A crucial step in assessment is the rubric. Rubrics are a well-established way of setting expectations for assignments as well as providing formal feedback to students. You can use this tool to define and describe the criterion you will use to evaluate a student's work.

There are two basic types of rubrics: analytic and holistic. An analytic rubric can be used to evaluate parts of the work as separate pieces (e.g., the quality of writing mechanics vs. the quality of the argument), while a holistic rubric is used to evaluate work as a whole. Then, there are a growing number of spin-offs, such as hybrid rubrics, single-point rubrics, and scoring rubrics.

There are pros and cons to each type of rubric, and which type you use should be determined by your evaluation goal. The single-point rubric has been included in the following comparison matrix alongside the two core rubric forms, because the pros and cons of this adaptation are representative of several of the spin-off rubric types—and the single-point has potential as a rubric fitting for a variety of use contexts.

**Pros and Cons of the Analytic, Holistic, and Single-point Rubrics**
	Analytic	Holistic	Single-Point
Pros	reveals student's strengths and weaknesses provides clear, delineated expectations provides detailed feedback	provides a quick overview of student's achievement can be quickly applied, efficient for grading large classes	provides clear, delineated expectations for the proficient level succinct, easier to read open-ended in areas of improvement and excellence
Cons	time-consuming to apply	does not provide detailed feedback hard for graders to apply consistently	does not provide detailed feedback for students who failed many areas
Use when…	you want detailed feedback the project is complex, has many parts that could be independently improved.	a general snapshot is adequate quick turnaround on grades are needed (e.g., minute papers)	you want to encourage creativity the task is so varied that it is hard to describe or list all the ways a student could exceed and/or fall short
Example	Breakfast in Bed: Analytic Rubric	Breakfast in Bed: Holistic Rubric	Breakfast in Bed: Single-Point Rubric

How can you develop a rubric?

An analytic rubric is the most popular one used. It consists of roughly three parts: the criteria, the mastery levels, and the level descriptions for each criterion. Holistic and hybrid rubrics use a similar components, just in different configurations.

To develop a rubric, you need to determine what criteria you want to evaluate, the level(s) of mastery you plan to use, and your point values. Then, you need to define what each level of mastery would "look like" for each criterion.

To start, I recommend that you find a rubric that's already been develop and adapt it for your assessment. Here are a few resources to get you started:

A rubric is never finished, not really. Each time you use the rubric, you'll find things you want to tweak or revamp, and your rubric will evolve along with your assessment and, ultimately, your course. So, it doesn't have to be perfect to start with.

Using rubrics for learning

Rubrics can also be effectively used during the learning process, not just for instructor-to-learner evaluation and feedback. Here are a few ideas you could consider trying:

require students to use a rubric for peer or self-evaluations (this can be especially helpful at the draft stage, to refine work before submitting a polished final piece);
ask students to help you improve an existing rubric; or
invite students to build the rubric used for evaluating an assignment in the course.

Learn More

In The Three-Step Rubric, Reed Gillespie gives helpful insight into how he incorporated students into building and using their assignment rubrics.

References

Facione, P. A. & Facione, N. C. (1994). Holistic Critical Thinking Rubric. San Francisco, CA: University of California Press.

Gillespie, R. (February 6, 2014). "The Three-Step Rubric." Brilliant or Insane: Education on the Edge.

Gonzalez, J. (May 1, 2014). "Know Your Terms: Holistic, Analytic, and Single-Point Rubrics." Cult of Pedagogy.

McKeachie, W. J. (1978). Teaching Tips: A Guide for the Beginning College Teacher. 7th ed. Lexington, MA: Heath and Company.