Rubrics Intro & Examples

what are rubrics?

A rubric is a set of criteria used for assessing a particular assignment. It provides details for both students and instructors on what the expectations are for the assignment. This allows the student to know how they will be assessed ahead of time, leading to higher quality work. It also allows the instructor to give more detailed feedback than just a grade without spending too much extra time grading. 

Rubrics have three main elements: criteria, descriptors, and scores. 

• Criteria: The category being assessed, such as: thesis statement, conclusions, data collection, etc.

• Descriptors: Specific statements of student performance that show the levels to which the criteria have been met. They include concrete information about what the student is expected to do to receive full credit for each criterion, as well as what levels of partial credit would look like.  

• Scores: The number of points awarded to each level of performance. Often comes with a descriptor such as "exceeds expectations" or "incomplete." 

See some sample rubrics below to see these pieces in action!

CETL Pre-made rubrics

The CETL has made some rubrics available to you. These are just a few of many options, and you can either use one as-is or as a starting point to make changes.

How to download into Canvas:

• These rubrics will be available in Commons! 

Rubrics best practices

Things to consider when creating a rubric:

• Be as specific as possible! This will help students know what the intent is behind each category of the rubric. 

• Consider the instructions for the assignment - make sure that the grading rubric is consistent with the instructions

  • 1. • For example, in a discussion board, don't include a category in the rubric for replying to everyone who replies to them if that is not listed in the instructions. 

• Where possible, give a point value instead of a range. This will take out some guesswork for both you and the students, as well as save grading time.

• Don't include a general "timeliness" category - Canvas has a global late work policy option so that assignments will be either accepted or not, and points will be automatically docked or not.

Examples from around the web

We've listed some examples below for you to view and help give inspiration if you are making your own rubrics. No rubric is perfect, but we've included what each rubric does well (✔️) to give you a starting place when looking at these. 

Discussion Rubrics:

University of Wisconsin - Stout

✔️: Very focused on students building actual discussions - asks students to reply to peers and keep up with replies throughout the week.

University of Central Florida

✔️: Includes a category that assesses whether or not students are applying the assigned content/reading for the week.

University of Delaware

✔️: Requires students to reply multiple times throughout the week. Also has a category for references, meaning students must cite their information.

Oral Presentation Rubrics:

 University of Northern Colorado

✔️: Includes a breakdown of specific presentation skills.

University of Wisconsin - Madison

✔️: Separates verbal and non-verbal skills, as well as content knowledge.

New York University

✔️: Includes a section on audience engagement, emphasizing the presenter giving time for the audience to think and respond.

Reflection Journal Rubrics:

Western University

✔️: Has a section for Cultural Understanding and Sensitivity, which would be beneficial in courses where students have to examine many viewpoints.

Southern Methodist University

✔️: Very detailed and specific, has a lot of criteria, and would be great for a reflection that is worth a considerable number of points. 

Essay Rubrics:

Oakton Community College

✔️: Persuasive essay - very specific, gives students lots of information on how to be successful. 

Yale

✔️: Argumentative essay - the organization criterion is very specific and clear.

Virginia Union University

✔️: Narrative essay - includes information about audience with tone and point-of-view

Yale

✔️: Expository essay - formatting is very different but includes a criterion for incorporating feedback.

AACU VALUE Rubrics:

The AACU created the Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) Rubrics, which address big topics that might be difficult to easily generate rubrics for, such as Ethical Reasoning, Inquiry & Analysis, and Intercultural Knowledge & Competence. You can either use these rubrics entirely or pull specific categories which you might otherwise have trouble phrasing. Editable copies are available; follow the directions in the CETL Pre-made Rubrics section for using one of these rubrics. 

References

• Argumentative essay rubric. (n.d.). Programs in International Educational Resources at the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://pier.macmillan.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Argumentative%20essay%20rubric.pdf

• Booth, M. (n.d.). College-Level Writing Rubric. Virginia Union University. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.vuu.edu/Content/Uploads/vuu.edu/files/University%20College/Writing%20Assignment%20Rubric%208%2019%2018.pdf

• Bresciani, L., & Bowman, A. (n.d.). Oral Presentation Rubric. New York University. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyu/academicAssessment/documents/AIR%20Assessment%20Institute_Oral%20Presentation%20Rubric.pdf

• Centre for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Assessment Rubric – Reflection Journals. Western University. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from http://experience.uwo.ca/pdfs/faculty_resources_and_examples/Assessment%20Rubric_Reflection%20Journals.pdf

• Educational Technology. (2020, September 20). Online Discussions - Rubrics. Highline College. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://id.highline.edu/online/online.discussions.php

• Fines, B. G. (2014). Assessing Reflection. Southern Methodist University. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.smu.edu/-/media/Site/Law/faculty/teaching-resources/Student-Reflection-Rubric.pdf

• Frey, B. (n.d.). Rubric for Online Discussion Board Participation. University of Delaware. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www1.udel.edu/janet/MARC2006/rubric.html

• Oral Presentation Rubric. (n.d.). University of Northern Colorado. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://mcb.unco.edu/pdf/communications-rubrics/Oral-Rubric.pdf

• Staats, M. (n.d.). Your Rubric: Persuasive Essay : Research Argument. Oakton Community College. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.oakton.edu/user/0/mstaats/102rubricres08.htm

• Thompson, K. (n.d.). Online Discussions Participation Rubric. University of Central Florida. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://topr.online.ucf.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/weekly-online-discussions-rubric-eme5050.pdf

• VALUE Rubrics. (n.d.). American Association of Colleges and Universities. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www.aacu.org/initiatives/value-initiative/value-rubrics

• Vandervelde, J. (2020, April 18). Discussion Rubric. University of Wisconsin - Stout. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://www2.uwstout.edu/content/profdev/rubrics/discussionrubric.html

• Wepler, R. & Brandeis University Writing Program. (n.d.). YALE COLLEGE ENGL 114: Grading Rubric. Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://ctl.yale.edu/sites/default/files/basic-page-supplementary-materials-files/grading_rubric_for_eng_114_by_ryan_wepler.pdf

• Wood, D. (n.d.). Oral Presentation Grading Rubric. University of Wisconsin - Madison. Retrieved September 23, 2022, from https://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~david/courses/cs758/Fall2010/handouts/