Scoring of Assessment

Rubrics

= scoring guidelines

= grading criteria

A list of things youre looking

for when youre grading tests,
papers, or projects

Often with guidelines or

standards for assessing them

What is a rubric?

A rubric is a set of scoring guidelines for evaluating

student work.
Rubrics answer the questions:

By what criteria should performance be judged?

Where should we look and what should we look for to judge
performance success?
What does the range in the quality of performance look like?
How do we determine validly, reliably, and fairly what score
should be given and what that score means?
How should the different levels of quality be described and
distinguished from one another?

What is a Rubric?

Guidelines by which a product is judged

Explain the standards for acceptable
performance or work
Points out what is significant or important in
learning
Criteria for consistent evaluation
Guide students towards improved
performance
Provide specific feedback to students on how
to improve performance
Without a standard of evaluation,
assessments are no more than instructional
tasks

Why Use Rubrics?

Help students understand your

expectations.
Inspire better student performance.
Make scoring easier & faster.
Make scoring more accurate,
unbiased, and consistent.
Improve communication with
students.
Stop arguments with students.

What is a grading rubric?

A scoring guideline for evaluating
student assignments such as essays,
papers or presentations.
It describes the levels of achievement
for a specific assignment.

What is a scoring rubric?

Scoring guide or scoring matrix

Contains well-defined and systematically
applied criteria
Especially useful for assessing behavior or a
product that has a strong subjective
component (that is, cannot be scored
objectively)
Examples: homework problems, oral
presentations, essays, senior design projects,
group skills, leadership.

What does a scoring rubric look

like?

Rows*

Columns*

What is to be assessed
Outcomes
Levels of performance for that outcome
From acceptable to unacceptable
Scores assigned to each level

Cells

Description (text) of what constitutes each

level of performance for that outcome

* Rows and columns may be switched

Types of scoring rubrics

Holistic (one dimension)

To rate the overall process or product as a whole

Uses a single scale
Generates a single score

Detailed or analytical (more than one

dimension)

To rate parts of the process or product

Separate rating scales for each part
Generates several scores
Scores frequently summed

Types of rubrics

Analytic rubric

Provides separate scores for specific

components to be measured.

Holistic rubric

Provides a single overall score for the

assignment.

Analytic Rubric

Describes levels of performance

for each criterion to assess
student performance on each of
them.

Analytical Rubric - Research

Levels of Performance
Criteria

Weight

Number of
Sources

x1

1-4

5-9

10-12

Historical
Accuracy

x3

Lots of historical
inaccuracies

Few
inaccuracies

No apparent
inaccuracies

x1

Can not tell from

which source
information came

Can tell with

difficulty where
information came
from

Can easily tell which

sources info was
drawn from

x1

Bibliography
contains very little
information

Bibliography
contains most
relevant
information

All relevant
information is
included

Organization

Bibliography

Holistic Rubric

Assigns a level of performance by

assessing performance across
multiple criteria as a whole.
Does not list separate levels of
performance for each criterion.

Holistic Rubric - Research

3 - Excellent Researcher

Rubric

included 10-12 sources

no apparent historical inaccuracies
can easily tell which sources information was drawn from
all relevant information is included

2 - Good Researcher

included 5-9 sources

few historical inaccuracies
can tell with difficulty where information came from
bibliography contains most relevant information

1 - Poor Researcher

included 1-4 sources

lots of historical inaccuracies
cannot tell from which source information came
bibliography contains very little information

Advantages

Can be used to grade complex products or

behaviors efficiently.
A single grader can score assignments by
different students more consistently.
Multiple graders can score consistently.
Communicates expectations so students turn in a
better product.
Make rationale for score transparent (reduces
arguments over grades)

Disadvantages

May not be able to address everything we want

students to know.
May limit student response (to only what is
defined by the rubric)
May limit creativity.
Time-consuming to create.

Advantages of using rubrics

For the Professor
Allow

evaluation and assessment

to be more objective and
consistent

Help

focus to clarify his/her

criteria in specific terms

Provide

useful feedback
regarding the effectiveness of
the instruction

Provide

benchmarks against
which to measure and document
progress

For Students
Help

them define "quality

Promote

student awareness of
about the criteria to use in
assessing peer performance

Help

students judge and revise

their own work before handing in
their assignments.

Clearly

show the student how their

work will be evaluated and what is
expected

What does a rubric need to

contain?

1. Contains a scale of possible points to be

assigned in scoring work, on a continuum of
quality. High numbers usually are assigned to
the best performances: scales typically use 4,
5 or 6 as the top score, down to 1 or 0 for the
lowest scores in performance assessment.
2. Provides descriptors for each level of
performance to enable more reliable and
unbiased scoring.

