Rubrics for Assessment The basics of what why

Rubrics for Assessment The basics of what, why, how and when of using rubrics for authentic assessment

Rubrics A rubric is a scoring tool that lists the criteria for a piece of work, or “what counts” and clearly defines gradations or levels of quality for each criterion, from excellent to poor.

What is a Rubric? A rubric is an authentic assessment tool which is • particularly useful in assessing criteria which are complex and subjective. • a formative type of assessment that becomes an ongoing part of the whole teaching and learning process (used before, during, and after the learning process). • designed to simulate real life activity where students are engaged in solving real-life problems.

A Rubric… • is based on a continuum of performance quality, built upon a scale of different possible score points to be assigned. • identifies the key traits or dimensions to be examined and assessed. • provides key features of performance for each level of scoring (descriptors) which signify the degree to which the criteria have been met.

Why Rubrics? When a rubric is well-defined, • learners know exactly what is expected of them and how they can achieve the highest or desired grade. • the teacher is able to make reliable judgments about student work and allows students to self-assess.

Advantages Rubrics • make expectations clear. • help students judge own work. • reduce time spent evaluating. • are easy to use and explain. • make scoring fair and consistent.

Essential Parts A rubric has these components: • Performance Criteria/Dimensions -come from standards -usually 5 -7 • Rating Scale -representing most to least proficient -usually an even number of points • Descriptors -Statements describing each level of performance

Types of Rubrics • Criterion-based Performance Lists – better know as Checklists • Holistic Rubrics • Analytic Trait Rubrics

Types of Rubrics can be designed to assess: • Product – grounded in content knowledge • • Essay, book report, Research paper Graph Video Scientific model • Performance – actions/behaviors • • Oral report Product presentation Computer programming process Music or dance performance

Criterion-based Performance Lists or Checklists are NOT true rubrics; however, they can serve as a progress checkpoint for students as they work and can be used to help build an analytic rubric. Checklists: • List the criteria, elements, or traits of a performance • Do not contain a detailed description of the performance levels • May have point values assigned to each item on the list • May be judged using Yes or No

Example 1 - Prompt You are a restaurant critic who has been assigned the task of evaluating your waitperson. With a partner (or as a group) design a checklist of qualities upon which you would judge a waitperson’s performance.

Criterion-based Checklist Performance Promptly greets patron Attentive to patron’s needs Courteous Friendly, but not overly so Delivers the food while still hot Gets the order right Calculates the check correctly Yes No

Criterion-Based Checklist. Product This Is My Country! Yes No Points Student has chosen a name for their new country. (5 points) Student has identified five requirements for citizenship. (10 points total, 2 points each) Student has justified the reason for each of the five requirements. (10 points total, 2 points each) Student has written the work neatly using Correct grammar. (5 points) Total Points _____ /30 Final Grade ____

Holistic Rubric • Provides an overall impression of a student’s work • Yields a single score for a product or performance • Is well-suited to judging simple products or performances • Does not provide a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses

Example 2 - Prompt The editor of the restaurant magazine is not satisfied with the checklist and has asked for you to create a holistic rubric with which to give the waitperson a score from 3 to 1. Look the criterion-based performance checklist from example 1. Use it to help determine the levels in a holistic rubric.

Holistic Rubric - Performance 3 2 1 The waitperson greets patrons promptly, and is courteous and friendly, but not overly so. He/she takes the order accurately and serves the food while it is still hot. He/she is attentive to the patron’s needs and calculates the bill correctly. The waitperson is not quite as prompt or courteous. He/she may be unfriendly or overly so. He/she may forget minor parts of the patron’s order or serve the food slightly cool. He/she neglects the patrons or miscalculates the bill. The waitperson is not prompt. He/she is rude or unconcerned with patron’s needs. He/she gets the order wrong or makes the patrons wait. Many mistakes are made in the bill.

Sample: Holistic Rubric for a Product 7 th Grade Math Graphic Representations

Analytic-Trait Rubric • Divides the product or performance into distinct traits and judges each separately • Is better suited to judging complex performances involving several dimensions • Provide more specific information or feedback • Helps guide students to better understand meet the quality of work expected. • May be more time-consuming to learn and apply

Example 3 - Prompt After seeing your evaluation of his wait staff in the magazine, the owner of the restaurant asks you to design an analytic-trait rubric by which he can assess his people. Use the information from the checklist and holistic rubric to create an analytic rubric for assessment of performance.

