WHAT IS A RUBRIC?
Rubrics (or “scoring
tools”) are a way of describing evaluation criteria (or “grading standards”) based on the
expected outcomes and performances of students.
Typically, rubrics are used in scoring or grading written assignments or
oral presentations; however, they may be used to score any form of student
performance. Each rubric consists of a
set of scoring criteria and point values associated with these criteria. In most rubrics the criteria are grouped into
categories so the instructor and the student can discriminate among the
categories by level of performance. In
classroom use, the rubric provides an “objective” external standard against which student performance may be
compared.
WHY USE RUBRICS?
Has a student ever said to you regarding an assignment,
“But, I didn’t know what you wanted!” or “Why did her paper get an ‘A’ and mine
a ‘C?’” Students must understand the
goals we expect them to achieve in course assignments, and importantly, the
criteria we use to determine how well they have achieved those goals. Rubrics provide a readily accessible way of
communicating and developing our goals with students and the criteria we use to
discern how well students have reached them.
WHAT IS INVOLVED?
Instructor Preparation Time: Medium to High
Preparing Your Students: Continuous; but students catch on
fairly quickly
Class Time: Variable. As students use rubrics, they become
better writers and oral presenters; hence the time instructors spend evaluating
students’ work is reduced.
Disciplines: All
Class Size: All.
Rubrics are easy to use in small classes, and are particularly useful in
large classes to facilitate scoring large numbers of written or oral
assignments.
Individual/Group Involvement: Both.
Analyzing Results: The level of analysis depends on the
instructor’s intended goal of the assessment task and the type of data desired
about students’ performance. For
detailed analysis of students’ responses, each section of the rubric can be
scored independently then totaled. For a
holistic analysis of students’ responses, all sections of the rubric can be
blended and an overall score assigned.
Other Things to Consider: Rubrics must be readily available
to students before they begin an assignment or written test. Posting rubrics on the web and including them
in the course pack for in-class writing promotes their usefulness.
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