Try a single-point rubric
One column describing proficient, blank space either side. Faster to write, harder to game, and the feedback writes itself into the gaps.
Aug 26, 2026 · 1 min read
A four-column rubric costs hours and teaches students to hunt the wording differences between "good" and "excellent." A single-point rubric keeps only the middle column, the plain description of proficient, with an empty column on each side: one for where this piece falls short, one for where it exceeds. You write the criteria once and the columns fill per student, which makes the feedback specific by construction.
In practice
- Three to five criteria, each one observable sentence. If you can't observe it, it can't anchor a column.
- Most rows need no comment at all: meeting the standard is the default, and silence there is information too.
- Hand it out with the task, not after: a one-column description of good is the clearest success criteria students will get (and pairs with "Ask for the rubric before the task" if AI drafts it).
Quick takeaway: describe proficient once. Let the margins carry the feedback.