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Rubric Templates

46 editable rubric templates (word format).

A grading rubric template is a type of tool used for assessment. You can use it to express your expectations regarding the work of your students . In it, you’ll define what you will assess. You’ll also describe the criteria for how you will evaluate their work.

You can use this template to articulate what excellent work looks like. This would also help your students understand what they should work on.

Table of Contents

• 1 Rubric Templates
• 2 Where can you use rubric templates?
• 3 Grading Rubric Templates
• 4 Basic components of a rubric template
• 5 Blank Rubric Templates
• 6 Advantages of using rubric templates
• 7 Project Rubric Templates
• 8 Tips for creating a rubric template
• 9 Using your rubrics template

It takes a lot of time and effort to create a superior rubric template. You can make one on your own or download a blank rubric template from here. The important thing is that you first decide what criteria you’ll include in it.

Using rubrics will make it easier for you to assess the work of your students. With it, you can easily determine where your students excelled and where they need help. Although these templates are very convenient and effective, making them is another story.

If you make a template from scratch, you’d need a lot of time and effort. But once you’ve made or downloaded a template, your work becomes easier.

Where can you use rubric templates?

Teaching is one of the noblest professions in the whole world. But this job isn’t for everyone. It involves a lot of patience, determination, time-management skills , and so much more. Although it’s a highly fulfilling profession, there are times when it can be difficult.

As time goes by, curriculum change and methods for teaching are constantly revised. One effective method which teachers follow these days is the rubric method. This is a way to teach and assess the work of students easily and efficiently.

Grading rubric templates are quite popular with teachers. They can help teachers conduct an assessment of their student’s work and performance. But you can also use such templates in different ways, not just for teaching. You can use such templates for:

• Assessments
• Basic analytics
• Blank scoring
• Decision-making
• General math
• Group activity projects
• High school project presentations
• Infographics
• Job interview scoring
• Math projects

Other alternate uses of templates are as follows:

• Poster Grading
• Project-based learning
• Research papers
• Research project presentations
• Resume grading
• Science project
• Scoring guide
• Standard evaluations
• Student teaching portfolios
• 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.

Although it’s time-consuming to make, using it will save time in the long-run. Besides, if you don’t want to make the template yourself, you can download one from here.

Grading Rubric Templates

Basic components of a rubric template

In its simplest definition, a rubric is a tool for scoring. You use it to describe your performance expectations for a piece of work, a task or an assignment. The basic components of a rubric include:

• The criteria which you’ll use for the assessment. You need to describe all the aspects of performance you will grade your students on. You can also present the criteria as the objectives of the task that you’ll evaluate.
• Descriptors or words which will establish the effectiveness of your expectations. You need to identify the characteristics associated with your criteria. Do this by using the descriptors.
• Also, include the performance levels. Present this as a rating or a scale which has 3-4 or even more qualifiers. You can use this scale to identify the level of mastery of your students. You’ll give them a rating for each of your criterion.

You can use rubrics to give feedback to your students regarding their performance. It’s a tool you can use for grading projects, papers, presentations, and more. Along with these basic components, you can also add other information.

Just make sure not to complicate the template too much. Otherwise, it won’t be as easy to use as a basic rubric template.

Blank Rubric Templates

Advantages of using rubric templates

Aside from being very easy to use, rubrics also have other advantages. Their simplicity makes them very appealing. Using such templates would allow you to evaluate your students’ performance. You can do this with much efficiency and ease. Here are some advantages of using rubrics:

• Use them in analyses Such templates can provide you with diagnostic information. In turn, you can provide your students with formative feedback. You can link the rubrics to the instructions for work easily. When you use the rubrics for analyses, you’ll be able to come up with a formative assessment. But with it, you can also come up with a summative assessment. Do this if you need to grade using your students’ overall score.
• They’re holistic When you use rubrics, you can perform scoring and assessment quicker. You won’t need much time to use and understand the templates once you’ve filled them up.
• They can be general or task-specific Rubrics are very versatile. You can share them with your students. Do this to explain your instructions and your assessment methods. You can use the same blank rubric template for different assignments or tasks. All you need to do is modify the criteria and other information. You can also use the templates to ask your students to evaluate themselves. Also, you can even ask your students to help you construct your template. No matter how you plan to make or use the rubric, you’ll definitely benefit from it.

