As a college writing teacher, grading rubrics are a key part of my evaluative toolkit. A rubric sets the criteria that will be measured in an assignment and assigns weight to each of those criteria based on the degree to which a student succeeds in meeting those outcomes.
It’s a key tool for a number of reasons.
First, it makes clear my expectations for any given assignment and clarifies how much weight will be given to each element. It also has the benefit of keeping me focused on what I’ve said in class is important.