Let’s Get Creative!

Solving the Assessment Puzzle What are rubrics ? Why we should use them? How do we create them?

Effective Rubrics Help guide student work Help teachers assess student products Help teachers develop classroom instructional activities

Creation Concerns Creation takes time Must evaluate the instrument Must consider all stakeholders

Two basic types Holistic Analytic

Experts say Rubrics are: Scoring Guides with specific pre-established performance criteria (Mertler, 2001).

Analytic Rubrics Most commonly used Teacher scores individual parts Sums individual scores to obtain total (Moskal,2000; Mertler, 2001). (Mueler, 2006).

Table 2: Template for analytic rubrics Beginning 1 Developing 2 Accomplished 3 Exemplary 4 Score Criteria #1Description reflecting beginning level of performance Description reflecting movement toward mastery level of performance Description reflecting achievement of mastery level of performance Description reflecting highest level of performance Criteria #2Description reflecting beginning level of performance Description reflecting movement toward mastery level of performance Description reflecting achievement of mastery level of performance Description reflecting highest level of performance Criteria #3Description reflecting beginning level of performance Description reflecting movement toward mastery level of performance Description reflecting achievement of mastery level of performance Description reflecting highest level of performance Criteria #4Description reflecting beginning level of performance Description reflecting movement toward mastery level of performance Description reflecting achievement of mastery level of performance Description reflecting highest level of perform

Holistic Rubrics Not as common Teacher scores the overall process or product as a whole Does not judge components separately “Usually used to make quick judgments on smaller tasks such as homework” Its best to use only a few judgments with a holistic rubric. Exp. Score using 1-5 or Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, or Unattempted (Mertler, 2001)

Sample Holistic Rubric Table 1: Template for Holistic Rubrics ScoreDescription 5 Demonstrates complete understanding of the problem. All requirements of task are included in response. 4 Demonstrates considerable understanding of the problem. All requirements of task are included. 3 Demonstrates partial understanding of the problem. Most requirements of task are included. 2 Demonstrates little understanding of the problem. Many requirements of task are missing. 1Demonstrates no understanding of the problem. 0No response/task not attempted.

Benefits of Rubrics Teachers: rubrics serve as justification for grades. rubrics break down grading criteria to make grading easier for the teacher. Students: rubrics explain the teacher’s expectations for the assignment. rubrics provide feedback to the student.

Steps to Creating the Rubric 1. Look at models. 2. List criteria. 3. Pack and Unpack Criteria. 4. Articulate levels of quality. 5. Create a draft rubric. 6. Revise the draft rubric. (Andrade, 2000)

Evaluating Your Creation Ask a fellow teacher to review the rubric for overlapping, and unclear descriptors. Ask a fellow teacher to grade a sample with the rubric and see if your scores are similar. Ask the students that used the rubric if it was clear and easy to understand. Ask students to explain their grade to you. What needs work? What went well? If they can do all of this, the rubric did its job.

Rule 1: The skills covered by this rubric are significant. Evaluation Criteria from Popham

All of the rubric’s evaluative criteria can be addressed instructionally. Rule 2:

The rubric employs as few evaluative criteria as possible. Rule 3:

The rubric provides a succinct label for each evaluative criterion. Rule 4:

The length of the rubric matches your own tolerance for detail. Rule 5:

Do you agree with the maximum score? Rule 6:

Would you use this rubric again on a similar assignment? Rule 7:

How to improve the rubric Must adhere to Popham’s seven rules for effectiveness Must be connected to the skills being addressed by the learning targets of the subject The skills measured on the rubric must be those that can be addressed instructionally The length of the rubric should be limited to as few criteria as possible

Conclusions Rubrics can benefit teachers and students. There are different types of rubrics for different types of assessments. Rubrics can be revised and edited to fit multiple assessments. They get easier to make with practice.

Journey Into Cyberspace Authentic Assessment Toolbox Rubistar A collection of rubric sites

Get Creative With your team, investigate the lesson plans and rubric sites to develop your unit of study. Lesson Plan Search

Resources Andrade, Heidi Goodrich. (2000)Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning. Retrieved February 23, 2006 from ASCD website: Mertler, Craig A. (2001). Designing scoring rubrics for your classroom. Practical Assessment Research & Evaluation, 7(25). Retrieved March 13, 2006 from Moskal, Barbara M. & Leydens, Jon A.(2000).Scoring rubric development: validity and reliability. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(10). Retrieved March 13, 2006 from Mueller, Jon (2006) Authentic assessment toolbox. Retrieved March 13, 2006, from Popham, W. James.(2005) Classroom Assessment. (pp ) Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Rubik’s cube. (2006) Retrieved April 3, 2006 from Wikipedia website: Walvoord, Barbara & Anderson, Virginia (1998) Rubrics: Appendix A: sample rubrics for student classroom work. TLT Group starter kit workbook. Retrieved March 13, 2006, from The TLT Group website: