Rubric Best Practices, Examples, and Templates

A rubric is a scoring tool that identifies the different criteria relevant to an assignment, assessment, or learning outcome and states the possible levels of achievement in a specific, clear, and objective way. Use rubrics to assess project-based student work including essays, group projects, creative endeavors, and oral presentations.

Rubrics can help instructors communicate expectations to students and assess student work fairly, consistently and efficiently. Rubrics can provide students with informative feedback on their strengths and weaknesses so that they can reflect on their performance and work on areas that need improvement.

How to Get Started

Best practices, moodle how-to guides.

  • Workshop Recording (Spring 2024)
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Step 1: Analyze the assignment

The first step in the rubric creation process is to analyze the assignment or assessment for which you are creating a rubric. To do this, consider the following questions:

  • What is the purpose of the assignment and your feedback? What do you want students to demonstrate through the completion of this assignment (i.e. what are the learning objectives measured by it)? Is it a summative assessment, or will students use the feedback to create an improved product?
  • Does the assignment break down into different or smaller tasks? Are these tasks equally important as the main assignment?
  • What would an “excellent” assignment look like? An “acceptable” assignment? One that still needs major work?
  • How detailed do you want the feedback you give students to be? Do you want/need to give them a grade?

Step 2: Decide what kind of rubric you will use

Types of rubrics: holistic, analytic/descriptive, single-point

Holistic Rubric. A holistic rubric includes all the criteria (such as clarity, organization, mechanics, etc.) to be considered together and included in a single evaluation. With a holistic rubric, the rater or grader assigns a single score based on an overall judgment of the student’s work, using descriptions of each performance level to assign the score.

Advantages of holistic rubrics:

  • Can p lace an emphasis on what learners can demonstrate rather than what they cannot
  • Save grader time by minimizing the number of evaluations to be made for each student
  • Can be used consistently across raters, provided they have all been trained

Disadvantages of holistic rubrics:

  • Provide less specific feedback than analytic/descriptive rubrics
  • Can be difficult to choose a score when a student’s work is at varying levels across the criteria
  • Any weighting of c riteria cannot be indicated in the rubric

Analytic/Descriptive Rubric . An analytic or descriptive rubric often takes the form of a table with the criteria listed in the left column and with levels of performance listed across the top row. Each cell contains a description of what the specified criterion looks like at a given level of performance. Each of the criteria is scored individually.

Advantages of analytic rubrics:

  • Provide detailed feedback on areas of strength or weakness
  • Each criterion can be weighted to reflect its relative importance

Disadvantages of analytic rubrics:

  • More time-consuming to create and use than a holistic rubric
  • May not be used consistently across raters unless the cells are well defined
  • May result in giving less personalized feedback

Single-Point Rubric . A single-point rubric is breaks down the components of an assignment into different criteria, but instead of describing different levels of performance, only the “proficient” level is described. Feedback space is provided for instructors to give individualized comments to help students improve and/or show where they excelled beyond the proficiency descriptors.

Advantages of single-point rubrics:

  • Easier to create than an analytic/descriptive rubric
  • Perhaps more likely that students will read the descriptors
  • Areas of concern and excellence are open-ended
  • May removes a focus on the grade/points
  • May increase student creativity in project-based assignments

Disadvantage of analytic rubrics: Requires more work for instructors writing feedback

Step 3 (Optional): Look for templates and examples.

You might Google, “Rubric for persuasive essay at the college level” and see if there are any publicly available examples to start from. Ask your colleagues if they have used a rubric for a similar assignment. Some examples are also available at the end of this article. These rubrics can be a great starting point for you, but consider steps 3, 4, and 5 below to ensure that the rubric matches your assignment description, learning objectives and expectations.

Step 4: Define the assignment criteria

Make a list of the knowledge and skills are you measuring with the assignment/assessment Refer to your stated learning objectives, the assignment instructions, past examples of student work, etc. for help.

  Helpful strategies for defining grading criteria:

  • Collaborate with co-instructors, teaching assistants, and other colleagues
  • Brainstorm and discuss with students
  • Can they be observed and measured?
  • Are they important and essential?
  • Are they distinct from other criteria?
  • Are they phrased in precise, unambiguous language?
  • Revise the criteria as needed
  • Consider whether some are more important than others, and how you will weight them.

Step 5: Design the rating scale

Most ratings scales include between 3 and 5 levels. Consider the following questions when designing your rating scale:

  • Given what students are able to demonstrate in this assignment/assessment, what are the possible levels of achievement?
  • How many levels would you like to include (more levels means more detailed descriptions)
  • Will you use numbers and/or descriptive labels for each level of performance? (for example 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and/or Exceeds expectations, Accomplished, Proficient, Developing, Beginning, etc.)
  • Don’t use too many columns, and recognize that some criteria can have more columns that others . The rubric needs to be comprehensible and organized. Pick the right amount of columns so that the criteria flow logically and naturally across levels.

Step 6: Write descriptions for each level of the rating scale

Artificial Intelligence tools like Chat GPT have proven to be useful tools for creating a rubric. You will want to engineer your prompt that you provide the AI assistant to ensure you get what you want. For example, you might provide the assignment description, the criteria you feel are important, and the number of levels of performance you want in your prompt. Use the results as a starting point, and adjust the descriptions as needed.

Building a rubric from scratch

For a single-point rubric , describe what would be considered “proficient,” i.e. B-level work, and provide that description. You might also include suggestions for students outside of the actual rubric about how they might surpass proficient-level work.

For analytic and holistic rubrics , c reate statements of expected performance at each level of the rubric.

  • Consider what descriptor is appropriate for each criteria, e.g., presence vs absence, complete vs incomplete, many vs none, major vs minor, consistent vs inconsistent, always vs never. If you have an indicator described in one level, it will need to be described in each level.
  • You might start with the top/exemplary level. What does it look like when a student has achieved excellence for each/every criterion? Then, look at the “bottom” level. What does it look like when a student has not achieved the learning goals in any way? Then, complete the in-between levels.
  • For an analytic rubric , do this for each particular criterion of the rubric so that every cell in the table is filled. These descriptions help students understand your expectations and their performance in regard to those expectations.

Well-written descriptions:

  • Describe observable and measurable behavior
  • Use parallel language across the scale
  • Indicate the degree to which the standards are met

Step 7: Create your rubric

Create your rubric in a table or spreadsheet in Word, Google Docs, Sheets, etc., and then transfer it by typing it into Moodle. You can also use online tools to create the rubric, but you will still have to type the criteria, indicators, levels, etc., into Moodle. Rubric creators: Rubistar , iRubric

Step 8: Pilot-test your rubric

Prior to implementing your rubric on a live course, obtain feedback from:

  • Teacher assistants

Try out your new rubric on a sample of student work. After you pilot-test your rubric, analyze the results to consider its effectiveness and revise accordingly.

  • Limit the rubric to a single page for reading and grading ease
  • Use parallel language . Use similar language and syntax/wording from column to column. Make sure that the rubric can be easily read from left to right or vice versa.
  • Use student-friendly language . Make sure the language is learning-level appropriate. If you use academic language or concepts, you will need to teach those concepts.
  • Share and discuss the rubric with your students . Students should understand that the rubric is there to help them learn, reflect, and self-assess. If students use a rubric, they will understand the expectations and their relevance to learning.
  • Consider scalability and reusability of rubrics. Create rubric templates that you can alter as needed for multiple assignments.
  • Maximize the descriptiveness of your language. Avoid words like “good” and “excellent.” For example, instead of saying, “uses excellent sources,” you might describe what makes a resource excellent so that students will know. You might also consider reducing the reliance on quantity, such as a number of allowable misspelled words. Focus instead, for example, on how distracting any spelling errors are.

Example of an analytic rubric for a final paper

Above Average (4)Sufficient (3)Developing (2)Needs improvement (1)
(Thesis supported by relevant information and ideas The central purpose of the student work is clear and supporting ideas always are always well-focused. Details are relevant, enrich the work.The central purpose of the student work is clear and ideas are almost always focused in a way that supports the thesis. Relevant details illustrate the author’s ideas.The central purpose of the student work is identified. Ideas are mostly focused in a way that supports the thesis.The purpose of the student work is not well-defined. A number of central ideas do not support the thesis. Thoughts appear disconnected.
(Sequencing of elements/ ideas)Information and ideas are presented in a logical sequence which flows naturally and is engaging to the audience.Information and ideas are presented in a logical sequence which is followed by the reader with little or no difficulty.Information and ideas are presented in an order that the audience can mostly follow.Information and ideas are poorly sequenced. The audience has difficulty following the thread of thought.
(Correctness of grammar and spelling)Minimal to no distracting errors in grammar and spelling.The readability of the work is only slightly interrupted by spelling and/or grammatical errors.Grammatical and/or spelling errors distract from the work.The readability of the work is seriously hampered by spelling and/or grammatical errors.

Example of a holistic rubric for a final paper

The audience is able to easily identify the central message of the work and is engaged by the paper’s clear focus and relevant details. Information is presented logically and naturally. There are minimal to no distracting errors in grammar and spelling. : The audience is easily able to identify the focus of the student work which is supported by relevant ideas and supporting details. Information is presented in a logical manner that is easily followed. The readability of the work is only slightly interrupted by errors. : The audience can identify the central purpose of the student work without little difficulty and supporting ideas are present and clear. The information is presented in an orderly fashion that can be followed with little difficulty. Grammatical and spelling errors distract from the work. : The audience cannot clearly or easily identify the central ideas or purpose of the student work. Information is presented in a disorganized fashion causing the audience to have difficulty following the author’s ideas. The readability of the work is seriously hampered by errors.

Single-Point Rubric

Advanced (evidence of exceeding standards)Criteria described a proficient levelConcerns (things that need work)
Criteria #1: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance
Criteria #2: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance
Criteria #3: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance
Criteria #4: Description reflecting achievement of proficient level of performance
90-100 points80-90 points<80 points

More examples:

  • Single Point Rubric Template ( variation )
  • Analytic Rubric Template make a copy to edit
  • A Rubric for Rubrics
  • Bank of Online Discussion Rubrics in different formats
  • Mathematical Presentations Descriptive Rubric
  • Math Proof Assessment Rubric
  • Kansas State Sample Rubrics
  • Design Single Point Rubric

Technology Tools: Rubrics in Moodle

  • Moodle Docs: Rubrics
  • Moodle Docs: Grading Guide (use for single-point rubrics)

Tools with rubrics (other than Moodle)

  • Google Assignments
  • Turnitin Assignments: Rubric or Grading Form

Other resources

  • DePaul University (n.d.). Rubrics .
  • Gonzalez, J. (2014). Know your terms: Holistic, Analytic, and Single-Point Rubrics . Cult of Pedagogy.
  • Goodrich, H. (1996). Understanding rubrics . Teaching for Authentic Student Performance, 54 (4), 14-17. Retrieved from   
  • Miller, A. (2012). Tame the beast: tips for designing and using rubrics.
  • Ragupathi, K., Lee, A. (2020). Beyond Fairness and Consistency in Grading: The Role of Rubrics in Higher Education. In: Sanger, C., Gleason, N. (eds) Diversity and Inclusion in Global Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.

Writing Beginner

Writing Rubrics [Examples, Best Practices, & Free Templates]

Writing rubrics are essential tools for teachers.

Rubrics can improve both teaching and learning. This guide will explain writing rubrics, their benefits, and how to create and use them effectively.

What Is a Writing Rubric?

Writer typing at a vintage desk, with a stormy night outside -- Writing Rubrics

Table of Contents

A writing rubric is a scoring guide used to evaluate written work.

It lists criteria and describes levels of quality from excellent to poor. Rubrics provide a standardized way to assess writing.

They make expectations clear and grading consistent.

Key Components of a Writing Rubric

  • Criteria : Specific aspects of writing being evaluated (e.g., grammar, organization).
  • Descriptors : Detailed descriptions of what each level of performance looks like.
  • Scoring Levels : Typically, a range (e.g., 1-4 or 1-6) showing levels of mastery.

Example Breakdown

Criteria4 (Excellent)3 (Good)2 (Fair)1 (Poor)
GrammarNo errorsFew minor errorsSeveral errorsMany errors
OrganizationClear and logicalMostly clearSomewhat clearNot clear
ContentThorough and insightfulGood, but not thoroughBasic, lacks insightIncomplete or off-topic

Benefits of Using Writing Rubrics

Writing rubrics offer many advantages:

  • Clarity : Rubrics clarify expectations for students. They know what is required for each level of performance.
  • Consistency : Rubrics standardize grading. This ensures fairness and consistency across different students and assignments.
  • Feedback : Rubrics provide detailed feedback. Students understand their strengths and areas for improvement.
  • Efficiency : Rubrics streamline the grading process. Teachers can evaluate work more quickly and systematically.
  • Self-Assessment : Students can use rubrics to self-assess. This promotes reflection and responsibility for their learning.

Examples of Writing Rubrics

Here are some examples of writing rubrics.

Narrative Writing Rubric

Criteria4 (Excellent)3 (Good)2 (Fair)1 (Poor)
Story ElementsWell-developedDeveloped, some detailsBasic, missing detailsUnderdeveloped
CreativityHighly creativeCreativeSome creativityLacks creativity
GrammarNo errorsFew minor errorsSeveral errorsMany errors
OrganizationClear and logicalMostly clearSomewhat clearNot clear
Language UseRich and variedVariedLimitedBasic or inappropriate

Persuasive Writing Rubric

Criteria4 (Excellent)3 (Good)2 (Fair)1 (Poor)
ArgumentStrong and convincingConvincing, some gapsBasic, lacks supportWeak or unsupported
EvidenceStrong and relevantRelevant, but not strongSome relevant, weakIrrelevant or missing
GrammarNo errorsFew minor errorsSeveral errorsMany errors
OrganizationClear and logicalMostly clearSomewhat clearNot clear
Language UsePersuasive and engagingEngagingSomewhat engagingNot engaging

Best Practices for Creating Writing Rubrics

Let’s look at some best practices for creating useful writing rubrics.

1. Define Clear Criteria

Identify specific aspects of writing to evaluate. Be clear and precise.

The criteria should reflect the key components of the writing task. For example, for a narrative essay, criteria might include plot development, character depth, and use of descriptive language.

Clear criteria help students understand what is expected and allow teachers to provide targeted feedback.

Insider Tip : Collaborate with colleagues to establish consistent criteria across grade levels. This ensures uniformity in expectations and assessments.

2. Use Detailed Descriptors

Describe what each level of performance looks like.

This ensures transparency and clarity. Avoid vague language. Instead of saying “good,” describe what “good” entails. For example, “Few minor grammatical errors that do not impede readability.”

Detailed descriptors help students gauge their performance accurately.

Insider Tip : Use student work samples to illustrate each performance level. This provides concrete examples and helps students visualize expectations.

3. Involve Students

Involve students in the rubric creation process. This increases their understanding and buy-in.

Ask for their input on what they think is important in their writing.

This collaborative approach not only demystifies the grading process but also fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility in students.

Insider Tip : Conduct a workshop where students help create a rubric for an upcoming assignment. This interactive session can clarify doubts and make students more invested in their work.

