RUBISTAR TO THE RESCUE 1

Rubistar to the Rescue

Lora Austin, Tonya Houpe, Heather Puhl

Appalachian StateUniversity

RES 5560 Fall 2010

An instructional rubric is a document that describes differing levels of quality for identified criteria pertaining to a certain assignment. Rubrics tend to help teachers clearly identify what is valued for a particular project and they help to make grading more objective because teachers can clearly see how well students have met the identified standards. For students, instructional rubrics not only give descriptive feedback about their work so that they can improve on a future project, but also they provide a detailed evaluation of their final product for a current assignment (Andrade, 2000).

In order to develop a rubric, teachers must identify two components. First, teachers need a list of criteria that students must address in their project. Second, teachers must provide a detailed description of varying levels of quality for all criteria. The highest identified level is what all students should try to achieve, whereas the lowest identified level should be something that all students attempt to avoid. . Moskal (2000) states, “It is better to have a few meaningful score categories then to have many score categories that are difficult or impossible to distinguish.” These specific descriptors help students use a rubric not only as an evaluative tool, but also as an instructional tool because they are made aware of common mistakes and can work hard to overcome them in their work

To make rubric development more effective, students should be involved in the creation and design of an instructional rubric. By engaging students in the process of examining quality and poor work, they will learn how to categorize their own work. In addition, students can be wonderful contributors in identifying common mistakes and errors to avoid that could be included in various levels of the rubric itself. After a draft has been created, students can re-read and revise it to make a final copy that will be used for a certain assignment.

Rubrics can be used to evaluate group projects, oral presentations, and any other type of nontraditional learning experience. Alternative assessment is very beneficial to students because it provides an avenue for all students to be successful, but the scoring of alternative assessments can be very subjective and sometimes perceived as unfair. Moskal (2000) said that by developing a pre-defined list of criteria within various levels of completion, the likelihood that multiple people would assign the same score is dramatically increased.

Instructional rubrics are valued because they are easy to use and to explain to students. These rubrics are generally concise, but they give guiding details regarding each component of a project. Andrade (2000) highlights a contrast to past educational practices where teachers kept the answers private, in that rubrics allow and even encourage teachers to tell students what is expected before beginning a project. By knowing what is valued and what a quality project looks like, students are empowered and enabled to do their absolute best work.

After students are evaluated on an assignment that was graded with a rubric, the feedback students are provided with is much more valuable than a letter grade or numerical score. Whereas a final score of a 70 may not tell a student how to improve on their next assignment to earn a higher grade, instructional rubrics help students identify what they need to do to improve on future performance-based assignments (Moskal, 2000). Students are shown exactly where their deficiencies are and are given specific information regarding how to improve on the next assignment. This further encourages students to engage in self-assessment throughout the process of completing an assignment as they evaluate how closely they are meeting the identified criteria and make changes, as needed. This continuous cycle not only makes scoring transparent, but it validates to students where they are in the learning process.

For performance based assignments, the most informative method for evaluating student achievement/mastery is to institute rubrics. The main two types of rubrics are used for slightly different outcomes. Mertler (2001) explains that holistic rubrics are usually attached to assignments where there is a constructed response and no definitively correct answer. These rubrics are used with specific learning targets and have descriptions for each score point which explain all aspects of the learning target within the description. Mertler comments that the scoring time for holistic rubrics may be shorter, but the better feedback is produced when analytical rubrics are utilized. Mertler writes, “A general rule of thumb is that an individual’s work should be examined a separate time for each of the specific performance tasks or scoring criteria…(however,) Students receive specific feedback on their performance with respect to each of the individual scoring criteria-something that does not happen when using holistic rubrics.” (2001) Because feedback is so important to the overall achievement of our students, and the more specific the feedback the better, for the purposes of this review, analytic rubrics will be the focus.

