Development of Authentic Assessment and Rubrics for ESL

Rationale
The reform in assessment practice will only be realized if the mindset that all students can
succeed (Boud, 2000: 5) is firmly established in our minds. This needs to permeate our collective minds
to sustain the development of authentic assessment. If our thoughtless assessment practices are going to
change, we need to do more than simply replace traditional forms of "test" (multiple-choice) with new
forms of "test" ("performance" or "portfolio"); we need to change the fundamental relationship between
tester and student (Wiggins, 1993: 3-4). For this to happen, it is a prerequisite that first, we genuinely
believe that our students can succeed (Boud, 2000: 5) and second, we should look up to the students
interests rather than that of the tester. Wiggins (1993: 4) observes: "tests are intrinsically prone to
sacrificethe student's interests for the test maker's. He adds "...the student is the primary client of all
assessment, assessment should be designed to improve performance, not just monitor it" (Wiggins, 1993:
6). Wiggins and McTighhe (2008) argue that assessments need to promote transference of learning and
making meaning. Unfortunately, most teacher tests tend to promote merely recall and rote memorization;
which is the lowest of taxonomic categories (Fleming and Chambers as mentioned by Rabinowitz, 1993: 7)
or in laymans term the lowest levels of thinking. This occurs commonly in English subjects (Brownlie
and others, 2004: 58). Brownlie and others (2004: 58) said "many former ESL students can recall receiving
long lists of English words that had form (they could spell and write the words) but no context or
meaning (they did not know how to use the words appropriately).
One of the assessment fields that is in dire need of change is in English, especially ESL. There is
an overemphasis on low-level skills on English tests (Popham, 1991: 6). Popham (1991: 6) explains "most
states ended up with minimum competency tests [because] the committees of educators who chose the
content to be tested invariably decided to assess truly low-level content." Since students dont find any
motivation to study English; they get mediocre or worst fail their English tests. The stigma of others and
their negative self-assessment persists all throughout their schooling because of this. As what Wiggins
(1993: 5) said, the tests we use result in self-fulfilling prophecy about student ability. All of these
negative implications happen simply because the student cant see the subjects significance to his life, and
also because he finds it boring.
What then can educators in ESL do to fulfill our vision of a successful student?
The answer: authentic assessment. Braden and others (2001) said, A focus on authentic student
learning is the hallmark of effective education reform. Authentic assessment is one way to let the student
experience the real application of the subject in the real world. It creates the ambiguity of the "game" of
adult and professional life (Wiggins, 1990). Authentic assessment also promotes eclecticism. That is,
though the subject at hand is English or ESL, knowledge of other fields can help bolster the completion of
a task. This controlled situation mimics the way students would be using their formal learning in the
hard knocks of day to day life. And, since the student is given freedom to use his knowledge of other
fields which he/she likes, authentic assessment ought to have more impact for fun; it is also revealing of
the students learning because the student is functioning with intrinsic motivation (Hammond, 2005: 302).
The boringness of lessons should be out of the question if students are engaged, focused and challenged.
Stipek (as mentioned by Hammond, 2005: 302) "explained thattasks that require higher-order thinking
and active problem solving are intrinsically more interesting than memorizing or applying simple

procedures...Challenging tasks increase intrinsic motivation by enhancing students' feeling of

competence.
Table 1 below is an example of how authentic assessment can be incorporated in an English class
for first year middle school students:
Table 1. An Example of Authentic Assessment: The Support English Literacy Programs
Support English Literacy Programs

The activity requires students to give a videotaped oral presentation (like a documentary, a newscast, a
commercial, a drama, an interview or the likes) to elicit support for the funding of public English
Educational Literacy programs. In the context of the ongoing global crisis, governments and institutions
tend to cut budgetary concerns on educational grants. Students are asked to pose as advocates of public
education, particularly public English Literacy programs, and convince a skeptical public. A planning
worksheet and a scoring rubric is prepared to enable students to consider their fluency, grammar,
pragmatic competence, pronunciation, socio-linguistic competence, vocabulary and focus on leadership
themes..
The authentic assessment in Table 1 takes away the limitation of focusing on the textbook alone.
(More details about this authentic assessment are found in Appendix A, B and C). Below are some of the
advantages of this authentic assessment:

Students in this activity have the freedom to seek the value of English conversational skills outside the
classroom. They can provide answers from interviews, group discussions and even from TV
commercials.
Students will be explaining English terms on their own words (see rubrics in appendix C) this promotes
metacognition; the ability of knowing what one knows and being able to know how one arrived at
that knowledge (Hebert, 2001). This is higher-order level of thinking.
Students would see the variety of skills inter-related with English. The use of an oral presentation (like
a documentary, a newscast, a commercial, a drama, an interview or the likes) takes away the
medium of instruction from being talk-centered to one of exciting cultural display. This resolves
the nagging question of those who will not involve themselves on English demanding jobs. If
their interest is in the arts, may it be in the performing arts or computer graphics, they can use it
in this presentation.
The pull of ICT and media to adolescents is an additional factor to make the process of this activity a fun
and enriching experience for the student.

Literature Review of Authentic Assessment

Efforts are made to seamlessly weave into the fabric of our educational system the practice of
authentic assessment (Wiggins, 1998; 1-6). Rabinowitz, (1993: 18) mentioned that "coursesfail to
provide students with the models, rewards, training, and other supportive aids necessary to prompt and
sustain effective autonomous learning. Research in authentic assessment with formative functions has
shown proof that it is able to do just these (Wiliam and others, 2004: 49).

Authentic assessment is a very promising enterprise to equip the student for the demands of the
present and future tasks. As Pelegrino (2001) said, students are now expected to demonstrate the kinds
of reasoning and problem-solving abilities once expected of only a minority of young people.
Assessments must therefore tap a broader range of competencies than in the past. They must capture the
more complex skills and deeper content knowledge reflected in new expectations for learning. Authentic
assessments capture these demands. Wiggins (1990) explains, authentic tasks involve "ill-structured"
challenges and roles that help students rehearse for the complex ambiguities of the "game" of adult and
professional life. Traditional tests are more like drills, assessing static and too-often arbitrarily discrete or
simplistic elements of those activities. What is left now is for educational stakeholders to accept the large
role authentic assessments can provide (Pellegrino, 2001).
Wiggins (1990) illustrated the numerous uses of authentic assessments in respected professional
exams and placement programs where they were already embraced and accepted for years now: the New
York Regents exams and the Advanced Placement program are two of these. Wiggins (1990) also provided
the rationale for the validity of authentic assessments; it simulates real-world "tests" of ability. Wiggins
(as adapted by Clark, 1994: 115) also provided a list of criteria to identify what is really authentic. This
is important because as Braden and others (2001; 3-4) warned: authentic student performance and
assessment are essential to successful reform. And conversely, Braden and others (2001; 3-4) continued
large-scale, top-down reforms driven by inauthentic assessments at best are unlikely to succeed and at
worst, inhibit effective reform.
From the rationale and the review of the literature, it is obvious that authentic assessment may
hold the key for the reality of our vision to usher in: all students can be successful (Boud, 2000: 5).

Methodology: Subjects for the Designed Authentic Assessment

The participants of this authentic assessment are first year middle school students in a private
institution. Their number in class is only 25. They belong to the middle to upper level of social status.
They are all at grade level. Their age range is from 13 to 15 years old, males and females. They belong to
Eriksons Identity Formation versus Identify Confusion stage of development (as illustrated by Thies and
Travers, 2008: 10-11). This stage is commonly marked by exploration of roles in society; they are prone to
confusion at this stage (Thies and Travers, 2008: 10-11). Hence, the need to develop higher order thinking
skills need to be fostered for them to develop identity formation. Also, at this age, students thinking are
characterized by hypothetico-deductive-reasoning (Piaget, as mentioned by Salkind, 2004: 258). They
are able to hypothesize, test their own hypothesis and make generalizations. Students can already
understand the nuances of the English language at this stage.
Since these students are developing identity, they will benefit much from the role playing
nature of authentic assessments. They can try out roles in society which they think is a good option in
later adult life. The authentic assessment, Support English Proficiency programs (see Table 1), would
enable the students to gather information about the different roles related to English and thus provide
some data to enable them to make intelligent decisions for career options.

Aligning the authentic assessment with the curriculum

The school focuses on leadership and community service. The theme of the curriculum is
permeated with leadership and service and/or ministry themes. Table 2 above summarizes the contents
of the ESL course and suggests authentic assessment for each topic. It also contains suggestions to
incorporate the schools focus on leadership and community service/ministry.

