Rubrics

Rubrics are a great way to assess students’ learning, define teachers’ expectations, and assist students in assessing their own work. A rubric divides the assigned work into different components, on the basis of which a student is graded. Rubrics are used for a wide array of assignments and can be used to identify a student’s weaknesses, hence bringing to light the skills and concepts that need to be focused on.

The usage of rubrics is advantageous to both teachers and students as grading is done according to an explicit and descriptive set of criteria, ensuring that the instructor’s grading standards don’t change over time. It allows students to easily recognize their strengths and weaknesses in their work and direct their efforts accordingly while simultaneously assessing their work based on the framework mentioned in the rubrics. Rubrics also reduce the time spent on grading by allowing instructors to refer to the rubric description associated with a score rather than writing long comments. Furthermore, rubrics ensure consistency across graders and reduce the systematic bias often existing between different graders.