rubric-builder

Rubric Builder Skill

A good rubric turns "this feels like a B" into a defensible, repeatable judgment — and tells students exactly how to do better. This skill builds one with observable descriptors at each level.

Working from a brief

Given the assignment and level, build the full rubric anyway, inferring sensible criteria and weighting. Mark anything assumed. Never leave "[describe level]"; write concrete descriptors.

Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided):

• The assignment / task being graded and grade or level
• What matters most (the criteria, or let the skill propose them)
• Scale (e.g. 4-level: Exemplary/Proficient/Developing/Beginning) and total points
• Type — analytic (per-criterion) or holistic (single overall judgment)

Output Format

Rubric overview

• Assignment · Level · Total points
• Criteria & weighting: list each criterion and its share of the grade.

Analytic rubric

| Criterion (weight) | Exemplary (4) | Proficient (3) | Developing (2) | Beginning (1) |

|---|---|---|---|---|

| [Criterion 1] | observable descriptor | | | |

| [Criterion 2] | | | | |

| [Criterion 3] | | | | |

Each cell describes what the work actually looks like at that level — observable evidence, not "excellent/good/poor."

Scoring

How levels convert to points/grade, including weighting.

Student-facing checklist

A short "before you submit, check you've…" version students can self-assess against.

Feedback stems (optional)

2–3 sentence starters per criterion to speed up consistent written feedback.

Quality Checks

• [ ] Descriptors are observable and specific (what the work shows), not vague labels
• [ ] Levels are clearly distinguishable — the jump from one to the next is a real difference
• [ ] Criteria are weighted and sum correctly to the total
• [ ] Includes a student-facing version so the rubric guides, not just grades

Anti-Patterns

• Descriptors that just add adjectives ("good" → "very good" → "excellent")
• Overlapping levels a grader can't tell apart
• Criteria that measure effort/length instead of the learning goal
• A rubric only the teacher can read