ABSTRACT

This paper discusses about rubric in general and difficulties in testing speaking
performance of students. In addition, this paper also elaborates rubrics as a tool to
grade in speaking test including what type of rubrics that is the most appropriate,
and what criteria of language features in speaking that should be scored. Last,
analytical rubrics that are considered the most appropriate rubrics in speaking test
are provided as an example.

I. INTRODUCTION
Rubrics are known as a popular tool used by teachers to communicate
expectations for an assignment, providing focused feedback on works in progress and
grading final products. That statement is in line with research results done by some
experts. They are Andrade (2000), Goodrich (1997), Moskal (2003) and Popham
(1997).
As a tool in testing students’ performance, rubrics can teach as well as
evaluate. In student-centered approach to assessment, rubrics have potential to help
students develop a ‘vision of success’ as well as ‘make dependable judgment about
the quality of their own work’. That is what Stiggins (2001) states. Stiggins also adds
that using rubrics in testing students’ performance is able to clarify the standards of
quality performance and to guide ongoing feedback about progress towards those
standards. That is supported by Black and William (1998), Shepard (2000), Brookhart
(2003), and Wiggins (1998).
In relation to testing students’ performance in English skills, rubrics are
usefully able to grade the students’ performance based on some criteria. Those
criteria are usually made based on language features of students. The purpose of the
criteria is to make all clear for both students and teachers. Students are able to know
what the teachers expect to them towards their performance in English skills such as
reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The criteria are also useful for the teachers

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because they show the aspects that the teachers should grade so that they do not play
guessing game.
Testing students’ oral proficiency is not easy as well. Brown (2001) shows
that speaking skill has more language features than that other skills have. So, it is
challenging for the teacher to grade those aspects in one sheet of rubrics. They should
design the rubrics that can represent the ability of students in each language feature in
speaking skill. That is why, discussion about rubrics as a magical means to test
students’ performance in speaking skill is needed.

II. DISCUSSION
This paper will elaborate two points. They are rubrics and speaking test. It is
also explaining about the use of rubrics in testing speaking performance of the
students. General information about rubrics including definition, components,
building rubrics, the time when a teacher uses rubrics, the reason of using rubrics,
testing speaking skill, what aspects in speaking skill that are scored using rubrics will
be described thoroughly, and how using rubrics in testing students’ speaking skill.
1. General Information of Rubrics
General information of rubrics cover some points related to rubrics. This
paper will discuss about the definition of rubrics. Then, the components of rubrics in
testing students’ skills are also elaborated. After knowing the components, if a
teacher wants to apply rubrics in a test, she or he needs to know how to develop
rubrics to help them in grading the students. The teacher also needs sufficient
information about types of rubrics and when rubrics may be used.
1.1.Definition of Rubric
Arter & Chappuis (2006) define several definitions of rubric by finding
characteristics of rubrics. They states that rubrics identify complex, meaningful tasks
and allow for consistent judgments regarding the quality of student work. The
features of quality work of the students which are observed are what a rubric defines.

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Rubrics are able to align with standards and outcomes of what the students have
learned.
Asmus (1999) says that rubrics are a guideline for rating students’
performance. Most band, choir, or orchestra festivals have such guides for
adjudicators when they rate ensemble performance. The guideline of performances
specifies what a performance is like at various levels such as superior, excellent,
good, and poor and also on various musical attributes like tone, intonation, balance,
technique, etc. The key elements of a rubric are the descriptors for what a
performance is like within the full range of possible performance levels.
From explanation above, it can be concluded that rubrics are an explicit set of
criteria used for assessing a particular type of work or performance. A rubric usually
also includes levels of potential achievement for each criterion, and sometimes also
includes work or performance samples that typify each of those levels. Levels of
achievement are often given numerical scores. A summary score for the work being
assessed may be produced by adding the scores for each criterion. The rubric may
also include space for the judge to describe the reasons for each judgment or to make
suggestions for the author.
1.2.Components of Rubrics
There are four components to a rubric. They are a task description, task
dimensions, a performance scale, and cell descriptions (Steven & Levi, 2004). The
task description describes the assessment activity that serves as a reminder to the
grader as to what the task is about. This can be created directly by cutting and pasting
from a course syllabus or from the assessment task directions. The task dimensions
lay out and describe the parts of the task and are listed in the first column of the table.
They should be directly observable and in harmony with the program’s learning
outcomes. The performance scale indentifies the levels of performance along each of
the dimensions and is presented in the first row of the table. Scales should include
three to five points. Too many scales points make it more difficult to differentiate
between performance levels. Finally, cell descriptions prepare what each level of

