Hybrid Learning Guide for Faculty

New to teaching or unfamiliar with rubrics? Here's a quick overview of what they are and why they're useful.

Rubrics are broad and flexible guides for assessing student work.

Rubrics list traits and describe levels of quality on a continuum, including rating scale rubrics, analytic rubrics, and holistic scoring guides.

Rubrics are scoring guides that include traits, performance levels, and detailed descriptions of each level. This view only considers analytic rubrics and holistic scoring guides to be rubrics.

When should you use a rubric?

As the instructor, develop and provide a rubric describing the criteria and levels before students begin working on a problem. A rubric provides structure and helps guide their efforts. Appropriate criteria may include:

• Clarity in defining the problem
• Breadth of outside resources used
• Feasibility of the solution(s)
• Cost-effectiveness of the solution(s)
• How thoroughly all aspects of the problem are addressed
• Rational presented for the solution(s) presented

NWACC’s Digital Learning team is here to support faculty every step of the way—including assistance with creating rubrics in Canvas. Below are resources they provide, all accessible through Canvas:

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At NWACC, we strive for analytic rubrics—the gold standard for clear, consistent, and meaningful assessment. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating one:

1. Define the Purpose: Decide how and where you’ll use the rubric:

• For grading (summative)?

• For feedback and improvement (formative)?

• Is it task-specific or general enough for multiple assignments?

• Will it show progress over time (developmental)?

2. Identify Key Learning Goals: Break broad outcomes into specific traits (e.g., organization, use of evidence, clarity). Keep it simple—less is more—but don’t overlook creativity or other “intangibles” that matter.

3. Design the Rating Scale: Choose 3–5 levels to describe performance (e.g., Beginning, Proficient, Advanced). Avoid just numbers. Make it clear which level reflects acceptable work.

4. Describe Each Performance Level: This is the heart of your rubric. For each trait, define what student work looks like at every level of performance. Think of these levels as points along a continuum—each one should show a clear, observable difference in quality.

Here’s how to do it well:

• Start with “meets expectations.” Begin by describing passing work, then write the higher and lower levels around it.

• Use specific, objective language. Avoid vague terms like poor or excellent. Instead, describe what students did and how well they did it.

• Make distinctions meaningful. Don't just count things—focus on the quality of the work.

• Keep levels parallel. Each level should address the same core elements so it's easy to compare across the rubric.

• Use plain language. Write clearly and concisely so that students, instructors, and even external stakeholders can understand what’s expected.

Example: Rather than counting grammatical errors, describe whether those errors interfere with meaning. Instead of noting how many sources are cited, consider whether the sources are appropriate and effectively integrated.

5. Align with Assignments and Student Work: Review real student submissions as you build. This helps tailor your rubric to the actual performance range and ensures clarity.

6. Test and Refine: No rubric is perfect the first time. Use it, tweak it, and repeat. With each revision, it becomes a more accurate and useful tool for assessing learning.

Reference: Nilson, L.B. (2010). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. Jossey-Bass.