---
id: troubleshooting.overlapping-rubrics
title: Overlapping Rubrics
summary: Resolve rubrics that ask the same question or create contradictory evidence.
kind: error
product_area: troubleshooting
status: stable
updated: 2026-08-23
canonical: /docs/troubleshooting/overlapping-rubrics
---

# Overlapping Rubrics

Use this when multiple rubrics appear to fail the same behavior or produce contradictory evidence.

## Symptom

A single output triggers several rubric failures that all describe the same defect, or two rubrics disagree about whether the same behavior should pass. Review context becomes noisy because failures are counted more than once.

## Likely causes

- A new rubric was created without checking existing approved rubrics.
- One rubric tests several behaviors and overlaps narrower checks.
- Policy revisions changed the behavior boundary but old rubrics remained active.
- Applicability rules bind multiple rubrics to the same irrelevant cases.

## Diagnostic checks

- Group failures by output and identify rubrics that cite the same evidence.
- Compare rubric pass/fail wording against linked policies.
- Check rubric versions and whether old versions are still bound to benchmark cases.
- Inspect applicability rules for rubrics that should be mutually exclusive.

## Fix

- Choose the Rubric definition that should govern future evidence and revise or version the affected governed objects through their available controls. Do not claim a merge or retire action unless it is visible in the current surface.
- Split multi-behavior rubrics into one binary check each.
- Revise applicability so rubrics apply only to the intended cases.
- Rerun affected benchmark slices after approved rubric changes.

## Prevention

- Search existing rubrics before approving a new one.
- Require a passing and failing example for every rubric boundary.
- Review overlap during policy/rubric approval.
- Treat rubric edits as versioned changes that can affect benchmark comparisons.

## Related task pages

{% related-card-grid title="Related task pages" %}
- [Create a rubric](/docs/correctness-governance/policies-and-rubrics)
- [Build policies and rubrics](/docs/operating-manual/build-policies-and-rubrics)
- [Read run results](/docs/benchmark-evaluations/inspect-results)
{% /related-card-grid %}

## Related reference pages

{% related-card-grid title="Related reference pages" %}
- [Rubrics](/docs/object-model/rubrics)
- [Rubric versions](/docs/governance/rubric-versioning)
- [Applicability logic](/docs/object-model/applicability-logic)
{% /related-card-grid %}

## Source confidence

Code-backed: Rubric list and detail surfaces expose Rubric identity and versions; linked Policy Cases and evaluation results support comparison of scope and observed failures. The product does not expose a universal merge-or-retire workflow.