Rubrics

This article focuses on rubrics, a type of formative assessment that can be used for instructional purposes. Rubrics can help students understand exactly what the instructor expects of them for a project or instructional unit, by outlining the steps and expected outcomes. Several different types of rubrics and how each is used are discussed. Examples are given for classroom implementation. The steps involved in developing a rubric are also addressed, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.

Keywords Analytical Rubric; Assessment; Authentic Assessment; Feedback; Formative Assessment; Holistic Rubric; Peer Evaluation; Primary Rubric; Scoring Rubric; Self-Assessment; Summative Assessment; Validity

Overview

Rubrics are a type of formative assessment and can be used for instructional purposes. They are written out steps and procedures for students to follow for assignments, delineating expectations and desired outcomes. They are usually no more than one or two pages long, and they describe the different levels of quality from proficient to poor for a specific project or assignment. Instructional rubrics are considered a higher, better form of assessment because they provide more informative feedback about each student's strengths and weaknesses than do traditional forms of assessments. The perfect rubric is one that can clearly and concisely describe the kinds of mistakes students tend to make as well as the ways in which work excels, providing invaluable guidance for students even when the instructor is not available to assist them (Andrade, 2000). Rubrics are generally reserved for more complex assignments such as a long-term project, term paper, research paper, essay, or class presentation. There are two primary purposes for rubrics. For students, a rubric is intended to provide informative, useful feedback about their work while they are in the midst of it and then provide a detailed evaluation when the project is complete. For instructors, rubrics provide a more detailed look at how students are progressing on projects, and help teachers focus their instruction on the competencies they deem to be most important for their students.

An effective rubric is one that is concise and easy to read, so students understand exactly what the instructor expects of them when completing their assignment or project. Rubrics can also be a useful tool for parents who are assisting their children with their homework, since they can consult the rubric and know exactly what is expected of their child. Rubrics also help parents understand exactly what their children are learning as the competencies are all laid out in each instructional rubric.

By supplying their students with written expectations in the form of a rubric, instructors help ensure that their students know exactly what is expected of them and what constitutes exemplary, good, poor or failing work-and it gives students something concrete that they can refer to as often as necessary while they are completing the assignment. The rubric can be complemented with actual examples of each level of work to help students make the connection with the various levels. Students who do low-level work may have never seen what a high-quality assignment or paper looks like. Actually seeing good work can help them determine which qualities are considered superior, giving them something on which to focus.

Rubrics are useful tools at all educational levels; they differ from checklists in that checklists do not identify different quality levels. Rubrics also require instructors to really take a look at the courses they teach and decide what they want their students to accomplish in the class. Instruction can become better designed and more coherent as a result of working with rubrics. Rubrics can help students understand the rationale behind their assignments and activities because they can clearly see what they are expected to do and what competencies they will learn. Rubrics can also help them understand what the differences are between high-quality work and work of a lesser quality because it is all spelled out for them in a properly formulated rubric. Rubrics can also help instructors remain fair and unbiased because they require the instructor to mark students on the quality of their work based on the criteria listed on the rubric, and they do not take into consideration outside factors that may have influenced the instructor in the past (How Rubrics Work, 2005).

Students can learn a lot more from a rubric than they can from a letter grade or score. A single letter grade or score can leave both students and parents and even school districts wondering whether the grade shows relative or absolute achievement. Even if instructors try to bring relevance using class, school or district norms, it can be misleading because there is no way of determining whether or not each student's performance level is appropriate, or if the performance is just superior in that class, school, or district yet sub par when compared to students in the best schools in the country. Rubrics are able to show exactly what has been mastered because each component of the project or assignment is rated on a scale.

Types of Rubrics

There are two basic types of rubrics. Both forms of assessment are considered authentic when properly done, and each has its use depending on the type of project or assignment and what the instructor would like to assess.

Analytical Rubrics

Analytical rubrics break projects into their individual parts and each part is rated using a scale provided. For writing a paper, such a breakdown could include the components:

• Uses an introductory paragraph,

• Clearly states main ideas,

• Provides supporting evidence,

• Uses a pattern to present information,

• Is persuasive, and

• Ends with a summary and appropriate conclusion (Tuttle, 1996).

Each component is rated separately, and each individual rating is compiled to obtain an overall score for the project or assignment (Tuttle, 1996).

Holistic Rubrics

Holistic rubrics require the instructor to score the overall project or presentation as a whole without rating each component separately. Holistic rubrics are more appropriate than analytical rubrics when there is no definite or clearly correct answer, or if the components of an activity are too interrelated for easy division. They may also be the more appropriate choice whenever errors made in parts of the assignment are acceptable as long as the overall quality of the project is high. While analytical rubrics can be the better choice in cases in which each component of a project is important and distinct, holistic rubrics can be less time consuming to score because analytical rubrics require the separate examination of individual work and feedback for each piece. However, analytical rubrics can provide more in-depth assessment and help pinpoint each student's areas of strength and the areas of weakness that require more work (Kan, 2007).

