Checklists: List of criteria. The criterion is judged as present or not present.
Rubrics: Criteria are usually in a matrix with levels, or in a list with level descriptors. Each criterion is judged based on a range of levels.
Benefits of rubrics for students
Students can fully understand what they need to do in order to succeed with a task.
Students work on self-assessment, which is a critical thinking skill.
Students can more easily do peer assessment if they are using rubrics.
Grading is fairer.
Benefits for teachers
The teacher can fully understand the task and decide what is important.
The teacher fully understands what he or she is asking students to do.
Grading is fairer.
Grading is much faster and easier.
Drawbacks of rubrics
They take time to do well.
They take practice to do well.
You can’t change your mind as you are grading, even if you realize you forgot something important. The rubric is a contract that binds the teacher as well as the student.
A poorly-designed rubric is not helpful to the students or to the teacher.
Six steps to create a rubric, adapted from Create a Rubric Tutorial at http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default.htm (site is no longer available)
Start with the performance objective or learning outcome
Identify the characteristics/tasks comprising the performance. These are often the performance indicators.
Identify the potential levels of quality (e.g., very good, good, fair, weak, very weak)
Identify the criteria for each level of quality within a characteristic/task
Assign a point value to each level, and a total point value for the assessment
Create the rubric table – put the dimensions as rows and the levels as columns.
Step 1: Performance Objectives
"Writing student learning objectives" from Missouri State's Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning: https://www.missouristate.edu/assets/fctl/Writing_Student_Learning_Objective_12-06-2010.pdf
Objectives need to be based on specific, observable behavior (e.g., not “learn” and “understand” but “create” or “list”).
The essential first step is to create a good objective or objectives. If you don't know what the goal is, how will you - and your students - know if they're successful? You will usually have a different rubric for different assignments. The rubric for the first draft of an essay, for example, will be different from the rubric for the final draft.
Examples:
Participants in this session, after listening carefully and participating actively in group work, will create rubrics that will contain at least three rows for characteristics and at least three columns for levels.
Students will write an informative paragraph about why they want to learn English with clear organization, descriptive language, and at least two appropriate examples.
Step 2: Identify the characteristics/tasks comprising the performance
What are the key characteristics or tasks to meet this objective? For example, are you looking for creativity? Accuracy? Eye contact in speaking? Choose the key elements. Make sure you focus on enough but not too many. Try to keep the rubric to one or two pages at most.
Step 3: Identify the potential levels of quality
More levels is a lot more work. Have enough, but no more.
Three levels: weak, average, very good (9 cells with 3 characteristics)
Four levels: very weak, almost satisfactory, satisfactory, excellent (12 cells with 3 characteristics)
Five levels: very weak, weak, average, very good, excellent (15 cells with 3 characteristics – and you often have more than 3. That’s a lot of thinking about how you will distinguish one from another).
Step 4: Identify the criteria for each level of quality within a characteristic/task.
Start with what makes something excellent. How would a student get the maximum number of points for each characteristic/task? Be as complete as possible in thinking about this.
Now, look at the weakest. What would a very weak characteristic/task look like?
Finally, look at the middle areas. What is missing in each characteristic/task?
Describe each of the levels carefully and clearly, so that students can understand what you want.
Step 5: Assign a point value to each level, and a total point value for the assessment.
Different characteristics can have different values. You might want a maximum of 3 points for mechanics in writing, and 5 points for organization, for example. Don't let the math stop you!
Step 6: Create the rubric table.
Tables in Word work well for creating templates for rubrics.
Sample table with three characteristics, and three points.
Course name:
Assignment:
Date:
Rubistar gives you ideas about what you might find helpful. YOU need to decide what fits your behavioral objective! You can change any of the characteristics or descriptions.
Videos about using Rubistar:
Wood0769. (2008). Rubistar. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7wc7I-rwvs. (making a brochure)
Sbrunvan. (2008). Rubistar. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htaMUOepNeM (persuasive essay; different number of levels)
Rubistar sample template
Persuasive essay template
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=CustomizeTemplate&bank_rubric_id=127§ion_id=5&
Oral presentation template
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=CustomizeTemplate&bank_rubric_id=4§ion_id=1&
Start by crafting a good prompt. Here's an outline for a writing rubric:
Role of ChatGPT
You’re a writing teacher
Level of the learners
English language learners at CEFR level ___
=> It’s best to use CEFR levels
Task
Create a rubric that uses simple language.
__ levels
For a [describe the writing task]
Categories to assess should include [base this on the performance objectives]
Sample prompt
You’re a writing teacher with English language learners at CEFR level B1. Create a rubric that uses simple language with five levels for a 4-paragraph essay about fun vacations. Categories should include introduction, supporting details, conclusions, and interesting personal content.
Output: ChatGPT response
Last updated 13 May 2024 by D. Healey