Rubricading

Rubricading is the practice of annotating a document or process with rubric-based criteria to guide evaluation and feedback. A rubric is a structured set of criteria that defines levels of achievement for a task. Rubricading combines these elements by applying rubric terms to specific parts of a work, often within a learning management system, so that feedback is traceable to predefined standards.

Origin and usage: The term appears in educational technology and pedagogy discussions in the early 2010s as educators sought more transparent assessment practices. It is not a formal standardized process, but a descriptive label for a workflow that connects writing, research, or project artifacts to rubric criteria.

Method: In practice, instructors map sections of a submission to rubric criteria and provide comments that reference the criterion. Students can see how each criterion applies. Rubrics can be analytic (multiple criteria scored separately) or holistic (overall judgment).

Advantages: Clarity, consistency, diagnostic feedback, alignment between instruction and assessment, and improved fairness. Criticisms: time-intensive rubric design, potential rigidity, risk of focusing on scoring rather than learning, and possible misalignment with creative work.

See also: assessment, rubric, feedback, educational technology, annotation.