OK, Confession Time

As a new teacher in the early 2000s, I avoided rubrics like the proverbial plague.  I had my reasons!  Rubrics always felt generic and vague.  I wasn’t even sure how to create a rubric.  And when I did try my hand at a rubric, it took forever to make.

What did I do before using a rubric, you ask?

Confession time: Before regularly using rubrics, I write a score and brief comment on the student’s work.  I apologize to any of my former students who may recognize the following teacher comment:

No categories.  No criteria.  No real feedback.  Best practice this was NOT.

What I needed was a rubric.

Download the three rubrics shown in this article.

Many years later, I am here to tell you that rubrics are your friend.

Rubrics can be wonderful tools that streamline grading for the teacher.  For students, a rubric communicates the criteria for grading and encourages self-reflection on the quality of their work.  

If you are just starting with rubrics, here are key questions to think through to make your rubric work for you.  Once you have these components, consider using a rubric generator to begin the process or, for no work involved, start with one of ours and then determine what tweaks you would like to make for future assignments.  

How to Create a Rubric in Five Steps

Step 1: Identify what you want to grade.

For example, let’s say you’re having students give a presentation.  Perhaps you want to grade student presentations on the following:

1. Content of slides

2. Knowledge of the subject

3. Preparation and rehearsed delivery of the presentation 

4. Speaking conventions (eye contact, etc.)

Example:

Rubrics work best when you want to assess several categories — in this case 4.   Rubrics with more than four categories are cumbersome.  

Notice that this sample rubric does not grade students on the appearance of the slides or writing conventions.  We opted to leave those categories out for simplicity. You’ll have to choose what is most important for the assignment and award points only to those categories.

Step 2: Define the criteria (what you’re looking for) for success in each category.

Once you have your categories, consider the criteria that differentiate a “meets standards” from an “exceeds standards” and so on.  If you use a rubric generator, the criteria will populate itself.  That is helpful!  Carefully read through it to determine if the AI-generated descriptors work for you.  If not, tweak the criteria so it is more in line with your students’ work.  

Example:

The more specific you are with the criteria, the easier it will make your grading and the clearer your grading will be to the students.  

Step 3: Determine your grading scale.  (There are three main options.)

Option 1: The grading scale uses terms such as “Exceeds Expectations”, “Meets Expectations”, etc.

Option 2: The grading scale uses numbers (for example, 4…3…2…1)

Option 3: The grading scale uses letters (A-F)

Take a look at the examples below.

The main question to ask yourself is if the scale gives you enough flexibility to accurately identify the category that the work falls into.  If you find yourself constantly wanting to circle the middle, you may need an additional level in your rubric.

Step 4: Use the rubric to add objectivity to a subjective grading task.

Rubrics are generally used for writing, presentations, and projects.  Often these can be some of the most difficult assignments to grade because they are more subjective than a quiz or exam.  

The rubric is there to help you grade more consistently and accurately.  

Begin by marking rubrics — simply circling the descriptors that match the student’s work is fine. It’s helpful to practice with 3 to 5 pieces of work (preferably from students of varying abilities) and compare them to the categories and criteria.  

Once you start to see patterns in the work, your scoring will become more accurate, consistent, and timely.  Practicing with a few first will give you a sense of the quality of the work you are receiving and how they fit into the criteria you have on your rubric. 

Step 5: Decide how those circles on a rubric translate into a grade in your grade book.

Chances are, each student has a variety of levels circled throughout the rubric, which will need to be translated into a score.  

The easiest way is to decide on the overall point value (say 50 points) and decide on the number of maximum points per category (20 points for analysis of evidence, 20 points for quality of evidence, and 10 points for mechanics).  

From there you will need to decide the point value for each level (20 points for a 4, 16 points for a 3, 14 points for a 2, and 10 points for a 1).  You then add up the points from each category for the overall grade.  

One note of caution: stick to one point value per level.  If you try to have a range within each level, it will cause more headaches than not using a rubric at all.

Rubric Challenge: Choose one or two assignments this year to experiment with a rubric.

Building a rubric after having built your assignment may seem like an added step that you do not have time for.  However, it can be a great time-saver while grading.

Choose a couple of assignments this year (presentations or group work are great places to start) and jump in.  It may feel clunky at first, but once you get into the groove of working with and using rubrics, you’ll be glad you did.

Amanda Melsby has been a professional educator for 20 years.  She taught English before working as an assistant principal and later as a high school principal.  Amanda holds an Ed.D. in Educational Practice and Leadership and is currently a dean of teaching and learning.