4. Align with Objectives

Ensure the rubric aligns with learning objectives. This ensures relevance and focus.

If the objective is to enhance persuasive writing skills, the rubric should emphasize argument strength, evidence quality, and persuasive techniques.

Alignment ensures that the assessment directly supports instructional goals.

Insider Tip : Regularly revisit and update rubrics to reflect changes in curriculum and instructional priorities. This keeps the rubrics relevant and effective.

5. Review and Revise

Regularly review and revise rubrics. Ensure they remain accurate and effective.

Solicit feedback from students and colleagues. Continuous improvement of rubrics ensures they remain a valuable tool for both assessment and instruction.

Insider Tip : After using a rubric, take notes on its effectiveness. Were students confused by any criteria? Did the rubric cover all necessary aspects of the assignment? Use these observations to make adjustments.

6. Be Consistent

Use the rubric consistently across all assignments.

This ensures fairness and reliability. Consistency in applying the rubric helps build trust with students and maintains the integrity of the assessment process.

Insider Tip : Develop a grading checklist to accompany the rubric. This can help ensure that all criteria are consistently applied and none are overlooked during the grading process.

7. Provide Examples

Provide examples of each performance level.

This helps students understand expectations. Use annotated examples to show why a particular piece of writing meets a specific level.

This visual and practical demonstration can be more effective than descriptions alone.

Insider Tip : Create a portfolio of exemplar works for different assignments. This can be a valuable resource for both new and experienced teachers to standardize grading.

How to Use Writing Rubrics Effectively

Here is how to use writing rubrics like the pros.

1. Introduce Rubrics Early

Introduce rubrics at the beginning of the assignment.

Explain each criterion and performance level. This upfront clarity helps students understand what is expected and guides their work from the start.

Insider Tip : Conduct a rubric walkthrough session where you discuss each part of the rubric in detail. Allow students to ask questions and provide examples to illustrate each criterion.

2. Use Rubrics as a Teaching Tool

Use rubrics to teach writing skills. Discuss what constitutes good writing and why.

This can be an opportunity to reinforce lessons on grammar, organization, and other writing components.

Insider Tip : Pair the rubric with writing workshops. Use the rubric to critique sample essays and show students how to apply the rubric to improve their own writing.

3. Provide Feedback

Use the rubric to give detailed feedback. Highlight strengths and areas for improvement.

This targeted feedback helps students understand their performance and learn how to improve.

Insider Tip : Instead of just marking scores, add comments next to each criterion on the rubric. This personalized feedback can be more impactful and instructive for students.

4. Encourage Self-Assessment

Encourage students to use rubrics to self-assess.

This promotes reflection and growth. Before submitting their work, ask students to evaluate their own writing against the rubric.

This practice fosters self-awareness and critical thinking.

Insider Tip : Incorporate self-assessment as a mandatory step in the assignment process. Provide a simplified version of the rubric for students to use during self-assessment.

5. Use Rubrics for Peer Assessment

Use rubrics for peer assessment. This allows students to learn from each other.

Peer assessments can provide new perspectives and reinforce learning.

Insider Tip : Conduct a peer assessment workshop. Train students on how to use the rubric to evaluate each other’s work constructively. This can improve the quality of peer feedback.

6. Reflect and Improve

Reflect on the effectiveness of the rubric. Make adjustments as needed for future assignments.

Continuous reflection ensures that rubrics remain relevant and effective tools for assessment and learning.

Insider Tip : After an assignment, hold a debrief session with students to gather their feedback on the rubric. Use their insights to make improvements.

Check out this video about using writing rubrics:

Common Mistakes with Writing Rubrics

Creating and using writing rubrics can be incredibly effective, but there are common mistakes that can undermine their effectiveness.

Here are some pitfalls to avoid:

1. Vague Criteria

Vague criteria can confuse students and lead to inconsistent grading.

Ensure that each criterion is specific and clearly defined. Ambiguous terms like “good” or “satisfactory” should be replaced with concrete descriptions of what those levels of performance look like.

2. Overly Complex Rubrics

While detail is important, overly complex rubrics can be overwhelming for both students and teachers.

Too many criteria and performance levels can complicate the grading process and make it difficult for students to understand what is expected.

Keep rubrics concise and focused on the most important aspects of the assignment.

3. Inconsistent Application

Applying the rubric inconsistently can lead to unfair grading.

Ensure that you apply the rubric in the same way for all students and all assignments. Consistency builds trust and ensures that grades accurately reflect student performance.

4. Ignoring Student Input

Ignoring student input when creating rubrics can result in criteria that do not align with student understanding or priorities.

Involving students in the creation process can enhance their understanding and engagement with the rubric.

5. Failing to Update Rubrics

Rubrics should evolve to reflect changes in instructional goals and student needs.

Failing to update rubrics can result in outdated criteria that no longer align with current teaching objectives.

Regularly review and revise rubrics to keep them relevant and effective.

6. Lack of Examples

Without examples, students may struggle to understand the expectations for each performance level.

Providing annotated examples of work that meets each criterion can help students visualize what is required and guide their efforts more effectively.

7. Not Providing Feedback

Rubrics should be used as a tool for feedback, not just scoring.

Simply assigning a score without providing detailed feedback can leave students unclear about their strengths and areas for improvement.

Use the rubric to give comprehensive feedback that guides students’ growth.

8. Overlooking Self-Assessment and Peer Assessment

Self-assessment and peer assessment are valuable components of the learning process.

Overlooking these opportunities can limit students’ ability to reflect on their own work and learn from their peers.

Encourage students to use the rubric for self and peer assessment to deepen their understanding and enhance their skills.

What Is a Holistic Scoring Rubric for Writing?

A holistic scoring rubric for writing is a type of rubric that evaluates a piece of writing as a whole rather than breaking it down into separate criteria

This approach provides a single overall score based on the general impression of the writing’s quality and effectiveness.

Here’s a closer look at holistic scoring rubrics.

Key Features of Holistic Scoring Rubrics

  • Single Overall Score : Assigns one score based on the overall quality of the writing.
  • General Criteria : Focuses on the overall effectiveness, coherence, and impact of the writing.
  • Descriptors : Uses broad descriptors for each score level to capture the general characteristics of the writing.

Example Holistic Scoring Rubric

ScoreDescription
5 : Exceptionally clear, engaging, and well-organized writing. Demonstrates excellent control of language, grammar, and style.
4 : Clear and well-organized writing. Minor errors do not detract from the overall quality. Demonstrates good control of language and style.
3 : Satisfactory writing with some organizational issues. Contains a few errors that may distract but do not impede understanding.
2 : Basic writing that lacks organization and contains several errors. Demonstrates limited control of language and style.
1 : Unclear and poorly organized writing. Contains numerous errors that impede understanding. Demonstrates poor control of language and style.

Advantages of Holistic Scoring Rubrics

  • Efficiency : Faster to use because it involves a single overall judgment rather than multiple criteria.
  • Flexibility : Allows for a more intuitive assessment of the writing’s overall impact and effectiveness.
  • Comprehensiveness : Captures the overall quality of writing, considering all elements together.

Disadvantages of Holistic Scoring Rubrics

  • Less Detailed Feedback : Provides a general score without specific feedback on individual aspects of writing.
  • Subjectivity : Can be more subjective, as it relies on the assessor’s overall impression rather than specific criteria.
  • Limited Diagnostic Use : Less useful for identifying specific areas of strength and weakness for instructional purposes.

When to Use Holistic Scoring Rubrics

  • Quick Assessments : When a quick, overall evaluation is needed.
  • Standardized Testing : Often used in standardized testing scenarios where consistency and efficiency are priorities.
  • Initial Impressions : Useful for providing an initial overall impression before more detailed analysis.

Free Writing Rubric Templates

Feel free to use the following writing rubric templates.

You can easily copy and paste them into a Word Document. Please do credit this website on any written, printed, or published use.

Otherwise, go wild.

Criteria4 (Excellent)3 (Good)2 (Fair)1 (Poor)
Well-developed, engaging, and clear plot, characters, and setting.Developed plot, characters, and setting with some details missing.Basic plot, characters, and setting; lacks details.Underdeveloped plot, characters, and setting.
Highly creative and original.Creative with some originality.Some creativity but lacks originality.Lacks creativity and originality.
No grammatical errors.Few minor grammatical errors.Several grammatical errors.Numerous grammatical errors.
Clear and logical structure.Mostly clear structure.Somewhat clear structure.Lacks clear structure.
Rich, varied, and appropriate language.Varied and appropriate language.Limited language variety.Basic or inappropriate language.
Criteria4 (Excellent)3 (Good)2 (Fair)1 (Poor)
Strong, clear, and convincing argument.Convincing argument with minor gaps.Basic argument; lacks strong support.Weak or unsupported argument.
Strong, relevant, and well-integrated evidence.Relevant evidence but not strong.Some relevant evidence, but weak.Irrelevant or missing evidence.
No grammatical errors.Few minor grammatical errors.Several grammatical errors.Numerous grammatical errors.
Clear and logical structure.Mostly clear structure.Somewhat clear structure.Lacks clear structure.
Persuasive and engaging language.Engaging language.Somewhat engaging language.Not engaging language.

Expository Writing Rubric

Criteria4 (Excellent)3 (Good)2 (Fair)1 (Poor)
Thorough, accurate, and insightful content.Accurate content with some details missing.Basic content; lacks depth.Incomplete or inaccurate content.
Clear and concise explanations.Mostly clear explanations.Somewhat clear explanations.Unclear explanations.
No grammatical errors.Few minor grammatical errors.Several grammatical errors.Numerous grammatical errors.
Clear and logical structure.Mostly clear structure.Somewhat clear structure.Lacks clear structure.
Precise and appropriate language.Appropriate language.Limited language variety.Basic or inappropriate language.

Descriptive Writing Rubric

Criteria4 (Excellent)3 (Good)2 (Fair)1 (Poor)
Vivid and detailed imagery that engages the senses.Detailed imagery with minor gaps.Basic imagery; lacks vivid details.Little to no imagery.
Highly creative and original descriptions.Creative with some originality.Some creativity but lacks originality.Lacks creativity and originality.
No grammatical errors.Few minor grammatical errors.Several grammatical errors.Numerous grammatical errors.
Clear and logical structure.Mostly clear structure.Somewhat clear structure.Lacks clear structure.
Rich, varied, and appropriate language.Varied and appropriate language.Limited language variety.Basic or inappropriate language.

Analytical Writing Rubric

Criteria4 (Excellent)3 (Good)2 (Fair)1 (Poor)
Insightful, thorough, and well-supported analysis.Good analysis with some depth.Basic analysis; lacks depth.Weak or unsupported analysis.
Strong, relevant, and well-integrated evidence.Relevant evidence but not strong.Some relevant evidence, but weak.Irrelevant or missing evidence.
No grammatical errors.Few minor grammatical errors.Several grammatical errors.Numerous grammatical errors.
Clear and logical structure.Mostly clear structure.Somewhat clear structure.Lacks clear structure.
Precise and appropriate language.Appropriate language.Limited language variety.Basic or inappropriate language.

Final Thoughts: Writing Rubrics

I have a lot more resources for teaching on this site.

Check out some of the blog posts I’ve listed below. I think you might enjoy them.

Read This Next:

  • Narrative Writing Graphic Organizer [Guide + Free Templates]
  • 100 Best A Words for Kids (+ How to Use Them)
  • 100 Best B Words For Kids (+How to Teach Them)
  • 100 Dictation Word Ideas for Students and Kids
  • 50 Tricky Words to Pronounce and Spell (How to Teach Them)

Eberly Center

Teaching excellence & educational innovation, creating and using rubrics.

A rubric is a scoring tool that explicitly describes the instructor’s performance expectations for an assignment or piece of work. A rubric identifies:

  • criteria: the aspects of performance (e.g., argument, evidence, clarity) that will be assessed
  • descriptors: the characteristics associated with each dimension (e.g., argument is demonstrable and original, evidence is diverse and compelling)
  • performance levels: a rating scale that identifies students’ level of mastery within each criterion  

Rubrics can be used to provide feedback to students on diverse types of assignments, from papers, projects, and oral presentations to artistic performances and group projects.

Benefitting from Rubrics

  • reduce the time spent grading by allowing instructors to refer to a substantive description without writing long comments
  • help instructors more clearly identify strengths and weaknesses across an entire class and adjust their instruction appropriately
  • help to ensure consistency across time and across graders
  • reduce the uncertainty which can accompany grading
  • discourage complaints about grades
  • understand instructors’ expectations and standards
  • use instructor feedback to improve their performance
  • monitor and assess their progress as they work towards clearly indicated goals
  • recognize their strengths and weaknesses and direct their efforts accordingly

Examples of Rubrics

Here we are providing a sample set of rubrics designed by faculty at Carnegie Mellon and other institutions. Although your particular field of study or type of assessment may not be represented, viewing a rubric that is designed for a similar assessment may give you ideas for the kinds of criteria, descriptions, and performance levels you use on your own rubric.

  • Example 1: Philosophy Paper This rubric was designed for student papers in a range of courses in philosophy (Carnegie Mellon).
  • Example 2: Psychology Assignment Short, concept application homework assignment in cognitive psychology (Carnegie Mellon).
  • Example 3: Anthropology Writing Assignments This rubric was designed for a series of short writing assignments in anthropology (Carnegie Mellon).
  • Example 4: History Research Paper . This rubric was designed for essays and research papers in history (Carnegie Mellon).
  • Example 1: Capstone Project in Design This rubric describes the components and standards of performance from the research phase to the final presentation for a senior capstone project in design (Carnegie Mellon).
  • Example 2: Engineering Design Project This rubric describes performance standards for three aspects of a team project: research and design, communication, and team work.

Oral Presentations

  • Example 1: Oral Exam This rubric describes a set of components and standards for assessing performance on an oral exam in an upper-division course in history (Carnegie Mellon).
  • Example 2: Oral Communication This rubric is adapted from Huba and Freed, 2000.
  • Example 3: Group Presentations This rubric describes a set of components and standards for assessing group presentations in history (Carnegie Mellon).

Class Participation/Contributions

  • Example 1: Discussion Class This rubric assesses the quality of student contributions to class discussions. This is appropriate for an undergraduate-level course (Carnegie Mellon).
  • Example 2: Advanced Seminar This rubric is designed for assessing discussion performance in an advanced undergraduate or graduate seminar.

See also " Examples and Tools " section of this site for more rubrics.

CONTACT US to talk with an Eberly colleague in person!

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Rubric Design

Main navigation, articulating your assessment values.

Reading, commenting on, and then assigning a grade to a piece of student writing requires intense attention and difficult judgment calls. Some faculty dread “the stack.” Students may share the faculty’s dim view of writing assessment, perceiving it as highly subjective. They wonder why one faculty member values evidence and correctness before all else, while another seeks a vaguely defined originality.

Writing rubrics can help address the concerns of both faculty and students by making writing assessment more efficient, consistent, and public. Whether it is called a grading rubric, a grading sheet, or a scoring guide, a writing assignment rubric lists criteria by which the writing is graded.

Why create a writing rubric?

  • It makes your tacit rhetorical knowledge explicit
  • It articulates community- and discipline-specific standards of excellence
  • It links the grade you give the assignment to the criteria
  • It can make your grading more efficient, consistent, and fair as you can read and comment with your criteria in mind
  • It can help you reverse engineer your course: once you have the rubrics created, you can align your readings, activities, and lectures with the rubrics to set your students up for success
  • It can help your students produce writing that you look forward to reading

How to create a writing rubric

Create a rubric at the same time you create the assignment. It will help you explain to the students what your goals are for the assignment.

  • Consider your purpose: do you need a rubric that addresses the standards for all the writing in the course? Or do you need to address the writing requirements and standards for just one assignment?  Task-specific rubrics are written to help teachers assess individual assignments or genres, whereas generic rubrics are written to help teachers assess multiple assignments.
  • Begin by listing the important qualities of the writing that will be produced in response to a particular assignment. It may be helpful to have several examples of excellent versions of the assignment in front of you: what writing elements do they all have in common? Among other things, these may include features of the argument, such as a main claim or thesis; use and presentation of sources, including visuals; and formatting guidelines such as the requirement of a works cited.
  • Then consider how the criteria will be weighted in grading. Perhaps all criteria are equally important, or perhaps there are two or three that all students must achieve to earn a passing grade. Decide what best fits the class and requirements of the assignment.

Consider involving students in Steps 2 and 3. A class session devoted to developing a rubric can provoke many important discussions about the ways the features of the language serve the purpose of the writing. And when students themselves work to describe the writing they are expected to produce, they are more likely to achieve it.

At this point, you will need to decide if you want to create a holistic or an analytic rubric. There is much debate about these two approaches to assessment.

Comparing Holistic and Analytic Rubrics

Holistic scoring .

Holistic scoring aims to rate overall proficiency in a given student writing sample. It is often used in large-scale writing program assessment and impromptu classroom writing for diagnostic purposes.

General tenets to holistic scoring:

  • Responding to drafts is part of evaluation
  • Responses do not focus on grammar and mechanics during drafting and there is little correction
  • Marginal comments are kept to 2-3 per page with summative comments at end
  • End commentary attends to students’ overall performance across learning objectives as articulated in the assignment
  • Response language aims to foster students’ self-assessment

Holistic rubrics emphasize what students do well and generally increase efficiency; they may also be more valid because scoring includes authentic, personal reaction of the reader. But holistic sores won’t tell a student how they’ve progressed relative to previous assignments and may be rater-dependent, reducing reliability. (For a summary of advantages and disadvantages of holistic scoring, see Becker, 2011, p. 116.)

Here is an example of a partial holistic rubric:

Summary meets all the criteria. The writer understands the article thoroughly. The main points in the article appear in the summary with all main points proportionately developed. The summary should be as comprehensive as possible and should be as comprehensive as possible and should read smoothly, with appropriate transitions between ideas. Sentences should be clear, without vagueness or ambiguity and without grammatical or mechanical errors.

A complete holistic rubric for a research paper (authored by Jonah Willihnganz) can be  downloaded here.

Analytic Scoring

Analytic scoring makes explicit the contribution to the final grade of each element of writing. For example, an instructor may choose to give 30 points for an essay whose ideas are sufficiently complex, that marshals good reasons in support of a thesis, and whose argument is logical; and 20 points for well-constructed sentences and careful copy editing.

General tenets to analytic scoring:

  • Reflect emphases in your teaching and communicate the learning goals for the course
  • Emphasize student performance across criterion, which are established as central to the assignment in advance, usually on an assignment sheet
  • Typically take a quantitative approach, providing a scaled set of points for each criterion
  • Make the analytic framework available to students before they write  

Advantages of an analytic rubric include ease of training raters and improved reliability. Meanwhile, writers often can more easily diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of their work. But analytic rubrics can be time-consuming to produce, and raters may judge the writing holistically anyway. Moreover, many readers believe that writing traits cannot be separated. (For a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of analytic scoring, see Becker, 2011, p. 115.)

For example, a partial analytic rubric for a single trait, “addresses a significant issue”:

  • Excellent: Elegantly establishes the current problem, why it matters, to whom
  • Above Average: Identifies the problem; explains why it matters and to whom
  • Competent: Describes topic but relevance unclear or cursory
  • Developing: Unclear issue and relevance

A  complete analytic rubric for a research paper can be downloaded here.  In WIM courses, this language should be revised to name specific disciplinary conventions.

Whichever type of rubric you write, your goal is to avoid pushing students into prescriptive formulas and limiting thinking (e.g., “each paragraph has five sentences”). By carefully describing the writing you want to read, you give students a clear target, and, as Ed White puts it, “describe the ongoing work of the class” (75).

Writing rubrics contribute meaningfully to the teaching of writing. Think of them as a coaching aide. In class and in conferences, you can use the language of the rubric to help you move past generic statements about what makes good writing good to statements about what constitutes success on the assignment and in the genre or discourse community. The rubric articulates what you are asking students to produce on the page; once that work is accomplished, you can turn your attention to explaining how students can achieve it.

Works Cited

Becker, Anthony.  “Examining Rubrics Used to Measure Writing Performance in U.S. Intensive English Programs.”   The CATESOL Journal  22.1 (2010/2011):113-30. Web.

White, Edward M.  Teaching and Assessing Writing . Proquest Info and Learning, 1985. Print.

Further Resources

CCCC Committee on Assessment. “Writing Assessment: A Position Statement.” November 2006 (Revised March 2009). Conference on College Composition and Communication. Web.

Gallagher, Chris W. “Assess Locally, Validate Globally: Heuristics for Validating Local Writing Assessments.” Writing Program Administration 34.1 (2010): 10-32. Web.

Huot, Brian.  (Re)Articulating Writing Assessment for Teaching and Learning.  Logan: Utah State UP, 2002. Print.

Kelly-Reilly, Diane, and Peggy O’Neil, eds. Journal of Writing Assessment. Web.

McKee, Heidi A., and Dànielle Nicole DeVoss DeVoss, Eds. Digital Writing Assessment & Evaluation. Logan, UT: Computers and Composition Digital Press/Utah State University Press, 2013. Web.

O’Neill, Peggy, Cindy Moore, and Brian Huot.  A Guide to College Writing Assessment . Logan: Utah State UP, 2009. Print.

Sommers, Nancy.  Responding to Student Writers . Macmillan Higher Education, 2013.

Straub, Richard. “Responding, Really Responding to Other Students’ Writing.” The Subject is Writing: Essays by Teachers and Students. Ed. Wendy Bishop. Boynton/Cook, 1999. Web.

White, Edward M., and Cassie A. Wright.  Assigning, Responding, Evaluating: A Writing Teacher’s Guide . 5th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. Print.

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  • Designing and Using Rubrics

Grading rubrics (structured scoring guides) can make writing criteria more explicit, improving student performance and making valid and consistent grading easier for course instructors. This page provides an overview of rubric types and offers guidelines for their development and use.

Why use a rubric?
  • Types of Rubrics
Guidelines for Creating a Writing Rubric
Additional Ways to Use Rubrics
  • Downsides to Rubrics?
  • Further Resources

While grading criteria can come in many forms—a checklist of requirements, a description of grade-level expectations, articulated standards, or a contract between instructor and students, to name but a few options—they often take the form of a rubric, a structured scoring guide. 

Because of their flexibility, rubrics can provide several benefits for students and instructors:

  • They make the grading criteria explicit to students by providing specific dimensions (e.g. thesis, organization, use of evidence. etc.), the performance-level descriptions for those dimensions, and the relative weight of those dimensions within the overall assignment.
  • They can serve as guidelines and targets for students as they develop their writing, especially when the rubrics are distributed with the assignment.
  • They can be used by faculty to coach and reinforce writing criteria in the class.
  • They are useful for norming assessment and ensuring reliability and consistency among multiple graders, such as teaching assistants . 
  • They can help instructors to isolate specific features of student writing for praise or for instruction.
  • They are very adaptable in form–from basic to complex—and can be used to assess minor and major assignments.
  • They can be a data source for instructors to improve future teaching and learning.
What types of rubrics are there?

Rubrics come in many forms. Here are some of the key types, using terms introduced by John Bean (2011) , along with the advantages and disadvantages of rubric types, as detailed by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA ).

Holistic Rubrics stress an overall evaluation of the work by creating single-score categories (letter or numeric). Holistic rubrics are often used in standardized assessments, such as Advanced Placement exams. Here is a sample of a holistic rubric .

Some potential benefits of holistic rubrics:

  • They often save time by minimizing the number of decisions graders must make.
  • Multiple graders (such as teaching assistants) who norm with holistic rubrics tend to apply them consistently, resulting in more reliable measurement.
  • They are good for summative assessments that do not require additional feedback.

Some potential challenges of holistic rubrics:

  • Unless space is provided for specific comments, they are less useful for offering specific feedback to learners about how to improve performance.
  • They are not very useful for formative assessments , where the goal is to provide actionable feedback for the student.

Analytic Rubrics stress the weight of different criteria or traits, such as content, organization, use of conventions, etc. Most analytic rubrics are formatted as grids. Here is a sample of an analytic rubric .

Some potential benefits of analytic rubrics:

  • They provide useful feedback to learners on specific areas of strength and weakness.
  • Their dimensions can be weighted to reflect the relative importance of individual criteria on the assignment.
  • They can show learners that they have made progress over time in some or all dimensions when the same rubric categories are used repeatedly ( Moskal, 2000 ).

Some potential challenges of analytic rubrics:

  • As Tedick (2002) notes, "Separate scores for different aspects of a student’s writing or speaking performance may be considered artificial in that it does not give the teacher (or student) a good assessment of the ‘whole’ of a performance."
  • They often take more time to create and use, and it can be challenging to name all the possible attributes that will signal success or failure on the assignment.
  • Because there are more dimensions to score, it can take more time to norm and achieve reliability. 
  • Given evidence that graders tend to evaluate grammar-related categories more harshly than they do other categories ( McNamara, 1996 ), analytic rubrics containing a category for “grammar” may provide a negatively skewed picture of a learners' proficiency.

Generic Rubrics can take holistic or analytic forms. In generic rubrics, the grading criteria are generalized in such a way that the rubric can be used for multiple assignments and/or across multiple sections of courses. Here is a sample of a generic rubric .

Some potential benefits of generic rubrics:

  • They can be applied to a number of different tasks across a single mode of communication (such as persuasion, analysis, oral presentation, etc.).
  • They can be used repeatedly for assignments with fixed formats and genres (lab reports, technical memos, etc.).
  • They may be useful in departments for collecting data about student performance across courses.

Some potential challenges of generic rubrics:

  • They are not directly aligned with the language in the assignment prompt.
  • They may reinforce a singular and reductive view of effective writing.

Task-Specific Rubrics closely align the grading criteria with the language and specifications in the assignment prompt. Here is a sample of a task-specific rubric .

Some potential benefits of task-specific rubrics:

  • According to Walvoord (2014) , task-specific rubrics can be “credible and actionable for students because they involve faculty in their own disciplinary language, their own assignments, and their own criteria.”
  • They emphasize the specificity of discipline and genre-based writing.
  • They can be useful for both formative and summative feedback.

Some potential challenges of task-specific rubrics:

  • They take some time to develop.
  • They are not easily transferable to other assignments. 

Step 1: Identify your grading criteria.

steel fram structure

What are the intended outcomes for the assignment? What do you want students to do or demonstrate? What are the primary dimensions (note: these are often referred to as “traits” or as “criteria”) that count in the evaluation? Try writing each one as a noun or noun phrase—for example, “Insights and ideas that are central to the assignment”; “Address of audience”; “Logic of organization”; “Integration of source materials.”

Suggestion: Try not to exceed more than ten total criteria. If you have too many criteria, you can make it challenging to distinguish among them, and you may be required to clarify, repeatedly, the distinctions for students (or for yourself!).

Step 2: Describe the levels of success for each criterion.

For each trait or criterion, consider a 2–4-point scale (e.g. strong, satisfactory, weak). For each point on the scale, describe the performance.

Suggestions : Either begin with optimum performances and then describe lower levels as less than (adequately, insufficiently, etc.) OR fully describe a baseline performance and then add values. To write an effective performance level for a criterion, describe in precise language what the text is doing successfully.

Effective grading criteria are…

  • Explicit and well detailed, and leave little room for unstated assumptions.

Ineffective: Includes figures and graphs.

Effective: Includes figures that are legible and labeled accurately, and that illustrate data in a manner free from distortion. 

  • Focused on qualities, not components, segments, or sections.

Ineffective: Use the IMRAD structure.

Effective: Includes a materials and methods section that identify all components, technical standards, equipment, and methodological description such that a professional might reproduce the research. 

  • Address discrete features and try not to do too much.

Ineffective: Contains at least five sources.

Effective: Uses research from carefully vetted sources, presented with an in-text and terminal citation, to support assertions.

  • Address observable characteristics of writing, not impressions of writer’s intent.

Ineffective: Does not use slang or jargon.

Effective: Uses language appropriate to fellow professionals and patient communication in context.

Step 3: Weight the criteria.

When criteria have been identified and performance-levels described, decisions should be made about their varying importance in relation to each other.

Suggestion: If you use a point-based grading system, consider using a range of points within  performance levels, and make sure the points for each criterion reflect their relative value to one another. Rubrics without carefully determined and relative grade weights can often produce a final score that does not align with the instructor’s expectations for the score. Here is a sample of a rubric with a range of points within each performance level .

Step 4: Create a format for the rubric.

When the specific criteria and levels of success have been named and ranked, they can be sorted into a variety of formats and distributed with the assignment. The right format will depend on how and when you are using the rubric. Consider these three examples of an Anthropology rubric and how each format might be useful (or not), depending on the course context. [ Rubric 1 , Rubric 2 , Rubric 3 ]

Suggestion: Consider allowing space on the rubric to insert comments on each item and again at the end. Regardless of how well your rubric identifies, describes, and weighs the grading criteria, students will still appreciate and benefit from brief comments that personalize your assessment.

Step 5: Test (and refine) the rubric.

Assortment of random pile of wood letter steps.

Ideally, a rubric will be tested in advance of full implementation. A practical way to test the rubric is to apply it to a subset of student assignments. Even after you have tested and used the rubric, you will likely discover, as with the assignment prompt itself, that there are parts that need tweaking and refinement.

Suggestion: A peer review of the rubric before it gets used on an assignment will allow you to take stock of the questions, confusions, or issues students have about your rubric, so you can make timely and effective adjustments.

Beyond their value as formative and summative assessment tools, rubrics can be used to support teaching and learning in the classroom.

Here are three suggestions for additional uses:

  • For in-class norming sessions with students—effective for discussing, clarifying, and reinforcing writing criteria;
  • For constructing rubric criteria and values with students—most effective when students are quite familiar with the specific writing genre (e.g. capstone-level writing);
  • For guiding a peer-review session
Any Downsides to Rubrics?

