Marking rubrics

Examples of, and resources on, effective rubrics used by Deakin staff

When thinking about your unit content and assessment, you have no doubt thought carefully about appropriate strategies that will assist in developing and communicating assessment criteria. Marking rubrics are an effective way to evaluate and critique student work based on a pre-defined set of assessment criteria.

A marking rubric is a tool used to articulate expected standards at various levels of performance in assessment. The criteria for each level of performance (from ‘high distinction’ through to ‘fail’) are explicitly described in clear language to assist students to understand and interpret these descriptions.

Examples of work or performance that typify each level can also be provided. Rubrics can help guide student attempts at assessment tasks by outlining the criteria that will be used to judge their performance. Students can also use rubrics for self-reflection on, and assessment of, their own assessment performance. The articulation of criteria can also assist staff to make fair and consistent judgments about student performance.

The use of marking rubrics enables you to reliably evaluate student assessment activity and ensure that assessment performance is evaluated fairly and consistently.

The following rubric resources have been designed and used by Deakin staff and may help you when developing your assessment strategy.

Rubric examples and descriptors

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8th August 2011