What this rubric measures
The RISE Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 3–5 is the official scoring guide used to evaluate student writing on Utah RISE assessments. It is an Holistic genre trait plus shared Conventions rubric that scores responses across 2 distinct criteria, allowing teachers to give precise, targeted feedback on each area of writing.
All 2 scoring criteria
Click any criterion to expand its score level descriptors. The language below is taken verbatim from the official Utah State Board of Education RISE scoring guide.
1 Informative/Explanatory (Genre)
The response demonstrates an ability to provide a purposeful and focused written response to an on-demand prompt. It demonstrates a strong understanding of the task and purpose. Characteristic of score point 6 include:
- a clear topic, well maintained
- an introduction that indicates a focus for the writing
- a conclusion that summarizes and ties back to the topic
- an organizational structure that is clear and appropriate for the purpose
- clear presentation of ideas that demonstrates understanding of the topic
- includes sufficient, well-chosen facts, details, examples, and/or quotes to develop the topic
- clearly shows the relationship between the topic and facts, details, examples, and/or quotes
- precise use of language to develop the topic
The response may: lack the polish of multiple revisions; have minimal loosely related material.
The response demonstrates an ability to provide a purposeful and mostly focused written response to an on-demand prompt. It demonstrates a clear understanding of the task and purpose. Characteristic of score point 5 include:
- a clear topic, mostly maintained
- an introduction that indicates a focus for the writing
- a conclusion that ties back to the topic
- an organizational structure appropriate for the purpose
- coherent presentation of ideas that demonstrates understanding of the topic
- includes sufficient, mostly well-chosen facts, details, examples, and/or quotes to develop the topic
- shows the relationship between the topic and facts, details, examples, and/or quotes
- appropriate use of language to develop the topic
The response may: lack the polish of multiple revisions; have minor lapses in organization; have minimal loosely related material.
The response demonstrates an ability to provide an adequately purposeful and focused written response to an on-demand prompt. It demonstrates an adequate understanding of the task and purpose. Characteristic of score point 4 include:
- a clear topic
- adequate organization
- coherent presentation of ideas that demonstrates an adequate understanding of the topic
- includes sufficient facts, details, examples, and/or quotes to develop the topic
- attempts to show the relationship between the topic and facts, details, examples, and/or quotes
- adequate use of language to develop the topic
The response may: have minor lapses in organization; have loosely related material; NOT have a clear introduction and/or conclusion.
The response demonstrates an ability to provide a somewhat purposeful and focused written response to an on-demand prompt. It demonstrates some understanding of the task and purpose. Characteristic of score point 3 include:
- a topic
- some organizational elements
- includes facts, details, examples, or quotes related to the topic (information may be general)
- somewhat appropriate use of language to develop the topic
The response may: have unclear organizational elements; have unrelated material; NOT have a clear introduction and/or conclusion.
The response demonstrates an ability to provide a limited written response to an on-demand prompt. It demonstrates limited understanding of the task and purpose. Characteristic of score point 2 include:
- a topic that is a basic response to the prompt, or a simple summary statement
- partial, limited organizational elements
- sparse and/or unrelated facts, details, or quotes, examples, or generic information
The response may: have more than one topic; have unclear organizational elements; have unrelated material; have word choice inappropriate for the task and purpose; NOT have a clear introduction and/or conclusion.
The response demonstrates an ability to provide a minimal written response to an on-demand prompt. It demonstrates minimal understanding of the task and purpose. Characteristic of score point 1 include:
- a statement which references the topic
- minimal or no organizational elements
- minimal or missing supporting information
The response may: be off-purpose (but not off topic; argument instead of summary, etc.); have unrelated material; NOT show evidence of deliberate word choice; NOT have an introduction and/or conclusion.
On-demand Informative/Explanatory rubric used on RISE Writing Summative Grade 5 and Benchmarks Grades 3, 4, and 5. Score 4 represents meeting grade-level standard.
2 Conventions
The response demonstrates strong command of conventions and sentence formation in a written response to an on-demand prompt. Characteristic of score point 3 include:
- effective variation of sentence structure
- effective use of punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation, and spelling
The response tends to: have a few minor errors in usage; have no patterns of errors.
The response demonstrates clear command of conventions and sentence formation in a written response to an on-demand prompt. Characteristic of score point 2.5 include:
- appropriate variation of sentence structure
- appropriate use of punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation, and spelling
The response tends to: have minor errors in usage; have no patterns of errors.
The response demonstrates an adequate command of conventions and sentence formation in a written response to an on-demand prompt. Characteristic of score point 2 include:
- some variation of sentence structure
- appropriate use of punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation, and spelling
The response tends to: have some awkward or repetitive sentence structure (but construction does not impede understanding); have minor errors in usage; have errors that do not impede understanding.
The response demonstrates partial command of conventions and sentence formation in a written response to an on-demand prompt. Characteristic of score point 1.5 include:
- attempts to vary sentence structure
- partial use of punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation, and spelling
The response tends to: have errors in usage; have errors that do not significantly impede understanding.
The response demonstrates limited command of conventions and sentence formation in a written response to an on-demand prompt. Characteristic of score point 1 include:
- limited use of punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation, and spelling
The response tends to: have no variation of sentence structure; have significant errors that may impede understanding.
The response demonstrates little to no command of conventions and sentence formation in a written response to an on-demand prompt. Characteristic of score point 0.5 include:
- minimal use of punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation, and spelling
The response tends to: have no variation of sentence structure; have significant errors that may cause confusion or impede understanding.