While many faculty members use rubrics, some resist them because they worry that rubrics are unable to accurately convey authentic and nuanced assessment. As Bob Broad (2003) argues, rubrics can leave out many of the rhetorical qualities and contexts that influence how well a work is received or not. Rubrics, Broad maintains, convey a temporary sense of standardization that does not capture the real ways that real readers respond in different ways to a given work. John Bean (2011) has also described this as the “myth of the universal reader” and the “problem of implied precision” (279). Of course, the alternative to using a rubric, such as providing a holistic grade with comments that justify the grade—still a common practice among instructors—is often labor-intensive and poses its own set of challenges when it comes to consistency with assessment across all students enrolled in a course. Ultimately, a rubric’s impact depends on the criteria on which it is built and the ways it is used.

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WTO / Business / Tracking / 40 Free Rubric Templates – Examples – Word, PDF

40 Free Rubric Templates – Examples – Word, PDF

A rubric template is a printable grading tool that defines scoring criteria for evaluating the performance of a student or employee and giving feedback, which is grading. 

It is typically presented as a matrix that indicates the different levels of achievement (quality) in terms of performance and understanding.  

It will state the teacher’s or employer’s expectations and the different levels of effectiveness in fulfilling those expectations. Its main components are areas of assessment (tasks), evaluation criteria (dimensions), performance levels (scale), and descriptions of the evaluation criteria or dimensions. They are used to assess and grade term papers, presentations, project reports, essays, the success of projects, and other particular assignments given to students or employees.

How are the rubric templates useful to a teacher or employer? Primarily, it provides a uniform framework and language for assessment. This way, performance quality can be defined and graded based on merit. They are also crucial in defining organizational standards as they indicate and define the characteristics of the expected level of performance.

Teachers and employers can then communicate to students and employees where they can go and how they will get there in terms of performance. In addition, they reduce the time and simplify the assessment and grading exercise. Rubrics can also justify feedback; why the teacher or employer graded the individual’s performance as they did.

Areas in which such templates are used include:

  • Job interview scoring
  • Decision-making
  • General math projects
  • Basic analytics, etc.

Editable Rubic Templates

Editable Rubric Template 01 for Word File

Rubric Template Types

When selecting a template, it is best to use one that can effectively meet the assessment needs at hand. The two common types are analytic and holistic rubrics. Below are the different types of templates:

Free Analytic Rubric Template for Word File

Analytic rubrics evaluate and grade an assignment or work at each performance level. As a result, each performance level gets a separate score which typically requires at least two characteristics of that performance level to be assessed.

Download: Microsoft Word (.docx)

Editable Holistic Rubric Template for Word File

A holistic rubric provides a generalized assessment and score for the assignment. It gives the overall student's or employee's performance based on all the criteria assessed. Holistic rubrics are suited for quick assessments and large group scoring. However, they are confined in that they are not detailed as they do not show specific performances at each level.

Free Project Management Rubric Template for Pdf File

Rubrics are also used in project management to evaluate performance. The criteria used in project management rubrics are project phases, key objectives, and project milestones. The success metrics or indicators of each criterion are then listed as characteristics of levels of performance. A rating scale is used to measure performance.

Professional Business Plan Rubric Template for Pdf File

The performance of a business plan can be assessed using a rubrics template. Components of the business plan such as mission statement, market analysis, operational plan, financial plan are used as criteria and are rated based on their quality. A business plan rubric template helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of a business plan before presentation or execution.

Free Job Interview Rubric Template for Pdf File

Job interviewers are popularly known to use rubrics to assess and score interviewees. Job qualifications and requirements such as academic qualification, professional experience, skills, and references can be used as criteria for evaluating performance.

Free Employee Performance Rubric Template - Editable Version

Employee performance assessment is essential for HR management and boosting productivity. An employee performance rubric will take into consideration teamwork, attendance, time management, leadership, and other aspects that influence productivity.

Downloadable Product Rubric Template for Word File

Rubrics can be used in product research and decision-making. A rubric is used to assess how a new product or intended purchase aligns with business objectives. Factors considered when assessing a product are viability, demand, RoI, and other benefits that can be realized by its introduction. The performance of the product can be ranked and compared to those of other products to determine which product is worth investing in, the most beneficial.

Free Marketing Plan Rubric Template for pdf File

A marketing plan's success depends on multiple factors that can be assessed with a rubrics template. The rubric can evaluate how action items influence results and grade their performance. The overall score of the marketing plan is an indication of its effectiveness and can be used to determine areas of improvement.

Editable Group Project Rubric Template for Pdf File

A group project rubric is used to assess the performance of a group of individuals assigned the same task. The rubric considers factors such as teamwork, member contributions, subject knowledge, presentation skills, organization, content, and any other. A group project template is a simple tool for collectively assessing team members.

Customizable Art Grading Rubric Template for Pdf File

A type of rubric template used for grading art projects. It will cover aspects such as subject comprehension, skill and craftsmanship, originality, creativity, and other criteria that can be used to grade art. This type of rubric template will vary depending on the type of art.

Free Science Experiment Rubric Template for Word File

Science projects can be evaluated using rubrics. Examples of factors considered when assessing a science project are experimental hypothesis, design, materials, procedure, data collection, analysis, discussion, and presentation skills.

Free Poster Rubric Template for Word File

A poster rubric template is used to evaluate poster assignments, commonly utilized in elementary school. Criteria used include required components, graphics used, presentation appeal, creativity, content, and grammar. Students can grade each student accordingly.

Free Research Project Rubric Template for Pdf File

Rubrics can be used to evaluate and score research projects, written reports, and other written assignments such as dissertations, essays, etc. Common criteria used in research project rubrics include objectives, content, format and structure, writing skills, analytical skills, use of references, submission, etc.

Editable Oral Presentation Rubric Template for Word File

Presentation is a common means of reporting in both academic and business settings. The effectiveness of a presentation can be established through a rubric. Elements of a presentation that need to be assessed are oral communication and presentation skills, delivery, visual elements, organization, supporting material, etc. Rubrics can be used by lecturers, professors, and supervisors to grade presentations.

Printable Grading Rubric Template for Word File

A type of rubric used to assess any type of project, assignment, or work performance. It covers the key elements of a performance success such as comprehension, skill, creativity, effort, cooperation, etc.

How to Create It?

A good rubric template has to be detailed to give an accurate assessment. It must outline all the elements while giving comprehensive descriptors.

Below are the steps for developing a template:

Create a task description

The first step is to identify the tasks or areas of assessment. The task description(s) indicate the actions that the student or employee is expected to complete and will often be influenced by the assessor’s objectives. Factors that determine the task description include the importance of each task, performance assessment procedure, level of feedback expected to be given, performance standards, and grading system to be adopted.

For a teacher, the task could be:

A ten-page book review of Romeo and Juliet.

Identify the criteria (rows)

Next, the assessor should identify the criteria they will use to assess the quality or grade of performance. Criteria are used to assess the student or employee’s level of skills and knowledge; identify at least four criteria and at most 7. Different assignments will have different criteria. Eliminate any non-crucial criteria.

The criteria can be grammar, originality, content, and clarity in the example above.     

Determine a performance rating scale (columns)

Afterward, determine the grading system for the rubric template to assess the performance level at each work criterion. A performance rating scale should cover the following three levels of performance:

  • Level 1: Level 1 represents the optimal expectations of the assessor. Therefore, the characteristics that describe the best work or meet the assessor’s expectations should be determined.
  • Level 2: Level 2 should represent intermediate categories or levels of performance , which can be more than one. A description of the characteristics of these levels should be determined.
  • Level 3: The last category of performance level should give characteristics of an unacceptable level of performance.

The performance rating scale can be given as; ranks such as numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) or grades (A, B, C) or as descriptors such as excellent, good, satisfactory, and needs improvement. The example given earlier can use these descriptors. Each character and definition of the performance levels should be mutually exclusive.

As a result, an even number of performance levels should be used to avoid categorizing levels with cross-over characteristics and descriptions. Performance levels should be supplied in the columns and must follow an order, preferably best to worst.    

Write a description for each performance level

The assessor should then provide short, measurable, and specific descriptions or statements for each performance level. The description should be able to assess and categorize assignments that are being assessed. Ensure the template is limited to one page to make it easier to use.

Test rubric

The template is then tested by applying it to an assignment and sharing the assessment results with colleagues. Have them evaluate how effective the rubric is in grading performances based on shared organizational grading systems and shared expectations.

Get feedback and revise

Once feedback is obtained, review the template and incorporate any improvements required or remove any notable issues.

Smart Tips to Develop a Good Rubic

How well a rubric is developed influences the accuracy of its results (scores). Below are essential tips to keep in mind when creating one:

  • Find and adapt an existing rubric: Due to the divergent expectations of different assessors, it is rare to find an existing one that highlights all the expectations of a project or assignment. While a project-specific can be created, it may take time. Therefore, it is always best to look for a closely resembling rubric, maybe from a colleague, and modify/adapt it to fit the situation. 
  • Evaluate the template: Review the template to add or remove. An effective one must relate to the assessor’s expectations and be feasible for the project. Irrelevant elements should be removed.
  • Collect samples of student work: Collect samples of the student or employee performance that meet the expectations at each performance level to act as benchmarks or exemplars of quality at the different levels. Samples are essential for highlighting characteristics at different scale levels.

Free Political Cartoon Rubric Template for Word File

Pros and Cons of It

The use of rubrics has its advantages and disadvantages. This article will look at the pros and cons that teachers and employers should be aware of when assessing the performance of their students and employees, respectively.

One of the merits template is its ability to give feedback to the person being assessed. Feedback is a crucial element in helping students and employees identify their strengths and weaknesses and promoting growth in performance. Students and workers can know the areas that led to a poor assessment report and learn how to improve on these areas.

They promote metacognition development by promoting critical thinking among students and workers. Rubrics justify scores and grades, demonstrating that students earned their awarded grades rather than just being given them. This fosters better performances in the future as the person being assessed becomes aware of what is expected of them.

Rubrics are criterion-based rather than norm-based. This means they assess performance based on the set criteria rather than relativity – conscious or subconscious comparison with other works. By having criteria to measure performance, assessors can make better decisions and limit bias when awarding scores.

Fairness is integral in academics and business. Their use ensures a fixed set of standards is used in evaluating a student’s or employee’s performance. Therefore, regardless of how divergent the student’s or employee’s approach is, it is graded depending on how effectively it satisfies the assessor’s expectations.

There is no standard or fixed scale for rubrics. Assessors can use scales as they see fit, and in some cases, this may compromise its effectiveness. On extreme scales, too few or too many options lead to an ineffective one because too few options do not offer enough details. Too many options are difficult to interpret due to the negligible discrepancies between adjacent options.

They often use inconsistent language that may result in misinterpretations. It is recommended that parallelism and consistency be maintained throughout the description of each performance level.

For example, in a rubric that assesses the relevance of a paper to the topic, the levels can be described as follows:

  • Level A – unimportant
  • Level B – slightly unimportant
  • Level C – moderately important
  • Level D – important

The rubric has not used parallelism and consistency due to the combination of unimportant and essential definitions. A better one would be as follows:

  • Level A – Least important
  • Level B – moderately important
  • Level C – important
  • Level D – most important

Rubrics that use solid or negative language such as “Not,” “Never,” or “None” to describe poor or low-level performances are known to counter their benefits as they tend to discourage students and workers. The use of slightly, minor, or un- is advocated for.

Sometimes they tend to be vague when defining the characteristics of each performance level. Criteria should be observable and measurable, and how these are achieved should be specified when describing each scale level.

A thesis that is always strong can be characterized as specific, original, and evidence-based. In contrast, a thesis that is usually substantial can be defined as defendable and evidence-based. The characteristic “originality” distinguishes the two without relying on the subjective terms “always” and “usually.”

Editable Resume Grading Rubric Template for Word File

Key Takeaways

Assessments are necessary for academics and business. A rubric is an effective way of maintaining accurate and consistent student and employee performance records. They also help in offering feedback to the individuals being assessed. Therefore, more than an assessment tool, it is a communication tool between teachers/employers and students/workers. 

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Assessment Rubrics

A rubric is commonly defined as a tool that articulates the expectations for an assignment by listing criteria, and for each criteria, describing levels of quality (Andrade, 2000; Arter & Chappuis, 2007; Stiggins, 2001). Criteria are used in determining the level at which student work meets expectations. Markers of quality give students a clear idea about what must be done to demonstrate a certain level of mastery, understanding, or proficiency (i.e., "Exceeds Expectations" does xyz, "Meets Expectations" does only xy or yz, "Developing" does only x or y or z). Rubrics can be used for any assignment in a course, or for any way in which students are asked to demonstrate what they've learned. They can also be used to facilitate self and peer-reviews of student work.

Rubrics aren't just for summative evaluation. They can be used as a teaching tool as well. When used as part of a formative assessment, they can help students understand both the holistic nature and/or specific analytics of learning expected, the level of learning expected, and then make decisions about their current level of learning to inform revision and improvement (Reddy & Andrade, 2010). 

Why use rubrics?

Rubrics help instructors:

Provide students with feedback that is clear, directed and focused on ways to improve learning.

Demystify assignment expectations so students can focus on the work instead of guessing "what the instructor wants."

Reduce time spent on grading and develop consistency in how you evaluate student learning across students and throughout a class.

Rubrics help students:

Focus their efforts on completing assignments in line with clearly set expectations.

Self and Peer-reflect on their learning, making informed changes to achieve the desired learning level.

Developing a Rubric

During the process of developing a rubric, instructors might:

Select an assignment for your course - ideally one you identify as time intensive to grade, or students report as having unclear expectations.

Decide what you want students to demonstrate about their learning through that assignment. These are your criteria.

Identify the markers of quality on which you feel comfortable evaluating students’ level of learning - often along with a numerical scale (i.e., "Accomplished," "Emerging," "Beginning" for a developmental approach).

Give students the rubric ahead of time. Advise them to use it in guiding their completion of the assignment.

It can be overwhelming to create a rubric for every assignment in a class at once, so start by creating one rubric for one assignment. See how it goes and develop more from there! Also, do not reinvent the wheel. Rubric templates and examples exist all over the Internet, or consider asking colleagues if they have developed rubrics for similar assignments. 

Sample Rubrics

Examples of holistic and analytic rubrics : see Tables 2 & 3 in “Rubrics: Tools for Making Learning Goals and Evaluation Criteria Explicit for Both Teachers and Learners” (Allen & Tanner, 2006)

Examples across assessment types : see “Creating and Using Rubrics,” Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and & Educational Innovation

“VALUE Rubrics” : see the Association of American Colleges and Universities set of free, downloadable rubrics, with foci including creative thinking, problem solving, and information literacy. 

Andrade, H. 2000. Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning. Educational Leadership 57, no. 5: 13–18. Arter, J., and J. Chappuis. 2007. Creating and recognizing quality rubrics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. Stiggins, R.J. 2001. Student-involved classroom assessment. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Reddy, Y., & Andrade, H. (2010). A review of rubric use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation In Higher Education, 35(4), 435-448.

15 Free Rubric Templates

By Kate Eby | August 30, 2018

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Often found in the education sector, a rubric is a tool for scoring performance based on specific criteria. However, businesses also use a rubric to measure things like employee performance and to evaluate the success of a project or product. Below you’ll find a range of free, customizable rubric templates for business and academic use. Save time and create an efficient grading process with easy-to-use, printable rubric templates.

