This document provides guidance on developing rubrics for assessment purposes. It explains that rubrics are scoring guidelines that evaluate student performance through detailed descriptions of performance levels. The document outlines six steps to develop a rubric: 1) define the assignment; 2) identify learning outcomes; 3) determine key criteria; 4) define criteria clearly; 5) establish detailed performance level descriptors; and 6) test the rubric with multiple raters. Sample and improved rubrics are provided to illustrate the process of developing clear and consistent rubrics for assessment.

1. Developing a Rubric for
Assessment
Office of Assessment
University of Nebraska at Kearney

2. What is a rubric?
► A systematic scoring guideline to evaluate
students’ performance (papers, speeches, problem
solutions, portfolios, cases) through the use of a
detailed description of performance levels.
► Used to get consistent scores across all students.
► Allows students to be more aware of the
expectations for performance and consequently
improve their performance.
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/mec/research/pdf/rubricshandout.pdf

3. Why do we use rubrics for
assessment?
►A rubric is a flexible tool that can be used to
measure student learning related specifically
to a department’s objectives.
►Because rubrics provide descriptions of each
score level, it is easier for different faculty to
use a rubric to grade consistently across
students.

4. Rubric Characteristics
For assessment purposes, we usually want to
develop a rubric that:
► allows us to directly evaluate performance on
program level student learning outcomes.
► is general enough that it can be used for different
assignments (e.g. papers may be collected from
different courses/faculty).
► is understood and agreed upon by faculty who will
be using the rubric.

5. Step 1 in developing a rubric
1. Clearly define the assignment.
 What is the student expected to produce?
 What are the common expectations across
instructors?

6. Step 2 in developing a Rubric
2. Consider what student learning outcomes will
be assessed.
 Often with a culminating project, students are
expected to demonstrate several of the
department/program outcomes.
 For example, for a senior seminar paper,
outcomes related to writing and critical thinking
may be assessed, as well and more discipline-
specific outcomes.

7. Step 3 in developing a Rubric
3. Determine the key criteria that you are interested
in-- for example, for the senior seminar paper,
what aspects of writing will be assessed?
 Coherence
 Organization
 Mechanics

8. Step 4 in developing a Rubric
4. Clearly define those key criteria.
 What do you mean by organization?
 What does organized writing look like?

9. Step 5 in developing a Rubric
5. Establish clear and detailed descriptors for each
performance level for each criteria
 Determine what the different levels of performance look
like within each criteria
 Use sample papers of high, mid and low performers to help
 It is usually easiest to begin by describing the highest level
of performance
 Using specific language for the descriptors of performance
levels increases the chances that multiple faculty members
will apply the rubric in a similar manner.

10. Step 6 in developing a Rubric
6. Try out the rubric on a few students with
several raters to see if the rubric works and
gets consistent scoring from multiple raters.

11. Scales vs. Rubrics
Below
Expectation
Meets
Expectation
Exceeds
Expectation
Citations X

12. Scales vs. Rubrics
Below
Expectation
Meets
Expectation
Exceeds
Expectation
Citations The paper fails
to cite sources
using a
consistent,
formal, citation
style
Most follow a
consistent style,
although some
contain minor
errors or
incomplete
information
All citations are
complete,
accurate, and
consistently
conform to a
formal style

13. Initial Assessment Scale
Criteria Poor Marginal Fair Good Excellent
Introduction: Adequate literature review; sound
rationale; clear statement of hypothesis/hypotheses 1 2 3 4 5
Method: Appropriate for hypothesis/hypotheses;
adequate descriptions of participants, design, materials,
and procedure.
1 2 3 4 5
Results: Appropriate use of statistics; adequate
description of analyses 1 2 3 4 5
Discussion: Clear evaluation of hypothesis/hypotheses;
connect to literature review/theory/ appropriate
discussion of limitations, implications, and
recommendations
1 2 3 4 5
Poster Style and Format: Well-organized; visually
appealing, appropriate information density; readable
font size and graphics; effective use of figures and
illustrations
1 2 3 4 5

14. Improved Rubric

15. Using Rubrics
►Train evaluators
►Sample work should be scored
►Discuss scores and reach agreement
►More than on evaluator should score papers
►If two evaluators disagree a third decides
►Frequent disagreements on an item indicate
the item needs to be revised or removed

16. Practice
Select a “rubric” that is currently being used
in your department:
► Is it a rubric or a scale?
► Are there multiple descriptions of the
criteria (at least 3)?
► Are the descriptions clear and easy to use?
► Will other faculty agree on the descriptors?

17. Practice
Rewrite the selected “rubric” to ensure it
has multiple descriptors of the criteria (is
not a scale), clear descriptors, and ratings
that can be agreed upon by other faculty.
Look at samples at:
http:www.web.virginia.edu/iaas/assessment
/assessrubrics.htm

18. Where to start
Developing a rubric from scratch can be challenging.
► Get ideas by looking at what others have done
► Lots of sample rubrics for many disciplines at:
http://www.winona.edu/air/rubrics.htm
► Online tool for developing rubric (with more
samples):
 Rubistar for Teachers:
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
 Online module for using the Rubistar at:
http://www.vcu.edu/cte/resources/videos/Rubistar_tuto
rial/index.html

19. Sources
►http://www.winona.edu/air/resourcelinks/ru
bric_sampler.pdf (document of rubric
development – long)
►http://www.utexas.edu/academic/mec/resea
rch/pdf/rubricshandout.pdf - good
description of rubrics with focus on general
analytic rubrics for the purpose of
assessment