Aside from these advantages, there are more for you to enjoy. A well-designed template can offer a lot of benefits to teachers. They can help you to:

• Reduce the time you spend grading your students . You can do this by referring to the descriptors and the scale so you don’t need to write long comments.
• Help you identify your students’ strengths and weaknesses clearly. Once you’ve done that, you can adjust your lessons or teaching methods appropriately.
• Make sure that you’re consistent across time and graders.
• Reduce any uncertainty which can potentially come with grading.
• Discourage any complaints about your students’ grades.
• Let your students understand your standards and expectations.
• Give your students proper feedback.
• Keep track of and evaluate the progress of your students. You can do this as they work towards the goals you’ve set for them.

As we’ve mentioned earlier, a lot of teachers are now using rubrics. They use it to communicate their expectations to their students. As a teacher, you can use the template to give your students feedback. Give them information on how they’re progressing with their work. You can also use it to come up with your students’ final grades.

Project Rubric Templates

Tips for creating a rubric template

A grading rubric template includes the criteria you will use to assess a specific task. This can be anything from writing a paper to giving an oral presentation, and more. Rubrics permit teachers to convey their expectations to students.

You can also use them to track the progress of a student from the start of the task to the end of it. It provides a reliability of grades which is why students appreciate them too. Here are some tips to guide you when you’re creating a template for yourself:

• Establish the purpose and goal of the task you’ll evaluate Before you start creating your rubric, you should establish the purpose and goal of a task. Go through the learning outcomes associated with the task you’re planning to evaluate. The template you create can only work effectively if you set clear goals . In doing this, you can monitor your students’ progress as they work towards those goals.
• Determine the type of rubric you will use We’ve gone through some common uses of rubrics. This means that there are different types of templates you can create. Again, before you start, determine which type of rubric you will use for your assessment. The type to use may depend on some factors. These include your intended learning outcomes and the nature of the task. Also, consider the kind and the amount of feedback you will give your students.
• Establish your criteria In order to do this, you must go through your learning outcomes again. Also, review the assessment parameters so you can determine the criteria to use. Think about the skills and knowledge your students will need to complete the task. Come up with a list of criteria to evaluate outcomes across varying criteria. Make sure your criteria are distinct and clearly explained. Ideally, you shouldn’t write more than 7 different criteria.
• Establish the rating scale to measure the performance levels The next thing to do is establish your rating scale. No matter what kind of scale you use, make sure it’s clear and it can measure performance levels well. Decide whether your scale will only have numerical values or descriptors as well. Usually, rubrics have 3-5 different levels in their rating scales.
• Write the descriptions for each of your performance levels of your rating scale When you’re making your performance levels, include a descriptive paragraph for each. It should outline the expectations for the level. You can also include an example of the ideal performance within the level. Create parallel, measurable, and observable descriptions throughout your template.
• Test and revise your rubric if needed Before you use your rubric with your students, you should test it first. Arrange for testing conditions. Perform this with a number of graders who can use your template together. After they grade using your template, allow them to grade using a similar tool. Do this to ensure consistency and accuracy of the template you made. After the testing, search for any discrepancies between the 2 grading tools. If there aren’t any, then your template is quite accurate. Now you can share it (along with the testing results) with your colleagues. Ask them to assess your template and give their opinions. If they give you any helpful suggestions for modification, use them. You may also compare your template with templates your colleagues use. All these testing and modifying procedures are very important. Perform them to ensure the effectiveness of your own template.

Typically, your template should fit into a single page. This is ideal so you can quickly see all the criteria and descriptions. If you have a rubric with a lot of pages, you’d have to search through them to find the information you’re looking for.

This would reduce its efficiency. Therefore, you should plan the template well so you can construct it well too.

Using your rubrics template

A grading rubric template is an excellent tool for assessment. We’ve gone through the different advantages of such templates. You can definitely benefit a lot from using them. If it’s your first time to use rubrics, these pointers may help you out:

• When using a rubric, you don’t have to write long comments for each of your students.
• If your student needs feedback regarding his/her performance, refer to your template.
• Learn how to use the template properly. Do this so you don’t have to feel uncertainty when grading your students’ performances.
• Use different templates for different tasks or assignments. Although it may take time to create a template, you can keep on using it. When you need a new one, simply revise your blank rubric template then use it.
• You can also download a template here to save yourself time and effort.
• When you assign your students to a task or project, you can give them a copy of the rubric. This way, they will have an idea of how you’ll evaluate their performance.
• You can use the rubric to save time and effort. All you need to do is give your students grades according to your criteria and rating scale.
• Open your mind to the possibility of having to revise your template. If you discover that it doesn’t work, you need to make the necessary changes. Do this so you can get the most out of your rubric template.