Cont.

3. Is either holistic or analytic. If

holistic, a rubric has only one general
descriptor for performance as a
whole. If analytic, there are multiple
rubrics corresponding to each
independent dimension of
performance being scored.

Criteria for Rubrics

Descriptors, traits, characteristics are terms

used to indicate the elements contained in
rubrics.
Reflect the elements of good performance
and become the source for the criteria used
to judge the performance.
Three types of criteria to determine grades:

Product, Process, Progress

Product Criteria

What students produce (pamphlet, brochure, play a

game, create a game, perform a routine).
Performance and projects are examples of products.
Rubric contains critical elements necessary for
required content.
Stating performance outcomes in
terms
of products says nothing
about
application or correct form.
These are process criteria.

Process Criteria

Critical elements necessary for correct

performance.
Outlines the processes that students use to
learn.
In Physical Education process criteria refers to
the quality of physical performance.
Self-check, peer evaluation, teacher evaluation.
Evaluating process says nothing about how
much a student has improved.
These are progress criteria.

Progress Criteria

Determine how much a student has

improved or progressed.
Determines the mastery of the
critical elements of performance.
In order to measure progress
teachers must administer
assessments
more than once.

Types of Rubrics

The type of rubric chosen for

assessment depends on the task being
evaluated and the needs of the
assessor.
Analytic and holistic rubrics are very
complex and require time to generate.
Checklists are the easiest to create.
Point System rubrics are easy to convert
to grades.

Steps to designing a rubric

1. Using your learning objectives as a guide,
determine the components you want to assess.
2. Choose the type of rubric you want to create.
3. Clearly identify and describe levels of
performance.
4. Develop a scoring scale.
5. Test the rubric.
6. Revise as needed.

Example: Communications
objectives
Students will be able to:
Demonstrate their knowledge of different
criticisms of the journalism field
Develop a literature review that is consistent with
research protocol
Collect and analyze data pertaining to a research
topic
Present findings from a research study
Discuss the implications of the findings of a
research study

Communications Assignment Rubric

Grammar and
Quality of Writing

Development of
Research Question

Explanation of
Data Collection
Method

Presentation of
Findings

Discussion of the
Implications of the
Findings

Communications Assignment Rubric

Grammar and
Quality of Writing

Proper use of spelling, punctuation and

grammar.
Typed using appropriate format.
Writing is clear and well organized

Frequent error in grammar,

spelling and punctuation.

Development of
Research Question

Research question is well developed.

Question allowed researcher to gather
detailed information on topic

Research question poorly

developed. Did not help
researcher in gather detailed
information on topic

Explanation of
Data Collection
Method

Provided a very descriptive and detailed

account of how data was collected.

Explanation of how data was

collected was insuffi cient.

Presentation of
Findings

Presented findings in a sophisticated, clear

and concise manner.

Presentation of findings was

not well developed and not
clearly presented.

Discussion of the
Implications of the
Findings

Discussion of implications of the research

was very well developed and through.
Recommendations for future research
provided.

Implications of findings not

discussed.

Formatting was followed but

paper-contained typos.
Writing is unclear.

Communications Assignment Rubric

Grammar and
Quality of Writing

Proper use of spelling, punctuation and

grammar.
Typed using appropriate format.
Writing is clear and well organized

Occasional diffi culties with the

proper use of spelling,
punctuation and grammar.
Appropriate format used.
Writing is generally clear and
organized

Frequent error in grammar,

spelling and punctuation.

Development of
Research Question

Research question is well developed.

Question allowed researcher to gather
detailed information on topic

Research question allowed

researcher to gather
information on topic but could
have been more concise

Research question poorly

developed. Did not help
researcher in gather detailed
information on topic

Explanation of
Data Collection
Method

Provided a very descriptive and detailed

account of how data was collected.

Provided some detail about

how data was collected but
lacked depth in the description
of the process used to collect
data.

Explanation of how data was

collected was insuffi cient.

Presentation of
Findings

Presented findings in a sophisticated, clear Presented findings in a clear

and concise manner.
manner but lacked depth.

Presentation of findings was

not well developed and not
clearly presented.

Discussion of the
Implications of the
Findings

Discussion of implications of the research

was very well developed and through.
Recommendations for future research
provided.

Implications of findings not

discussed.

Discussion of implications of
the research was presented but
not well developed.

Formatting was followed but

paper-contained typos.
Writing is unclear.

Communications Assignment Rubric (analytic)

Communications Assignment Rubric (weighted analytic)

Example: Checklist Rubric

Yes

No

____ ____ Plays within the rules of the

game.
____ ____ Does not argue with others.
____ ____ Respects the other teams
efforts.
____ ____ Accepts the calls of officials.

