Rubric design evaluation tool

The template below can be used as a moderation tool that assesses whether a rubric design aligns with good academic practice and Southern Cross University assessment policies. 

Moderation of rubrics

According to the SCU policy for Assessment, Teaching and Learning Procedures it is a requirement that: "All assessment tasks must be peer-reviewed by an academic colleague or the Course Design Team within the Faculty, College, Discipline, Course or Educational Collaboration" (12). This includes: "Alignment of the task deliverables and marking criteria with the Unit Learning Outcomes" (12b) and "Appropriateness of the marking criteria and expected student performance standards". It is required that "The Unit Assessor will develop, implement and articulate a consistent moderation process for each task, at all locations and partner collaborations, in line with the Assessment Moderation Guidelines" (42). 

You can download and print this document by clicking the export to PDF button below.

Rubric Elements 

Questions 

Yes / No

Comments  

 

Marking Criteria 

Are the criteria appropriate for the task?

       

                                                                                             

Does each criterion cover important parts of the final student performance? 

 


Are the criteria clear? 

 


Are the criteria distinctly different from each other? 

 


Does the rubric have a reasonable number of criteria for the level of learning and the complexity of the assessment? 

 


Are the criteria appropriately weighted as relevant to the learning outcomes? Does the weighting add up to 100%? 

 


 

Descriptors of Performance (standards) 

Do the descriptors of the rubric speak clearly to the content of the task? 

 


Do the descriptors match the criteria? 

 


Do the descriptors provide clear and meaningful distinctions for each performance standard? 

 


Do the descriptors under each level truly represent that level of performance? 

 


 

Effective Marking

Have the SCU Grade descriptors been used (HD, D, C, P, F) for the performance standards? 

 


Is there alignment with the learning outcomes and a clear basis for assigning grades? 

 


Is easy for markers to use and provide effective student feedback? 

 


Has validity and reliability been considered? 

 


Has moderation has been undertaken? 

 


Does the rubric reward or penalise students based on skills unrelated to the learning outcomes being measured? 

 


 

Student Communication 







Is the purpose of the assessment reflected in the rubric? 

 


Is it clear to students what is expected in both the assessment task and the rubric? 

 


Is the language in the rubric simple, clear and immediately understandable (avoids jargon and technical language)? Does the rubric make sense? 

 


Are the grade descriptors clear and different enough from each other so students can differentiate what different grades mean? 

 


Have extra elements been added to the rubric that are NOT in the assessment task information? 

 


Is the rubric fair to all students and free of bias? 

 


Will the rubric be useful for students as a feedback tool? 

 


Suggested Improvements




Overall Rubric Comments




(Please note - it's better to refer to the Online version rather than export, as it's always up to date)