Rubrics are becoming more important in today's classrooms. I believe the reason for this is that the students know ahead of time what you are looking for when they complete their project or acrivity.
So what are rubrics? they are authentic assessment tools used to measure students' work. It is a formative assessment because it becomes an integral part of the entire teaching and learning process. Check out the links below to find out more about rubrics or to create your own rubrics.
Rubric Generators and general information about rubrics
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php – Rubrics created continue to be available as long as you want them.
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/asses.html
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/rubrics.htm
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/Office/Teacher/Assessment_Information/Rubrics.html
http://insys.ed.psu.edu/~lin/Rubric/H_rubric.htm - Free generator to download and use without going on internet.