taylor, B., Kisby, F., & Reedy, A. (2024). Rubrics in higher education: an exploration of undergraduate students’ understanding and perspectives. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 49(6), 799–809. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2023.2299330