6.4: Assessment Criteria

Criterion Overview

Students are more successful when they clearly understand what is expected before they begin an assignment. Providing evaluation criteria through rubrics, scoring guides, checklists, exemplars, or other instructional supports helps students understand the learning goals, recognize the characteristics of quality work, and monitor their own progress as they complete an assignment.

Effective evaluation criteria communicate more than how points will be assigned. They describe the knowledge, skills, or performance students are expected to demonstrate while reinforcing the learning objectives of the assignment. Clear expectations reduce uncertainty, support consistent grading, and provide students with a roadmap for success.

Evaluation criteria should be available before students begin their work and should align with both the assignment instructions and the learning objectives. When students understand how their work will be evaluated, they are better able to plan, revise, and submit higher-quality work.

Why It Matters

Clear evaluation criteria improve both learning and assessment. Students who understand assignment expectations are more likely to submit work that demonstrates the intended learning outcomes and are better able to use instructor feedback to improve future performance.

Transparent evaluation criteria also promote consistency and fairness. Whether using a rubric, checklist, scoring guide, or exemplar, clearly communicating expectations helps students understand how performance is evaluated while supporting more objective and consistent grading.

What This Looks Like

A well-designed course typically includes:

• Evaluation criteria that are available before students begin graded assignments.
• Rubrics, scoring guides, checklists, exemplars, or other tools that communicate performance expectations.
• Evaluation criteria that align with the assignment instructions and learning objectives.
• Clear descriptions of the characteristics of successful work.
• Instructor feedback that references the published evaluation criteria.
• Opportunities for students to use the evaluation criteria to guide revisions or self-assess their work.

Students understand both what they are expected to do and how their work will be evaluated.

Design Tips

Ask yourself: Will students clearly understand what successful work looks like before they begin the assignment and how their work will be evaluated?

✔ Provide evaluation criteria before students begin each graded assignment.

✔ Align rubrics, scoring guides, or checklists with the assignment learning objectives.

✔ Use clear, student-friendly language that describes successful performance.

✔ Consider sharing annotated examples of high-quality work when appropriate.

✔ Reference the published evaluation criteria when providing feedback.

✔ Encourage students to review the evaluation criteria before submitting their work.

✔ Periodically revise rubrics and scoring guides to ensure they continue to reflect the learning objectives.