Creating and Managing Rubrics

This article covers how to create, edit, duplicate, and use rubrics. Rubrics let graders score a question against multiple criteria, each with its own grading scale — commonly used on written-response questions.

What’s in a Rubric?

Every rubric has:

1. A name — how you’ll find it later (e.g. “Argumentative Essay Rubric”).
2. One or more criteria — the dimensions you’re grading (e.g. “Thesis,” “Evidence,” “Organization”).
3. A grading scale per criterion — the score levels students can earn (e.g. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4).
4. Optional standards alignment — attach educational standards to specific criteria.

Creating a Rubric

From the dashboard, click Create New and select Rubric.

You’ll be redirected to the create rubric form:

1. Name (required): the main identifier of the rubric. Use a short, descriptive name that’s easy to recognise from a list (e.g. “Essay Response – 4-point”).
2. Add a Criteria button: a rubric must have at least one criterion. Click this to add one and start filling in its details. (See the criterion fields below.)

Criterion Fields

Each criterion lets you customise:

1. Criteria title (required): a short title describing the theme of this criterion (e.g. “Thesis Statement,” “Use of Evidence”).
2. Criteria description (optional): a longer description of what the student should achieve to meet this criterion. Helps you stay consistent across students and is visible to any co-graders using the rubric.
3. Delete criteria button: removes the criterion. No confirmation prompt — click carefully.
4. Add grading scale button: by default each criterion has one grading scale (value 0). Add more scales for higher point values. New scales auto-increment by one as you add them.
5. Grading scale point value (required): the score a student receives when the grader selects this scale.
6. Grading scale description (optional): what the student needs to demonstrate to earn this scale.
7. Delete grading scale button: removes a grading scale. No confirmation prompt — click carefully.
8. Drag handle: hold and drag to reorder criteria. The order here is the order they appear when scoring student responses.
9. Add standard button: attach one or more educational standards to a criterion (Teacher Pro feature).
10. Save button: save the rubric. You’ll be returned to your rubric list.

Attaching a Rubric to a Question

Rubrics are most commonly used on written-response questions.

1. Open the assessment’s question manager (see Manage Assessment Questions).
2. Edit the question you want to grade with a rubric (most commonly a written-response question).
3. Select the rubric from the dropdown.
4. Save the question.

Scoring With a Rubric

When you grade a question that has a rubric attached, you score each criterion separately:

1. Open the assessment and go to the student you want to grade.
2. Find the question with the rubric attached.
3. Each criterion appears with its grading scales side-by-side.
4. Pick one scale per criterion based on the student’s response.
5. The student’s total score on the question is the sum of the selected scales across all criteria, calculated automatically.
6. Save when done.

Editing an Existing Rubric

From the rubric list, click the rubric you want to edit. Modify criteria, scales, or descriptions as needed and save.

Duplicating a Rubric

If you want a variation of an existing rubric without changing the original, duplicate it:

1. Go to the rubric list.
2. Find the rubric and use its action menu to select Duplicate.
3. A copy is created with “Copy of” prepended to the name.
4. Edit the copy as needed.

This is the safest path when you want to evolve a rubric across school years without losing the original.

Deleting a Rubric

From the rubric list, use the rubric’s action menu to delete it. PaperScorer warns you first if the rubric is currently attached to any questions — you’ll need to detach it from those questions before deletion can complete.

Tips for Effective Rubrics

• Keep criteria focused. 3–5 criteria is the sweet spot. More than 7 becomes unwieldy to score consistently.
• Write specific level descriptions. “Excellent analysis” is vague. “Identifies 3+ specific examples with clear explanations” is actionable.
• Use the same scale consistently. If most criteria are 0–4, don’t make one criterion 0–10 — it’s confusing.
• Test the rubric before a big assessment. Score a few sample responses to see if the rubric distinguishes quality well.
• Share the rubric with students before the assessment so they know how they’ll be scored.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I reuse the same rubric on multiple questions or assessments?

Yes. Rubrics are independent objects — create one and attach it to as many questions across as many assessments as you want.

Do students see the rubric on their printed sheet?

No. The rubric is a grading tool used by the teacher after scanning. The student’s sheet shows the question prompt and writing space only.

Can I score a rubric question manually without using the attached rubric?

Yes — if you want to override the rubric’s total, you can enter a final score directly. See Changing a Question Answer.