Rubric on Writing Good Rubrics
  • Based on Nancy Osborne's Rubric on Writing Good Rubrics. See also her book, Rubrics for Elementary Assessment (Osborne Press, 130 pages of blackline masters for K-6, $27.95)
    A superior rubric
  • identifies a complex task that draws on higher order thinking skills
  • has goals that are clearly stated and attainable
  • clearly describes attributes across a defined range of abilities
  • judges characteristics or behaviors that are observable and measurable
  • is age appropriate but encourages growth
  • has wording/vocabulary/concepts appropriate to the ones who will be using it
  • is stated in positive terms: WHAT TO DO
    A good rubric
  • identifies a less complicated task that uses mid-level thinking skills
  • has goals that are a little ambiguous, but attainable
  • partially describes attributes across a range of abilities
  • mostly judges characteristic that are observable
  • describes characteristics that are age appropriate
  • has wording that is somewhat appropriate for target audience
  • is mostly stated in positive terms
    A poor rubric
  • identifies a simple task that draws on low-level thinking skills
  • expresses goals that are unclear, unattainable, or unrealistic
  • does not describe a range of abilities or attributes
  • offers judgments that are merely opinions
  • describes characteristics that are not age appropriate
  • has wording that is inappropriate for the targeted audience
  • is stated only in terms in negative terms: what NOT to do
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