Developing Rubrics

A well-designed rubric will help you grade consistently, transparently, and fairly.

Rubrics are an excellent way of providing students with feedback on the quality of their learning activities and assessments. A rubric will explicitly identify the key criteria for evaluation on an assessment, as well as the level at which a student is performing. A well-designed rubric will help you grade consistently, transparently, and fairly. There are two main types of rubrics - holistic and analytic.

Holistic Rubric

A holistic rubric can be thought of as a simple one-dimensional approach to evaluating a student's performance on an assignment. It consists of a single scale with all criteria listed together in a single row or column. Then students receive a score, usually a numerical value indicating how well they performed. "0" or "1" is often the lowest number on the scale while the highest numbers may range from "3" (exceeds expectations) to "5" (excellent) or even higher, such as a 10-point scale.

AdvantagesDisadvantages
  • Emphasis on what the student is able to demonstrate, rather than what they cannot do
  • Saves time by minimizing the number of decisions instructors make
  • Can be applied consistently by graders, increasing reliability
  • Does not provide specific feedback for improvement
  • When student work is at varying levels spanning the criteria points, it can be difficult to select the single best description
  • Criteria cannot be weighted

Example Holistic Rubric

PointsCriteria

3

A three-point response is complete and correct.

This response:

  • Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the mathematical concepts or procedures embodied in the task
  • Indicates that the student has completed the task correctly, using sound mathematical principles
  • Contains clear, complete explanations or adequate work when required

2

 

A two-point response is partially correct.

This response:

  • Demonstrates partial understanding of the mathematical concepts or procedures embodied in the task
  • Addresses most aspects of the task, using mathematically sound procedures
  • It May contain an incorrect solution but applies a mathematically appropriate process with valid
    reasoning or explanation
  • It May contain a correct solution but provide incomplete procedures, reasoning, or explanation
  • May reflect some misunderstanding of the underlying mathematical concepts or procedures 

A one-point response is incomplete and exhibits many flaws but is not completely incorrect.

This response:

  • Demonstrates only a limited understanding of the mathematical concepts or procedures embodied in the task
  • May address some elements of the task correctly but reaches an inadequate solution or provides
    reasoning that is faulty or incomplete
  • Exhibits multiple flaws related to a misunderstanding of important aspects of the task, misuse of
    mathematical procedures, or faulty mathematical reasoning
  • Reflects a lack of essential understanding of the underlying mathematical concepts
  • It May contain a correct numerical answer but required work is not provided

0

 
A zero-point response is completely incorrect, irrelevant, or incoherent, or a correct response that was arrived
by using an obviously incorrect procedure. 

Analytic Rubric

An analytic rubric is usually multi-dimensional and dives in deeper on each criterion. Each essential element is judged separately, then a combined score is generated based on the rating on each criterion. Feedback can often be provided for each criterion, leading to more detailed information for students they can use for improving their performance. Feedback is precisely tailored for each student.

AdvantagesDisadvantages
  • Provide useful feedback on areas of strength and weakness
  • Criterion can be weighted to reflect the relative importance of each dimension
  • Takes more time to create and use than a holistic rubric
  • Uness each point for each criterion is well-defined, graders may not arrive at the same score

Example Analytic Rubric

PI_5_1: Simplify a given algebraic Boolean expression by applying the K-Map and express in POS form

ScoringUnsatisfactory
(0-60%)
Minimal
(60-75%)
Adequate
(75-90%)
Excellent
(90-100%)
20% Unable to derive an accurate logical truth table for the given algebraic expression while properly identifying all inputs and outputs Derive an accurate logical truth table for the given algebraic Boolean expression while properly identifying all inputs and output Derive an accurate logical truth table for the given algebraic Boolean expression while properly identifying all inputs and output Derive an accurate logical truth table for the given algebraic Boolean expression while properly identifying all inputs and output
20% Unable to develop the K-map representation of the information shown in the truth table with proper notations Develop the K-map representation shown in the truth table with proper notations Develop the K-map representation shown in the truth table with proper notations Develop the K-map representation shown in the truth table with proper notations
35% Unable to apply or incorrect K-map simplification by mapping 0 minterms and failure in obtaining most prime implicants with max coverages Apply K-map simplification by mapping 0 minterms and failure in obtaining MOST prime implicants with max coverages Apply K-map simplification by mapping 0 minterms and failure in obtaining SOME prime implicants with max coverages Apply K-map simplification by mapping 0 minterms and obtaining prime implicants with max coverages
25% Unable to obtain an UNsimplified POS Boolean expression by ANDing the minterms from prime implicants Obtain AN UNsimplified POS Boolean expression by ANDing the minterms from prime implicants Obtain an ALMOST simplified POS Boolean expression by ANDing the minterms from prime implicants Obtain simplified POS Boolean expression by ANDing the minterms from prime implicants

 

More Resources

There are a lot of resources out there for creating rubrics for your courses. Learning management systems like Canvas also have built-in tools for helping you create rubrics. Additionally, rubrics are an excellent way of assessing the soft skills students develop in your course.

Here are some useful links:

  • Canvas Rubrics - The Canvas rubrics tool is surprisingly powerful, especially when combined with other features. For instance, you can create student learning outcomes, link them to rubrics, and then use the Learning Mastery gradebook feature to track student performance over time at a very granular level. It takes time, patience, and practice to set it all up. But if you do, there's quite a bit you can do to measure student performance.
    • NOTE: Unfortunately, you cannot import an already created rubric into Canvas. For instance, if you have a handy rubric already set up in Word, you can't just import that document into Canvas. You have to create it from scratch using Canvas' toolset. However, you CAN re-use rubrics across courses and assignments within Canvas, so it's well worth the effort to set them up.
  • RubiStar - One of the better rubric creation tools available. They have quite a few templates you can start from and then modify to make your own. It's mostly geared towards K-12, but with a little creativity, you can build your own for higher education.
  • TemplateLAB - Here you can find 46 downloadable rubrics in Word format. As with RubiStar, they tend to be focused on a K-12 audience, but you can modify them to your own needs as well.

There is as much art as science to creating an effective rubric. It can also take a lot of time and effort to set one up, but they are also highly re-usable across courses or programs. Once you have set them up, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort for future grading.

If you would like to meet with CAFE to discuss your rubrics, please click the button below to schedule a consultation.