Analytic-Trait Rubric - Performance Greeting 10% Attentiveness 15% Service 60% Billing 15% 3 The waitperson greets patrons promptly. The waitperson is attentive to patron’s needs. The waitperson takes the order accurately and serves food promptly. The waitperson calculates the bill accurately. 2 The waitperson lets patrons sit for a few minutes before greeting. The waitperson is somewhat attentive to patron’s needs. The waitperson makes a minor mistake in the order or does not serve food promptly. The waitperson makes a minor mistake in the bill. 1 The waitperson lets patrons sit for several minutes before greeting them. The waitperson totally ignores the needs and requests of patrons. The waitperson gets the order wrong or serves the food cold or both. The waitperson completely miscalculates the bill.

More examples Analytic Rubrics Presentation or Product

Performance Analytic Rubric - Collaboration 20% 20% 40%

Performance Analytic Rubric - Collaboration

Product Analytic Rubric

How Do I Start? • Determine if you want the rubric to assess a product or a performance. • A separate rubric may be needed for each if the assignment contains both aspects (i. e. a project that will also be presented to an audience). • List what you want students to accomplish and achieve as a result of your instruction. • Decide which type of rubric will get the highest levels of work from your students.

Creating Effective Analytic Rubrics • Make a list of what you want students to accomplish as a result of learning. • Sort these items into dimensions (categories) and define each dimension. • Develop a continuum (scale) for describing the range of product or performance possibilities for each dimension. • For each dimension, describe what characterizes the best/highest possible performance of the task. o This will serve as the anchor for each of the dimensions by defining the highest score point on your rating scale.

Creating Effective Analytic Rubrics • Describe the least acceptable product or performance. o This will serve as a description of the lowest point on your rating scale. • Describe characteristics of products/performances that fall at the intermediate points of the rating scale for each dimension. o Often these points will include some major or minor flaws that prevent the product or performance from receiving a higher rating.

Chart example of dimensions and descriptors

Evaluate your Rubric • Is the rubric aligned to standards? • Is the rubric developmentally appropriate? • Is the rubric useful, feasible, manageable and practical? • Is there a clear basis for assigning scores at each scale point? • Can the rubric be understood by students and parents? • Is the rubric fair and free from bias? • Can the rubric be applied to a variety of tasks? • Can the rubric be applied consistently by different scorers?

Checking for Validity requires that all of these elements be aligned: • The understandings/learning goals/power standards • Performance objectives (Know-Do) • Driving question • Performance Task(s) • Student products/performances • Assessment criteria

How Do Rubrics Improve Instruction and Student Learning? • The teacher commits to teaching quality. • The teacher commits to assisting the student selfassess. • The focus is on each product and/or performance. • Students can gauge their work and effort. • Specificity appears in all communications. • Everyone gives and receives feedback.

Remember … Align your goals and your assessment for a true picture of what the student can do. The rubric used must assess what you set out to assess. Show the rubric to the students BEFORE they start to work on the product or performance.

References http: //wvde. state. wv. us/instruction http: //www. cte. cornell. edu/teaching-ideas/assessing-studentlearning/using-rubrics. html http: //eatvancouver. net/picswaac/example-of-analytic-rubric-for-writing https: //qualityandinnovation. files. wordpress. com/2012/02/mind-maprubric. png http: //writinginnovations. com/writing-analytically-7 th/ http: //health. usf. edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default. htm

It can also provide a rationale for assigning grades to subjectively scored assessments. Sharing the rubric with students is vital—and only fair—if we expect them to do their best possible work. An additional benefit of sharing the rubric is that it empowers students to critically evaluate their own work. ” Heidi Andrade, 1995

Rubrics can improve student performance, as well as monitor it, by making teachers' expectations clear and by showing students how to meet these expectations. The result is often marked improvements in the quality of student work and in learning. Thus, the most common argument for using rubrics is they help define "quality. "

“A rubric can be a powerful communications tool. When it is shared among teachers, students and parents, the rubric communicates in concrete and observable terms what the school values most. It provides a means for you and your colleagues to clarify your vision of excellence and convey that vision to your students…. .

[Rubrics] help students become more thoughtful judges of the quality of their own and others' work. When rubrics are used to guide self- and peerassessment, students become increasingly able to spot and solve problems in their own and one another's work…. . Repeated practice with peer-assessment, and especially self-assessment, increases students' sense of responsibility for their own work and cuts down on the number of "Am I done yet? " questions.

“Rubrics reduce the amount of time teachers spend evaluating student work. Teachers tend to find that by the time a piece has been self- and peer-assessed according to a rubric, they have little left to say about it. When they do have something to say, they can often simply circle an item in the rubric, rather than struggle to explain the flaw or strength they have noticed. ”