Table 2. Suggested Authentic Assessment and Curriculum Focus for ESL Class
Contents of the
Course
ESL
Nouns: Words for
People and Places
Nouns: Singular,
Plural and Non
count Nouns
Proper Nouns
Possessive Nouns
and Pronouns
Verbs used as
Nouns
Adjectives: Making
Descriptions
Adjectives:
Comparisons and
Superlatives
Verbs and Nouns
Used as Adjectives
Verbs: The Verb Be
Non-To Be Verbs
Adverbs of Place,
Time and Frequency
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs that Modify

Suggested Authentic/Alternative Assessment

Activities/content for
Curriculum Theme Focus

Portfolio/Performance Assessment

Influential Leaders

Portfolio/Performance Assessment

Leaders Connect

Class Interviews

Discipline/habits of leaders

Group Dynamics

Leaders Delegate

Field Interviews

Leaders and Accomplishments

Field Interviews
Comparing Leaders
Portfolio/Performance Assessment

Comparing Leaders

Portfolio/Performance Assessment

Visionary Leadership

Oral presentation

Leaders Timing

Videotaped oral presentation (like a documentary, a

newscast, a commercial, a drama, an interview or the
likes)
Videotaped oral presentation (like a documentary, a
newscast, a commercial, a drama, an interview or the
likes)

Influences of Leaders
Leaders Legacy: Succession

Table 2 shows the contents of the ESL course (taken from its required textbook, Yates, 2006). The
suggested authentic/alternative assessments are not mere activities, but they are based on the particular
characteristics of the students as described in the latter section. To describe each assessment in detail is
beyond the scope of this proposal (an example is given in the Appendices however). Take note that these
are not in any way restrictive rather they are merely suggestive of what can be done with a particular
topic. The activities/content for curriculum theme focus can be found in Maxwell (1998) and Adams
(1976). These books on leadership are preferred by the schools administration because of their doctrinal
preference.
This list in Table 2 would be presented to the ESL faculty as a guide. In keeping with the
principles of authentic assessment, assessing with intelligent subjectivity rather than standardized norms,
the teachers are given freedom to make their own alternative/authentic assessment. Wiggins (1993: 2)
explained "...intellectual accomplishment is best judged through a subjective but rigorous interaction of
mind and mind." This is what Wiliam and others (2004) suggested: Each teacher wasasked to draw up,
and later to refine, an action plan specifying which aspects of formative assessment they wished to

develop in their practicethere was no inherent structure in these plans, the teachers being free to
explore whatever they wished

Procedures of implementation: Incorporating the designed authentic assessment

and rubrics into day-to-day classroom instruction
Since the use of authentic assessment is embedded on the mindset that all students can succeed
(Boud, 2000: 5), the implementation of these to the classroom in a day to day basis should start from there.
It is my proposal to start the use of authentic assessment informally, by discussing these with the
principal and other school authorities over a cup of coffee perhaps. Prior to this, the teacher and/or the
person who initiated this in school should have implemented authentic assessment with positive results.
This will bring credibility and face validity on ones proposal to reform the schools assessment practice.
Once cooperation has been solicited from school authorities the following steps can be undertaken to
reform the schools assessment practice:
1.

Set aside two days on discussing the value and procedures of implementing authentic/alternative
assessment prior to the start of the academic year. A respected expert on authentic/alternative
assessment can be invited as a resource person to discuss these with the faculty. This need to be a
workshop and not a seminar. This can be done as a school-wide activity, or in this case in the
department level only, the ESL department. The two days need to be reasonably spaced out.
What is important in the first day is to change the fatalism pervading education (Wiggins, 193: 5),
specifically the fatalistic thinking of teachers; their thinking need to be changed to one that is
humanistic, all students can succeed (Boud, 2000: 5). Also important for the first day is for
teachers to have enough examples from other teachers on how to craft an alternative assessment
in the ESL class. This can be credited as part of their professional development program.

2.

An alternative assessment coordinator and assistant need to be assigned based on qualifications to oversee
the application of authentic assessment. An agreement with the guest speaker can be made that
he/she can be contacted for advice and technical matters on the implementation of authentic
assessment for the whole academic year. On the early years of establishing authentic assessment,
the department may need a consultant to guide us through.

3.

An action research ought to be spearheaded by the department head or anyone in authority to gather both
qualitative and quantitative data on the implications of authentic assessment to student achievement.
Collaboration among the teachers and with these researchers needs to be established to be able to
monitor the progress and troubleshoot any difficulties brought about by the adoption of authentic
assessment.

4.