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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

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:

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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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, 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.

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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

Example of a holistic rubric for a final paper

Single-Point Rubric

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.

22 Free Rubric Templates (Word Format)

Teaching, while very fulfilling, can also be a very trying profession. It often requires a lot of commitment, patience, time management, and organizational skills to help your students succeed in their academic and personal lives. Fortunately, you can turn to teaching aids like the Rubric Template, which helps you assess your students’ performance and adjust your teaching methods accordingly.

What Is a Rubric Template?

A rubric template is an assessment tool that helps you define your expectations for your students regarding a given assignment and analyze their performance when they complete the work. Through the rubric, you can define the areas of assessment, evaluation criteria, and performance levels for a piece of work. Simply put, this document allows you to test how your students are performing in a subject.

The rubrics template is very versatile, and you can use it to grade term papers, essays, presentations, projects, math tests, and the like. It comes in handy in situations where a teacher or professor cannot give a multiple-choice test and is looking to provide their students with more detailed feedback.

Essential Elements of a Rubric Template

As a scoring tool, you can use a rubric to describe what you expect from your students on a given task. To do this, your template must contain the following information: Assessment Criteria – How will you grade the students’ performances?

• Assessment Criteria – How will you grade the students’ performances?
• Performance Levels – This is a scale that you will use to grade your students, e.g. (4-excellent, 3-good, 2-average, etc.)
• Descriptors – This is a detailed definition of what each performance level says about the student’s performance.

You can make your rubric template as simple or complex as you wish, but it is advisable to avoid overcomplicating it. You want to create something your students can easily understand and use to improve their work.

Rubric Templates

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.

Uses of Rubric Templates

A rubric template is an important tool that helps teachers assess the work and performance of their students in different areas. But, besides teaching, this document can be used in other areas such as:

• Basic analytics
• Decision-making
• Assessments
• General math, math, or math projects
• High school project presentations
• Infographics
• Group activity projects
• Job interview scoring

In some cases, a rubric template can be applied in poster grading, project-based learning, resume grading, research papers, and as a scoring guide.

Advantages of a Rubric Templates

As you can see, rubric templates have wide usability and can be crucial in many fields. If you are still not convinced that they can help you, however, here are some benefits teachers may get from the tool:

Score Analyses

A rubric template enables you to determine your students’ overall score by developing a formative and summative assessment, which you can then use to grade them.

Flexibility

Rubric templates are very versatile – you can use one blank document to assess different tasks as long as you modify the criteria. You can also use a copy to help your students evaluate their own performances.

Because a rubric template includes descriptors, you can save the time you would typically use to write lengthy comments when grading your students.

Curriculum Adjustments

When you use a rubric template to evaluate your students’ performance, you can review their strengths and weak areas then use this data to adjust your teaching methods accordingly.

Other Benefits

R ubric templates also:.

• Promote uniform assessment standards across grades
• Reduce complaints among students about grading
• Reduce grading uncertainties
• Help your students understand your performance expectations
• Provide your students with valuable feedback
• Help you track your students’ progress

Grading Rubric Templates

A grading rubric template is popular among teachers and is designed to assess student performances on a task or assignment. It can be used on math tests, essays, and oral presentations, as long as the assessment criteria are consistent with the skills being tested.

How to Create a Rubric

Making a good Rubric Template goes far beyond noting down your expectations for a test and indicating the performance levels. Your document must be detailed and accurate if you wish to gauge the progress of your students. To help you create such a piece, here is a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Determine Your Goal

Start by defining what you want to achieve out of this exercise. You can consider the following factors:

• Importance of each task
• Level of feedback detail you wish to produce
• Performance assessment procedure
• Performance standards that will indicate exceptional or acceptable work
• Grading system: One final grave Vs. several smaller grades

Step 2: Select a Rubric Format

Once you know what you want from the rubric template, select the format you would like to use. According to the Graduate Educational department at DePaul University, teachers mostly prefer:

• The Analytic Rubric – Provides optimal feedback. Includes the criteria indicated in the left column, the performance levels across the top, and the level specs inside the grid.
• The Holistic Rubric – Feedback is not as detailed. A range of numbers or letter grades are assigned expectations by the teacher and then used to grade works like multiple essays.

Step 3: Define the Criteria

Next, you need to determine the skills or knowledge you would like to evaluate your students on – at most, 4 to 7 subjects will do. Go through your list and eliminate the non-crucial skills.

Step 4: Indicate the Performance Levels

Establish a scoring system of between 3 to 5 levels and assign them labels (5 – Exceptional, 4 – Excellent, 3 – Good, etc.) or percentages (e.g., A-90%, B-80%, C-70%, etc.). You can also use a combination.

Step 5: Supply the Level Descriptors

Produce a short, measurable, and specific expectations statement for each performance level created in step 4. This statement should provide feedback for the student on their performance.

Step 6: Revise the Rubric

Read through your rubric and edit it, so it is limited to a single page. You should also reduce the parameters until they are manageable, so the rubric is easy to use.

Tips for Using a Rubric Template

Consider the following pointers when using the rubric template that you just created:

• Refer to the template every time a student needs feedback on their performance.
• Don’t use too-long comments, or the students won’t read or understand them.
• Consider giving your students a copy of the template along with every test, so they understand how you will evaluate their work.
• Use a fresh template for every task or assignment
• Keep editing your template every time you discover an inefficiency.

Project Rubric Templates

A project rubric template is a specially designed assessment tool used for evaluating the merits of a project. It contains the required grids, and you can easily enter your assessment criteria, project title, and student names when grading their work.

Final Thoughts

School curriculums are revised every year, and teachers have to adjust their teaching and assessment methods. One way to maintain an accurate and consistent record of your student’s progress is by using a Rubric Template for every task or assignment. When used appropriately, this assessment tool allows you to communicate your expectations to your students, evaluate their work, provide them with feedback, and track their progress.

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Download Project Based Learning Rubrics

We've created a wide range of rubrics - for designing and teaching PBL to guiding students through key stages of the PBL process. 

All of our resources – rubrics, project ideas, student handouts, videos, and more – are available at My.PBLWorks.org . You can download over 25 different rubrics there!

Go to MyPBLWorks.org for all rubrics

Below are some of the most popular rubric downloads. 

Project Based Teaching Rubric

This rubric describes beginning, developing, and Gold Standard levels for Project Based Teaching Practices for K-12 teachers and features detailed, concrete indicators that illustrate what it means to teach in a PBL environment.

Teachers and school leaders can use this rubric to reflect on their practice and plan for professional growth.

Download here

Rubric for Rubrics

This rubric describes a well-written rubric, distinguishing between rubrics that meet, approach, or are below standards for selection of criteria, distinction between levels, and quality of writing. It also describes how a rubric is created and used with students.

Project Design Rubric

The Project Design Rubric uses the Essential Project Design Elements as criteria to evaluate projects. The rubric aligns with BIE's Gold Standard PBL model. Definitions and practical examples are used to clarify the meaning of each dimension.

You and your colleagues can use the rubric to guide the design of projects, give formative feedback, and reflect and revise.

Grades K-12 Complex Communication Rubrics

This research-based rubric is designed to provide useful, formative information that teachers can use to guide instruction and provide feedback to students. Students can use it to reflect on the quality of their complex communication. Student performance is described along a continuum. The design of the rubric focuses on the complexities of communication strategies needed in the context of project tasks. 

Use this rubric to guide students to self-assess their work or inform your thinking as you create your assessment tools.

Grades K-12 Creativity Rubrics

This research-based rubric is designed to provide useful, formative information that teachers can use to guide instruction and provide feedback to students. Students can use it to reflect on their creative thinking processes and products. Student performance is described along a continuum, balancing products (solutions, ideas) and creative processes. 

Yes, we provide PBL training for educators! PBLWorks offers a variety of PBL workshops, courses and services for teachers, school and district leaders, and instructional coaches - whether you're just getting started or advancing your practice. Learn more

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Our Polytechnic Advantage

Creating and using rubrics for assessment, in this section, tools and ideas for creating your rubrics.

Many of these rubrics grew out of a long-term commitment to building alternative assessments in our Instructional Design , and Math Specialist  and Teaching and Assessing Writing online courses.

What's New?

Video Conferencing Rubric

Our Top Five Rubrics

• Online Discussion
• Video Project
• Middle School/High School Group Work
• Elementary Teamwork

Quick Links to Rubrics

• Discussion, Teamwork, and Group Work Rubrics  
• ePortfolio and Web Page Rubrics  
• Concept Map and Graphic Organizer Rubric  
• Video and Multimedia Project Rubrics  
• Math and Science Rubrics  
• Virtual Simulations and Games Rubric  
• Research Process Rubrics  
• Writing Rubrics  
• Rubrics for Primary Grades  
• Presentation Rubrics  

Tools for Creating Your Rubrics

Presentation rubrics.

