UNPACKING STRATEGY 1

Using Rubrics to Determine Success Criteria

A rubric is a criterion-based tool used to communicate expectations of proficiency and to assess a student’s demonstrated level of performance, understanding, or knowledge around the defined criteria.

Rubric Components

  • Criteria, categories of quality as defined by the learning standard(s) and the task instructions
  • Performance level headings (may be assigned a numerical value)
  • Descriptors describe attributes of the product or performance for each criterion at each level

Suggested Guidelines

  • List performance levels from the highest to the lowest.
  • Write descriptors in student-friendly language.
  • Use specific learning standards.
  • Rubric descriptors should provide specific descriptive feedback to student.
  • Rubric development is a process; there’s always room for improvement.

Quality Rubric from Scratch

  • Determine criteria from the standard(s) and the task
  • Determine performance level headings
  • First define the descriptors for proficiency
  • Define descriptors for other performance levels
  • Use the Checklist for Rubric Quality
  • Provide examples of student work for each performance level.

pdf-icon Checklist for Rubric Quality

What are some potential challenges of developing rubrics for your classroom? From your experience and what you have learned so far, what are some benefits of using quality rubrics?

“Helpful rubrics offer rich descriptors that clarify for learners the quality sought; poor rubrics amount to no more than saying that ‘Excellent is better than Good’ etc.”

How can quality rubrics help develop Assessment Capable Learners?

Coaching Companion

Video: Student Assessment Technique: Quality Evidence Rubric (teachingchannel.com)

Video: NY-Five Steps to Revision: Using Warm and Cool Feedback- Erin & Jenn for Review 2 on Vimeo

Involve Students

Involving students in the creation of rubrics helps them to have a more concrete understanding of expectations. Developing and using rubrics is reflective which increases students’ metacognitive skills, as well as leading to greater intrinsic motivation. Including students in the process may not be where you start, but should be an end goal in developing and using rubrics. This works best after students have had experience in using rubrics.

How?

  • Provide examples of student work. It’s important to provide samples of student work at different levels, even if that mean you might have to create some yourself.
  • Engage students in identifying proficiency criteria, using student-friendly language. We must be careful about not pulling rigor out of the standard. Here is an opportunity to pull in academic vocabulary.
  • Facilitate the development of scoring guides based on the criteria. When rubrics are used for assessing performance tasks, the rubrics should be used throughout the production of the product/performance. A rubric shouldn’t only be used at the introduction of the assignment.

How could concepts from this video inform the process of rubric development?

What lessons did you learn from this video about the Assessment Capable Learner?

Final Thoughts

  • Rubrics are a good starting point because they organize the criteria for students into levels of description about various aspects of the work.
  • You can find out how students comprehend what the descriptive levels of a rubric mean by asking them to state them in their own words.
  • Students can learn to more precisely identify levels of quality when they see them by looking at examples of work.
  • Students who can identify quality levels in sample papers are better at self-assessment and at producing desired levels of work themselves.

Resources for Using Technology to Create Rubrics

Coaching Companion

Article: Building Kid Friendly Rubrics

Example: Early Learning Drawing of a Person Rubric– 3 levels of achievement (Meramec Valley R-III, Early Learning, Pacific, MO)

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