Shared On-Demand Conventions rubric used across all RISE Writing Summative Grades 5 and 8 and Benchmarks Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Identical descriptors are applied to every Argument and Informative/Explanatory response. Scored in half-point steps. Score 2 represents meeting grade-level standard.
How to score with the RISE Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 3–5.
A practical guide for teachers and norming teams. How to apply each descriptor consistently, the pitfalls that hurt inter-rater reliability, and a workflow for calibrating with colleagues.
Two independent traits, separate passes
- Score the Informative/Explanatory Genre trait (1 to 6) and the Conventions trait (0.5 to 3) on separate passes.
- Per USBE guidance, the two trait scores are not combined into a cumulative writing score.
- Score 4 on the Genre rubric and Score 2 on Conventions both represent meeting grade-level standard.
Apply descriptors literally
- Start at the lowest score point and ask, does the response meet this descriptor? Move up only when it clearly satisfies the next level's bullets.
- Score what is on the page, not intent or potential.
- When between two score points on the Conventions rubric, the rubric supports half-point scores (3, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1, 0.5). Use them.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- Awarding 5 or 6 to a response with strong facts but no clear relationship between the topic and the supporting information. Grade 5 rubric explicitly evaluates 'shows the relationship between the topic and facts'.
- Treating a list of facts as 'sufficient development'. Score 4 requires sufficient facts AND an attempt to show the relationship between the topic and the facts.
- Penalizing convention errors under the Genre rubric. Convention errors are scored only under the Conventions trait.
Tips for norming with your team
- Anchor with USBE RISE Grade 5 released samples scored across both traits before the session.
- Score the first 5 silently, then compare. Discuss any trait where graders are more than one point apart.
- Re-norm halfway through a long batch. Drift is real, especially on the half-point Conventions scale.
Notes for the RISE Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 3–5
The Grades 3-5 Informative/Explanatory rubric evaluates whether the response stays on topic, develops the topic with relevant facts and details, and shows the relationship between the topic and the supporting information. It does NOT evaluate analysis; analysis first appears at Grade 6 and develops further at Grades 7-8.
Grade 3 and Grade 4 use 'attempts to link ideas within categories of information' (Grade 3-4) or 'links ideas within categories of information' (Grade 4) in place of the Grade 5 'shows the relationship between the topic and facts, details, examples, and/or quotes' language. Score by the rubric for the grade being tested; the scoring intent is similar but the descriptor wording differs.
Per the USBE rubric note: this on-demand rubric is for first-draft responses to a single RISE prompt. It should NOT be used to assess classroom writing that has gone through the writing process.
The Conventions trait is shared with every other RISE Writing rubric (Grades 3-8, both genres). The descriptors and the half-point scale (0.5 to 3) are identical regardless of the genre or grade band being scored.
See this rubric in action.
EnlightenAI scores student writing on this exact rubric, with per-criterion feedback that mirrors how you grade by hand. The sample response below shows how the rubric applies to a real piece of student writing, scored against every criterion.
The four stages of a butterfly's life
Butterflies go through one of the most amazing changes in the animal world. A butterfly's life has four main stages, egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult. Each stage looks different and serves a specific purpose in the butterfly's development.
The egg stage
The first stage is the egg. The article explains that a female butterfly lays tiny eggs on a leaf. The leaf is usually from a plant that the caterpillar will eat once it hatches. Eggs are very small, sometimes only the size of a pinhead. The relationship between the egg and the plant matters because the caterpillar needs food immediately after it hatches.
The caterpillar stage
The second stage is the caterpillar, also called the larva. According to the article, caterpillars eat almost constantly and can grow to more than ten times their hatching size in just a few weeks. They shed their skin several times because they grow so fast. The relationship between eating and growing is direct: more food means faster growth, which prepares the caterpillar for the next stage.
The chrysalis stage
The third stage is the chrysalis, also called the pupa. The article describes how the caterpillar attaches itself to a twig or leaf and forms a hard outer shell. Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar's body completely changes. This is the stage where the relationship between the four stages becomes most obvious: the caterpillar's body literally rearranges itself into the butterfly's body.
The adult butterfly stage
The fourth and final stage is the adult butterfly. The article explains that when the butterfly first emerges, its wings are wet and crumpled. It pumps fluid into its wings until they are stiff enough to fly. Adult butterflies focus on finding food, finding mates, and laying eggs, which starts the cycle over.
Conclusion
Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult are the four main stages of a butterfly's life. Each stage prepares the butterfly for the next stage, and together they show one of nature's most complete transformations.
Clear topic, organized stages, relationship shown
Topic is clear and mostly maintained. Each stage gets its own paragraph with sufficient facts from the article. Relationship between the topic and the facts is shown (egg/plant, eating/growing).
Clear command of grade-level conventions
Appropriate variation of sentence structure (compound and complex sentences appear). Punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are appropriate. Minor usage errors only. No patterns of errors. Earns 2.5 on the half-point Conventions scale.
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About the RISE Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric, Grades 3–5
What is the Utah RISE Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric for Grades 3-5?
How is the Grade 5 RISE Informative/Explanatory rubric different from Grade 3 and Grade 4?
How many points is the RISE Grades 3-5 Informative/Explanatory rubric worth?
Does the RISE Informative/Explanatory rubric evaluate analysis?
Is this rubric the official version from USBE?
Where can I find the source document?
Can EnlightenAI score student writing using this rubric?
Use this rubric in EnlightenAI
Train EnlightenAI on the RISE Grades 3-5 Informative/Explanatory Writing Rubric (plus the shared Conventions rubric) and start scoring student writing, with consistent per-trait feedback, in a single class period.