Project Management Rubric

Project Management Rubric Template

Evaluate project managers’ performance with this Excel rubric template. Enter the stages of a project or important objectives and milestones. Then use the rating scale to judge and provide a basic description of the management of those stages. This template can also be a useful self-evaluation tool for project managers to learn from and inform decision making on future projects.

Download Project Management Rubric

Excel | Word | PDF | Smartsheet

Business Plan Rubric

Business Plan Rubric Template

Break down your business plan into sections and use this rubric to evaluate the strength of each part. Is your mission statement merely sufficient, highly advanced, or somewhere inbetween? Is your market analysis thorough, or does it need to be fleshed out? Use this template to identify weak points and areas for improvement in your business plan.

Download Business Plan Rubric

Job Interview Rubric Template

Job Interview Rubric Template

Use this rubric template to evaluate job interview candidates. Add your own criteria based on the applicant’s resume, references, skills, experience, and other important factors. The template includes a scoring scale with four levels as well as an additional column for criteria that the job candidate is missing or that are not applicable.

Download Job Interview Rubric Template

Excel | Word | PDF

Employee Performance Rubric

Employee Performance Rubric Template

Create a rubric for ranking employee performance in selected areas, such as customer service, teamwork, leadership, time management, attendance, and other criteria. This template provides a simple way to create a comprehensive evaluation tool that you can use for multiple employees. This system of measurement helps support a fair evaluation process and provides an overview of an employee’s performance in an organized format.

Download Employee Performance Rubric

Excel | Word | PDF  | Smartsheet

Product Rubric Template

Product Rubric Template

Before investing in a new product, use this rubric template to determine how it aligns with your business objectives. You can rank and compare several products to get an idea of which one may offer the best return on investment. This rubric template is available as a Word or fillable PDF file, making it easy to print and use in a team meeting or brainstorming session .

Download Product Rubric Template

Marketing Plan Rubric

Marketing Plan Rubric Template

Evaluate all the elements of your marketing plan, from research and analysis to strategy and action items. Make sure your marketing plan can stand up to scrutiny and deliver results. Use this rubric template to add up points for each category and calculate a total score. The scoring system will indicate the overall strength of the marketing plan as well as which sections you need to refine or develop further.

Download Marketing Plan Rubric

Excel | Word  | PDF

Group Project Rubric Template

Group Project Rubric Template

This teamwork rubric allows teachers to assess how a group handled a shared project. Evaluate both process and content by including criteria such as supporting materials used, evidence of subject knowledge, organization, and collaboration. The template offers a simple layout, but you can add grading components and detailed criteria for meeting project objectives.

Download Group Project Rubric Template

Art Grading Rubric Template

Art Grading Rubric Template

Create a rubric for grading art projects that illustrates whether students were able to meet or exceed the expectations of an assignment. You can edit this template and use it with any grade level, student ability, or type of art project. Choose your grading criteria based on what you want to evaluate, such as technique, use and care of classroom tools, or creative vision.

Download Art Grading Rubric Template

Science Experiment Rubric

Science Experiment Rubric Template

Evaluate science experiments or lab reports with this scoring rubric template. Criteria may be based on the scientific process, how procedures were followed, how data and analysis were handled, and presentation skills (if relevant). Easily modify this rubric template to include additional rows or columns for a detailed look at a student’s performance.

Download Science Experiment Rubric

Poster Rubric Template

Poster Rubric Template

This Google Docs rubric template is designed for scoring an elementary school poster assignment. Include whatever elements you want to evaluate — such as graphics used, grammar, time management, or creativity — and add up the total score for each student’s work. Teachers can share the rubric with students to inform them of what to aim for with their poster projects.

Download Poster Rubric Template

Excel | Word | PDF | Google Docs

Research Project Rubric

Research Project Rubric Template

Use this template to create a research project, written report, or other writing assignment rubric. Assess a student’s analytical and organizational skills, use of references, style and tone, and overall success of completing the assignment. The template includes room for additional comments about the student’s work.

‌ Download Research Project Rubric — Excel

Oral Presentation Rubric Template

Oral Presentation Rubric Template

List all of the expectations for an effective oral presentation along with a point scale to create a detailed rubric. Areas to assess may include the thoroughness of the project, speaking and presentation skills, use of visual aids, and accuracy. Use this information to support the grading process and to show students areas they need to strengthen.

Download Oral Presentation Rubric Template

Grading Rubric Template

Grading Rubric Template

This grading rubric template provides a general outline that you can use to evaluate any type of assignment, project, or work performance. You can also use the template for self-assessment or career planning to help identify skills or training to develop. Quickly save this Google Docs template to your Google Drive account and share it with others.

Download Grading Rubric Template

Blank Rubric Template

Blank Rubric Template

Add your own information to this blank, editable template to create an evaluation tool that suits your particular needs. You can download the rubric as a Word or PDF file and start using it immediately. Use color or formatting changes to customize the template for use in a classroom, workplace, or other setting.

Download Blank Rubric Template

Holistic Rubric Template

Holistic Rubric Template

A holistic rubric provides a more generalized evaluation system by grouping together assignment requirements or performance expectations into a few levels for scoring. This method is different from analytic rubrics, which break down performance criteria into more detailed levels (which allows for more fine-tuned scoring and specific feedback for the student or employee). This holistic rubric template offers a basic outline for defining the characteristics that constitute each scoring level.

Download Holistic Rubric Template

What Is a Rubric Template?

A rubric is a tool for evaluating and scoring performance based on a set of criteria, and it provides an organized and consistent method for evaluation. Teachers commonly use rubrics to evaluate student performance at all levels of education, from elementary and high school to college. They can also be used in business settings to evaluate a project, employee, product, or strategic plan.

How to Make a Rubric Template

A variety of options exist for creating rubrics, including software, online tools, and downloadable templates. Templates provide a simple, reusable, and cost-effective solution for making a basic rubric. After downloading a rubric outline template, you can add your own criteria, text, and increase the number of rows or columns as needed.

All rubrics typically contain some version of the following elements:

  • A description of the task to be evaluated
  • A rating scale with at least three levels
  • The criteria used to judge the task
  • Descriptive language to illustrate how well the task (or performance, item, etc.) meets expectations

The rating scale on a rubric is often a combination of numbers and words (language often ranging from low to high, or poor to excellent quality). Using descriptive language allows for a thorough understanding of different elements of a task or performance, while a numeric scale allows you to quantitatively define an overall score. For example, level one may be worth one point and could be described as “beginner,” “low quality,” or “needs improvement;” level two could be worth two points and described as “fair” or “satisfactory.” The scale would continue up from there, ending with the highest level of exemplary performance.

Each of the criteria can be expanded upon with descriptive phrases to illustrate performance expectations. For example, if you were to evaluate an employee, and one of the criteria is communication skills, you would elaborate on each potential level of performance, such as in the following sample phrases:

  • Level 1: Rarely shares ideas or exhibits teamwork during meetings or group projects.
  • Level 2: Occasionally shares ideas or exhibits teamwork during meetings.
  • Level 3: Often shares ideas or exhibits teamwork during meetings or group projects.
  • Level 4: Frequently shares ideas or exhibits teamwork in meetings or group projects.

The above copy is just one example phrase with four different qualifiers, but several sentences may be required to demonstrate different aspects of communication skills and how well they are performed in various situations.

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15 Helpful Scoring Rubric Examples for All Grades and Subjects

In the end, they actually make grading easier.

Collage of scoring rubric examples including written response rubric and interactive notebook rubric

When it comes to student assessment and evaluation, there are a lot of methods to consider. In some cases, testing is the best way to assess a student’s knowledge, and the answers are either right or wrong. But often, assessing a student’s performance is much less clear-cut. In these situations, a scoring rubric is often the way to go, especially if you’re using standards-based grading . Here’s what you need to know about this useful tool, along with lots of rubric examples to get you started.

What is a scoring rubric?

In the United States, a rubric is a guide that lays out the performance expectations for an assignment. It helps students understand what’s required of them, and guides teachers through the evaluation process. (Note that in other countries, the term “rubric” may instead refer to the set of instructions at the beginning of an exam. To avoid confusion, some people use the term “scoring rubric” instead.)

A rubric generally has three parts:

  • Performance criteria: These are the various aspects on which the assignment will be evaluated. They should align with the desired learning outcomes for the assignment.
  • Rating scale: This could be a number system (often 1 to 4) or words like “exceeds expectations, meets expectations, below expectations,” etc.
  • Indicators: These describe the qualities needed to earn a specific rating for each of the performance criteria. The level of detail may vary depending on the assignment and the purpose of the rubric itself.

Rubrics take more time to develop up front, but they help ensure more consistent assessment, especially when the skills being assessed are more subjective. A well-developed rubric can actually save teachers a lot of time when it comes to grading. What’s more, sharing your scoring rubric with students in advance often helps improve performance . This way, students have a clear picture of what’s expected of them and what they need to do to achieve a specific grade or performance rating.

Learn more about why and how to use a rubric here.

Types of Rubric

There are three basic rubric categories, each with its own purpose.

Holistic Rubric

A holistic scoring rubric laying out the criteria for a rating of 1 to 4 when creating an infographic

Source: Cambrian College

This type of rubric combines all the scoring criteria in a single scale. They’re quick to create and use, but they have drawbacks. If a student’s work spans different levels, it can be difficult to decide which score to assign. They also make it harder to provide feedback on specific aspects.

Traditional letter grades are a type of holistic rubric. So are the popular “hamburger rubric” and “ cupcake rubric ” examples. Learn more about holistic rubrics here.

Analytic Rubric

Layout of an analytic scoring rubric, describing the different sections like criteria, rating, and indicators

Source: University of Nebraska

Analytic rubrics are much more complex and generally take a great deal more time up front to design. They include specific details of the expected learning outcomes, and descriptions of what criteria are required to meet various performance ratings in each. Each rating is assigned a point value, and the total number of points earned determines the overall grade for the assignment.

Though they’re more time-intensive to create, analytic rubrics actually save time while grading. Teachers can simply circle or highlight any relevant phrases in each rating, and add a comment or two if needed. They also help ensure consistency in grading, and make it much easier for students to understand what’s expected of them.

Learn more about analytic rubrics here.

Developmental Rubric

A developmental rubric for kindergarten skills, with illustrations to describe the indicators of criteria

Source: Deb’s Data Digest

A developmental rubric is a type of analytic rubric, but it’s used to assess progress along the way rather than determining a final score on an assignment. The details in these rubrics help students understand their achievements, as well as highlight the specific skills they still need to improve.

Developmental rubrics are essentially a subset of analytic rubrics. They leave off the point values, though, and focus instead on giving feedback using the criteria and indicators of performance.

Learn how to use developmental rubrics here.

Ready to create your own rubrics? Find general tips on designing rubrics here. Then, check out these examples across all grades and subjects to inspire you.

Elementary School Rubric Examples

These elementary school rubric examples come from real teachers who use them with their students. Adapt them to fit your needs and grade level.

Reading Fluency Rubric

A developmental rubric example for reading fluency

You can use this one as an analytic rubric by counting up points to earn a final score, or just to provide developmental feedback. There’s a second rubric page available specifically to assess prosody (reading with expression).

Learn more: Teacher Thrive

Reading Comprehension Rubric

Reading comprehension rubric, with criteria and indicators for different comprehension skills

The nice thing about this rubric is that you can use it at any grade level, for any text. If you like this style, you can get a reading fluency rubric here too.

Learn more: Pawprints Resource Center

Written Response Rubric

Two anchor charts, one showing

Rubrics aren’t just for huge projects. They can also help kids work on very specific skills, like this one for improving written responses on assessments.

Learn more: Dianna Radcliffe: Teaching Upper Elementary and More

Interactive Notebook Rubric

Interactive Notebook rubric example, with criteria and indicators for assessment

If you use interactive notebooks as a learning tool , this rubric can help kids stay on track and meet your expectations.

Learn more: Classroom Nook

Project Rubric

Rubric that can be used for assessing any elementary school project

Use this simple rubric as it is, or tweak it to include more specific indicators for the project you have in mind.

Learn more: Tales of a Title One Teacher

Behavior Rubric

Rubric for assessing student behavior in school and classroom

Developmental rubrics are perfect for assessing behavior and helping students identify opportunities for improvement. Send these home regularly to keep parents in the loop.

Learn more: Teachers.net Gazette

Middle School Rubric Examples

In middle school, use rubrics to offer detailed feedback on projects, presentations, and more. Be sure to share them with students in advance, and encourage them to use them as they work so they’ll know if they’re meeting expectations.

Argumentative Writing Rubric

An argumentative rubric example to use with middle school students

Argumentative writing is a part of language arts, social studies, science, and more. That makes this rubric especially useful.

Learn more: Dr. Caitlyn Tucker

Role-Play Rubric

A rubric example for assessing student role play in the classroom

Role-plays can be really useful when teaching social and critical thinking skills, but it’s hard to assess them. Try a rubric like this one to evaluate and provide useful feedback.

Learn more: A Question of Influence

Art Project Rubric

A rubric used to grade middle school art projects

Art is one of those subjects where grading can feel very subjective. Bring some objectivity to the process with a rubric like this.

Source: Art Ed Guru

Diorama Project Rubric

A rubric for grading middle school diorama projects

You can use diorama projects in almost any subject, and they’re a great chance to encourage creativity. Simplify the grading process and help kids know how to make their projects shine with this scoring rubric.

Learn more: Historyourstory.com

Oral Presentation Rubric

Rubric example for grading oral presentations given by middle school students

Rubrics are terrific for grading presentations, since you can include a variety of skills and other criteria. Consider letting students use a rubric like this to offer peer feedback too.

Learn more: Bright Hub Education

High School Rubric Examples

In high school, it’s important to include your grading rubrics when you give assignments like presentations, research projects, or essays. Kids who go on to college will definitely encounter rubrics, so helping them become familiar with them now will help in the future.

Presentation Rubric

Example of a rubric used to grade a high school project presentation

Analyze a student’s presentation both for content and communication skills with a rubric like this one. If needed, create a separate one for content knowledge with even more criteria and indicators.

Learn more: Michael A. Pena Jr.

Debate Rubric

A rubric for assessing a student's performance in a high school debate

Debate is a valuable learning tool that encourages critical thinking and oral communication skills. This rubric can help you assess those skills objectively.

Learn more: Education World

Project-Based Learning Rubric

A rubric for assessing high school project based learning assignments

Implementing project-based learning can be time-intensive, but the payoffs are worth it. Try this rubric to make student expectations clear and end-of-project assessment easier.

Learn more: Free Technology for Teachers

100-Point Essay Rubric

Rubric for scoring an essay with a final score out of 100 points

Need an easy way to convert a scoring rubric to a letter grade? This example for essay writing earns students a final score out of 100 points.

Learn more: Learn for Your Life

Drama Performance Rubric

A rubric teachers can use to evaluate a student's participation and performance in a theater production

If you’re unsure how to grade a student’s participation and performance in drama class, consider this example. It offers lots of objective criteria and indicators to evaluate.

