RUBRIC DEVELOPMENT

Why use rubrics?Characteristics of good rubricsDefi nition & types of rubricStrategies for rubric developmentSOLO taxonomyPhenomeno-graphic sortingUsing rubrics with students

Definition A scoring tool that lays out the specific expectations for an

assessment task (Stevens & Levi, 2005) A set of clear explanations or criteria used to help teachers

and students focus on what is valued in a subject, topic, or activity (Russell, & Airasian, 2012).

Components of a rubric: Criteria/Indicator

aspects of an assessment task which the assessor takes into account when making their judgment

May use different weightings for different criteria Level of Attainment

often use grade level descriptors

Types of rubrics: Descriptive (Analytic), Holistic Why and when we use particular types of rubrics

SCORING RUBRIC

WHY USE RUBRICS?

For teachers:

• Prompt a criterion-referenced assessment

• Provide students with detailed and timely feedback

• Encourage critical thinking

• Facilitate communication with others involved in scoring

• Help to refine teaching skills/learning activities

For students:

• Clarify the teacher’s expectations of student performance

• Provide informative descriptions of expected performance

• Help to monitor and critique own work

Well defined Clearly describe the expected level of student

performance for each criterion in a rubric Avoid general evaluative words (poor, excellent, etc.) Use specific objective terms (correctly identifies, uses

only basic vocabulary, chooses incorrect formula… )

Context specific Describe what teachers expect from student for a

given performance or work product on a particular subject domain

Viable for instruction

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD RUBRICS (1)

Finite and exhaustive Every response must be scorable Too many score levels is confusing for students and

causes disagreement among teacher scoresOrdered

Represent the different levels of learning targets as defined by LP

Related to Common Core theme/strand Coherent with the cognitive complexity of the

standards

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD RUBRICS (2)

Components:(1) Task

description(2) Assessment

criteria(3) Performance

levels

Task Description:

  Criteria 1

Criteria 2

Criteria 3

Criteria 4

Total

Level 5          

Level 4          

Level 3          

Level 2          

Level 1          

ANALYTIC (DESCRIPTIVE) RUBRICS

Advantage: Provides

judgment on each criterion

Disadvantage: Time

consuming to make

Task Description:

  Criteria

Level 5 Overall description of Level 5

Level 4 Overall description of Level 4

Level 3 Overall description of Level 3

Level 2 Overall description of Level 2

Level 1 Overall description of Level 1

HOLISTIC RUBRICS

A single scale with all criteria to be included in the evaluation being considered together Based on an overall judgment of student work

Advantage: Saves time in

developing and scoring

Disadvantage: Does not

provide specific feedback for improvement

On performance-based tasks: extended response items projects presentations portfolios

WHEN TO USE RUBRICS

Reflecting on the task & content Learning outcomes of the unit and the particular

assessment What we want from the students, why we created this

assessment, what our expectations areListing the learning outcomes & expectations

Focus on the particular details of the task and what specific learning objectives we expect to see in the completed task

Grouping & labeling the outcomes & criteria Organize the results of reflections, group similar

expectations together to become the rubric IndicatorsApplication of a rubric format

Apply the templates & descriptions to the final form of the rubrics

4 KEY STAGES IN CREATING RUBRICS

Relationship between the intended Learning Progression (LP) and rubrics Direct use of the LP as standard reference

Use of a general strategy (i.e. modified Bloom’s taxonomy or SOLO taxonomy) Assign the target outcome as mapped onto the

Cognitive Rigor Matrix as the maximum level of the rubric

Use the SOLO taxonomy as scoringPhenomenographic sorting

STRATEGIES FOR RUBRIC DEVELOPMENT

SOLO TAXONOMY

Possible Score

Level Responses that …

4 Extended not only include all relevant pieces of information, but also extend the response to integrate relevant pieces of information not in the stimulus.

3 Relational integrate all relevant pieces of information from the stimulus.

2 Multistructural respond to several relevant pieces of information from the stimulus.

1 Unistructural respond to only one relevant piece of information from the stimulus.

0 Pre-structural consist only of irrelevant information.

* Modified from Wilson (2005, p. 75)

A possible value of 0 – 4 can be used to score each question

1. Sort student responses into performance level piles (excellent, good, …, and poor), or in terms of the levels of understanding of the responses

2. Describe similarities within a pile and differences between

These similarities and differences can inform the different level of rubrics

3. Do sorting in pairs To reconfirm matches & mismatches Allow dialogue to maximize the effectiveness of

rubric development

PHENOMENOGRAPHIC SORTING

Explain what the test will emphasize Emphasis and expectations will be delineated in the

assessment criteria in the rubricsInform students how the assessment will be

scored Explain what each of the assessment criteria defined

in the rubrics meansExplain how the results will be used

Explain the importance of the test scores in the student’s learning progression

USING RUBRICS WITH STUDENTS

Make sure that the wording of the rubrics is understandable to students (simplify wording for lower grades).

Works best with holistic rubrics (or with a combined version of analytic descriptions).

Provide rubrics to students in advance of the administration of the assessment.

Alternatively, students can be provided with a general rubric and a small number of papers (names removed). Students can score the papers in small groups; groups are required to come to consensus on the grade to be assigned.

HOW TO USE RUBRICS WITH STUDENTS

Nitko, A. J . , & Brookhart, S. (2007). Educational assessment of students. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

McMil lan, J . H. (2007). Classroom assessment. Principles and practice for eff ective standard-based instruction (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson - Al lyn & Bacon.

Oregon Department of Education. (2014, June). Assessment guidance. Popham, W. J . (2014). Criterion-referenced measurement: A half-century

wasted? Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of National Council on Measurement in Education, Phi ladephia, PA.

Popham, W. J . (2014). Classroom assessment: What teachers needs to know . San Francisco, CA: Pearson

Russell , M. K., & Airasian, P. W. (2012). Classroom assessment: Concepts and applications . New York, NY: McGraw-Hil l .

Stevens, D. & Levi, A. (2005). Introduction to rubrics. As assessment tool to save grading time, convey eff ective feedback, and promote student learning . Sterl ing: Stylus Publishing, LLC

Wihardini, D. (2010). Assessment development I I . Unpublished manuscript. Research and Development Department, Binus Business School, Jakarta, Indonesia.

Wilson, M. (2005). Constructing measures: An item response modeling approach. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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