Rubrics are not a form of assessment but are the criteria for making an assessment. Rubrics encourage clear assessment targets and clear expectations. When a rubric is well defined, learners know exactly what is expected of them and how they may achieve a top grade. Most learners want to excel and will work hard if they believe there is an opportunity for success. They will exert more effort and produce more work to meet clearly expressed expectations for success.
Rubrics are sets of criteria or scoring guides that describe levels of performance or understanding.
They provide students with expectations about what will be assessed, standards that need to be met, and information about where students are in relation to where they need to be. Developing a Rubric is a dynamic process. As the components and goals of instruction become clearer to the teacher, the ability to define ranges and levels of execution within the processes of the active learning experience will make the development of a rubric easier. With unfamiliar content, it's okay to write a rubric after the fact and save it for future reference. Even after a rubric is used, it may need modification.