Rubrics: Clarifying Expectations and Improving the Grading Process

What is a rubric?

CHECKLIST

Why use a rubric? Improvement to assignment and instructions Clarifies expectations for students Formative assessments for students Consistency in grading >> increased reliability, validity, standardization Clarifies feedback to students Feedback to instructors

Rubric Types: Analytic

Rubric Types: Holistic

Rubric Types: General General Rubric

Rubric Types: Specific

Parts of a Rubric

Sample Discussion Board Rubric

Sample Research Paper Rubric

Sample: Presentation Rubric

Research on Student Perceptions of Rubrics When rubrics were available before an assignment began: Students had more positive attitudes about grading Students believed they engaged in more meaningful work Students felt the grading was more fair Research done in many disciplines (Reddy & Andrade, 2010, citing other studies)

Research on Instructor Perceptions of Rubrics Instructors have more positive attitudes about grading Rubrics make grading more objective, consistent, efficient Some studies show no change Some faculty are resistant to rubric use – time-consuming and unfamiliar with benefit) (Reddy & Andrade, 2010, citing other studies)

Discussion Board performance improved after students given detailed rubric (Wyss, 2014) Use of rubrics showed increased interaction, retention, development of higher level thinking skills, higher grades, (Reddy & Andrade, 2010, citing other studies) Rubrics helped students understand where they were deficient (Soiferman, 2015) Some studies showed no change (small sampling) Limited research exists Research on effect of rubrics on academic performance

Evidence that rubrics are effective across multiple courses Rubrics helped program directors assess how skills were taught across multiple courses (Reddy & Andrade, 2010; Belanger, 2015) Rubrics across multiple courses (Information Literacy skills) increased collaboration among faculty (Oakleaf, 2012) Rubrics used across multiple courses/faculty should be normed to improve rater reliability (Oakleaf, 2012)

Other research Some research on increasing rater reliability (Reddy and Andrade, 2010; Rapchak, 2015). Some research that analytical rubrics have more rater confidence than holistic rubrics (Oakleaf 2012)

Research Opportunities Room for more research: rater reliability; validity of rubric measurement; impact of geographic and cultural perspectives. Data available through Creative Commons license from one large study on large post-graduate DE program in health sciences (Hack, 2015).

How to Create a Rubric ReflectList Group/ Label ApplyTest Stevens, 2013.

References: Andrade, H. (2000). Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning. Educational Leadership, 57(5), Andrade, H. (2001). The effects of instructional rubrics on learning to write. Current Issues in Education, 4(4), Andrade, H., & Boulay, B. (2003). Role of rubric-referenced self-assessment in learning to write. Journal of Educational Research, 97(1), Belanger, J., Zou, N., Mills, J., Holmes, C., Oakleaf, M. (2015). Project RAILS: Lessons learned about rubric assessment of information literacy skills. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 15, 4, Brookhart, S. How to create and use rubrics for formative assessment and grading. ASCD 2013 (available as e-book in Gelman) Brookhart, S. M. & Chen, F. (2014). The quality and effectiveness of descriptive rubrics. Educational Review. DOI: / (2015). De La Paz, S. (2009). Rubrics: Heuristics for developing writing strategies. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 34(3), DOI: / Hack, C. (2015). Analytical rubrics in higher education: A repository of empirical data. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(5), Jonsson, A. & Svingby, G. (2007). The use of scoring rubrics: reliability, validity and educational consequences. Educational Research Review, 2, 2, 130–144. Andrade, H. (2000). Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning. Educational Leadership, 57(5), Andrade, H. (2001). The effects of instructional rubrics on learning to write. Current Issues in Education, 4(4), Andrade, H., & Boulay, B. (2003). Role of rubric-referenced self-assessment in learning to write. Journal of Educational Research, 97(1), Belanger, J., Zou, N., Mills, J., Holmes, C., Oakleaf, M. (2015). Project RAILS: Lessons learned about rubric assessment of information literacy skills. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 15, 4, Brookhart, S. How to create and use rubrics for formative assessment and grading. ASCD 2013 (available as e-book in Gelman) Brookhart, S. M. & Chen, F. (2014). The quality and effectiveness of descriptive rubrics. Educational Review. DOI: / (2015). De La Paz, S. (2009). Rubrics: Heuristics for developing writing strategies. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 34(3), DOI: / Hack, C. (2015). Analytical rubrics in higher education: A repository of empirical data. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(5), Jonsson, A. & Svingby, G. (2007). The use of scoring rubrics: reliability, validity and educational consequences. Educational Research Review, 2, 2, 130–144.References

Moskal, B. (2000). Scoring rubrics: What, when and how? Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(3), 2-7. Oakleaf, M. (2012). Staying on track with rubric assessment: Five institutions investigate information literacy learning. Peer Review, 14, 18-21/ Retrieved from Popham, W.J What’s wrong – and what’s right – with rubrics. Educational Leadership 55, no. 2: 72–5. Reddy, Y. M. & Andrade, H. (2010). A review of rubric use in higher education. Assessment and Evaluation In Higher Education, 35, 435–448. Saddler, B., & Andrade, H. (2004). The writing rubric: Instructional rubrics can help students become self-regulated writers. Educational Leadership, 62(2), Stellmack, M., Konheim-Kalkstein, Y., Manor, J. (2009). An assessment of reliability and valididty of a rubric for grading APA-Style Introductions. Teaching of Psychology, 36, Stevens, Dannelle D.; Levi, Antonia J. (2013). Introduction to rubrics: An assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback and promote student learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Pub. Creating a Rubric: An Online Tutorial for Faculty, Merlot Elixr, University of Colorado Denver, rubrics/assessment-rubrics4. rubrics/assessment-rubrics4