Designing High-Leverage Practice Rubrics That Teach and Assess: A Five-Step Process

High-leverage practices (HLPs) are foundational in special education teacher preparation, yet programs lack systematic approaches for teaching and assessing them. This article presents a five-step design process for creating HLP rubrics that serve dual instructional and assessment purposes. The process was developed by analyzing lessons learned during the creation of the High-Leverage Practice Rubric of Assessment (HLPR-A) from 2019 to 2021. Using HLP 5 (interpreting and communicating assessment information) as an example, the methodology includes reviewing course objectives and identifying aligned HLPs, choosing authentic tasks, identifying task components, defining observable behaviors, and developing the final rubric. Teaching examples demonstrate how the HLPR-A functions as both an instructional tool and an assessment measure using Grossman’s practice-based framework. This evidence-based methodology provides faculty with a systematic approach for creating effective HLP rubrics.