Assessing Learning with Rubrics

Rubrics are a tool for scoring assessment in a consistent manner based on criteria that demonstrates varying degrees of understanding or mastery.  Northern Illinois University describes a rubric as “an explicit set of criteria used for assessing a particular type of work or performance and provides more details than a single grade or mark” (2012). 

Rubrics may be used as a tool to make grading more efficient, improve consistency, limit grader or instructor bias, and provide more explicit feedback to students.

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• RESEARCH

  Examine selected research on assessing learning with rubrics:

  Rubrics & Assessment of Student Use of Technology (Google Slide) (Ferrari 2021)

  Using Assessment Rubrics(opens in new window) (UNSW 2018)

  Through Rubrics and Scaffolded Instruction: A Programmatic Self-Study of Writing Expectations(opens in new window) (Black, Miller, Mi 2009)

  Rubrics and the Enhancement of Student Learning(opens in new window) (Reddy 2007)

• APPLICATION

  Ready to address assessing learning with rubrics in your teaching? Here are some ideas and strategies to get you started:

  • Determine the learning outcomes of an assessment, performance, or product that you wish to assess.
  • Create a matrix of outcome rows and performance level columns, filling the cells with the criteria that match each intersection of outcome and performance level.
  • It can be easier if you first consider assessments that you have already designed, refined, and plan to use again.
  • When using a rubric, it is helpful to support your students in understanding the rubric and how they could use it themselves.
  • Consider involving students in the creation of rubrics to make them more involved in the assessment and evaluation process.