Developing Your Own Rubric
Although rubrics are becoming popular and many are available on educational websites, chances are you will need to develop your own. The first few rubrics you develop may require some time. After you have some experience with rubrics, you will likely find that the time required to design them is well worth the improvement in student performance. The following steps will help guide design and use of your own rubrics:
1. Determine the concepts to be taught and identify the learning objectives.
2. List the criteria to be evaluated using brief statements or phrases. Focus on how students develop and express their learning.
3. Describe degrees of quality (often in a grid), starting with the best and worst quality and then filling in the middle. Share the rubric with students before they complete the assignment so students understand the criteria for evaluation.
4. Use the rubric to evaluate student work to determine if they have met the learning objectives. (Rubrics are also often used for self- and peer-assessment with time provided after peer-assessment for revision.)
5. Reevaluate the rubric (Did it work? Was it sufficiently detailed?)
Rubrics can be developed for all types of activities and are easy to adjust for different levels or content. After you have tried a few rubrics you may find you (and your students) will want to use them for everything.