While many educators have heard of rubrics, many people have never even heard the word. We all use some form of rubric in our daily lives, even if they are not written down on paper. We might use a rubric in our mind to decide which food we like best on our plate. Is it too salty, just right, or not enough salt? In this article, we will take a look at rubrics; exploring what they are, what they do, why we need them, how we make them, how we use them, etc. The end goal is that you will see the benefits of rubrics, understand how to adapt to overcome their shortcomings and make the most of their strengths, and be able to effectively develop, utilize, and evaluate an exemplary rubric in your own practice.
We start with a definition of a rubric below. Guide yourself through the presentation, and then select one of the links below to move on through this rubric guide.
Definition
A tool used to assess or guide a student’s performance on a given task in a given context given certain standards.
Rubric use:
- Assess depth and breadth of knowledge
- Provide students with valuable feedback
- Formatively assess a student’s performance
- Inform students of standards and expectations
Advantages
- Most assessments do not have an answer key
- Rubrics can provide that key.
- Rubrics allow consistent assessment
- Reproducible scoring by a single individual is enhanced.
- Reproducible scoring by multiple individuals can be enhanced with training.
- Greater precision and reliability among scored assessments.
- They allow for better peer feedback on student graded work.
- Rubrics can be impartial.
- Scoring can be prescribed by the rubric and not the instructor predispositions towards students.
- They allow better or more accurate self-assessment by students.
- Rubrics document and communicate grading procedures.
- If parents, students, colleagues, or administrators question a grade, the rubric can be used to validate it.
- They allow justification and validation of scoring among other stakeholders.
- Students can compare their assignment to the rubric to see why they received the grade that they did.
- Rubrics allow one to organize and clarify your thoughts.
- They tell you what was important enough to assess.
- They allow comparison of lesson objectives to what is assessed.
- Instruction can be redesigned to meet objectives with assessed items.
- Students can use them as a guide to completing an assignment. They help students with process and possibly increase the quality of student work.
- Rubrics provide an opportunity for important professional discussions when they are brought up in scholarly communication.
- Rubrics can help you teach.
- They keep you focused on what you intend to assess.
- They allow you to organize your thoughts.
- They can provide a scaffold with which the students can learn.
- Non-scoring rubrics can encourage students to self-assess their performance.
Disadvantages
- They may not fully convey all we want students to know. If you use the rubric to tell students what to put in an assignment, then that may be all they they put. It may also be all that they learn. Multiple assessments are useful ways around this disadvantage, as well as directed instruction or discussion coupled with the assignment.
- They may limit imagination if students feel compelled to complete the assignment strictly as outlined in the rubric. It is important to have creativity as a criteria if you wish students to be more adventurous in their assignments.
- They could lead to anxiety if they include too many criteria. Students may feel that there is just too much involved in the assignment. Good rubrics keep it simple.
- Reliability can be a factor as more individuals use the rubric. Especially when used for peer assessment among untrained users, the reproducibility and reliability will be reduced.
- They take time to develop, test, evaluate, and update.
Sample Rubric
A look at a rubric
In general, a rubric will look like the following grid. We will discuss the design more when we look at creating a rubric.
| Criteria Label | Ranking 1 | Ranking 2 | Ranking 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criteria 1 | Description | Description | Description |
| Criteria 2 | Description | Description | Description |
| Criteria 3 | Description | Description | Description |
| Criteria 4 | Description | Description | Description |
Sample Rubric
A = exceptional (quality, NOT QUANTITY, goes above and beyond expectations); worthy of a professional portfolio; addresses every major subheading in the assignment; does not summarize or paraphrase the content of the chapter, rather demonstrates content mastery using examples of and/or personalized reflections about the content of the chapter; demonstrates an applied level of understanding through personalized reflections about the content area, literacy strategies, and procedures used to read and learn the chapter content.
B = excellent (superior quality, NOT QUANTITY, in meeting expectations); worthy of a professional portfolio; addresses most subheadings in the assignment; does not summarize or paraphrase the content of the chapter, rather demonstrates content mastery by using examples of and/or personalized reflections about the content of the chapter; demonstrates an applied level of understanding through personalized reflections about the content area, literacy strategies, and procedures used to read and learn the chapter content.
C = acceptable (satisfactory quality and quantity in meeting expectations); needs substantial revision to be worthy of a professional portfolio; addresses about half the major subheadings in the assignment; includes some summarizing or paraphrasing of chapter content; demonstrates content mastery using examples of and/or personalized reflections about the content of the chapter; demonstrates an applied level of understanding through personalized reflections about the content area, literacy strategies, and procedures used to read and learn the chapter content.
D = unacceptable quality (does not meet expectations); needs substantial revision to be worthy of a professional portfolio; addresses less than half the major subheadings in the assignment; consists primarily of a summary of main ideas from the chapter content; summarized information is accurate
F = no credit (effort not worthy of credit); needs substantial revision to be worthy of a professional portfolio; addresses no more than one major subheading in the assignment; consists primarily of a summary of main ideas from the chapter content; summarized information is inaccurate.