An agreed upon template of the departments rubrics for checking authentic assessments ought to be
developed before the start of the school year. Since this is a school that focuses on leadership and
community practice; the outputs of students need to have that focus as well. A suggested rubric
is given in Table 3. This is not final and the rubrics will be deliberated in the departmental
meeting.

5.

A reflection web log for the ESL department can be started by the chairperson to foster communication
among faculty members. This will also solicit feedback and become a hotpot of knowledge
exchange to better the assessment practices of the department.

6.

On the second visit of the resource speaker, probably after the academic year or during a long mid-year
break, the teachers need to bring their questions and clarifications on authentic assessment. Other than
the troubleshooting agenda of this second meeting, this will also motivate teachers through
recorded successes in the practice of authentic/alternative assessment. Teachers would be
encouraged to document their successes and experiences as an action research for the school to be
able to produce a compendium on authentic assessment. This will be the departments legacy to
other schools/departments.

Table 3. Suggested Rubric for the ESL Department

Criteria
Fluency
Grammar
Pragmatic Competence
Pronunciation

Poor

Pass

Good

Superior

Sociolinguistic Competence
Vocabulary
Focus on Leadership and/or community
service
7.

Finally, the results of the assessment and the progress of the reform in assessment ought to be
communicated to a wider audience, the students, parents and the community. Progress on the
assessment reform ought to be printed in the newsletter of the department or the school at least
once a month. The progress of the student needs to be communicated. We must bear in mind
that the reason for this communication is to provide feedback, which is intended to improve the
students skill on the task and to foster self-assessment towards lifelong learning (Boud and
Falchikov, 2006: 399).

Communicating the assessment results with students and parents

Parents are the untapped power in curriculum change. They may be able to put more pressure to the
Department of Education to change the present assessment system to one that is more helpful and
beneficial for the students lifelong learning. Thus, communicating the progress of the students to their
parents is a vital task. They must be able to grasp the benefits of authentic assessment, and see
demonstrable evidence of student learning though the formative assessments found in authentic
assessment. Table 4 below is a prototype assessment report sheet for the parents (Criteria/proficiency
areas were taken from brainstorming with ESL faculty).
Prior to the start of the school year the parents need to attend a parent orientation program or a
parent-teacher conference to be able to communicate how their children would be assessed. This
assessment sheet does not replace the single grade given at every end of the grading period; rather this
sheet gives meaning to it. Wiggins and McTighe (2005: 10) is not against the use of a single grade; they
are against the lack of meaning that the single grade gives. Its lack of feedback specificity and lack of
advice on how the student can improve is the greatest shortcoming of the single grade method. Just a

final note on this section: the report should be for the benefit of the student; it needs to contain historical
progress of the student; and easy to understand for both parents and students.
Table 4. Assessment Sheet Sample for ESL
Student Assessment Sheet
Grading Period: _____________
Name: ______________________

Subject: ESL 1
Academic
Strengths

Academic
Weaknesses

Recommendation
s

Proficiency Areas
Fluency
Grammar
Pragmatic Competence
Pronunciation
Sociolinguistic Competence
Vocabulary
Focus on Leadership and/or community service
________________________
Parents name and signature

Discussions on the potential benefits and/or limitations of the authentic assessment and
implementation issues or challenges
There are numerous benefits and limitations of this proposed assessment reform. To discuss
them all is beyond the scope of this paper since every school has a different culture that may interact with
the activities proposed herein. However, for the purpose of general overview, I listed below the benefits
and possible challenges of this reform in assessment:
In general, these authentic assessments would be beneficial for the student because it is meant to
help the student:
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

Develop higher order thinking skills and not just mere memorization of words and principles
of grammar.
Expose the student to authentic situations that mimic real life situations thus fostering
early career exposure and actual use of English.
Promote excitement in class in studying English even if one does not plan to enter a career
that focuses on English. This excitement is caused by the students opportunity to use his
talents in other fields to present his English proficiency; which is due to the eclectic approach
fostered in this authentic assessment.
Develop self-assessment and reflection by providing instances of substantive discussion
about ones task in the form of feedback.
Develop habits of mind that provide lifelong learning skills because he/she spends less time
memorizing and more on approaching a controlled authentic problem.
Be helped by parents and other support staff (like counselors and other teachers) because the
academic history of the student is given with details and are easily understandable.

On the other hand, Table 4 below summarizes some of the expected challenges and/or limitations
of this proposed assessment reform. These challenges are very real in the target school of this proposal.

It is therefore important that collaboration with higher authorities of the school be prioritized to assure
help and resources to face the challenges above. Table 4 below shows the proposed steps to counter these
challenges that may inhibit this reform in assessment practices.
Table 4. Challenges and Proposed Interventions in ESL Assessment Reform
Challenges
Administration and
teachers
Time
consuming
and
laborious nature of authentic
assessment on the part of the
teachers.
Cost and budgetary concerns.

Lack of collaboration
Overuse/lack of use
authentic assessment.

of

Students and Parents

Student confusion and lack of
support
Student resistance to change
Slow pace of student learning
Parents resistance to change

Proposed Solutions
Traditional assessment is also laborious and time consuming. It is just a matter of
habit. Instill the vision to the teachers and provide support by the use of
collaboration; delegate tasks to other support system personnel of the school (like
interns and on-the-job training students).
Communicate that the professional development expense for the education of
teachers about authentic assessment is just a one time expense (Wiliam and others,
2004: 63), which has permanent and/or long term effects. Funding from grants and
sponsorship is a feasible option.
Assessment reformers need to build their trust relationship with the authorities of the
school; we need to build a momentum by constantly communicating the vision and
by slowly educating various stakeholders. Timing is the key.
The web log, the meetings for authentic assessment teacher accountability once a
month would check the theoretical concepts and application difficulties of the
teacher. Consultation with the resource speaker is always open communication
lines can be easily maintained by the use of todays information technology (email,
chat and other communication software).
Student counseling; one on one session with students; and delegation of
responsibilities with other support system of the school (like IT personnel, interns
and librarians).
Allow student to express dislike and maintain communication all throughout the
process. Authentic assessment is definitely an enjoyable and exciting task for
students. Let student see the long-term effects of authentic assessment without
being negative on students comments.
Give extra time to the student; recommend tutorial sessions and customize tasks.
Communicate the evidences of student improvement due to assessment reform and
explain its lifelong benefits for the student; assure competency development of the
student to pass high-stakes testing.

APPENDIX A: EXAMPLE OF AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT

Subject Area
Grade Level
Authentic Assessment

:
:
:

ESL
Middle School
Videotaped Oral Presentation

Purpose/Rationale

The activity requires students to give a videotaped oral presentation (like a documentary, a
newscast, a commercial, a drama, an interview or the likes) to elicit support for the funding of English
Literacy programs.

Knowledge, Skill and Disposition Objectives

Performance Task on Support English Literacy Programs

Objectives
(1) To deepen students conceptual understanding of the importance of English literacy in their lives
and in this era of globalization.
(2) To apply their knowledge on the use of English in eliciting support from the public.
(3) To foster critical thinking & creative thinking.
Learning Outcomes
(1) Cognitive level: Students would demonstrate their own concept of the importance of English literacy
in their lives and in society; they would also demonstrate their understanding of some English
words and concepts in a creative way.
(2) Behavioural level: Students would produce a videotape that contains arguments and behaviours to
elicit support for public English literacy programs.
(3) Affective level: Students would demonstrate positive attitudes toward English; dispositions and
social skills in cooperation and negotiation would also be fostered.

Related Standards of Learning

English
Students will:
Utilize argumentative and conversational skills in English.
Organize and synthesize English media and literatures in gathering information towards
one central theme, the importance of English Literacy programs.
Think critically about the values of society and their own values, which affect progress in
English Literacy programs.
Arts
Students will:
Use audio-visual communication to communicate their arguments.
Use acting and/or visual effects to promote viewing of their presentations.
ICT
Students will:
Use video editing software and/or use digital graphics.

Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills
Students must have:
Developed some conversational skills in English beyond phonics.
Working understanding of how public opinion/media affects corporate and
governmental decisions.
Accurate knowledge of some English grammar and terms.
Skill in using video cameras and/or video editing software.
Collaboration skills, acting skills (optional) and/or voice over and documentary skills.

Context

This task can serve as a culminating assessment for an ESL class. Planning by the students
should be done outside of class time. Final planning prior to filming or videotaping should be done at
school with teacher approval. The videotaped oral presentation should be done during school hours,
inside classroom or in school premises during English week or the likes.

Rater
It is important to communicate to the students and the parents the task, its importance and the
scoring rubrics. This should be done prior to the students initiation of the task. It is important that
examples be given. Segments of videotaped examples from real commercials and documentaries can be
given but not required. Final rating should be done by the teacher. However, prior to the final
presentation, a dialogue with the class to discuss the important phases of each presentation can be made
so that the whole class can provide feedback and student reflection and self-assessment is promoted.

