Rubrics… You know, those scoring guides that assist teachers with objectively evaluating student work. These same tools also provide teachers with a consistent framework using specific criteria to determine if and how learning objectives are achieved and skills are mastered. On the flip side, rubrics demystify the grading process for students by clearly stating, in age-appropriate terminology, the expectations of an assignment.

Regardless of whether or not you utilize rubrics, the must-see infographic shown below offers some pretty compelling rationale for promoting and/or reinforcing the implementation of this concept into every classroom.

Basically, rubrics can make the life of an educator simpler. Rather than adding an arbitrary grade to an assignment, rubrics streamline the scoring process by eliminating the guess work that is sometimes associated with determining the quality of project based assessments. Although they are very valuable and worthwhile tools, creating rubrics can be a challenging and tedious task.

That said, check out some of these really cool and useful digital tools that can assist educators in the development of rubrics. Not only can they be downloaded for future use, but they can be shared with others as well. Many of these sites also offer pre-made templates and examples that can be tweaked to suit your academic needs.

And then there’s the must-see Kathy Schrock’s Assessments and Rubrics page, a one stop shop for all things rubrics including tons of general and subject specific rubrics for all grade levels!

A huge shout out to Mia Macmeekin for creating and sharing another useful educational resource! Your infographics are the bomb! A special thanks also goes out to GoPixPic for the use of the rubrics image!

Classroom Connection:

Use the infographic as a guide to help explain why teachers should utilize rubrics to assess student assignments and projects. Utilize the tools mentioned to get the job done!