Dana Dawson, Ph.D.
Rubrics are tools used by faculty to guide our assessment of student performance and to make our expectations transparent for students. Using a rubric can help make grading more efficient for faculty and fair for students, but when constructed well and shared along with assignment or activity descriptions, they also benefit student learning. Rubrics explicitly represent our performance expectations and allow students to direct their effort toward the intended goal of an activity or assignment. By asserting ahead of time our highest expectations, we encourage students to reach toward those high standards. The use of rubrics promotes more specific feedback and guidance on future performance which allows students to target specific areas for improvement. When we encourage students to review the rubric ahead of time and reflect on feedback after the fact, we can help our students develop the habit of reflecting on their learning.
Rubrics take a variety of forms from checklists of attributes that would demonstrate competence to analytic rubrics featuring descriptions of levels of competence in relation to different criteria. In this post, I will guide you through the steps of creating an analytic rubric (a rubric that features discrete dimensions and criteria descriptions of performance standards for each of those dimensions) featured in our rubric creation worksheet.
Parts of an Analytic Rubric
Analytic rubrics consist of dimensions, scale labels and descriptions of performance standards. A rubric may feature any number of dimensions, but including too many dimensions may make the rubric difficult for a student to interpret. Dimensions of a rubric may be weighted differently to indicate to students those that are most crucial to success on the assignment. Scales generally range from 3-5 criteria levels.
| Scale label 1 | Scale label 2 | Scale label 3 | |
| Dimension 1(Number of points) | Description of performance standards | Description of performance standards | Description of performance standards |
| Dimension 2(Number of points) | Description of performance standards | Description of performance standards | Description of performance standards |
Steps to Create a Rubric
1) Reflect
Begin with a freeform reflection on your goals for the assignment or activity. What are the main things you want this activity/assignment to accomplish; in other words, what are your goals? What content knowledge and skills is/are needed to productively complete this assignment/activity? What behaviors demonstrate achievement of the assignment’s goals? What are the highest expectations you have for students on this assignment? What evidence can students provide that would show they have accomplished what you hoped they would accomplish when you created the assignment/activity? What would the worst demonstration of this assignment look like?
2) List
Use your reflection to formulate a list of the most important attributes of success on the activity/assignment. What would an excellent submission or performance look like? What specific characteristics would it have? What are the most important attributes of success for this assignment/activity? Include a description of the highest level of performance you expect for the item.
3) Group
Group items with similar performance criteria and give your groups titles. These groups will become your rubric dimensions. For example, your list may look something like this:
- Presentation is cogent
- Presentation is organized
- Thesis demonstrates thoughtful analysis of the text
- Thesis and evidence demonstrates familiarity with the text
- There is evidence for the thesis
- Presentation anticipates counter-points
- Specific position (perspective, thesis/hypothesis) is imaginative, taking into account the complexities of an issue*
- Limits of position (perspective, thesis/ hypothesis) are acknowledged
- Organizes and synthesizes evidence to reveal insightful patterns, differences, or similarities related to focus
- Central message is compelling (precisely stated, appropriately repeated, memorable, and strongly supported)
The above list may be grouped as follows:
Thesis
- Thesis demonstrates thoughtful analysis of the text
- There is evidence for the thesis
- Central message is compelling (precisely stated, appropriately repeated, memorable, and strongly supported)
Textual analysis
- Thesis and evidence demonstrates familiarity with the text
- Addresses complexity of text
Supporting points
- Presentation anticipates counter-points
- Limits of position (perspective, thesis/ hypothesis) are acknowledged
Creativity
- Specific position (perspective, thesis/hypothesis) is imaginative, taking into account the complexities of an issue
- Organizes and synthesizes evidence to reveal insightful patterns, differences, or similarities related to focus
4) Apply
You may now use your groups to fill in the left hand side of the rubric and your notes from the reflecting and listing phases of this exercise to establish your criteria. This worksheet includes a blank table that you may use to begin drafting your rubric. Remember to consider whether you want to assign point values to each of the dimensions in your rubric.
A Note on Scale Labels
Too often, the language we use for our scale labels can read as harsh and judgmental for students reading the scale. For example, scale labels such as “Weak,” “Poor” or “Unacceptable” do not imply for our students a belief that they can improve. Here are some suggestions for scale label language that is less likely to be discouraging.
Advanced, intermediate high, intermediate, novice
Exceeds expectations, meets expectations, developing towards expectations
Exceeds expectations, meets expectations, progressing, not there yet
Distinguished, proficient, intermediate, novice
Mastery, partial mastery, progressing, emerging
Sophisticated, highly competent, fairly competent, not yet competent
Concluding Thoughts
Taking the time to reflect on your goals for an activity or assignment and to concretely articulate your expectations will not only improve the quality of the rubric you create, but will help guide your instruction. Clearly identifying what you expect your students to know or be able to do will allow you to work backwards from those expectations to the exercises and materials needed in order for students to build the necessary skills and content knowledge.
For help designing and implementing rubrics, feel free to book an appointment with a CAT educational developer or educational technology specialist. Go to catbooking.temple.edu or email cat@temple.edu.
*Some of the performance criteria description language used here is borrowed from the AACU Value Rubrics.
Dana Dawson serves as Associate Director of Teaching and Learning at Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching