Rubric Maker for Teachers

Build a custom grading rubric in minutes. Add your criteria and performance levels, fill in the descriptors, and print a clean rubric — ready to hand out or use for grading.

How to Build a Rubric

1. Enter a title for the rubric (e.g. "Persuasive Essay Rubric") or load a template to pre-fill criteria and levels.
2. Add criteria — these become the row headers. Each criterion is one skill or dimension being graded (e.g. "Thesis Statement," "Evidence," "Organization").
3. Add performance levels — these become the column headers. Enter a name (e.g. "Excellent") and the point value for that level.
4. Fill in the descriptors — click inside any cell in the rubric table and type what that performance level looks like for that criterion.
5. Print the finished rubric to hand out to students before the assignment or use while grading.

What Makes a Good Rubric?

Specific descriptors — Vague language like "good" or "adequate" is hard to apply consistently. The best rubrics describe observable behaviors: "Thesis clearly states a position and previews three supporting arguments" is more useful than "Thesis is clear."

Parallel structure — Each row (criterion) should follow the same logical pattern across levels, making it easy for students to understand what distinguishes one level from another.

Appropriate number of levels — Four levels (Excellent / Proficient / Developing / Beginning) work well for most assignments. Three levels simplify grading but reduce differentiation. Five or more levels are rarely worth the added complexity.

Criteria match the learning goals — Each row should correspond to something you actually taught and want students to demonstrate.

Rubric Templates

Essay rubric — Thesis & Argument, Evidence & Support, Organization, Style & Voice, Grammar & Mechanics. Four levels: Excellent (4), Proficient (3), Developing (2), Beginning (1).

Project rubric — Content Accuracy, Creativity & Effort, Presentation, Research Depth, Meets Requirements. Four levels: Exceeds (4), Meets (3), Approaching (2), Below (1).

Participation rubric — Engagement, Contribution to Discussion, Preparation, Respect & Listening. Three levels: Always (3), Sometimes (2), Rarely (1).

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate a student's final score from the rubric? Add up the points from each criterion for the performance level you circled. Divide by the maximum possible points (number of criteria × highest level points) to get a percentage if needed.

Can I weight certain criteria more than others? Not automatically in this tool. A common workaround is to add the high-weight criterion multiple times (e.g. add "Thesis" twice to double its weight) or adjust point values on the levels for specific criteria.

Can I share the rubric digitally with students? The Print button opens a clean printable page you can also save as PDF from your browser's print dialog. Share the PDF with students via your LMS.

What other grading tools are available? If you need a printable bubble sheet for a multiple-choice test, the Answer Sheet Generator creates customizable answer sheets in seconds. Once grades are in, the Weighted Grade Calculator can combine category scores into a final course grade.

Is my rubric saved? No — the rubric exists only in your browser session. Print or save as PDF before closing the tab.