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performance means for each dimension. These may include check boxes beside each
element of the performance description in the cell. They help convey why the student
is given a particular score. All components can be seen in the table below.

Task Description:
Each student of Literacy Class in Sanata Dharma University year
2011 writes an essay about vocabulary learning and acquisition. The
student may focus the writing on any way he/she wishes. However,
the lecturer has standards and criteria in scoring. The essay should
include x, y, and z.

Scale: Level 1 Scale: Level 2 Scale: Level 3

Dimension 1
Dimension 2
Dimension 3
Dimension 4

The example above will make understanding of rubrics clearer. From the
example, it can be seen that there are some dimensions inside the rubrics. The
dimensions mean criteria and standards that become points to be scored. The scales
mean grades for scoring how far the students achieve the standards.

1.3. Developing Rubrics

After understanding the components of rubrics, the teacher can develop
rubrics in scoring students’ performance. First of all, he should define task
description. Besides, he also classifies the dimension objectively meaning to say that
he should establish the standard for each performance area. Scoring scales also need
to be developed. In short words, all components should be covered in rubrics
properly.
When developing a rubric, first complete the table by filling in the dimensions
in the first column. After the teacher has completed this step, fill in the scale points
along the boxes in the first row. Huba and Freed (2000) have developed a list of scale

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points which is presented below for your assistance. It is helpful to structure scale
points in a positive light in order to lessen potential upset for low marks. Then, the
teacher should complete the cell descriptions next for each row and corresponding
column. He starts out by identifying the extreme levels of performance like the
highest and lowest levels of performance. The lowest level of performance can be the
negation of the excellent category or a list of mistakes that students may make. It may
be helpful and useful to look at student works to identify the descriptions. For the
next step, you should fill in the middle categories.
1.4. Types of Rubrics
There are four types of rubrics in scoring students’ performance (Arter, 2000).
They are holistic rubrics, analytic rubrics, general, and task specific. Each type has its
own characteristics. They also provide benefits and drawbacks. The teacher can
choose what rubrics they need to score his students.
Holistic rubrics provide a single score based on overall impression of a
student’s performance on a task. This type of rubrics is quick scoring. It also provides
overview of students’ achievement. So, the teacher is able to use this type when he
wants a quick snapshot of achievement. In addition, it is reliable to use if a single
dimension is adequate to define quality. However, it does not provide detailed
information, may be difficult to provide one overall score.
Analytic rubrics provide specific feedback along several dimensions. The
teacher is able to get more detailed feedback. The scoring that the teacher does will
be more consistent across students and graders. The drawback of this type is that the
teacher needs more time to score. In short words, this type of rubrics is able to be
used if the teacher wants himself and his students to see the strengths and weaknesses
of the students’ performance and assess complicated skills or performance. It is also
great to use if the teacher wants to give detailed feedback to the students’
performance.
General rubrics contain criteria that are general across tasks. If the teacher
wants to use the same rubrics across different tasks, this type if rubrics is really

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recommended. However, the rubrics cannot provide specific feedback. So, when the
teacher wants to assess reasoning, skills, and products and also the students do not do
exactly the same task, this type is what the teacher may select.
Task specific rubrics are unique to a specific task. The advantage of this type
is more reliable assessment of performance on the task. Then, the disadvantage of
task specific rubrics is difficult to construct rubrics for all specific tasks. In other
words, this type of rubrics is the best preference if the teacher wants to assess
knowledge when consistency of scoring is extremely important.

