From rubric fairness to student engagement: the mediating role of feedback usefulness and metacognitive awareness

Rubrics are widely used in higher education to clarify assessment criteria and structure feedback. However, research has less often examined how students’ perceptions of rubric-based assessment are associated with learning engagement and metacognitive processes. Drawing on Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) Theory, this study examines relationships among perceived rubric fairness and transparency, perceived usefulness of rubric-based feedback, metacognitive awareness, and motivation and engagement. A total of 113 survey responses were collected across multiple disciplines at a comprehensive U.S. university; 104 complete responses were included in the analyses. Regression and mediation analyses tested the proposed relationships. Students who perceived rubrics as fair and transparent were more likely to perceive rubric-based feedback as useful. Feedback usefulness was strongly associated with metacognitive awareness, which was in turn strongly associated with motivation and engagement. Mediation analysis indicated a significant indirect association between feedback usefulness and motivation and engagement through metacognitive awareness. The findings are consistent with metacognitive awareness serving as one pathway linking perceived feedback usefulness with motivation and engagement, although the cross-sectional design does not establish temporal or causal relationships.