Steps in Creating a Rubric
  • Adapted from "Steps for Creating Rubrics" by Nancy Osborne and "Guidelines for Rubric Development" by Nancy Pickett For further ideas, See Nancy Osborne's Rubrics for Elementary Assessment (Osborne Press, 130 pages of blackline masters for K-6, $27.95)
    1. Based on course goals and objectives, determine specific desired learning outcomes.
    2. Brainstorm ideas for various ways to judge success on a task. Cluster ideas around common attributes and/or descriptors.
    3. Keep the rubric short, clear, and simple (Include 4 - 15 items; use brief statements or phrases)
    4. Each rubric item should focus on a different skill.
    5. Focus on how students develop and express their learning
    6. Evaluate only measurable criteria. Describe the range of attributes according to quality or frequency.
    7. Write the high range of descriptors first. These are your goals.
    8. Write the low range of descriptors next. Think of the things that get in the way of learning.
    9. Fill in the middle ranges of descriptors last.
    10. Choose a display format. Label the levels of performance. Select the codes (1-5, A-D, Superior, Good, etc.) Ideally, the entire rubric should fit on one sheet of paper.
    11. Field test and reevaluate the rubric. Get student feedback! (Did it work? Was it sufficiently detailed? Clear? Behavioral? Do outcomes reflect course objectives?)
    12. Revise as needed.
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