Video Conferencing Rubric Maggie Rouman's rubric assesses real-time sessions to foster community, present topics, and enhance learning.  

Podcast Rubric Ann Bell's rubric helps students assess what makes a good podcast. 

PowerPoint Rubric 10 performance categories

Oral Presentation Rubric  (Word doc)

VoiceThread Participation Rubric  (pdf) Michelle Pacansky-Brock's general formative assessment is used when students view a mini video lecture/presentation. Contributions are rated on originality, comprehension, and clarity.

Oral Presentation Checklist 4Teachers.org provides an online tool to customize the checklist for your grade level

Effective Project Presentations Buck Institute for Education (BIE) rubric for high school presentations

Poster Rubric

Speaking and Writing Rubrics  bilingual education (English and Spanish) Spanish Partial-Immersion Program Rubrics for Writing and Speaking in English and Spanish for Grades 1-5

Social Media Project Rubrics

Wiki Rubric Criteria for assessing individual and group Wiki contributions.

Blog Rubric Assess individual blog entries, including comments on peers' blogs.

Twitter Rubric Assess learning during social networking instructional assignments.

Discussion, Teamwork, and Group Work Rubrics

Online Discussion Board Rubric Criteria for assessing the ability to share perspectives, refine thoughts through the writing process, and participate in a meaningful discussion Primary Grade Self-Evaluation Teamwork Rubric  (PDF) Features of a sandwich to graphically show the criteria

Upper Elementary Teamwork Rubric Karen Franker's rubric includes six defined criteria for assessing the team and individual responsibility

Middle School/High School Collaboration Rubric Six defined criteria for collaboration with strong performance descriptors

ePortfolio and Web Page Rubrics

These rubrics are related to our Instructional Design courses.

e-Portfolio Rubric Electronic portfolio rubric created by Joan Vandervelde includes 7 categories with 4 levels of achievement

Web Page Rubric Joan Vandervelde's rubric details 9 categories for evaluating a web page

CyberFair Peer Review Student Web Page Rubric Online feedback form for CyberFair Project.

Concept Map and Graphic Organizer Rubric

Graphic Organizer and Mind Map Rubric   Concept map diagram rubric to assess a visual storyboard of a final project or to chart a flow of work and ideas by Karen Franker

Storyboard Rubric Concept map and/or storyboard specification of instructional sequencing and messaging details.

Video and Multimedia Project Rubrics

These rubrics are related to our Elearning and Online Teaching course and flipped classroom  course.

Video Project Rubric   Joan Vandervelde lists criteria for video production and editing

Multimedia Project Rubric   Rubric developed by Caroline McCullen, Jamie McKenzie, and Terrie Gray

Virtual Simulations and Games Rubric

Assessing Student Learning in Virtual Simulations and Serious Games A grading rubric created by Ann Bell with 6 performance criteria

Research Process Rubrics

Research Process Rubric - Elementary Karen Franker's rubric to assess planning, gathering, organizing and citing information in grades 3-5

Research Process Rubric - Middle School Karen Franker's rubric assesses performance with the research process

Rubric for Research Process   Joyce Valenza's rubric assesses 5 research performance areas for high school students

Research Process Reflection Joyce Valenza's Question Brainstormer encourages students to ask focus questions and reflect on the research process

Academic Research Writing and APA Formatting Rubric Kay Lehmann's rubric for high school or college level

Writing Rubrics

These rubrics are related to our Teaching and Assessing Writing courses .

Student-Friendly Writing Rubric

Samples of Student Writing, Scored With a 6+1 Trait Rubric An extensive archive of assessment materials associated with the  6-Traits assessment  approach.

NWREL's Six Traits of Writing Rubric English and Spanish versions of the 6-Traits of Writing Rubric and other rubrics for listening, public speaking, and reading

Writing Rubrics K-12 - Opinion/Argument, Narrative, and Informative/Explanatory

Research Paper Rubric   (Word doc)

Rubric for Scoring Effective Writing  (Word doc)

Persuasive Essay Rubric  (Word document)

Reflective Writing Rubric  (PDF)

Reflection Paper Rubric (PDF)

Historical Fiction Essay Rubric  (pdf) Blake Green's history class rubric.

Rubrics for Middle School Includes invention report, book talk, persuasive essay,  and autobiographical event essay

Autobiographical Rubric (PDF)

Math and Science Rubrics

These rubrics are related to our Math Specialist courses .