2. Testing Students’ Speaking Skill

In testing students’ speaking skill, there are some points that should be
emphasized. First, types of speaking test should be discussed clearly. Second, steps
how to test speaking skill should be explained more to avoid confusedness of the
teacher. Third, before going to the difficulties and method to overcome the
difficulties, purpose of testing speaking skill should be defined first.
2.1. Types of Speaking Test
Nakamura & Valens (2001) suggest three different types of speaking test.
They are monologue, dialogue, and multilogue. Those three tests have each different
characteristic. Each characteristic shows different function and purpose.
In monologue test, students were asked to perform some tasks such as; show
and tell where they talk about anything they choose. This is considered a chance to
give students an opportunity to make a small presentation.
The second type is Dialogue Speaking Test which is also known as the
interview. It is an open-ended test where the students lead a discussion with the
teacher, and students in that kind of test are required to use conversation skills that
they have learned throughout the course.
The third type is Multilogue Speaking Test that is also called the discussion
and debating. Here, the discussions are student-generated, and students are put into

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groups where as a group, they decide on a topic they feel would be of interest for the
rest of the classroom.

2.2. Difficulties in Testing Speaking Skill

There are two reasons why speaking is considered as the most difficult skill to
test. First, it involves a combination of skills that may have no correlation with each
other, and which do not lend themselves well to objective testing. In Kitao & Kitao
(1996), it was mentioned that there are not yet good answers to questions about the
criteria for testing these skills and the weighing of these factors. Second, there are
many language features in speaking skill that become influence factor of scoring
(Brown, 2001). So, the teacher should pay much attention to those features in giving
score for students’ performance in a relatively short time. It makes the teacher as an
examiner of an oral production is put under great pressure (Heaten, 1988).
In speaking test, it is possible to find students who can produce the different
sounds of a foreign language appropriately; hence they lack the ability to
communicate their ideas correctly. This is one of the difficulties that testers encounter
when testing the oral production of the students. However, the opposite situation
could occur as well; some people do have the ability of expressing their ideas clearly,
but at the same time they cannot pronounce all the sounds correctly.
3. Testing Speaking Using Rubrics
From explanations of general information of rubrics and testing speaking
skills, it can be seen that rubrics provide some points that are needed in testing
speaking skills. In developing rubrics, the teacher as an examiner should establish
criteria to make the score objective. The, it has been known that in speaking skill,
there are language features that should be focus on in testing speaking. So, if the
teacher decides to use rubrics in testing speaking, they are able to get language
features as criteria and standard that should become consideration in giving score.
In this section, there are some points that will be nucleus of the paper. First,
the reasons why rubrics can be an alternative in testing speaking are going to be

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discussed. Second, what types of rubrics that is appropriate in testing speaking needs
to be decided. Third, steps of using rubrics are also essential to elaborate so that the
teacher knows what to do in testing students’ performance in speaking.
3.1. Reasons Why Using Rubrics in Testing Speaking
There are some reasons why using rubrics can be one of alternatives in testing
speaking. The reasons should be looked out from some aspects. They are students’
performance, timing, standard credibility and objective and consistent grading.
Rubrics help to improve student performance and increase learning of
speaking skill. They demonstrate clearly how assignments will be evaluated, the
evaluation criteria that are established by putting language features and expectations
for assignments. Giving the rubrics before assignment let the students know what
aspect that they should improve to prepare the test. After the assignment, the students
will know the result specifically so that they notice on what aspect they should
improve more.
Using rubrics in speaking will reduce grading time. The teacher does not need
to think over and over to give the score towards the students’ speaking skill. He can
prepare what aspects they should score then list those aspects in a sheet of paper.
When the students perform, they will give the score directly without any
confusedness. Research by Andrade and Du (2005) reveals that the teacher can cut
grading time about 50 percent with some preparation.
Rubrics can be a proof to be shown to parents related to the students’ work.
Some students are often confused about what is expected of them for a class project.
Moreover, they often do not understand or forget instructions for an assignment.
Unlike writing or reading that provides authentic proof of improvement of the
students, testing speaking skill does not present that. As a result the parents do not
know anything about their kids’ confusedness. Using rubrics is able to eliminate all of
those negative aspects. When a rubric is provided with assignments, parents can
understand clearly how grading is structured and assignments evaluated. Rubrics are

