Title: Rubrics - transparency in evaluation
Course: Digivisio - DEMO course template > Section: Evaluation and feedback

Transparency in evaluation benefits both the learners and the teacher. An essential tool for transparency are rubrics. We first take a look at what they are, then cover their benefits in more detail, and finally offer guidelines for creating rubrics and avoiding the worst pitfalls.

Rubric – what is it?

A rubric is a tool to be used when evaluating the learners’ work, and it usually has three characteristics. It describes the evaluation criteria, quality requirements for the different grades, and grading strategy.[4]

Here is an example of a rubric aimed to evaluate short, written tasks. As you can see, it has the Evaluation criterium, Knowledge base and Written work, description of what is required for different grades, and strategy for grading. Depending on the maximum number of points, different criteria are valued differently, but as the amounts are given in percentages, they can be applied to any number of points. The passing grade for this rubric is 50%, which applies to all criteria.

Written tasks
Criterium and emphasis (%) | Knowledge base (75%) | Written work (25%)
Description | Knowledge base includes the use of sources and professional terminology, as well as the creation and construction of information. | The written work includes the structure, following the task given, the use of language, and grammar.
Evaluation (%) | Excellent (100%) | The learner uses diverse, current, relevant, and reliable sources. They know the concepts and terminology well. The learner produces structured, in-depth knowledge, which meets the demands of the task. References are done correctly and refer to information which can be checked. | The structure is clear, consistent, and meets the demands of the task. The way of writing is neutral, concrete, and objective. There are clear, logical connections between items in the text. The text is clear, precise, compact, and shows a strong command of the language. The format is appropriate.
Good (75%) | The learner uses current, relevant, and reliable sources. They know the concepts and topics. They can produce consistent information according to the demands of the task. The references are mostly correct and refer to information which can be checked. | The structure is consistent and meets the demands of the task. The text is neutral and objective. There are logical connections between topics. Most of the text is precise and shows command of the language. The format is appropriate.
Pass (50%) | The learner uses current sources. They mostly know the concepts and topics. There may be inconsistencies in the text the learner has produced when compared to the task demands. The references are mostly correct. | The structure is clear and mostly meets the demands of task. The text is objective. The relationships between topics can be seen. The text is clear, and the format is mostly appropriate.
Fail | The demands for a passing grade are not met.

Example of a rubric – source Laurea University of Applied Sciences

Benefits of a rubric to the learners

- Clarity of the teacher’s expectations – rubrics clearly define the criteria, which a high-quality contribution looks like on different levels. Expectations regarding content and quality for the path towards successful studying.
- Developing self-evaluation – the learners can use the rubric before they submit their tasks to the teacher to be evaluated. This way they can find aspects to develop, and to focus on specific skills and concepts, which require further work.
- Focused feedback – the rubrics offer focused feedback through showing the learner what they already know and what they still need to work on. Detailed feedback enables better learning results and personal growth.
- Consistency and fairness – the transparency of evaluation helps the learners feel the evaluation is fair. Everyone is evaluated on the same scale, and the learners have justification to challenge evaluation, if they feel they have been treated unfairly.
- Goal-oriented studying – the learners can set clear goals regarding different competences, which enables them to optimise their work in relation to the learning goals.
- Support of formative evaluation – clear expectations, supporting self-evaluation, detailed feedback, consistency and fairness – all of these support giving formative feedback.

Benefits of a rubric to a teacher

- Collaboration – although competencies form the basis for all, the learners’ works can still be quite generic in nature. At the end of the day, learners submit essays, take part in discussions, create a video, do group work, peer evaluation etc. Regardless of the substance, almost any essay can be evaluated using the same rubric. The same things are needed in a good essay, regardless if the topic is computer science or taking care of the elderly. This enables collaboration between teachers when constructing rubrics.
- Objective evaluation – well-defined levels decrease subjective evaluation. If a learner feels they are not being evaluated objectively, they can refer to the rubric and discuss any inconsistencies with the teacher. It is easier to talk about evaluation, when it is possible to refer directly to criteria and the set levels.
- Detailed feedback – the rubric offers structured, detailed, and constructive feedback, which helps the learners to understand their areas of development and their strengths.
- Compatibility with the learning goals – measure the desired learning.
- Consistency between different evaluators – if there are several evaluators in the course, rubrics make sure that they all use the same standards, criteria, and ensure equity of evaluation

Tips for designing a rubric

- Concrete evaluation criteria written in clear language the learner can understand – no pedagogical jargon
- In line with the learning goals
- Different levels must be recognisable – not too many levels, as it makes the descriptions more difficult
- Listen to feedback and edit when needed. Rubrics are not set in stone.
- Think if a topic belongs to the instructions and not the rubric. For example, exact lengths of discussion forum messages do not need be mentioned in the rubric.
- Collaborate with other teachers. This enables more extensive use of the rubric, and will certainly improve the rubrics’ quality.
- Remember that we support learning – no rubric should be built for the sake of building a rubric.

Avoid

- Excessive complexity – it confuses both the learner and the teacher and makes evaluation difficult.
- Unclear terms. For example, ”good” means different things to different people.
- If possible, do not make the rubric too limiting.

Sources and resources:

[1] Laurea - arviointitaulukot

[2] Verraton arvioinnin apu: arviointitaulukot (2024), Laurea Journal, Marstio, Mattila, Niemelä, Pohjasniemi, Tiirikainen (2024)

[3] Miten hyödynnän arviointimatriiseja Moodlessa - Moodle - Rubrics

[4] Assessment rubrics: towards clearer and more replicable design, research and practice, Phillip Dawson, 2015. Saatavilla: Full article: Assessment rubrics: towards clearer and more replicable design, research and practice (tandfonline.com)