Instructors:

• Are you tired of answering the same questions about assignment guidelines?
• Do you think grading takes too much time?
• Have your fingers ever cramped up from typing the same feedback over and over again?
• Are you sick of explaining to students why you gave them a certain grade?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, talk to your Instructional Designer (ID) about rubrics, a “prescription” (Brightspace tool) to help you manage your grading.

What are Rubrics?

Rubrics can help you digitally organize your grading expectations. They are built in a grid format: rows indicate the criteria being evaluated, and columns indicate the quality demonstrated on each criterion. By arranging your grading expectations into a rubric, you are communicating to students what an excellent submission looks like, what elements contribute to that excellence, and the extent to which a submission achieved that excellence.

You can view more examples of rubrics in our Brightspace Best Practices: Rubrics module.

Benefits of Rubrics

• They help you grade students consistently. If you grade every student using the same rubric, you are holding every submission to the same set of standards – regardless of where in the grading order they fall.
• They can save you time while grading. The rubric contains references to what you’re looking for, meaning it can cue you to check for certain items.
• They become a springboard for personalized feedback. Rubrics allow you to pre-fill feedback, which you can then build on by highlighting something unique about the submitted work.
• They can be simple or complex, depending on your needs. Two rubric types are available in Brightspace: holistic rubrics are well-suited for activities you may be grading for completion or participation. Analytical rubrics allow for in-depth analysis of multiple components within a submission. Learn more about holistic versus analytic rubrics.

Side Effects of Rubrics

• They cannot be edited after you’ve graded with them. This is a feature to protect your students and their grades – it would not be fair to change your grading expectations after you’ve already completed grading. However, it means rubrics require previewing before you use them, to ensure they’re student-ready.
• They are not a replacement for personalized feedback. Although you can pre-fill the rubric with feedback, this is best suited as a starting point for specific feedback, so students benefit from hearing your voice and expertise tailored to them.
• They do not guarantee a student will look at them. Students may require coaching to know where and how you are delivering feedback to them. Instructions such as “read the rubric before submitting this work” or “See my comments and feedback in the rubric” help cue students on the valuable info you are sharing with them!

How to Reach your Rubrics

1. Go to your course in Brightspace.
2. In your Nav Bar, click Course Admin.
3. Select Rubrics. If your Course Admin tools are arranged by category, Rubrics are classified under “Assessment.”

You can also get to the Rubrics tool by selecting All Course Tools -> Rubrics within the Nav Bar.

Standard Rubrics

Some courses have standard rubrics available within them. You can associate these rubrics directly with your assessments, or you can create a copy of them, customize* them by adjusting points values or modifying the descriptive language to fit your assessment goals, then associate them with your graded assessments.

*Please note: If you intend to use a standard rubric to assess a program educational objective or student outcome, do not customize the rubric. The assessment method for these objectives and outcomes must be consistent across the program.

AAC&U VALUE Rubrics

• Created by: American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
• Available for: Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences courses
• Use them to: assess abstract concepts related to interdisciplinary learning outcomes

VALUE rubrics are helpful for grading “civic engagement,” “ethical reasoning,” and other concepts that may be tricky to define. Rather than relying only on your “gut feeling” to assess your students’ work, use a VALUE rubric to help you articulate exactly how the student performed according to the criteria. By defining what excellence looks like, students are more equipped to do well before they submit their work and more informed about their performance afterward.

Learn more about the AAC&U’s VALUE rubrics.

ABET School of Engineering Rubrics

• Created by: ABET
• Available for: School of Engineering courses
• Use them to: assess problem solving, critical thinking, and teamwork skills

ABET is the accrediting organization for Wentworth’s School of Engineering programs, and ABET rubrics are useful for assessing students on their abilities to analyze problems, develop and test solutions, communicate results, and work with a team. These rubrics are segmented into their component parts, so you can opt to assess only part of the ability at your discretion.

Learn more about ABET accreditation at Wentworth.

Custom Rubrics

If standard rubrics are not right for you, create your own! Brightspace offers the following resources on how to build your own rubric:

• Create a rubric
• Attach a rubric to an assignment

Note: This video displays a different version of Brightspace but the rubric editing suite is the same. Video not loading? Watch on Youtube.

As you design or customize rubrics, consider: am I grading for holistic effort, or am I looking at specific components within each submission? What will the best submissions look like? What are the qualities within those submissions that stand out? Use those answers to identify your criteria for grading.

Talk to your ID about Rubrics

The TLC Team is happy to help you design a rubric that’s right for you and your course. Please schedule a consultation, drop into our virtual office hours, or send your questions to teach@wit.edu.

Have a healthy day!