Learn more: Chase March

How do you use rubrics in your classroom? Come share your thoughts and exchange ideas in the WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, 25 of the best alternative assessment ideas ..

Scoring rubrics help establish expectations and ensure assessment consistency. Use these rubric examples to help you design your own.

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Rubrics are a set of criteria to evaluate performance on an assignment or assessment. Rubrics can communicate expectations regarding the quality of work to students and provide a standardized framework for instructors to assess work. Rubrics can be used for both formative and summative assessment. They are also crucial in encouraging self-assessment of work and structuring peer-assessments. 

Why use rubrics?

Rubrics are an important tool to assess learning in an equitable and just manner. This is because they enable:

  • A common set of standards and criteria to be uniformly applied, which can mitigate bias
  • Transparency regarding the standards and criteria on which students are evaluated
  • Efficient grading with timely and actionable feedback 
  • Identifying areas in which students need additional support and guidance 
  • The use of objective, criterion-referenced metrics for evaluation 

Some instructors may be reluctant to provide a rubric to grade assessments under the perception that it stifles student creativity (Haugnes & Russell, 2018). However, sharing the purpose of an assessment and criteria for success in the form of a rubric along with relevant examples has been shown to particularly improve the success of BIPOC, multiracial, and first-generation students (Jonsson, 2014; Winkelmes, 2016). Improved success in assessments is generally associated with an increased sense of belonging which, in turn, leads to higher student retention and more equitable outcomes in the classroom (Calkins & Winkelmes, 2018; Weisz et al., 2023). By not providing a rubric, faculty may risk having students guess the criteria on which they will be evaluated. When students have to guess what expectations are, it may unfairly disadvantage students who are first-generation, BIPOC, international, or otherwise have not been exposed to the cultural norms that have dominated higher-ed institutions in the U.S (Shapiro et al., 2023). Moreover, in such cases, criteria may be applied inconsistently for students leading to biases in grades awarded to students.

Steps for Creating a Rubric

Clearly state the purpose of the assessment, which topic(s) learners are being tested on, the type of assessment (e.g., a presentation, essay, group project), the skills they are being tested on (e.g., writing, comprehension, presentation, collaboration), and the goal of the assessment for instructors (e.g., gauging formative or summative understanding of the topic). 

Determine the specific criteria or dimensions to assess in the assessment. These criteria should align with the learning objectives or outcomes to be evaluated. These criteria typically form the rows in a rubric grid and describe the skills, knowledge, or behavior to be demonstrated. The set of criteria may include, for example, the idea/content, quality of arguments, organization, grammar, citations and/or creativity in writing. These criteria may form separate rows or be compiled in a single row depending on the type of rubric.

(See row headers  of  Figure 1 )

Create a scale of performance levels that describe the degree of proficiency attained for each criterion. The scale typically has 4 to 5 levels (although there may be fewer levels depending on the type of rubrics used). The rubrics should also have meaningful labels (e.g., not meeting expectations, approaching expectations, meeting expectations, exceeding expectations). When assigning levels of performance, use inclusive language that can inculcate a growth mindset among students, especially when work may be otherwise deemed to not meet the mark. Some examples include, “Does not yet meet expectations,” “Considerable room for improvement,” “ Progressing,” “Approaching,” “Emerging,” “Needs more work,” instead of using terms like “Unacceptable,” “Fails,” “Poor,” or “Below Average.”

(See column headers  of  Figure 1 )

Develop a clear and concise descriptor for each combination of criterion and performance level. These descriptors should provide examples or explanations of what constitutes each level of performance for each criterion. Typically, instructors should start by describing the highest and lowest level of performance for that criterion and then describing intermediate performance for that criterion. It is important to keep the language uniform across all columns, e.g., use syntax and words that are aligned in each column for a given criteria. 

(See cells  of  Figure 1 )

It is important to consider how each criterion is weighted and for each criterion to reflect the importance of learning objectives being tested. For example, if the primary goal of a research proposal is to test mastery of content and application of knowledge, these criteria should be weighted more heavily compared to other criteria (e.g., grammar, style of presentation). This can be done by associating a different scoring system for each criteria (e.g., Following a scale of 8-6-4-2 points for each level of performance in higher weight criteria and 4-3-2-1 points for each level of performance for lower weight criteria). Further, the number of points awarded across levels of performance should be evenly spaced (e.g., 10-8-6-4 instead of 10-6-3-1). Finally, if there is a letter grade associated with a particular assessment, consider how it relates to scores. For example, instead of having students receive an A only if they received the highest level of performance on each criterion, consider assigning an A grade to a range of scores (28 - 30 total points) or a combination of levels of performance (e.g., exceeds expectations on higher weight criteria and meets expectations on other criteria). 

(See the numerical values in the column headers  of  Figure 1 )

 a close up of a score sheet

Figure 1:  Graphic describing the five basic elements of a rubric

Note : Consider using a template rubric that can be used to evaluate similar activities in the classroom to avoid the fatigue of developing multiple rubrics. Some tools include Rubistar or iRubric which provide suggested words for each criteria depending on the type of assessment. Additionally, the above format can be incorporated in rubrics that can be directly added in Canvas or in the grid view of rubrics in gradescope which are common grading tools. Alternately, tables within a Word processor or Spreadsheet may also be used to build a rubric. You may also adapt the example rubrics provided below to the specific learning goals for the assessment using the blank template rubrics we have provided against each type of rubric. Watch the linked video for a quick introduction to designing a rubric . Word document (docx) files linked below will automatically download to your device whereas pdf files will open in a new tab.

Types of Rubrics

In these rubrics, one specifies at least two criteria and provides a separate score for each criterion. The steps outlined above for creating a rubric are typical for an analytic style rubric. Analytic rubrics are used to provide detailed feedback to students and help identify strengths as well as particular areas in need of improvement. These can be particularly useful when providing formative feedback to students, for student peer assessment and self-assessments, or for project-based summative assessments that evaluate student learning across multiple criteria. You may use a blank analytic rubric template (docx) or adapt an existing sample of an analytic rubric (pdf) . 

figure 2

Fig 2: Graphic describing a sample analytic rubric (adopted from George Mason University, 2013)

These are a subset of analytical rubrics that are typically used to assess student performance and engagement during a learning period but not the end product. Such rubrics are typically used to assess soft skills and behaviors that are less tangible (e.g., intercultural maturity, empathy, collaboration skills). These rubrics are useful in assessing the extent to which students develop a particular skill, ability, or value in experiential learning based programs or skills. They are grounded in the theory of development (King, 2005). Examples include an intercultural knowledge and competence rubric (docx)  and a global learning rubric (docx) .

These rubrics consider all criteria evaluated on one scale, providing a single score that gives an overall impression of a student’s performance on an assessment.These rubrics also emphasize the overall quality of a student’s work, rather than delineating shortfalls of their work. However, a limitation of the holistic rubrics is that they are not useful for providing specific, nuanced feedback or to identify areas of improvement. Thus, they might be useful when grading summative assessments in which students have previously received detailed feedback using analytic or single-point rubrics. They may also be used to provide quick formative feedback for smaller assignments where not more than 2-3 criteria are being tested at once. Try using our blank holistic rubric template docx)  or adapt an existing sample of holistic rubric (pdf) . 

figure 3

Fig 3: Graphic describing a sample holistic rubric (adopted from Teaching Commons, DePaul University)

These rubrics contain only two levels of performance (e.g., yes/no, present/absent) across a longer list of criteria (beyond 5 levels). Checklist rubrics have the advantage of providing a quick assessment of criteria given the binary assessment of criteria that are either met or are not met. Consequently, they are preferable when initiating self- or  peer-assessments of learning given that it simplifies evaluations to be more objective and criteria can elicit only one of two responses allowing uniform and quick grading. For similar reasons, such rubrics are useful for faculty in providing quick formative feedback since it immediately highlights the specific criteria to improve on. Such rubrics are also used in grading summative assessments in courses utilizing alternative grading systems such as specifications grading, contract grading or a credit/no credit grading system wherein a minimum threshold of performance has to be met for the assessment. Having said that, developing rubrics from existing analytical rubrics may require considerable investment upfront given that criteria have to be phrased in a way that can only elicit binary responses. Here is a link to the checklist rubric template (docx) .

 Graphic describing a sample checklist rubric

Fig. 4: Graphic describing a sample checklist rubric

A single point rubric is a modified version of a checklist style rubric, in that it specifies a single column of criteria. However, rather than only indicating whether expectations are met or not, as happens in a checklist rubric, a single point rubric allows instructors to specify ways in which criteria exceeds or does not meet expectations. Here the criteria to be tested are laid out in a central column describing the average expectation for the assignment. Instructors indicate areas of improvement on the left side of the criteria, whereas areas of strength in student performance are indicated on the right side. These types of rubrics provide flexibility in scoring, and are typically used in courses with alternative grading systems such as ungrading or contract grading. However, they do require the instructors to provide detailed feedback for each student, which can be unfeasible for assessments in large classes. Here is a link to the single point rubric template (docx) .

Fig. 5 Graphic describing a single point rubric (adopted from Teaching Commons, DePaul University)

Fig. 5 Graphic describing a single point rubric (adopted from Teaching Commons, DePaul University)

Best Practices for Designing and Implementing Rubrics

When designing the rubric format, descriptors and criteria should be presented in a way that is compatible with screen readers and reading assistive technology. For example, avoid using only color, jargon, or complex terminology to convey information. In case you do use color, pictures or graphics, try providing alternative formats for rubrics, such as plain text documents. Explore resources from the CU Digital Accessibility Office to learn more.

Co-creating rubrics can help students to engage in higher-order thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation. Further, it allows students to take ownership of their own learning by determining the criteria of their work they aspire towards. For graduate classes or upper-level students, one way of doing this may be to provide learning outcomes of the project, and let students develop the rubric on their own. However, students in introductory classes may need more scaffolding by providing them a draft and leaving room for modification (Stevens & Levi 2013). Watch the linked video for tips on co-creating rubrics with students . Further, involving teaching assistants in designing a rubric can help in getting feedback on expectations for an assessment prior to implementing and norming a rubric. 

When first designing a rubric, it is important to compare grades awarded for the same assessment by multiple graders to make sure the criteria are applied uniformly and reliably for the same level of performance. Further, ensure that the levels of performance in student work can be adequately distinguished using a rubric. Such a norming protocol is particularly important to also do at the start of any course in which multiple graders use the same rubric to grade an assessment (e.g., recitation sections, lab sections, teaching team). Here, instructors may select a subset of assignments that all graders evaluate using the same rubric, followed by a discussion to identify any discrepancies in criteria applied and ways to address them. Such strategies can make the rubrics more reliable, effective, and clear.

Sharing the rubric with students prior to an assessment can help familiarize students with an instructor’s expectations. This can help students master their learning outcomes by guiding their work in the appropriate direction and increase student motivation. Further, providing the rubric to students can help encourage metacognition and ability to self-assess learning.

Sample Rubrics

Below are links to rubric templates designed by a team of experts assembled by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to assess 16 major learning goals. These goals are a part of the Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) program. All of these examples are analytic rubrics and have detailed criteria to test specific skills. However, since any given assessment typically tests multiple skills, instructors are encouraged to develop their own rubric by utilizing criteria picked from a combination of the rubrics linked below.

  • Civic knowledge and engagement-local and global
  • Creative thinking
  • Critical thinking
  • Ethical reasoning
  • Foundations and skills for lifelong learning
  • Information literacy
  • Integrative and applied learning
  • Intercultural knowledge and competence
  • Inquiry and analysis
  • Oral communication
  • Problem solving
  • Quantitative literacy
  • Written Communication

Note : Clicking on the above links will automatically download them to your device in Microsoft Word format. These links have been created and are hosted by Kansas State University . Additional information regarding the VALUE Rubrics may be found on the AAC&U homepage . 

Below are links to sample rubrics that have been developed for different types of assessments. These rubrics follow the analytical rubric template, unless mentioned otherwise. However, these rubrics can be modified into other types of rubrics (e.g., checklist, holistic or single point rubrics) based on the grading system and goal of assessment (e.g., formative or summative). As mentioned previously, these rubrics can be modified using the blank template provided.

  • Oral presentations  
  • Painting Portfolio (single-point rubric)
  • Research Paper
  • Video Storyboard

Additional information:

Office of Assessment and Curriculum Support. (n.d.). Creating and using rubrics . University of Hawai’i, Mānoa

Calkins, C., & Winkelmes, M. A. (2018). A teaching method that boosts UNLV student retention . UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo , 3.

Fraile, J., Panadero, E., & Pardo, R. (2017). Co-creating rubrics: The effects on self-regulated learning, self-efficacy and performance of establishing assessment criteria with students. Studies In Educational Evaluation , 53, 69-76

Haugnes, N., & Russell, J. L. (2016). Don’t box me in: Rubrics for àrtists and Designers . To Improve the Academy , 35 (2), 249–283. 

Jonsson, A. (2014). Rubrics as a way of providing transparency in assessment , Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education , 39(7), 840-852 

McCartin, L. (2022, February 1). Rubrics! an equity-minded practice . University of Northern Colorado

Shapiro, S., Farrelly, R., & Tomaš, Z. (2023). Chapter 4: Effective and Equitable Assignments and Assessments. Fostering International Student Success in higher education (pp, 61-87, second edition). TESOL Press.

Stevens, D. D., & Levi, A. J. (2013). Introduction to rubrics: An assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback, and promote student learning (second edition). Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Teaching Commons (n.d.). Types of Rubrics . DePaul University

Teaching Resources (n.d.). Rubric best practices, examples, and templates . NC State University 

Winkelmes, M., Bernacki, M., Butler, J., Zochowski, M., Golanics, J., & Weavil, K.H. (2016). A teaching intervention that increases underserved college students’ success . Peer Review , 8(1/2), 31-36.

Weisz, C., Richard, D., Oleson, K., Winkelmes, M.A., Powley, C., Sadik, A., & Stone, B. (in progress, 2023). Transparency, confidence, belonging and skill development among 400 community college students in the state of Washington . 

Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2009). Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) . 

Canvas Community. (2021, August 24). How do I add a rubric in a course? Canvas LMS Community.

 Center for Teaching & Learning. (2021, March 03). Overview of Rubrics . University of Colorado, Boulder

 Center for Teaching & Learning. (2021, March 18). Best practices to co-create rubrics with students . University of Colorado, Boulder.

Chase, D., Ferguson, J. L., & Hoey, J. J. (2014). Assessment in creative disciplines: Quantifying and qualifying the aesthetic . Common Ground Publishing.

Feldman, J. (2018). Grading for equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools and classrooms . Corwin Press, CA.

Gradescope (n.d.). Instructor: Assignment - Grade Submissions . Gradescope Help Center. 

Henning, G., Baker, G., Jankowski, N., Lundquist, A., & Montenegro, E. (Eds.). (2022). Reframing assessment to center equity . Stylus Publishing. 

 King, P. M. & Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2005). A developmental model of intercultural maturity . Journal of College Student Development . 46(2), 571-592.

