Guide
How to write a competency-based rubric
Competency-based curricula — such as Spain’s LOMLOE — ask teachers to assess against each subject’s evaluation criteria. A good rubric turns those criteria into something you and your students can actually apply.
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The essentials
- Start from your subject’s evaluation criteria, not a generic list of aspects.
- Use 3–5 criteria and 4 performance levels with observable descriptors.
- Give each criterion a weight and link it to the competency it assesses.
What is a competency-based rubric?
A competency-based rubric is a table that describes, for each evaluation criterion, what can be observed at each performance level. The criteria are tied to the competencies the curriculum expects students to develop.
What are the key competencies in Spain’s LOMLOE?
There are eight: linguistic communication (CCL), plurilingual (CP), mathematics, science, technology and engineering (STEM), digital (CD), personal, social and learning to learn (CPSAA), citizenship (CC), entrepreneurship (CE), and cultural awareness and expression (CCEC).
How do you write a competency-based rubric, step by step?
Choose the learning task, select the evaluation criteria it involves, write four levels per criterion with observable behaviours, weight each criterion, and share the rubric with students before they start.
- 1Define the task (for example, an oral presentation on the water cycle).
- 2Select 3–5 evaluation criteria from your subject’s curriculum.
- 3Write four levels per criterion, from “not yet achieved” to “excellent”.
- 4Use observable descriptors: what the student does, not adjectives like “good” or “fair”.
- 5Assign weights that add up to 100% according to each criterion’s importance.
- 6Try it on a real piece of work and adjust before using it to grade.
Example rubric for an oral presentation
This example for lower-secondary students assesses an oral presentation with four criteria linked to communication and digital competencies. You can generate and adapt it in CoRubrics.
| Criterion (weight) | Excellent | Good | Satisfactory | Not yet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Content (35%) | Explains the topic accurately with own examples | Explains the topic with few errors | Covers the basics with some inaccuracies | Incomplete or incorrect content |
| Organisation (25%) | Clear introduction, body and conclusion | Clear structure with minor jumps | Structure hard to follow | No recognisable structure |
| Delivery (25%) | Fluent, precise vocabulary, eye contact | Fluent with some hesitation | Reads much of the text | Reads everything or hard to follow |
| Visual support (15%) | Clear slides that add information | Adequate slides | Slides with too much text | No support or unhelpful |
Can AI generate a competency-based rubric?
Yes. In CoRubrics you describe the task, grade and subject, and AI generates a complete rubric with criteria, levels, descriptors and weights that you then edit. There are also subject templates for primary and secondary.
The same rubric then serves for teacher, self- and peer assessment, and CoRubrics computes each student’s weighted grade.
Frequently asked questions
How many levels should a rubric have?
Four is most common: it avoids a comfortable middle level and maps neatly onto grading bands.
How many criteria should a rubric have?
Three to five. With more, students get lost and peer assessment becomes less reliable.
Do criterion weights need to add up to 100?
It is the clearest approach. In CoRubrics weights add up to 100%, and a criterion can weigh 0% if you want it assessed and shown without counting toward the grade.
Can I use the same rubric for self- and peer assessment?
Yes, and it is a good idea: students get used to the same criteria the teacher will use.
Generate your rubric with AI
Describe the task and get a complete rubric you can edit, share and grade with.