That's what they were first developed for (clear back in the '70s, would you believe), and in the beginning they were used to assess written work. Now teachers are finding them useful in assessing a wide range of classroom activities and assignments: oral presentations, Web creations of various sorts, graphic designs, debates, online discussions, and wiki contributions only start the list. One of the primary motivations for using them has been that they shorten grading time. The article referenced below cites other authors who suggest that they shorten grading time by up to 50 percent. Rublee, the author of this article, claims that they saved her hundreds of hours. (p. 202)