Designing Rubrics

1. Designing Rubrics Students as Self Assessors Teachers as Focused Coaches

2. Example: Rubric of a Research Proposal

3. IQAC, UIU

4. What is a rubric? • A rubric is a lesson in quality • A public declaration of expectations • A communication tool • A self-assessment tool for learners • A gauge for examining performance • A self-fulfilling prophecy IQAC, UIU

5. Why Use Rubrics? • Rubrics help instructors • Assess assignments consistently from student-to-student. • Save time in grading, both short-term and long-term. • Give timely, effective feedback and promote student learning in a sustainable way. • Clarify expectations and components of an assignment for both students and course TAs. • Refine teaching skills by evaluating rubric results. IQAC, UIU

6. Why Use Rubrics? • Rubrics help students: • Understand expectations and components of an assignment. • Become more aware of their learning process and progress. • Improve work through timely and detailed feedback. IQAC, UIU

7. Why Rubric in Learning Assessment? • The most effective teachers handle students and grading fairly. (Robert J. Walker, ASU) • Every university student we surveyed listed fairnessas one of the characteristics of their favourite teachers. (Thompson et al., Univ. of Memphis)

9. What is a rubric? • A rubric is a guideline for rating student performance. • Benefits: • The rubric provides those doing the assessment with exactly the characteristics for each level of performance on which they should base their judgment. • The rubric provides those who have been assessed with clear information about how well they performed. • The rubric also provides those who have been assessed with a clear indication of what they need to accomplish in the future to better their performance. Asmus, E, (1999). Rubrics. Retrieved on May 29, 2007, from http://www.music.miami.edu/assessment/rubrics.html IQAC, UIU

10. What is a rubric? • Quality Continuum • A rubric must define the range of possible performance levels.  Within this range are different levels of performance which are organized from the lowest level to the highest level of performance.  • Usually, a scale of possible points is associated with the continuum where the highest level receives the greatest number of points and the lowest level of performance receives the fewest points. IQAC, UIU

11. What is a rubric? • Quality Continuum IQAC, UIU

12. Rubric vs. Checklist Checklist for a friendly letter • ______ Date, flush left at top • ______ Address • ______ Greeting • ______ Body • ______ Salutation • ______ Signature IQAC, UIU

13. Rubric vs. Checklist • Checklists have not judgment of quality. • Checklists can only be used when “present or absent” is a sufficient criterion for quality. IQAC, UIU

14. Rubric vs. Checklist • Rubrics include descriptors for each targeted criterion. • Rubrics provide a scale which differentiates among the descriptors. IQAC, UIU

15. The parts of a rubric: IQAC, UIU

16. Determining Standards of Excellence • How many degrees of quality should you include? • Should you use language or numbers? If language, what descriptive terms should you use? • Should you weigh the items? IQAC, UIU

17. Objectives Criteria • The specific areas for assessment • Focus areas for instruction • Clear and relevant • Age appropriate • Form and function represented IQAC, UIU

18. Indicators • Descriptors of level of performance for the criteria Conclusion includes whether the findings supported the hypothesis, possible sources of error, and what was learned from the experiment. • Clear, observable language • Examples for learners IQAC, UIU

19. An even number of standards of excellence Clear essential criteria Realistic number of criteria Explicit, observable indicators If points… clear to students upfront Deliberate sequence of criteria High interjudge reliability Tested out with students What makes a quality RUBRIC? IQAC, UIU

20. Development of Rubric • Getting Started • Start small by creating one rubric for one assignment in a semester. • Ask colleagues if they have developed rubrics for similar assignments. • Although it takes time to build a rubric, time will be saved in the long run as grading and providing feedback on student work will become more streamlined. IQAC, UIU

21. Development Guidelines • Examine an assignment for your course. • Outline the elements or critical attributes to be evaluated • must be objectively measurable • Create an evaluative range for performance quality under each element; for instance, “excellent,” “good,” “unsatisfactory.” IQAC, UIU

22. Development Guidelines (contd.) • Reinforce a developmental approach by students by using a developmental scale in your rubric, like “Beginning”, “Emerging” and “Exemplary.” • Add descriptors that qualify each level of performance: • Avoid using subjective or vague criteria such as “interesting” or “creative”; instead, outline objective indicators that would fall under these categories. IQAC, UIU

23. Development Guidelines (contd.) • The criteria must clearly differentiate one performance level from another. • Assign a numerical scale to each level. • Give a draft of the rubric to your colleagues and/or TAs for feedback. • Train students to use your rubric and solicit feedback • Rework the rubric based on the feedback. IQAC, UIU