Example: Self-Assessment
____ I play within the rules of the
game.
____ I dont argue with others.
____ I offer encouragement and
support.
____ I accept the outcome of the
game.

Point System Rubrics

Similar to checklists they award point for

the various criteria on the list.
Judgment of quality is not required.
Provides students with feedback.
Points can be added up and converted to a
grade.
Certain traits or characteristics can be
weighted giving them greater emphasis.

Example: Scoring Rubric

Fitness Portfolio
___ Fitness Evaluation (8 points)
___ Cardiovascular Assessment (4 points)
___ Abdominal Endurance (2 points)
___ Flexibility Assessment (2 points)
___ Fitness Plan (18 points)
___ Calculate target heart rate (2 points)
___ Needs analysis (4 points)
___ Workout Plan (12 points)
___ Warm-up and recording chart (3 pts + 1 point for
chart)
___ Aerobic plan and chart (3 pts + 1 point for chart)
___ Strength plan and chart (3 pts + 1 point for chart)

Analytic Rubrics

Requires the scorers judgment to

determine the degree of quality.
Evaluate the strength or weakness of a trait
or element.
Students can easily see areas on which
they must improve.
These rubrics take more time to score.
Words give a verbal indication of the
degree of quality.

Always Frequently Sometimes Never

4
3
2
1

Quantitative Analytic
Rubric
Game Play Assessment for
Tennis
The Student:
1. Uses correct form on the
forehand.
2. Places shots.
3. Moves into position quickly.
4. Returns to base position.
5. Calls shots correctly.

Never
Sometimes
Always

Frequently

6. Knowledge of the rules is

evident.
Useful
for providing feedback to students and assessing their

ability to utilize skills in an applied setting.

Qualitative Analytic Rubric

Rules for Tennis
1

Is unfamiliar with the rules. Depends on opponents or

partner for instruction. Struggles with most questions. Is
unsure of serving order and rotation.

Shows some evidence of knowing rules. Struggles with

some questions. Serving order and rotation are correct. May
have a few errors.

Shows evidence of usually knowing and applying rules. Can

answer most questions when asked. Serving order and
rotation are correct.

Shows evidence of thoroughly knowing and applying rules.

Can answer any question when asked. Serving order and
rotation are correct.

Provide verbal descriptions of teacher expectations and are

useful for providing formative feedback about several elements
important to playing a game or performing well.

Holistic Rubrics

Useful for Summative

Evaluations

Proficient Level
Consistently Demonstrates the ability to select and successfully use
the appropriate skills. Demonstrates good skill form. Moves to cover the
appropriate space. Anticipates the offensive and defensive play and
selects the appropriate response. Applies and follows the appropriate
rules and scoring. Follows the rules of etiquette and fair play.
Competent Level
Demonstrates the ability to select and use the appropriate skills the
majority of the time. Demonstrates good skill form a majority of the
time. Attempts to move to cover the appropriate space a majority of the
time. Selects the appropriate offensive and defensive strategy and the
appropriate response most of the time. Consistently applies and follows
the appropriate rules and scoring. Demonstrates good sporting
behaviour consistently and follows game etiquette most of the time.
Novice Level
Inconsistently selects and uses appropriate skills. Frequently
demonstrates incorrect skill form. Does not move to cover the
appropriate space on the court. Little evidence of applying the
appropriate strategy and response to a situation. Applies and follows
appropriate rules and scoring. Inconsistent demonstration of rules of

Considerations to Address
when Creating Rubrics

Validity Does the rubric measure what it

claims to measure.
Reliability Does the assessment
consistently produce the same results.
Transparency Criteria are clear enough to
students so that they can assess themselves
and others with roughly the same reliability.
Subjectivity The amount of judgment used
to assign a score to a students performance.

Rubric Hints and Guidelines

Use samples of student work - samples show

what is possible but should not limit the
potential for excellence.
Share rubrics with students - criteria helps
students understand teacher expectations.
Let students create some rubrics - students are
more likely to understand important criteria.
Allow for multiple correct answers - sometimes
the correct response is it depends.
Frequency is not the sole indicator of quality
too often when frequency is included in a
rubric, the quality of the performance is not
addressed.

Rubric Hints and Guidelines

Limit the scope of the assessment complex

rubrics are cumbersome and often capture
non-critical elements.
Consider the levels of difficulty give credit
for attempting more difficult tasks.
Determine the number of levels to develop
the more levels, the smaller the difference
between levels, and reliability decreases.
Adjust the rubric after, not during the
assessment changing the rules while the
game is being played is not fair practice.