Selke, M. J. G. (2013). Rubric assessment goes to college: Objective, comprehensive evaluation of student work. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

The Institute for Habits of Mind. (2023, January 9). Creativity Rubrics - The Institute for Habits of Mind . 

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Create or reuse a rubric for an assignment

This article is for teachers.

In Classroom, you can create, reuse, and grade with rubrics for individual assignments. You can also export rubrics to share them with other teachers. 

You can give feedback with scored or unscored rubrics. If a rubric is scored, students see their scores when you return their assignments.

Add or view a rubric

Rubric overview.

Labelled rubric

Number Name Description Example
The name of a criterion you're evaluating
A brief description of the criterion’s focus
Under a criterion, the title of a specific performance level. A word, phrase, letter, or number.
Under a criterion, a description of the expectations or characteristics for a specific performance level
The total points available for the rubric
The total points available for a criterion
The points available for a specific criterion level

Create a rubric

You can create up to 50 criteria per rubric and up to 10 performance levels per criterion. 

Note : Before you can create a rubric, the assignment must have a title.

  • On a computer, go to classroom.google.com .

and then

  • (Optional) If you use scoring, next to Sort the order of points by , select  Descending or Ascending . Note : With scoring, you can add performance levels in any order. The levels automatically arrange by point value. 
  • Under Criterion title , enter a criterion, such as  Grammar , Teamwork , or Citations .
  • (Optional) To add a criterion description, under  Criterion description , enter the description. 
  • Under Points , enter the number of points awarded for the performance level. Note : The rubric's total score automatically updates as you add points.
  • Under Level title , enter a title for the performance level, such as  Excellent , Full mastery , or Level A .
  • Under Description , enter the expectations for the level.

rubric template for writing assignment

  • To add a blank criterion, in the lower-left corner, click Add a criterion and repeat steps 6–11.

rubric template for writing assignment

  • Click Save .

Reuse a rubric

You can reuse rubrics you previously created. You can preview the rubric you want to reuse, and then edit it in your new assignment. Your edits don’t affect the original rubric. To reuse a rubric, your new assignment needs a title.

  • To use a rubric from the same class, under Select rubric , click a title.

rubric template for writing assignment

  • Click Select .

Add a rubric to an existing assignment

  • Create rubric
  • Reuse rubric
  • Import from Sheets

See an assignment’s rubric

Tip: If you don't see a rubric, your teacher hasn't added one to the assignment yet.

rubric template for writing assignment

Export a rubric to share it:

Go to classroom.google.com  and click Sign In.

Sign in with your Google Account. For example,  [email protected] or [email protected] .  Learn more .

  • At the bottom of the assignment, click the rubric.

rubric template for writing assignment

  • To share your entire folder, right-click the Rubrics Exports folder.
  • Select Share and enter the teacher's name or email address.
  • Click Send .

Import a shared rubric:

rubric template for writing assignment

  • (Optional) Make any edits to the rubric.
  • Click Save . Note: If the rubric doesn't save, export and import it again. Edits made to the Sheets file could cause the import to fail.

Edit or delete a rubric

Edit an assignment’s rubric.

Before you start grading:

  • You can edit and delete an assignment's rubric.
  • You can't "lock" the rubric so that it isn't editable.

If you edit a rubric, the changes apply only to the assignment you're in. After you start grading, you can't edit or delete the assignment's rubric.

Delete an assignment’s rubric

This option isn’t available after you start grading with the rubric.

  • To confirm, click  Delete .

Related topics

  • Grade with a rubric
  • View or update your gradebook
  • Open your Google Drive folder as a teacher
  • Share files from Google Drive
  • Share folders in Google Drive

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Alliant International University Center for Teaching Excellence

Rubrics for Written Assignments

Introduction.

Most graduate courses require students to produce written work although these products differ in purpose and required parameters (e.g., format, length, or tone). Thus, a faculty member might be called on to evaluate short reflection papers, longer lab reports, or longer still term papers. In evaluating a written product, it is important to choose or develop a rubric in order to bring consistency, fairness, and clarity to the task. Creating Rubrics

An analytic rubric is a scoring guide used to evaluate performance, a product, or a project. It has three parts: 1) performance criteria; 2) rating scale; and 3) indicators. How to Develop a Rubric

Using a rubric to evaluate student written work is helpful for both faculty and students. For faculty, rubrics

  • Reduce the time spent grading by allowing instructors to refer to a substantive description without writing long comments
  • Help to identify strengths and weaknesses across an entire class and adjust instruction appropriately
  • Help to ensure consistency across time and across graders
  • Reduce the uncertainty that can accompany grading
  • Discourage complaints about grades

Rubrics help students to

  • Understand instructors’ expectations and standards
  • Use instructor feedback to improve their performance
  • Monitor and assess their own progress
  • Recognize their strengths and weaknesses and direct their efforts accordingly

Benefitting from Rubrics

Developing a Rubric

Developing a rubric entails the following steps:

  • ​​​​​​​List all the possible criteria students should demonstrate in the assignment.
  • Decide which of those criteria are crucial. Ideally, the rubric will have three to five performance criteria.
  • Criteria should be: unambiguous, clearly stated, measurable, precise, and distinct.
  • Prioritize the criteria by relating them to the learning objectives for the unit and determining which skills are essential at competent or proficiency levels for the assignment.
  • Basic, Developing, Accomplished, Exemplary
  • Poor, Below Average, Average, Above Average, Excellent
  • Below Expectations, Basic, Proficient, Outstanding
  • Unsatisfactory, Basic, Competent, Distinguished
  • Developing, Acceptable, Target
  • Does Not Meet Expectations, Meets Expectations, Exceeds Expectations
  • 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
  • Low Mastery, Average Mastery, High Mastery
  • Missing, unclear, clear, thorough
  • Below expectations, basic, proficient, outstanding
  • Never, rarely, sometimes, often, always
  • Novice, apprentice, proficient, master ​​​​​​​
  • Develop indicators of quality. Define the performance expected of the ideal assessment for each criterion. Begin with the highest level of the scale to define top quality performance and create indicators for all performance levels.
  • Discuss the rubric with students so that they are clear on the expectations. Students can even help create the rubric.
  • Does the rubric relate to the outcome(s) being measured?
  • Does it cover important criteria for student performance?
  • Does the top end of the rubric reflect excellence?
  • Are the criteria and scales well-defined?
  • Share the rubric with colleagues, students, and experts
  • Test the rubric on samples of student work
  • If multiple raters are being used, discuss common definitions, standards, and expectations for quality and practice using the rubric and comparing ratings to determine consistency in judgments across raters.

Rubrics for Written Work

There are, of course, many types of student papers, which differ in the learning outcomes they represent and the skills they are meant to develop. Ideally, an instructor will develop a unique rubric for each assignment, based on the intent of the assignment and the relevant learning objectives as well as the overall learning objectives for the course. When creating a rubric to evaluate a written assignment, an instructor should be able to answer the following questions:

  • What will distinguish the best papers from the least effective?
  • What skills is this task meant to teach that should be evaluated with the rubric?
  • What is the paper supposed to accomplish, and what is the process that the writer should go through to accomplish those goals?
  • How will I know if they have learned what the task calls for them to learn?

Designing and Using Rubrics

A review of a sample of rubrics for evaluating papers indicates that they vary in both the number of dimensions and the content of the dimensions included used; however, it is possible to extract several common dimensions for evaluation. These may include the following:

  • ​​​​​​​Thoroughness/completeness
  • Currency/recency

Organization/structure

  • Thesis statement/argument
  • Supporting evidence
  •  Logic/coherence
  • Cohesiveness

Presentation of ideas

  • Integration/synthesis
  •  Evaluation
  •  Creativity/originality

Writing style

  • Conciseness
  • Punctuation
  • Word choice
  • Sentence structure
  • Use of APA style in text
  • Use of APA style in references

An instructor creating a rubric should consider these dimensions and determine which ones are pertinent to the purpose of the assignment being evaluated. It is also possible to adopt or adapt existing rubrics. One common source is the Association of American Colleges and Universities Value Rubrics: Written Communication.

AACU Value Rubrics: Written Communication

Other examples of specific rubrics include the following:

Examples of Rubrics for Research Papers

Research Paper Rubric Cornell College Cole Library

Rubric for Research Paper Kansas State Assessment Toolkit

Rubric for Research Paper University of Florida Center for Teaching Excellence

Writing Rubric for Psychology Middlebury College Academics

Rubrics for Essays

Grading Rubrics: Essays Brandeis University Writing Program

Analytic and Critical Thinking ​​​​​​​Mount Holyoke College Teaching & Learning Initiative

Argument Essay Grading Rubric Saint Paul College Academic Effectiveness and Innovation

Rubrics for Class Papers

College Level Writing Rubric Virginia Union University

Grading Rubric for Papers St. John’s University

Grading Rubric for Writing Assignment The American University of Rome

Rubrics for Reflection Papers

Reflection Writing Rubric Carnegie Mellon University Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence

Reflective Essay University of Florida Center for Teaching Excellence

Grading Rubric for Reflective Essay Mount Holyoke College Teaching & Learning Initiative

Creating Rubrics University of Texas/Austin Faculty Innovation Center

Evaluating Rubrics DePaul University Teaching Commons

Using Rubrics University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill Office of Institutional Research and Assessment

Building A Rubric Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning

Designing & Using Rubrics University of Michigan Sweetland Center for Writing

Grading with Rubrics Western University Center for Teaching and Learning

Grading Rubrics Berkeley Graduate Division Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Resource Center

Writing Rubrics

Samples of Basic, Expository, and Narrative Rubrics

  • Grading Students for Assessment
  • Lesson Plans
  • Becoming A Teacher
  • Assessments & Tests
  • Elementary Education
  • Special Education
  • Homeschooling

Rubric Basics

How to score a rubric, basic writing rubric, narrative writing rubric, expository writing rubric.

  • M.S., Education, Buffalo State College
  • B.S., Education, Buffalo State College

An easy way to evaluate student writing is to create a rubric . A rubric is a scoring guide that helps teachers evaluate student performance as well as a student product or project. A writing rubric allows you, as a teacher, to help students improve their writing skills by determining what areas they need help in.

To get started in creating a rubric, you must:

  • Read through the students' writing assignment completely.
  • Read each criterion on the rubric and then reread the assignment, this time focusing on each feature of the rubric .
  • Circle the appropriate section for each criterion listed. This will help you score the assignment at the end.
  • Give the writing assignment a final score.

To learn how to turn a four-point rubric into a letter grade, use the basic writing rubric below as an example. The four-point rubric uses four potential points the student can earn for each area, such as 1) strong, 2) developing, 3) emerging, and 4) beginning. To turn your rubric score into a letter grade, divide the points earned by the points possible.

Example: The student earns 18 out of 20 points. 18/20 = 90 percent; 90 percent = A

Suggested Point Scale :

88-100 = A 75-87 = B 62-74 = C 50-61 = D 0-50 = F

Score

Establishes a clear focus

Uses descriptive language

Provides relevant information

Communicates creative ideas

Develops a focus

Uses some descriptive language

Details support idea

Communicates original ideas

Attempts focus

Ideas not fully developed

Lacks focus and development

Establishes a strong beginning, middle, and end

Demonstrates an orderly flow of ideas

Attempts an adequate introduction and ending

Evidence of logical sequencing

Some evidence of a beginning, middle, and end

Sequencing is attempted

Little or no organization

Relies on single idea

Uses effective language

Uses high-level vocabulary

Use of sentence variety

Diverse word choice

Uses descriptive words

Sentence variety

Limited word choice

Basic sentence structure

No sense of sentence structure

Few or no errors in: grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation

Some errors in: grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation

Has some difficulty in: grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation

Little or no evidence of correct grammar, spelling, capitalization or punctuation

Easy to read

Properly spaced

Proper letter formation

Readable with some spacing/forming errors

Difficult to read due to spacing/forming letter

No evidence of spacing/forming letters

Skillfully combines story elements around main idea

Focus on topic is profoundly clear

Combines story elements around main idea

Focus on topic is clear

Story elements do not reveal a main idea

Focus on topic is somewhat clear

There is no clear main idea

Focus on topic is not clear

Characters, plot, and setting are developed strongly

Sensory details and narratives are skillfully evident

Characters, plot, and setting are developed

Sensory details and narratives are evident

Characters, plot, and setting are minimally developed

Attempts to use narratives and sensory details

Lacks development on characters, plot, and setting

Fails to use sensory details and narratives

Strong and engaging description

Sequencing of details are effective and logical

Engaging description

Adequate sequencing of details

Description needs some work

Sequencing is limited

Description and sequencing needs major revision

Voice is expressive and confident

Voice is authentic

Voice is undefined

Writer's voice is not evident

Sentence structure enhances meaning

Purposeful use of sentence structure

Sentence structure is limited

No sense of sentence structure

A strong sense of writing conventions is apparent

Standard writing conventions is apparent

Grade level appropriate conventions

Limited use of appropriate conventions

Informative with clear focus and supporting details

Informative with clear focus

Focus needs to be expanded and supporting details are needed

Topic needs to be developed

Very well organized; easy to read

Has a beginning, middle, and end

Little organization; needs transitions

Organization is needed

Voice is confident throughout

Voice is confident

Voice is somewhat confident

Little to no voice; needs confidence

Nouns and verbs make essay informative

Use of nouns and verbs

Needs specific nouns and verbs; too general

Little to no use of specific nouns and verbs

Sentences flow throughout piece

Sentences mostly flow

Sentences need to flow

Sentences are difficult to read and do not flow

Zero errors

Few errors

Several errors

Many errors make it hard to read

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  • Sample Essay Rubric for Elementary Teachers
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  • 200 Report Card Comments
  • Report Card Comments for Math
  • Sample Report Card Comments for Social Studies
  • Science Report Card Comments
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  • Writing Prompts for Elementary School Students
  • Writing a Lesson Plan: Closure and Context
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  • Writing Prompts for 7th Grade
  • How to Write a Lesson Plan
  • T.E.S.T. Season for Grades 7-12

Storyboard That

  • My Storyboards

Rubric Worksheet Templates

Customize rubric templates.

Colorful Rainbow Themed Rubric Worksheet Design

If you're assigning this to your students, copy the worksheet to your account and save. When creating an assignment, just select it as a template!

Rubric Templates | Rubric Worksheet Templates

What is a Rubric?

A rubric is an assessment tool used by teachers to evaluate and grade a student's work. Grading rubrics are a set of criteria that provide feedback to the student on their work, highlighting areas of strength and weakness.

Rubrics are commonly used in writing assignments, but they can also be used in other subjects such as math, science, and social studies. The purpose of rubrics is to ensure that all students are evaluated fairly and consistently based on a set of predetermined criteria.

A grading rubric template typically consists of a rating scale and a set of criteria that outlines what is expected of the student's performance. For instance, in a writing rubric, the criteria might include organization, content, grammar, language use, and other criteria. Each criterion is then broken down into performance levels, which describe what constitutes excellent, good, average, and poor work.

Teachers can use a rubric for individual assignments or group projects. They provide a way for teachers to teach and assess the skills that are most important to the assignment or project at hand. By using rubrics, teachers can also provide students with more specific and constructive feedback on their work, which can help them improve their skills and overall grade.

