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A “rubric” is a grading standard which breaks down the grade into several
categories: “excellent,” “good,” “fair,” and “poor,” for example, or a more traditional
“A,” “B,” “C, and “D.” For each of these levels, there are a set of criteria related to
writing such as organization, use of details, sentence structure, etc. The criteria
are further refined at each level, so that an “A” grade the organization criteria
might be described as “excellent organization with clear transitions that advances
the purpose of the paper” while a “B” grade might have “clear organization with
transitions related to the paper purpose,” showing with some details the
differences between two levels based on one criteria.
Many departments and schools now have an expectation that rubrics be designed
for each major assignment, with the idea, apparently, that rubrics will clarify
expectations and result in fewer student complaints regarding grades. The
problem is that rubrics often fail in their mission to clarify for both instructor and
student the grading standards. Students, especially those earning poor grades,
often view the grading standards suspiciously, seeing them as unfair and
arbitrary; grading rubrics are no exception. However, there are ways to clarify
grading rubrics and teach course expectations so that both students and teachers
can understand and use rubrics effectively.
Rubrics, as with most tools that evaluate in some way, have inherent problems.
Some of those problems are detailed below.
2 Too Abstract
An “A” is for an excellent paper; a “B” for a “good” one. What does
that mean, exactly? What does an excellent paper look like? The language
meant to clarify this difference fails to do so because in part the language
can be difficult, as discussed above, to anyone outside of the field of study;
often, also, the language and concepts are vague. What exactly does
“excellent” mean in terms of writing?
“B” level “strong” and move into a C grade’s “formulaic”? The differences
between two levels of grades and deciding that difference can be difficult
for teachers, let alone students.
Overall, the main problem with a grading rubric is that it is grounded on the
assumption of a deep understanding of the field that only specialists within it
possess, which is why rubrics are typically designed by teachers with teachers in
mind as an audience. We do the grading and are the ones who will use the rubrics
for the purpose of grading, after all. But as many instructors give out the grading
rubric now, either with the assignment itself or with the course syllabus, it is also
important that students understand how these standards are applied to writing.
1 Clarify Terminology
A major problem for novices in general is their unfamiliarity with the
lingo of the field related to their recent entrance into the field and
academic life in general and truly understanding the technical
language. Grading rubrics are often replete with technical language of a
discipline. Therefore, the teacher should be aware that she will have to
clarify the terminology of the rubric when she introduces it. Showing clear
examples of what makes a good “controlling idea” will go a long way in
clarifying the rubric.
2 Give Examples
Showing examples of the largely abstract rubric applied to actual
student work is important for complete understanding of it. What is the
difference between an “A” and a “B” anyway? Well, better than talk in
generalities about the dividing line between “excellent development” and
just “good development,” the instructor can show examples from past
student papers that demonstrate excellent development as opposed to just
good.
they are responding as readers, how the paper works for them as readers
rather than as teachers--they are not really assigning grades. Valuable
peer feed back.
English.
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