Math Rubrics 4 levels of math understanding with performance criteria

NCTM Math Standard Rubric  (pdf) Performance criteria for problem-solving reasoning and proof communication connections representation

Science Rubric  (pdf) Performance criteria for the use of scientific tools, science reasoning and strategies, science concepts and use of data and communication Scientific Report Rubric Easy to modify for any kind of high school research report

Physics Project Rubric A good example of a performance rubric tuned a specific project. Easy to adapt to other subjects.

Rubrics for Primary Grades

Kindergarten Rubrics Assess literacy development

Kindergarten Rubrics Evaluates communication, fine muscle development, emergent reading and writing, large muscle development, math development, creative arts, personal development, and work habits, play, and social skills.

Primary Grade Self-Evaluation Teamwork Rubric  (PDF) Features a sandwich to graphically show when all criteria are met

Third Grade Venn Diagram Rubric

These tools are explored in our e-learning course .

Rubistar Choose a topic and create a new rubric based on a template. Save and edit your rubric online.

Rubric Template Insert the task and criteria into this template.

Rubric Template  (Word doc) Word document template to download and modify to meet authentic assessment needs (University of West Florida).

Quick Rubric

iRubric  develop rubrics and access them from anywhere

Single-Point Rubric  (Word doc)

Rubric Generator Build your own grading rubrics online by filling out a form. You can include a graphic and print the rubric.

Readings about Authentic Assessment Helpful background information about rubric design and implementation in the classroom.

Examples of Rubrics

Here are some rubric examples from different colleges and universities, as well as the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) VALUE rubrics. We would also like to include examples from Syracuse University faculty and staff. If you would be willing to share your rubric with us, please click  here.

• Art and Design Rubric (Rhode Island University)
• Theater Arts Writing Rubric (California State University)

Class Participation

• Holistic Participation Rubric (University of Virginia)
• Large Lecture Courses with TAs (Carnegie Mellon University)

Doctoral Program Milestones

• Qualifying Examination (Syracuse University)
• Comprehensive Core Examination (Portland State University)
• Dissertation Proposal (Portland State University)
• Dissertation (Portland State University)

Experiential Learning

• Key Competencies in Community-Engaged Learning and Teaching (Campus Compact)
• Global Learning and Intercultural Knowledge (International Cross-Cultural Experiential Learning Evaluation Toolkit)

Humanities and Social Science

• Anthropology Paper (Carnegie Mellon University)
• Economics Paper (University of Kentucky)
• History Paper (Carnegie Mellon University)
• Literary Analysis (Minnesota State University)
• Philosophy Paper (Carnegie Mellon University)
• Psychology Paper (Loyola Marymount University)
• Sociology Paper (University of California)

Media and Design

• Media and Design Elements Rubric (Samford University)

Natural Science

• Physics Paper (Illinois State University)
• Chemistry Paper (Utah State University)
• Biology Research Report (Loyola Marymount University)

Online Learning

• Discussion Forums (Simmons College)

Syracuse University’s Shared Competencies

• Ethics, Integrity, and Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion rubric (*pdf)
• Critical and Creative Thinking rubric (*pdf)
• Scientific Inquiry and Research Skills rubric (*pdf)
• Civic and Global Responsibility rubric (*pdf)
• Communication Skills rubric (*pdf)
• Information Literacy and Technological Agility rubric (*pdf)
• Journal Reflection (The State University of New Jersey)
• Reflection Writing Rubric  and  Research Project Writing (Carnegie Mellon University)
• Research Paper Rubric (Cornell College)
• Assessment Rubric for Student Reflections

AACU VALUE Rubrics

VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) is a national assessment initiative on college student learning sponsored by AACU as part of its Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) initiative.

Intellectual and Practical Skills

• Inquiry and Analysis (*pdf)
• Critical Thinking (*pdf)
• Creative Thinking (*pdf)
• Written Communication (*pdf)
• Oral Communication (*pdf)
• Reading (*pdf)
• Quantitative Literacy (*pdf)
• Information Literacy (*pdf)
• Teamwork (*pdf)
• Problem Solving (*pdf)

Personal and Social Responsibility

• Civic Engagement (*pdf)
• Intercultural Knowledge and Competence (*pdf)
• Ethical Reasoning (*pdf)
• Foundations and Skills for Lifelong Learning (*pdf)
• Global Learning (*pdf)

Integrative and Applied Learning

• Integrative Learning (*pdf)

Assessing Institution-Wide Diversity

• Self-Assessment Rubric For the Institutionalization of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

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15 Helpful Scoring Rubric Examples for All Grades and Subjects

In the end, they actually make grading easier.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 ..

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