What Are the Two Types of Rubrics?

When it comes to rubrics, there are two main types: holistic rubrics and analytic rubrics.

A holistic rubric is typically used as a summative assessment and provides an overall score or grade for a student's performance or work. A holistic rubric uses descriptive language to evaluate the student's performance against all the criteria and learning goals, and are useful in assessing overall performance in a classroom setting.

Analytic rubrics provide more detailed feedback on a student's performance by breaking down the assessment into smaller categories or columns. These rubrics are useful for both formative and summative assessments and allow teachers to provide specific feedback on the student's strengths and areas for improvement.

While both types of rubrics are valuable assessment tools, the choice between them depends on the assessment goals and the type of performance being evaluated. Holistic rubrics are often used for group projects or presentations, while analytic rubrics are useful for individual assessments or assignments.

Using Rubric Templates in the Classroom

Rubric worksheet templates are an excellent tool for teachers to use in the classroom. With our variety of templates available, teachers can easily create grading criteria that align with their learning goals and performance expectations.

A project rubric template is especially helpful for assessing group projects or more complex assignments. By using a project rubric, teachers can ensure that students receive fair and consistent grades based on their performance, and students can clearly understand what is expected of them.

A grading rubric template can be used for a wide range of assignments, including writing assignments, presentations, and even classroom discussions. They typically include a rating scale and categories for evaluation, such as content, organization, and mechanics. By using grading rubrics, teachers can provide more specific and detailed feedback on a student's performance, which can help the students understand how they can earn a higher grade.

Storyboard rubrics is a grading tool used to assess a student's storyboard. It can be used to evaluate the quality of the drawings, the accuracy of the content, and how well the storyboard meets the assignment requirements. By using storyboard rubrics, teachers can provide clear expectations for their students and ensure that they are grading consistently and objectively.

Indeed, rubric templates are a valuable resource for teachers to use in the classroom. They provide a fair and consistent grading system and can also help teachers generate new ideas for assignments and assessments. By using rubric templates, teachers can help their students succeed and reach their full potential.

If you are looking for more templates to use in your classroom, we have a wide range of options available on our website. In addition to a free rubric template, we offer various other types of templates that can be used to enhance your teaching experience. Our templates for teachers library includes a variety of options such as lesson plan templates, seating chart templates, and attendance sheets, calendar posters, and more. These templates can help you save time and stay organized throughout the school year. You can also create journal cover templates for professional-looking covers for your students' journals. Visit our website today to browse our collection of templates and find the perfect ones for your classroom.

Benefits of Using Rubric Templates

Rubric templates can be a game-changer for those who are looking for ways to make their lives easier and improve the quality of their student's work by providing a point scale. Using rubric templates can help you set clear expectations for student work and provide objective criteria for grading.

Here are some of the benefits of using rubric templates:

  • Save Time and Energy: One of the biggest benefits of using rubric templates is that they save time and energy for teachers. Rather than having to create a grading rubric from scratch, teachers can use a pre-made rubric template and tailor it to fit their specific assignment and grade level. This leaves more time for lesson planning and other important tasks.
  • Objectivity and Consistency: Using a rubric template ensures that grading criteria are objective and consistent across all students. Rubrics provide a clear standard for assessment, making it easier for teachers to grade fairly and students to understand what is expected of them.
  • Better Feedback: Rubrics provide descriptive language for performance levels, which can be used to give students better feedback on their work. Teachers can use rubrics to explain why a student received a particular score and what they need to improve upon in their next assignment.

Rubric templates can be easily customized to suit specific assignment needs, saving time and effort for teachers and providing valuable resources for students. Try using a rubric template today to make your life easier and more efficient.

Using Storyboard That's Rubric Maker to Customize Blank Rubric Templates

Are you looking for an easy way to create customized rubrics for your classroom? StoryBoard That's rubric maker is here to help! With our rubric creator, you can quickly and easily customize blank rubric templates to fit the needs of your specific assignments and grade level.

To make a rubric, first, select the blank rubric template that best fits your assignment from our library of free rubric templates. Our editable rubric templates are available in a single page format, making them easy to read and understand.

Next, use our online tools to customize and edit your rubric. Our rubric creator for teachers allows you to add your own grading criteria, performance expectations, and rating scales. You can even choose from various styles and designs to make your rubric more visually appealing.

Once you are satisfied with your customized rubric, simply download it and start using it in your classroom! Our rubric maker makes the process of creating and customizing rubrics easy and stress-free.

Be sure to also check out our worksheet maker on the Storyboard That website. You can create custom worksheets for a variety of subjects and topics, including point of view worksheets and first day of school worksheets . With a few clicks, you can tailor the worksheet to your students' needs and make it engaging and interactive.

How to Create a Rubric Template

Choose One of the Premade Templates

We have color, black and white, portrait, or landscape templates. Take a look at our example for inspiration!

Click on "Copy Template"

Once you do this, you will be directed to the storyboard creator.

Give Your Worksheet a Name!

Be sure to call it something related to the topic so that you can easily find it in the future.

Edit Your Worksheet

This is where you will include directions, specific questions and images, and make any aesthetic changes that you would like. The options are endless!

Click "Save and Exit"

When you are finished with your worksheet, click this button in the lower right hand corner to exit your storyboard.

From here you can print, download as a PDF, attach it to an assignment and use it digitally, and more!

Happy Creating!

Frequently Asked Questions about Rubric Worksheets

What are rubric templates.

Rubric templates are pre-designed documents that outline the grading criteria and performance expectations for a specific assignment or project. They are a useful tool for teachers to provide objective feedback to students and help them improve their work.

How to use storyboard rubrics?

To use storyboard rubrics, teachers can start by selecting a rubric template that aligns with their assignment requirements. They can then use the rubric to assess the quality of the drawings, the accuracy of the content, and how well the storyboard meets the assignment expectations. By using a rubric, teachers can provide clear expectations for their students and ensure that they are grading consistently and objectively. It's important to go over the rubric with students beforehand, so they know what is expected of them and how they will be evaluated.

How to make a rubric using rubric creator?

To use our rubric creator to make a rubric, you first need to identify the assignment or project that you want to grade. Determine the categories and criteria that are important to assess student performance. Then, either use one of our pre-made rubric templates or create your own from scratch. Once you have your blank rubric template, you can customize it using our online rubric creator tool. Assign point values to each criterion, and determine the overall grading scale.

Are there free rubric templates available?

As part of the 14-day trial, Storyboard That offers access to a variety of free rubric templates that can be used to enhance your teaching experience. Sign up for the trial to explore the templates and see which ones work best for your classroom needs.

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Home » Education Excel Templates » Free Editable Rubric Template (Word, PDF)

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Free editable rubric template (word, pdf).

A rubric template is a tool that is used for assessment. It indicates your expectations about the work of your students. However, you can also explain the criteria for how you will assess their work. This will also assist your students to know what they should work on. It will also help you to determine where your students are outstanding and where they need your help. You may also like the Student id Card Template .

Above all, these templates are appropriate and effective.

Table of Contents

What basic components rubric templates include?

The basic components of a rubric include such as;

  • Firstly, describe the parameters you will use for the assessment. You should explain all the aspects of performance you will grade your students on. Furthermore, you can also present the parameters as the objectives of the task that you will assess.
  • Secondly, use the words or expressions which will demonstrate the effectiveness of your expectations. You have to identify the characteristics associated with your parameters. So, you can do this by using words and expressions.
  • Thirdly, explain the performance levels. Give your students a rating for each of your criteria. You may also see Scholarship Thank You Letter .

With these basic components, you can also add other information that you want.

Guidelines for creating a rubric template:

Here are some guidelines that will surely help you while creating a rubric template for yourself;

Demonstrate the purpose and goal of the task that you will assess:

Before making your rubric , demonstrate the purpose and goal of the task. So, undergo the learning outcomes associated with the task you are planning to assess. Because, if you set clear goals the template will work effectively.

Decide the type of rubric:

There are different types of templates that you can create. Therefore, before you start, decide the type of rubric that you will use for assessment.

Establish your parameters:

For this, again go through your learning outcomes. Also, keep the skills and knowledge in your mind that your students will need to complete the task.

Establish a rating scale:

To measure the performance levels establish the rating scale. However, it doesn’t matter what type of scale you use. But, make sure it will measure performance levels well.

Describe your rating scale:

Next, note down a descriptive paragraph for each of your performance levels. Build up parallel, measurable, and observable descriptions all over your template.

Test and revise:

In the end, test and revise your rubric before use. You should also check the Medical School Recommendation Letter .

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Benefits of using rubric templates:

A well designed and effective template will provide a lot of benefits to teachers. So, discuss them below;

  • It enables you to grade your students in less time.
  • Help you to determine your students’ strengths and weaknesses.
  • Your students understand your expectations and standards clearly.
  • Allows you to assess the progress of your students.
  • Moreover, it enables you to give your students proper feedback.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, a rubric template is an outstanding tool for assessment. It enables the teachers to convey their expectations to students. Their simplicity has made them engaging.

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    Rubric Best Practices, Examples, and Templates. A rubric is a scoring tool that identifies the different criteria relevant to an assignment, assessment, or learning outcome and states the possible levels of achievement in a specific, clear, and objective way. Use rubrics to assess project-based student work including essays, group projects ...

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    Benefits of Using Writing Rubrics. Writing rubrics offer many advantages: Clarity: Rubrics clarify expectations for students. They know what is required for each level of performance. Consistency: Rubrics standardize grading. This ensures fairness and consistency across different students and assignments. Feedback: Rubrics provide detailed ...

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    Writing assignment grading; These are just some examples of how and where you can use such templates. A blank rubric template is a very useful tool which can make your life easier. If you're a teacher and you haven't even tried using such template, you should consider it. ... You can use the same blank rubric template for different ...

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    A writing rubric is a clear set of guidelines on what your paper should include, often written as a rating scale that shows the range of scores possible on the assignment and how to earn each one. Professors use writing rubrics to grade the essays they assign, typically scoring on content, organization, mechanics, and overall understanding.

  5. PDF Grading Rubric for Written Assignments

    Writer's tone is clear, concise, consistent, and appropriate for intended audience. Point-of-view is appropriate for assignment. Vocabulary is varied, specific and appropriate. Frequently uses subject specific vocabulary correctly. Writer's tone emerges and is generally appropriate to audience. Point of view is satisfactory.

  6. PDF Writing Assessment and Evaluation Rubrics

    Holistic scoring is a quick method of evaluating a composition based on the reader's general impression of the overall quality of the writing—you can generally read a student's composition and assign a score to it in two or three minutes. Holistic scoring is usually based on a scale of 0-4, 0-5, or 0-6.

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    Example 1: Philosophy Paper This rubric was designed for student papers in a range of courses in philosophy (Carnegie Mellon). Example 2: Psychology Assignment Short, concept application homework assignment in cognitive psychology (Carnegie Mellon). Example 3: Anthropology Writing Assignments This rubric was designed for a series of short ...

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    Step One: Identifying Criteria. The first step involved in creating assignment-specific rubrics is revisiting an assignment's intended outcomes. These objectives can be considered, prioritized, and reworded to create a rubric's criteria. If, for example, an instructor assigns a literature review hoping that students might become skilled at ...

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    PWR 2 Course Description Template; Filming your PWR Course Video ... Writing rubrics can help address the concerns of both faculty and students by making writing assessment more efficient, consistent, and public. Whether it is called a grading rubric, a grading sheet, or a scoring guide, a writing assignment rubric lists criteria by which the ...

  10. Designing and Using Rubrics

    Here is a sample of a rubric with a range of points within each performance level. Step 4: Create a format for the rubric. When the specific criteria and levels of success have been named and ranked, they can be sorted into a variety of formats and distributed with the assignment.

  11. 40 Free Rubric Templates

    A rubric template is a printable grading tool that defines scoring criteria for evaluating the performance of a student or employee and ... Analytic rubrics evaluate and grade an assignment or work at each performance level. ... Jill Newman is an expert in business writing with a wealth of experience in the field. As a Certified Public ...

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    Assessment Rubrics. A rubric is commonly defined as a tool that articulates the expectations for an assignment by listing criteria, and for each criteria, describing levels of quality (Andrade, 2000; Arter & Chappuis, 2007; Stiggins, 2001). Criteria are used in determining the level at which student work meets expectations.

  13. 15 Free Rubric Templates

    Use this template to create a research project, written report, or other writing assignment rubric. Assess a student's analytical and organizational skills, use of references, style and tone, and overall success of completing the assignment. The template includes room for additional comments about the student's work.

  14. 15 Helpful Scoring Rubric Examples for All Grades and Subjects

    The level of detail may vary depending on the assignment and the purpose of the rubric itself. Rubrics take more time to develop up front, but they help ensure more consistent assessment, especially when the skills being assessed are more subjective. A well-developed rubric can actually save teachers a lot of time when it comes to grading.

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    Your professor may use a slightly different rubric, but the standard rubric at AUR will assess your writing according to the following standards: A (4) B (3) C (2) D/F (1/0) Focus: Purpose. Purpose is clear. Shows awareness of purpose. Shows limited awareness of purpose.

  16. Rubrics

    Rubrics are a set of criteria to evaluate performance on an assignment or assessment. Rubrics can communicate expectations regarding the quality of work to students and provide a standardized framework for instructors to assess work. Rubrics can be used for both formative and summative assessment. They are also crucial in encouraging self ...

  17. Create or reuse a rubric for an assignment

    Your edits don't affect the original rubric. To reuse a rubric, your new assignment needs a title. On a computer, go to classroom.google.com. Click the class Classwork. Create an assignment with a title click Rubric Reuse rubric. Choose an option: To use a rubric from the same class, under Select rubric, click a title.

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    A blank rubric template is a pre-formatted assessment tool that only contains the columns and grid boxes you need to create an assessment sheet. You can customize it by adding your school or company letterhead and use it to evaluate different tasks like job interview grading or scoring. #1. #2. #3. #4.

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    An assignment prompt is a set of instructions for a written assignment. It gives students topics or questions to then address in writing. The assignment prompt gives students a starting point for what to write about, and often provides expectations for the written work. The purpose of the prompt is to provide students with clear understanding ...

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    An analytic rubric is a scoring guide used to evaluate performance, a product, or a project. It has three parts: 1) performance criteria; 2) rating scale; and 3) indicators. Using a rubric to evaluate student written work is helpful for both faculty and students. For faculty, rubrics. Rubrics help students to. Benefitting from Rubrics.

  21. Sample Writing Rubrics for Elementary Grades

    The four-point rubric uses four potential points the student can earn for each area, such as 1) strong, 2) developing, 3) emerging, and 4) beginning. To turn your rubric score into a letter grade, divide the points earned by the points possible. Example: The student earns 18 out of 20 points. 18/20 = 90 percent; 90 percent = A.

  22. Free Editable Rubric Templates at StoryboardThat

    A grading rubric template can be used for a wide range of assignments, including writing assignments, presentations, and even classroom discussions. They typically include a rating scale and categories for evaluation, such as content, organization, and mechanics.

  23. Free Editable Rubric Template (Word, PDF)

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