Using Checklists and Rubrics

Both checklists and rubrics are powerful tools to help students succeed and ensure grading is clear, consistent, and efficient. While they serve different purposes, each helps set expectations and provide structure. Here's how to use both effectively in your course.

✅ Checklists

A checklist outlines specific elements students must include or complete. Unlike rubrics, checklists don’t evaluate the quality—they simply verify whether each component is present.

Best for multi-step tasks (e.g., lab reports, research papers)
Binary marking (complete/incomplete)
Helps students stay organized and on track
Clarifies expectations without overcomplicating grading

📊 Rubrics

A rubric is a scoring guide that outlines performance levels for different components of an assignment. It supports transparent, fair, and consistent grading across students.

Provides detailed, structured feedback
Supports both formative and summative assessments
Clarifies performance expectations
Improves grading efficiency and fairness

🧩 Types of Rubrics & Their Uses

Analytic Rubric (Most common in Canvas): Breaks the assignment into categories with individual scores and specific feedback. Great for detailed assessment.

Holistic Rubric: Gives a single overall score based on overall quality. Faster to use but less detailed. Useful for broad assessments.

📋 Rubric vs. Checklist Comparison

Feature	Rubric	Checklist
Purpose	Measures quality across multiple criteria	Confirms whether elements are included
Scoring	Uses a range of scores per criterion	Typically binary (yes/no)
Detail Level	Descriptive, nuanced feedback	Ensures basic completion of requirements
Best For	Evaluating complex performance	Making sure steps aren't missed

Use rubrics to assess quality and give detailed feedback. Use checklists to ensure students meet requirements. For many assignments, it’s best to use both together for clarity, fairness, and student success.