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simple for students to understand and use. Both aspects lead to credibility of
classroom standards.
When the criteria for grading a speaking assignment are descriptive and
explicit, it helps to reflect the weighted importance of the speaking assignment's
objectives. That helps to ensure the grading standards used by the teacher do not
change over time. Factors such as fatigue, heavy workload and changing standards
based on a teacher's experience can cause inconsistency in grading. The use of
rubrics, however, helps to eliminate those problems in testing speaking skill, enabling
teachers to maintain grading consistency.
3.2. Rubrics in Testing Students’ Speaking Skill
After deciding using rubrics in testing students’ speaking skill, the teacher
need to know what type of rubrics that is properly used to score their speaking skill.
Selecting what rubrics that will be used should be considered by suiting the rubrics’
characteristics and what the teacher needs in testing speaking.
In testing speaking of second language learning, four components are
emphasized. Those include vocabulary, grammar, semantics, and phonology.
Accurate assessment of limited-English speaking learners requires a total description
of the communication skills, linguistic structures, and functional usage of the
learner’s language within all social domains (Silverman, Noa, Russel & Molina,
1976). So, the teacher needs to choose rubrics that can be used to grade those four
components in speaking. From the characteristics of rubrics, analytic is proper to
score the skill.
Analytic rubrics provide specific feedback along several dimensions. The
teacher is able to get more detailed feedback. The scoring that the teacher does will
be more consistent across students and graders. Moreover, this type of rubrics is good
to score language features like content, vocabulary, accuracy of grammar and
language use, task fulfillment, appropriate use of language, creativity, sentence
structure or text type, and comprehensibility. In short words, this type of rubrics is
able to be used if the teacher wants himself and his students to see the strengths and

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weaknesses of the students’ performance and assess complicated skills or
performance. It is also great to use if the teacher wants to give detailed feedback to
the students’ performance.
In using rubrics in speaking, the teacher should revisit the assignment learning
outcome of speaking like what the students know or able to do based on the
outcomes. Then he also needs to determine the areas of speaking to assess. After that,
he needs to establish standards for each performance area in speaking area such as
what different levels of performance look like within each category of assessment. He
should define the category of students’ performance whether it is below expectation,
satisfactory, or exemplary. Then, he also should make the scale objectively. There is
an example of analytic rubrics for speaking test (see appendix 1).

III. CONCLUSION
Rubrics become one of alternative to overcome difficulties in testing speaking
skill which have many criteria to be scored. All types of rubrics can be used as well
but analytic rubrics are considered as the best one. It is because the rubrics provide
detailed information and can cover all features in speaking such as vocabulary,
grammar, semantics (informational and fluency), and phonology (pronunciation,
stress and intonation)

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 REFERENCES

Andrade, H. (2000). Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning. Educational

Leadership, 57(5), 13-18.

Andrade, Heidi & Ying Du (2005). Student perspectives on rubric-referenced

assessment. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 10(3).

Arter, J. (2000). Rubrics, scoring guides, and performance criteria: Classroom tools
for assessing and improving student learning. Paper presented at the annual
conference of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.

Black, P., & Wiliam, D . (1998). Inside the black box: Raising standards through
classroom assessment. Phi Delta Kappan, 80(2), 139-148.

Brookhart, S. (2003). Developing measurement theory for classroom assessment

purposes and uses. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 22(4), 5-12.

Brown, H. Douglas. 2001. Second Edition Teaching by Principles: An Interactive

Approach to Language Pedagogy. San Fransisco: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Goodrich, H. (1997). Understanding rubrics. Educational Leadership, 54(4), 14-17.

