Assessment Rubrics

Dr. Arthur Joseph

What is a Rubric?

A rubric is an assessment tool that clearly indicates

marking criteria. It can be used for marking assignments,
class participation, or overall grades.

There are two types of rubrics: holistic and analytical.

Holistic rubrics group several different assessment

criteria and classify them together under grade headings
(see in later slides).

Analytic rubrics, on the other hand, separate different

assessment criteria and address them comprehensively.
The top axis includes values that can be expressed either
numerically or by letter grade. The side axis includes the
assessment criteria (see in later slides).

Sample of a Holistic Rubric

Always prepared and attends class
Participates constructively in class
Exhibits preparedness and punctuality in
class/class work
Works well with others and is a team player
Demonstrates initiative and improvement
Seeks to understand and acknowledge others
A

thoughts
Often reaches full potential if sufficiently
challenged
Class assignments have something extra about

Sample of a Holistic Rubric

Usually prepared and attends class
Participates constructively in class, works
well with others, and is a team player
Excellent content knowledge
B

Completes all class assignments;

occasionally adds something extra
Demonstrates initiative and improvement
Seeks to understand and acknowledge
others thoughts
Stretches to reach full potential

Sample of a Holistic Rubric

Sometimes prepared and attends class
Average content knowledge
Occasionally or only challenges thought when
C

encouraged by others
Assignments reflect average work
Sometimes an active participant in class; works well
with others
Rarely prepared or attends class
Rarely participates constructively in class

Assignments are late, incomplete, or not turned in at all

Low level of content knowledge
Does not strive to reach potential.

Sample of an Analytic
Rubric
Criteria

50-59%

60-69%

70-79%
Demonstrate
s
considerable
knowledge of
forms,
conventions,
terminology,
and
strategies

80-100%
Demonstrate
s thorough
and insightful
knowledge of
forms,
conventions,
terminology,
and
strategies

Knowledge
of forms,
conventions
,
terminology
, and
strategies
of literary
texts

Demonstrate
s limited
knowledge of
forms,
conventions,
terminology,
and
strategies

Demonstrate
s some
knowledge of
forms,
conventions,
terminology,
and
strategies

Critical and
creative
thinking
skills

Uses critical
and creative
thinking skills
with limited
effectiveness

Uses critical
Uses critical
Uses critical
and creative
and creative
and creative
thinking skills thinking skills thinking skills
with
with
with a high
moderate
considerable
degree of
effectiveness effectiveness effectiveness

Sample of an Analytic
Rubric
Criteria

50-59%

60-69%

70-79%

80-100%

Communicate
Communicate s information
Communicate Communicate
Communicat
s information
and ideas
s information s information
ion of
and ideas
with a high
and ideas
and ideas
information
with
degree of
with limited
with some
and ideas
considerable
clarity and
clarity
clarity
clarity
with
confidence
Spelling and
Several errors
grammar

A few errors

Some errors

No errors

Assessment Rubrics
Useful Assessment Tools
You might consider developing and using rubrics if:

You find yourself re-writing the same comments on several

different students assignments.

Your marking load is high, and writing out comments takes up a lot
of your time.

Students repeatedly question you about the assignment

requirements, even after youve handed back the marked the
assignment.

You want to address the specific components of your marking

scheme for student and instructor use both prior to and following
the assignment submission.

How to Make a Rubric

Decide what criteria or essential elements must be

present in the students work to ensure that it is high in
quality. At this stage, you might even consider selecting
samples of exemplary student work that can be shown
to students when setting assignments.

Decide how many levels of achievement you will

include on the rubric.

For each criterion or essential element of quality,

develop a clear description of performance at each
achievement level.

Leave space for additional comments and a final grade.

Developing Rubrics Interactively with Your Students

You can enhance students learning experience by

involving them in the rubric development process. Either
as a class or in small groups, students decide upon criteria
for grading the assignment.

It would be helpful to provide students with samples of

exemplary work so they could identify the criteria with
greater ease. In such an activity, the instructor functions
as facilitator, guiding the students toward the final goal of
a rubric that can be used on their assignment.

This activity not only results in a greater learning

experience, it also enables students to feel a greater sense
of ownership and inclusion in the decision making process.

How to Use Rubrics Effectively

Develop a different rubric for each assignment. Although this takes

time in the beginning, youll find that rubrics can be changed
slightly or re-used later.

Give students a copy of the rubric when you assign the

performance task.

Require students to attach the rubric to the assignment when they

hand it in.

When you mark the assignment, circle or highlight the achieved

level of
performance for each criterion.

Include any additional comments that do not fit within the rubrics
criteria.

Benefits
Assessment rubrics:

provide a framework that clarifies assessment requirements and

standards of performance for different grades.

enable very clear and consistent communication with students about

assessment requirements and about how different levels of
performance earn different grades.

They allow assessors to give very specific feedback to students on

their performance.
when students are involved in their construction, encourage them to
take responsibility for their performance

when used for self-assessment and peer assessment, make students

aware of assessment processes and procedures, enhance their metacognitive awareness, and improve their capacity to assess their own
work

Benefits
Assessment rubrics:

can result in richer feedback to students, giving them a clearer idea

where they sit in terms of an ordered progression towards increased
expertise in a learning domain.

by engaging staff teams in rubric-based conversations about quality,

help them develop a shared language for talking about learning and
assessment.

help assessors efficiently and reliably interpret and grade students'

work.

systematically illuminate gaps and weaknesses in students'

understanding against particular criteria, helping teachers target
areas to address.

References
Huba, M.E., & Freed, J.E. ( 2000). Using rubrics to provide
feedback to students: Learner-Centered assessment on
college campuses. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Luft, J.A. (1999). Rubrics: Design and Use in science
teacher education. Journal of Science Teacher Education
10.2, 107-121.
Lewis, R., Berghoff, P. , & Pheeney, P. (1999). Focusing
students: Three approaches for learning through
evaluation. Innovative Higher Education 23.3 (Spring),
181-196.