Rubrics are essential tools in higher education, they guide assessment, support feedback, and help students understand what is expected of them. But too often, rubrics rely on vague descriptors such as satisfactory, good, or excellent, without explaining what those terms mean in practice, leaving students more confused than supported.

Students transitioning from further education (FE) into higher education (HE) encounter new forms of knowledge and ways of being assessed (Kyndt et al. 2017; Murtagh 2012; Timmis, Pexton & Cavallerio, 2022). This shift is challenging for students familiar with criteria based, vocationally formed FE assessment models such as pass, merit, and distinction (McIntyre, 2025). At Derby College Group (DCG), students enter HE from various educational routes, including A-levels, level 3 vocational courses, breaks in studies, and transfers from other HE institutions. This results in varied levels of assessment preparedness, reinforcing the need for clear, well-designed rubrics to support the students’ academic competencies, strengthening their assessment literacy as they adapt to HE expectations.

Assessment is essential to student experience. The QAA’s UK Quality Code Advice and Guidance: Assessment emphasises that assessment must be valid, reliable, transparent, and support learning (QAA, 2024). Rubrics contribute to this expectation through clarifying what constitutes quality and highlights the boundaries of each category so students can meet or exceed their standards.

This blog post explores why rubrics matter for student learning, how they support HE expectations, and how they can be used as powerful learning tools rather than being limited to summative assessments.

As part of our second cycle of the Collaborative Observation (CoCO), we are embedding rubrics more intentionally across Criminal Justice (CJ) and Sports Coaching, Performance and Education (SC) sessions to enhance transparency, build assessment literacy, and support student confidence. We are also aligning our work with our Super 7 academic competency framework, a structured guide used to help students engage actively in their academic work. It outlines seven fundamental components that students should apply when they construct arguments including, referencing definitions, incorporating credible statistics, applying theories, referencing legislation, evaluating impact, making comparisons, and drawing on real-world case studies.

 SC students engaged in a preliminary task to annotate an upcoming assessment’s rubric; students were engaged and noted their feelings and suggestions for improvements, giving insights into how students perceive rubrics purely as a summative tool.

Students highlighted four main themes: over-generalisation, readability, clarity of grade boundaries, and the need for further examples. These align with literature suggesting that students may struggle to interpret vague rubric language, particularly when classroom discussion is absent (Taylor, Kisby & Reedy, 2024). This reinforces arguments that rubrics should not just sit on learning platforms, they need further classroom discussion and integration to enhance transparency, student engagement, and understanding of assessment expectations (Francis, 2018; Jones et al., 2017).

The second task involved observing learning after the rubric was embedded as a learning activity within the SC classroom. Students and the module tutor engaged in an experiential task where they discussed the key terms within the rubric, discussed what each criterion was asking, explored the differences between the grade boundaries, and collaboratively created an essay plan, using the Point, Evidence, Explain, Link (PEEL) structure for answering the assignment question at a 70%+ level.

Feedback from the task was positive:

By the end of Task Two, students described a clear change in their approach to writing the assignment, expressing their intention to use the rubric as an opportunity to formally check their work.  Students expressed that they had a clearer understanding on what contributed to higher-level marks, something that they were unaware of prior to the rubric task. This reflects an increase in assessment literacy and academic confidence. Where Task One highlighted uncertainty, Task Two showed the opposite and displayed that a structured discussion, using the rubric as a learning tool, allowed students to move from not fully understanding expectations, to being able to articulate how they can influence their assessment grade.

Task One outlined the barriers students face when left navigating unclear expectations on their own, for example when rubrics are not explicitly taught or linked within their modules. Whereas Task Two demonstrated the potential of rubrics when used as a collaborative pedagogical tool, generating deeper understanding and confidence. Despite the value of using rubrics as a pedagogic tool, it may be suggested to include clearer elements into rubric to demystify the expectation of what “good”, “very-good”, and “excellent” look like for students.

When rubrics are embedded into a learning activity, summative assessments reflect a positive correlation between integration of rubrics and higher student outcomes. During the first semester, students within the SC 2026 cohort were taught a research module and had rubric tasks integrated into each learning activity. When comparing outcomes proportionally, student outcomes improved significantly, with 66.7% of students achieving a Distinction, compared with 18.2% in 2025. 100% of students achieved a merit or above, compared to 54.5% in the previous cohort. The increase in student outcomes and student reported confidence highlights the importance of collaborative engagement specifically with rubrics – reducing the barrier to student transition, while meeting the aims of a high quality HE education.

Brookhart, S.M. (2018) ‘Appropriate Criteria: Key to Effective Rubrics’, Frontiers, 3(22). Doi: 10.3389/feduc.2018.00022. (Accessed: 18/01/2026).

Francis, J. (2018) 'Linking Rubrics and Academic Performance', Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 15(1), pp. 1-17. Available at: https:// files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1173810.pdf (Accessed: 12 November 2025).

Jones, L., Allen, B., Dunn, P., and Brooker, L. (2017) ‘Demystifying the rubric: a five-step pedagogy to improve student understanding and utilisation of marking criteria’. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(1), pp. 129–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1177000. (Accessed: 06/03/2026).

Kyndt, E., V. Donche, K. Trigwell, and S. Lindblom-Ylänne. (2017). Higher Education Transitions: Theory and Research. London: Routledge.

McIntyre, E. (2025) ‘considerations for Assessment in Vocational Education’, BU Journal if Graduate Studies in Education, 17(2). Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1481296.pdf. (Accessed: 06/03/2026).

Murtagh, L. (2012). ‘Enhancing Preparation for Higher Education’ Practitioner Research in Higher Education, 6(1). Pp. 31–39.

Panadero, E., Jonsson, A., Pinedo, L., and Fernandez-Castilla, B. (2023). ‘Effects of Rubrics on Academic Performance, Self‑Regulated Learning, and self‑Efficacy: a Meta‑analytic Review’, Educational Psychology Review. 35(113), pp.1-38. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-023-09823-4. (Accessed: 18/01/2026).

QAA (2024) UK Quality Code for Higher Education. Available at: https://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/uk-quality-code-for-higher-education-2024.pdf. (Accessed: 16/02/2026).

Taylor,B., Kisby,F., and Reedy,A. (2024) ‘Rubrics in higher education: an exploration of undergraduate students’ understanding and perspectives’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 49(6), pp. 799-809. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02602938.2023.2299330 (Accessed: 14/02/2026)

Timmis, M.A., Pexton, S., Cavallerio, F. (2022). ‘Student Transition into Higher Education: Time for a Rethink Within the Subject of Sport and Exercise Science’ Frontiers Education. 7. Pp. 1-11. Doi: 10.3389/feduc.2022.1049672. (Accessed: 13/12/2025).