Prompt
This task is designed for academically functioning students at their grade levels. Use of video
editing software and video may require additional study; support should be coordinated by the teacher.
Use of video editing software however is not a requirement to complete the task. Use of expensive
materials, like video recorders, lights and computers should be ready for the student. Some students may
not have these hence the teacher needs to coordinate that these be available from the department or from
the schools multi-media services.

APPENDIX B: EXAMPLE OF STUDENT WORKSHEET

Support English Literacy Programs
Due to globalization, you have come to understand how important it is to speak in the English
language. Accuracy and cultural precision in ones spoken and written English is one key to being
accepted to competitive universities and good jobs. Now that the world is under a great economic crisis,
there is an impending threat to lessen the focus on English literacy towards other things. Its now time for
your voice to be heard! Let your knowledge in English rally support for English Proficiency Programs.
Get others involved in this worthy endeavor to make our nation globally competitive in English!
The Situation : the year is 2025, you are already an adult and you are busy with what you do in life but
the economic crisis ten years ago has grown from bad to worse. To save money, the government and
other private institutions are pulling out support for public and private English Proficiency educational
programs. On the other hand, English is still the dominating language of the world. What will you do to
foster support for English literacy?
You were asked by various associations to gather data and synthesize these into a short 10 minutes
presentation. The presentation shall be shown to the public and key leaders to elicit support and funding
for the promotion of English literacy.

CONVINCE THE PUBLIC TO SUPPORT ENGLISH EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS!

In the process of developing your presentation, you will need to ask yourself a number of
questions including the following:

What are the contributions of English in improving our lives?

How can I show the public the contributions of English to our nation?
How do I explain them so people can easily understand them?
How will I convince the public to support English educational programs?
Will I present a mini-documentary, a newscast, an interview, a commercial, a drama, a comedy or
something different than these?
What is my opinion about convincing the public to support English educational programs?
What do I want to tell them other than to support English educational programs?
What will my characters be like? What do I want them to do in the presentation?
Are there any current social issues that our presentation can address?
How will my presentation unfold? What will be first? What will be next? How will I end with a
strong note in the presentation?
What software will I use to edit my videos? Who will help me if ever I need assistance?

As you decide your answers to these questions, record your thoughts and answers on the Support
English Literacy Programs Worksheet provided. If you have finalized your ideas, submit the worksheet to
your teacher for further help and for discussion with your classmates in class. You will be given feedback
about your ideas so please prepare this paper well. We just want to let others see your work so that it can
be improved. We want all the presentations exciting and helpful.
The Support English Literacy Presentation is scheduled on _________________.
Please read the score sheet provided with this handout to understand how your videotaped
presentation will be graded. After the presentation, a question and answer portion shall be provided.
Please come prepared and do some reflection to organize your thoughts and for you to deliver your best.
Names: __________________________________________________________

PLANNING STAGE
Type of presentation
Please check one or more that apply:
____________ Mini-documentary
____________ Newscast
____________ Interview
____________ Commercial
What is the main point in my message?

____________ Drama
____________ Comedy
____________ Music Video
____________ Other (please specify: _______________ )

What use of English can I show to clearly illustrate its value to our society?

How do I explain the importance of English so people can easily understand them?

What are my sources/references in telling people about the importance of English?

Characters
Name

How will he/she look in the

presentation?

What will he/she do in the

presentation?

Plot/Summary (Briefly, what will your story be like?)

Sequence of Events (Step by step, describe what will happen in your presentation?)
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6

Step 7

Planning page complete: ______________________________

(Teachers Initials)

APPENDIX B: EXAMPLE OF RUBRICS FOR ENGLISH ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Ratings & Scores
Criteria

Fluency

Grammar

Pragmatic
Competence

Poor

Pass

Good

Superior

The student can manage very

short, isolated, mainly
prepackaged utterances, with
much pausing to search for
expression, to articulate less
familiar words, and to repair
communication.
The student can use basic
sentence patterns and
communicate with memorized
phrases, groups of a few
words and he/she can
formulate about themselves
and other people, what they
do, places, possessions etc.

The student can keep going

comprehensibly, even though
pausing for grammatical and
lexical planning and repair is very
evident, especially in longer
stretches of free production.