Scoring & Primary Rubrics

Scoring and primary rubrics are more specific interpretations of analytical and holistic rubrics. A scoring rubric is a rubric used by an instructor to assign grades and supplies guidelines that describe the characteristics of different levels of performance. Scoring rubrics may also be used by students and groups when conducting peer or self-assessment. Scoring rubrics consist of performance criteria, performance level, and performance definition across scale level. Scoring rubrics are both qualitative and descriptive. A primary rubric attempts to assess student learning based on one particular trait or emphasis (Kan, 2007).

Developing & Using Rubrics

The format of rubrics can vary greatly depending on instructors' preferences and what format they think will be most effective for their students. However, all rubrics should have two common components: Rubrics should list all the competencies that will be evaluated during the project or assignment, and should also have the gradations of quality with clear descriptions of what constitutes each level of competency. Rubrics should be clear and concise. Creating or selecting a rubric that can show students the problems they may encounter while working on the project is better than one that is vague in describing levels of quality or describes mistakes students cannot recognize. Gradations of quality can help students recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their own work, which can help them focus on improving their work instead of working on competencies that they have already mastered (Andrade, 2000).

Before designing a rubric, it is important to determine the concept or skill that will be taught, which will help keep the rubric focused. It can be helpful to look at existing rubrics to determine if there is a preferred design. If students are going to be involved in the design process, it can be helpful to find a good example of a rubric for a project that is similar to the one for which the rubric is being designed. Before the project begins, students should be told that they are going to be working on a similar project so they become more engaged. Once the sample rubric has been chosen and handed out to everyone, students should be given examples of good, average, and poor work to review. Once they have looked at the examples, the class can discuss what makes the good examples good, what makes the average examples average, and what makes the poor examples poor-using the sample rubric as a guideline. This can help students begin to put things in context and help get them accustomed to working with rubrics. Students' responses should be recorded during this discussion in list form because it can help with determining the criteria for the project rubric. By working off a list, students can brainstorm to form their ideas into the criteria for their own rubric. Once students are finished brainstorming, if they have missed any criteria that the instructor feels should be included in the rubric, the instructor needs to add to the list and explain to the class why they are important and need to be included. School, district, state, and national standards can be good resources for determining certain criteria needed in order to pass state and national assessments.

Once everyone has exhausted their ideas and the instructor has had input, everyone views the list and another discussion occurs to look at the list and try to pare it down by determining which ideas are interrelated and which ones overlap. While this is occurring, instructors need to be careful that the categories do not become too large and that the criteria they know they want to emphasize does not get lost. Next comes defining the levels of quality and articulating what constitutes each level. The optimum number of gradations of quality is three or four since the levels can be broken up into groups:

• Exceeds expectations

• Adequate

• Needs improvement

• Inadequate progress

• Significant progress

• Capable progress

• Shows progress

• Minimal progress

Regardless of the number of gradation levels selected, it is vital that each level clearly articulates what constitutes earning that level so that there can be no misunderstanding about student progress, or lack thereof, and students know exactly what they need to do to attain the highest level of achievement.

Then it is time to actually create a draft rubric. This draft should include the list of criteria that was generated by the class and should also expand on the levels of quality and be revised as necessary. Once completed, the rubric should then be presented back to the class, and students should be encouraged to comment on it and ask any questions they may have. Once the rubric has been used for the project, it should be reevaluated to determine if it worked and the vast majority of students learned what they were supposed to learn and were successful following the guidelines of the rubric. One way to do this is to take time and have students reflect on the project and on what they have learned (Andrade, 2000).

Applications

There are a few considerations to keep in mind when implementing a rubric. As students are working on their projects, they should be reminded to check the evaluation criteria to make sure they are still following it. Tuttle (1996) suggests that for students who are working in groups, one student can be assigned the task of making sure the group is staying on task and keeping to the criteria of the rubric. It is a good idea to post the rubric in a prominent place in the classroom and provide each group or student with a smaller copy. This also gives students the opportunity to take the rubric home for reference when they are working on the project as homework. Instructors can also have students report their progress on a daily basis by setting time aside at either the beginning or end of class and have each group or student give a brief report on their progress. This helps the instructor to determine whether students still on track and also provides students with an opportunity to pose any questions they may have and mention any challenges or concerns they may have. If students need some assistance, the instructor can also refer them to a student or group that has already successfully completed the task. This can help the entire classroom work as a team. These sessions can help students learn more and pick up helpful tips by simply listening to other reports, and also learn from mistakes that are brought up during these report times (Tuttle, 1996).

