A rubric is a scoring tool that lists the scoring criteria for a piece of work. Rubrics specify the level of performance expected for several levels of quality. These may be shown as Excellent, Good, Needs Improvement or as numerical scores ( 4, 3, 2, 1) which are then added up to form a total score which then is associated with a grade ( A, B, C, etc). Rubrics help students and teachers define "quality". Rubrics also help students judge and revise their own work before handing in their assignments.