Effective Use of Rubrics to Assess Student Learning

IntroductionIntroductionIn authentic assessment, In authentic assessment, Students are assessed Students are assessed according to specific criteria according to specific criteria that are known to them in that are known to them in advance. These criteria are advance. These criteria are called called rubricsrubrics . .

What is a Rubric? “A scoring tool that lists the criteria or

'what counts’ for a piece of work."

A scoring scale used to assess student performance along a task-specific set of criteria

Rubrics Powerful communication tool Provides a means to clarify our vision

of excellence and conveys it to our students

Provides a rationale for assigning grades to subjectively scored assessments.

Advantages of using rubrics

For the ProfessorAllow evaluation and assessment to be more objective and consistent

Help focus to clarify his/her criteria in specific terms

Provide useful feedback regarding the effectiveness of the instruction

Provide benchmarks against which to measure and document progress

For StudentsHelp them define "quality“

Promote student awareness of about the criteria to use in assessing peer performance

Help students judge and revise their own work before handing in their assignments.

Clearly show the student how their work will be evaluated and what is expected

Research Task Assessment Rubric

 1 2 3 4

Summarise information from another source

Notes are not student's own work

Some notes are student's own work

Most of the notes are student's own work

All the notes are student's own work

Coverage of guiding questions

Few have been covered

Some have been covered

Most have been covered

All, or more than all, have been covered

Key points within each guiding question

Key points not covered

Some key points have been covered

Many key points have been covered

All key points have been covered

Number and variety of sources

Information is from one resource only

Information is from a few resources or from resources of the same kind

A small variety and number of resources have been used

A large number of resources of different kinds have been used

Selection of sources and authorship

Sources used are inappropriate

Some sources are good choices and authorship of at least one can be trusted

Some sources are good choices and authorship of most can be trusted

Selection of sources has been wise and all authorship is known and can be trusted

elem

ent

sstages

descriptions

Sample

rubric

Main Components of Rubrics Dimensions, Criteria, Attributes

Elements that characterize good performance of a task

Definitions and Descriptors \To specify and clarify the meaning of each

dimension Scale of Values

Numerical or Qualitative or Combination

Rating ScaleQualitative

May include labels such as:

Not yet, developing, achieving

Emerging, developing, achieving

Novice, apprentice, proficient, distinguished

No evidence, minimal evidence, partial evidence, complete evidence

Exemplary, Acceptable, Unacceptable

Quantitative Numbers

representing 1 – 5 5 – 1 1 – 3 3 – 1 Actual point value

May be used to reflect relative weight

Recommendations Criteria clearly aligned with the

requirements of the task and the stated goals and objectives. 

Criteria should be expressed in terms of observable behaviors or product characteristics.

Scoring rubrics should be written in specific and clear language that the students understand. 

Recommendations The number of points that are used

in the scoring rubric should make sense.

The separation between score levels should be clear.  

The statement of the criteria should be fair and free from bias. 

Let’s try it! – Developing a Rubric

Choose a learning goal or assignment

Identify at least three (3) critical dimensions or elements of the task

Design a scale of at least 3 levels For each dimension describe

behaviors that represent each level of quality

Sharing the rubric with students is vital—and only fair—if we

expect them to do their best possible

work.

Think about it!

Computer-based

Assessment (CBA)

Introduction What is Computer-Based Assessment

(CBA)? Why use CBA? Pros and cons of CBA

The impact on assessment

Technological advancements have become the medium of choice for work-related assessment in most of the Developed Countries.

While paper & pencil tests are still a major part of the market, computer and Internet delivered tests are the fastest growing sector.

Computer delivered tests offer lots of advantages, but also raise some issues.

What is CBA? Some terms – e-assessment, online

assessment, computer aided assessment (CAA), web-based assessment.

CBA is the use of forms of assessment in which the delivery of assessment tasks and the subsequent marking of student performance is all carried out online.

The term encompasses the use of computers to deliver, mark and analyse assignments or examinations.

Summative , formative, diagnostic

Why bother with CBA?

Tailoring learning to the individual. offering immediate and frequent feedback

to students – particularly in self-assessment of progress

offering assessment strategies which allow the multiple repetition of assessment tasks by students

Why bother with CBA?

improving the reliability and equability of assessment (by ensuring that any assessment is delivered identically to all participating students)

increasing the efficiency of the assessment process – and, reducing the marking burden : Question banks Automatic marking

Why bother with CBA?

Offering rang of materials (Audio /visual )

Ease of administration

Considerations Question design Security Integration with existing provision Faculty approval Familiarity with systems IT skills Appropriate infrastructure

conclusion

CBA is capable of greater flexibility, cost effectiveness and timesaving. It is these attributes that have made it appealing in an age of competitive

higher education funding and resource constraints.