When the project is approximately halfway finished, instructors should ask students to rate their progress using the rubric. Near the end of the project, instructors can incorporate peer evaluation into the project and have one group assess another group's progress or one student assess another student's project, having each cite specific examples in their ratings. This helps the class develop its critical thinking skills and also gives each student or group an outside perspective or an opportunity to change their project based on the comments. After the peer assessment occurs, instructors should have each student or group use the rubric for a final self-assessment and require each student to cite specific examples to show how each component of the rubric was addressed. Instructors should use the same rubric to assess the projects. Once students are accustomed to working with rubrics, there should be very little, if any, difference in their self-assessment score and the instructor's score. Since students should have a clear understanding of the criteria and have used the assessment tool themselves, there should be no surprises when the final score is given (Tuttle, 1996).

Rubrics help instructors clarify their learning goals and design instruction that deals directly with said goals. They can also be an effective way to communicate those instructional goals to students, help guide an instructor's feedback on student progress toward stated goals, and help instructors determine the level of proficiency students have reached in meeting those goals. By working backwards with the rubric, instructors can design their lesson plans and concentrate on honing the skills students must learn in order to perform adequately on an assignment. When students help create the rubric, the concepts can be even better understood.

Both the instructor and students are helped by the feedback that can come as a result of the rubric. Instructors are helped because the rubrics can help them give more pointed and informative feedback based on the criteria of the rubric, and this better, more detailed feedback can even take less time than using other methods. A properly constructed rubric allows instructors to give their students individualized, constructive critique, which can help students focus on what they need to learn. Rubrics can also make peer and self-assessment easier for students to accomplish because it helps focus them on what they should look for in assessing the work and helps them determine at what level students are at for each component of the rubric.

Although there are many positive aspects of rubrics, there are still some other aspects that should be considered when deciding to use them. Validity, reliability, and fairness can be issues. Reliability concerns the consistency of the judgments that are made about students and their work, and validity concerns the accuracy of the judgments made using the rubric. A rubric should be aligned with standards of the curriculum being taught in order to be valid. One way to determine reliability is to have different people use the rubric to assess the same body of work and see if it results in similar ratings by all. If not, then it should be revised as necessary. This will be easier to do with an analytical rubric than a holistic rubric because each competency is clearly spelled out in an analytical rubric, and instructors will be able to see exactly which components resulted in similar ratings and which components resulted in disparate ratings (Andrade, 2005).

Terms & Concepts

Assessment: The process of determining the amount of information students have retained.

Authentic Assessment: Assessment tasks that resemble tasks in the real world and in school and aims to evaluate many different kinds of abilities in situations that are similar to those in which abilities are needed and utilized.

Formative Assessment: Generally considered part of the instructional process, intended to provide information needed to help instructors adjust their instruction and help students learn while instruction is occurring.

Peer Evaluation: A process where students comment on and judge their classmate's work using set criteria.

Reliability: Something that yields the same or compatible results whenever it is used.

Self-assessment: An evaluation and judgment of one's own work.

Summative Assessment: Summarize what students have learned and occur after instruction has been completed.

Validity: Whether the process produces the desired result and is well founded.

Bibliography

Andrade, H. G. (2000). Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning. Educational Leadership, 57 , 13. Retrieved June 26, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=3270122&site=ehost-live

Andrade, H. G. (2005). Teaching with rubrics. College Teaching, 53 , 27-30. Retrieved June 26, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=15348149&site=ehost-live

How rubrics work (2005). Teaching Professor, 19 , 6. Retrieved June 26, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=16070168&site=ehost-live

Kan, A. (2007). An alternative method in the new educational program from the point of performance-based assessment: Rubric scoring scales. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 7 , 144-152. Retrieved June 26, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=24374466&site=ehost-live

Mui So, W., & Hoi Lee, T. (2011). Influence of teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning on the implementation of Assessment for Learning in inquiry study. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 18, 417-432. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67054373&site=ehost-live

Panadero, E., Romero, M., & Strijbos, J. (2013). The impact of a rubric and friendship on peer assessment: Effects on construct validity, performance, and perceptions of fairness and comfort. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 39, 195-203. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=92640236&site=ehost-live

Penner, I. (2013). Comparison of effects of cognitive level and quality writing assessment (CLAQWA) rubric on freshman college student writing. College Student Journal, 47, 447-461. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90516441&site=ehost-live

Stevens, D. & Levi, A. (2004). Introduction to rubrics: An assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback, and promote student learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Tuttle, H. (1996). Rubrics. Multimedia Schools, 3 , 30. Retrieved June 26, 2007 from EBSCO Online Database Academic Research Premier. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9601153056&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Ainsworth, L. & Christinson, J. (1997). Student generated rubrics: An assessment model to help all students succeed. Palo Alto, CA: Dale Seymour Publications.

Lazear, D. (1998). The rubrics way: Using MI to assess understanding. Tucson, AZ: Zephyr Press.

Quinlan, A. (2006). A complete guide to rubrics: Assessment made easy for teachers, K-College. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Osborne, N. (1999). Rubrics for elementary assessment: Classroom ready blackline masters for K-6 assessment. San Francisco, CA: Osborne Press.