Huba, M. E. & Freed, J. E. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college

campuses: Shifting the focus from teaching to learning. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Kitao, S. K., & Kitao, K. (1996). Testing communicative competence (Report No.
TM025214). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED398260)

Kitao, S. K., & Kitao, K. (1996). Testing speaking (Report No.TM025215). (ERIC
Document Reproduction Service No. ED398261)

Moskal, B. M. (2003). Recommendations for developing classroom performance

assessments and scoring rubrics. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation,
8(14). Available: http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?V=8&n=14

Nakamura, Y., & Valens, M. (2001). Teaching and testing oral communication skills.
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Popham, J. W. (1997). What's wrong-and what's right-with rubrics. Educational

Leadership, 55(2), 72-75.

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Shepard, L. (2000). The role of assessment in a learning culture. Educational
Researcher, 29(7), 4-14.

Silverman, R., Noa, J., Russell, R., & Molina, J. (1976). Oral language tests for
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Stiggins, R. J. (2001). Student-involved classroom assessment (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle

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APPENDIX 1

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 Analytic Rubrics for Testing Speaking Skill

Task Description:

Quantity of information communicated (relative to level)

A/ Communicates significantly more information than required to fulfill the task; includes
10 / 9
A- elaboration and detail.
B 8 Communicates more information than required to fulfill the task.
C 7 Communicates adequate information to fulfill the task.
D 6 Communicates some information, but amount is less than adequate
F 5-0 Provides almost no information, or there is not enough speech to evaluate.

Fluency (relative to level)

A/ 5/
Speech is smooth and flowing. No hesitancy or rephrasing.
A- 4.5
B 4 Speech is smooth for the most part. Occasional hesitancy. Some rephrasing.
C 3.5 Speech is generally hesitant and often choppy.
D 3 Speech is extremely hesitant and choppy. Frequent pauses and/or unfinished phrases.
F 2-0 Speech is limited to isolated words or short phrases. No fluency.

Pronunciation (relative to level)

A/
10 / 9 No errors in pronunciation that impede comprehension.
A-
B 8 A few errors in pronunciation rarely impede comprehension.
C 7 Occasional pronunciation errors cause some confusion or misunderstanding.
D 6 Frequent pronunciation errors cause consistent confusion or misunderstanding.
F 5-0 So many pronunciation errors that comprehension is impossible.

Vocabulary (relative to level)

A/
10 / 9 Uses a wide range of vocabulary appropriately.
A-
B 8 Uses a fairly wide range of vocabulary. Most of vocabulary is used appropriately.
C 7 Uses an adequate range of vocabulary, but sometimes inappropriately.
D 6 Uses a limited range of vocabulary. Vocabulary is often used inappropriately.
F 5-0 Shows no command of vocabulary.

Grammar (relative to level)

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A/
10 / 9 No or very few grammatical errors.
A-
B 8 Some grammatical errors; however, errors do not impede comprehension.
C 7 Several grammatical errors occasionally impede comprehension.
D 6 Many grammatical errors frequently impede comprehension.
F 5-0 Grammatical errors so frequent that comprehension is totally impeded.

Rate A or B, as required by task

A. Role plays/skits: Does it sound like a B. Interviews: Does interviewee

real exchange? (relative to level) understand questions? (relative to
level)
A/ 5/ Exchange is very well-connected and clear Understands all questions. No repetition
A- 4.5 with no hesitations. necessary.
Exchange is very well-connected with very Understands most questions. Occasional
B 4
few hesitations. repetition necessary.
Exchange is somewhat choppy due to Understands approximately half of the
C 3.5
misunderstandings between participants. questions. Repetition is often necessary.
Exchange is unconnected and extremely
Understands only a few of the questions.
D 3 choppy due to misunderstandings between
Repetition frequently necessary.
participants.
Understands no questions. Repetition
Speaker is unable to maintain her/his end of
F 2-0 and/or rephrasing of questions is always
dialogue. Totally unconnected.
necessary.

Total: ________

Comments:

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