Table 2.

Rubric for assessment of learning goals

Primer Design Exercise	Level 3	Level 2	Level 1
How well does the student understand the keys to a quality primer? (broad goals 1 and 2, specific goal 2)	The primers are designed to meet the criteria and the PCR reaction should work in theory.	The reaction might work, but there are potential problems with primer design or structure.	The reaction would not work due to poor primer design.
How well does the student understand the proper directionality/design of the reverse primer? (broad goals 1, 2, and 3, specific goal 1).	The 3′ primer is the reverse complement of the sequence and should work in the reaction.	The primer is the reverse or the complement but not both and therefore the reaction will not work.	The primer is neither the complement nor the reverse and therefore the reaction will not work.
How well can the student use bioinformatics tools including BLAST searches to check primer quality and specificity? (broad goals 1, 2, and 4, specific goal 2).	The student has developed primers using bioinformatics that meet the criteria and the student clearly understands specificity of the primer.	The student can identify a problem with the primers using bioinformatics but cannot analyze the bioinformatics results correctly or completely.	The student does not use bioinformatics to check his/her primers or does not understand how the results indicate specificity of the primers to the target DNA.