The student can express

him/herself fluently and
spontaneously, almost effortlessly.
Only a conceptually difficult
subject can hinder a natural,
smooth flow of language.

The student has enough language

to get by, with sufficient grammar
to express him/herself with some
hesitation and indirect expressions
on topics such as family, hobbies
and interests, work, travel, and
current events, but due to lexical
limitations repetition and
difficulty with formulation is still
evident.
The student sometimes uses
excessive, distracting, and
ineffective repair strategies to
compensate for linguistic
weaknesses (e.g. vocabulary
and/or grammar).
S/he can get across which point
he/she feels is most important.

The student can express

him/herself clearly and without
much sign of having to restrict
what he/she wants to say.
S/he has a sufficient range of
language to be able to give clear
descriptions, express viewpoints
and develop arguments using
some complex sentence forms to
do so.
The students linguistic
weaknesses may necessitate some
repair strategies that may be
slightly distracting. S/he can
adapt what he/she says and the
means of expressing it to the
situation and the recipient.

The student can make

him/herself spontaneously at
ease with a natural colloquial
flow, avoiding or backtracking
around any difficulty so
smoothly that the listeners are
hardly aware of it
The student can exploit a
comprehensive and reliable
mastery of a very wide range of
language to formulate thoughts
precisely, give emphasis,
differentiate and eliminate
ambiguity. No signs of having to
restrict what he/she wants to say

The student uses repair

strategies excessively, which is
somewhat distracting and
ineffective. S/he can adapt
somewhat rehearsed
memorized simple phrases to
particular circumstances
through with limited lexical
substitutions.

The student uses native-like

repair strategies. S/he shows
great flexibility reformulating
ideas in differing linguistic forms
to give emphasis, to differentiate
according to the situation,
listeners and other factors and to
eliminate ambiguity.

Ratings & Scores

Criteria

Poor

Pass

Good

Superior

The student can clearly

produce the correct
pronunciation but there are
some difficulties to
pronounce complex sounds.
The student can understand
almost all the socio-cultural
rules of language and of
discourse. However,
difficulties to understand
complex topics still occur.
S/he can express him or
herself confidently, clearly
and politely in a formal or
informal register, appropriate
to the situation and person(s)
concerned.

The student can clearly

pronounce every word like a
native speaker and there are no
difficulties to understand the
native speakers pronunciation.
The student can totally
understand the socio-cultural
rules of language and of
discourse. There are no
difficulties in his/her
understanding and participation
in the conversation.
S/he fully appreciates the
sociolinguistic and socio-cultural
implications of English, especially
those used by native speakers;
s/he can react accordingly.
The student has a good command
of a very broad lexical repertoire
including idiomatic expressions
and colloquialisms; shows
awareness of connotative levels of
meaning.
Student displayed advance
knowledge of leadership skills
and/or community service by
communicating in ones own way
the values taught in the
curriculum.

The student cannot produce

clear pronunciation and can
pronounce only simple words
like car, home, go and others.

A native speaker can understand the

pronunciation of the student but
pronunciation is not very clear.

Sociolinguistic
Competence

The student has a very basic

knowledge of socio-cultural
rules.S/he can establish basic
social contact by using the
simplest everyday polite forms
of: greetings and farewells;
introductions; saying please,
thank you, sorry, etc

The student can comprehend the

general socio-cultural rules of
language and of discourse but can not
understand sophisticated sociocultural rules such as law, education
system, economics and the likes. S/he
can perform and respond to basic
language functions, such as
information exchange and requests
and express opinions and attitudes in
a simple way.

Vocabulary

The student has a basic

vocabulary repertoire of words
and phrases related to
particular concrete situations.
S/he has a sufficient
vocabulary for coping with
simple survival needs but
there are times when she used
words incorrectly.

The student has sufficient vocabulary

to express him/herself well with some
indirect expressions The student used
words that could have been expressed
by better ones.

The student has a good range

of vocabulary for matters
connected to his/her topics.
S/he can vary formulation to
avoid frequent repetition, but
lexical gaps can still cause
hesitation and indirect
expressions..

Focus on
Leadership
and/or
community
service

There is no focus not

implication on leadership
and/or community service in
ones speech/conversation.

There is some focus on leadership

and/or community service in ones
speech/conversation but they are
unclear and/or incorrect at times.

Student displayed good

knowledge of leadership
skills and/or community
service however the student
simply parroted what was
taught in the curriculum.

Pronunciation

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