Rubrics
Contents
Unit 4: Rubrics
Rubrics: The Eyeglasses We Create
A rubric is a consistent form of evaluation applied to all students. A rubric is often defined as a scoring tool that lists the criteria for a piece of work and also specifies different gradations of quality for each one of these criteria. The score given is based on the sum of a wide range of criteria rather than a single numerical or letter score. Rubrics are authentic assessment tools that are usually given to students before work is assigned so that they can see clearly what the expectations are and how their work will be evaluated by the teacher. Rubrics can be used in any subject and can be easily modified for a variety of tasks and assignments.
Why are rubrics useful?
Teachers and students who are familiar with rubrics tend to find them helpful because of the following reasons:
- They are tools for both teaching and assessment because they make teachers' expectations clear and because they also show students what they need to do in order to meet those expectations. In short, rubrics help teachers define what they mean by quality work. Not surprisingly, rubrics often contribute to significant improvements in the quality of student work.
- Since rubrics clearly itemize what needs to be accomplished and the varying degree of quality for each criterion, they provide students with clear guidelines regarding expectations and help them look critically at their own work to assess its quality. They help students identify weaknesses and strengths in their own work.
- Since they are easy to use, rubrics help teachers reduce the amount of time they spend evaluating student work. Once a rubric is developed, teachers can put a checkmark beside the criteria in the rubric that most effectively reflect student work. They do not have to write lengthy explanations for the student to identify the shortcomings or strengths of the assignment. A student can take a quick look at a completed rubric and know very quickly which aspects of the work require improvement.
- Rubrics allow teachers to be more consistent and objective in their assessments.
- Rubrics provide teachers with helpful feedback regarding the effectiveness of their instruction and help them identify areas in need of improvement.
Three Common Features of Rubrics
- Rubrics focus on measuring a stated objective (performance, behavior, or quality).
- Rubrics use a range of quality indicators (from “needs improvement” all the way to “exceeds expectations”, for example) to evaluate student performance.
- Rubrics provide clear and specific performance characteristics that are divided into levels showing the degree to which student’s work complies with established criteria.
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rubrics may be used “as-is” or they may be combined and modified in any way that is appropriate for your students. A rubric is the right choice for you if it addresses the aspects of student work that you feel are most important, and you and your colleagues can generally agree on the score that should be assigned to a given piece of student work.
A good way to find out which rubric is best for you is to pick a few likely candidates, try them out on actual examples of student work, and modify them if necessary. This is often best done in a group setting, so all of the teachers who will be using the rubric can be involved. It is worth taking your time to find a rubric that works well at your school because that rubric will make scoring your students' work easier and quicker.
Most rubrics are focused on particular subjects and grade level(s); if available, that information is often included in the rubric listing. Although subject areas and grades are specified for many of the rubrics, you may find that some rubrics can be applied to other subjects and grades with little or no modification. So, if a rubric looks promising, do not be too concerned about the stated grade level or subject. For example, reading rubrics may often be used to assess listening, and writing rubrics can be used to assess speaking, content, and organization (you would need to add scales for vocal delivery and physical gestures and behavior).
Rubrics for art, music, drama, and dance may sometimes be used for a different art form with little modification. For example, an art rubric that deals with the artistic sensory elements of line, shape, value, color, and texture might be used as a music rubric by substituting musical sensory elements, such as rhythm, tempo, pitch, timbre, and dynamics.
If we think about assessment as “casting a net into fertile waters and gathering information,” a rubric is like the eyeglasses we create and use when we look into the net. Rubrics help us to see; they help us to look for certain things we deem important.
A rubric can be issued from a pre-made template or inspired by school or national standards. A rubric can be created by a teacher or a group of teachers. It can even be co-created with students.
Sample Rubrics
Please see the Appendix at the end of this course.
The Teacher as Doubter or Listener and Believer
As teachers, we have a choice about how to offer feedback to our students on specific assignments. We can doubt our students through argument, debate, and criticism as a way of knowing. Or, we can listen and believe: listen, affirm, enter in, try to put ourselves into the skin of people with other perceptions and share our experience with others. In Writing Without Teachers, Peter Elbow discusses these two approaches, the need for both, and the time and place in which each game works best.
Most likely, you will need to utilize a bit of both roles – that of doubter and that of listener/believer in your work as a teacher. For giving feedback on assignments, however, we emphasize the “believing game.”
We ask teachers to develop and use their “believing muscle” – that is “to understand ideas from the inside.” As the educator, Peter Elbow, writes, “The believing game is constant practice in getting the mind to see or think what is new, different … [the believing game] emphasizes a model of knowing as an act of constructing, an act of investment, an act of involvement …”
Believing
What does it mean to “listen, affirm, enter in” when we speak of giving feedback to students?
For starters, the important thing is to read your student's assignment thoroughly – perhaps two or three times, to allow the words to sink in and make an impression upon you. Then, let the student know – orally, through written comments, or both – what you experienced as a reader when you read your student's words.
| 
Copyright 2008, by the Contributing Authors. Cite/attribute Resource. fred. (2008, June 13). Education for the New Millennium. Retrieved May 04, 2010, from TWB Courseware Web site. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/3.0/88x31.png
