Fast-tracking clarity without losing purpose
Having clear expectations leads to deeper learning, but building a good rubric takes time.
Crafting strong student-friendly rubrics is one of the most important and time-intensive parts of planning. It is a balancing game between clarity and depth, while aligning the learning goals, scaffolding skills, and using accessible student-friendly language.
Generative AI can help to speed up this process by creating a starting draft, helping to reword descriptors, and aligning to frameworks like MYP/IB or provincial outcomes.
Why use AI for rubric creation?
✅ It can jump-start the rubric-writing process
✅ It can reword confusing or wordy descriptors
✅ It can create levelled language (i.e. emerging → extending) for performance-based tasks
✅ It can align tasks with learning objectives
✅ It can simplify complex criteria into student-friendly language
How AI can help create or refine rubrics
- Generating a draft rubric for a specific task
Use when: you’ve designed a task and need a rubric tailored to it
Prompt: “Create a 4-level rubric for a grade 9 task where students analyze the causes and consequences of a historical turning point following the attached instructions.” (insert task instructions here)
What you get:
- A draft with levels like emerging, developing, proficient, and extending
- Performance indicators for each level
- Language you can refine and align to your criteria or subject area
- Convert rubric criteria into student-friendly language
Use when: you want students to use the rubric for self-assessment, but the language feels too complex
Prompt: “Rewrite this criterion into student-friendly language: ‘demonstrate synthesis of relevant information to support an argument’.”
What you get:
- A suggestion like “you clearly combine different pieces of information to make your argument stronger.”
- Align to specific frameworks
Use when: you are building an MYP task and want to align your rubrics to Criterion B
Prompt: “Create a rubric aligned with the MYP Individuals and Societies year 5 rubric for Criterion B strand I and II for a task where students design an inquiry question and outline a research plan.”
Bonus: Add “include language at four achievement levels with clear progression between them”
- Clarify what ‘progression’ looks like
Use when: you know the skills you are assessing in a task but struggle to describe the growth between levels
Prompt: “Describe what increasing levels of depth and detail look like in a grade 8 writing task,” or “Give sample descriptors that show progression in critical thinking.”
⚠️Watch out for…
🙅♀️Generic descriptors
AI-generated rubrics can be vague or too general. Always tailor the rubric to your task and subject
🙅♀️Misalignment with intended outcomes
Double-check that the performance indicators match your chosen learning goals and content focus
🙅♀️Inconsistent tone or voice
You may need to reword the output to reflect your classroom culture and standard rubric conventions
🙅♀️Lacking expertise
AI cannot replace your understanding of student needs, curriculum, or what learning actually looks like in your classroom.
Other quick prompts to try
- Create a 4-level rubric for a science project on (insert topic)
- Generate a self-assessment rubric for a persuasive speech
- Rewrite these rubric descriptors using grade 7 language (insert rubric descriptors)
- Turn this checklist into a rubric with four levels of achievement (insert checklist)
- Suggest rubric language that describes the quality of a student’s reflection
Final thoughts
Rubrics are more than a grading tool; they are also learning tools. With the support of generative AI, you can build rubrics that are clearer, more consistent, and easier to share with students.
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