The process for developing rubrics is quite similar throughout much of the literature. The first three steps are the preparation and planning stages of rubric development with the most important task summed up in four words: extremely specific learning targets. First, the teacher must have established specific learning targets and underlying objectives students are expected to master in this unit of study. During the next phase of classroom assessment, teachers must “identify specific observable attributes that you want to see (as well as those you don’t want to see) your students demonstrate in their product, process or performance.” (Mertler, 2001) Teachers should be able to explicate the specific skills and characteristics that are MUST HAVES in the student product as well as the common mistakes. Then teachers should brainstorm the characteristics of each of these attributes afore mentioned. The reason for determining what one wants to see in student answers is important in this phase to determine what is the minimum response, exemplary response, and what is sub par. The next step is in the design of the rubric. Teachers must write detailed and specific descriptions of what excellent work (level 4) and poor work (level 1) will look like. These descriptions will be used in the rubric to distinguish between the different levels of work. Mertler adds two other steps, which are often overlooked, are collecting anchor student work samples to be the benchmark of each of the levels and revising the rubric as necessary. And after the rubric is created, the students receive a copy as to know exactly what they have to do in order to fulfill mastery of the learning targets. As Moskal writes, “Scoring rubrics should be discussed with the students before they complete the assessment activity…allow(ing) for the students to adjust their efforts in a manner than maximizes their performance.” (2003) This falls in line with the four phases of classroom assessment, as Moskal goes on to explain, as: planning, gathering, interpreting and using. This plan-do-study-act method of instruction is a prime example of what AfL (Assessment for Learning) looks like. Teachers should be encouraged when utilizing rubrics and the process in planning and creating them for they are addressing the first two phases of classroom assessment in their intended form.

Rubrics, like the learning targets they measure, are as effective as the level of specificity they contain. Popham writes, “…a rubric would contain only three to five evaluative criteria…(and) each evaluative criterion must represent a key teachable attribute of the skill being assessed.” (2006, p. 243) The key to rubric success lies with how they are written/constructed. Moskal and Leydens discuss making the rubric reflect the purpose of the learning, what are also referred to as the specific learning targets. If the purpose, as the authors suggest, is to evaluate reasoning, then both the product and the process must be present and examined in the rubric categories. Specific learning targets designed and articulated clearly in a rubric equate a well-designed assessment tool. When students score highly on such a tool, Moskal and Leydens(2000), make the point that they should perform highly on related assessments.

In order to assure success with the rubric implementation, teachers must make sure that the scoring rubrics follow Moskal’s recommendations. Moskal (2003) proposes that, among many other things, the rubric score and how that translates into a grade is apparent form the beginning. She asserts that the task and components of the rubric should not examine extraneous variables. And most noteworthy when developing rubrics, is that the distinction between score levels should be clear.

Current practice and historical evidence stress that teachers should provide timely, constructive feedback to students. A benefit of using rubrics, as Moskal (2003) points out is that they set clear expectations before they complete the rubric’s learning opportunity. The feedback provided after completion of such an activity from one of these scoring rubrics provides students with the information of how they performed with suggestions on what the need to change in order to master the criteria. Timely and constructive feedback is the goal of using rubrics. Marzano (2003) writes, “…academic achievement in classes where effective feedback is provided to students is considerably higher than the achievement in classes where it is not.” (p. 37) When the feedback is timely, and as Marzano asserts, specific to the content being learned, it is deemed effective.

Effective rubrics equate effective feedback, and such feedback is invaluable to students as teaching/assessing for learning is implemented. Rohleiser and Ross emphasize the four step model for teaching students self-evaluation as: 1) involve students in defining the criteria; 2) Teach students how to apply that criteria; 3) Give students feedback on their self evaluations; and 4) help student develop goals and action plans. (Retrieved November 23, 2010) In order for students to internalize these learning habits, continual practice with well developed anchor/exemplary student work samples from which to glean what “mastering a topic” really means becomes necessary. Students, as Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006) point out, must be taught and practiced in the skill of evaluating their own work and learning. The most effective means for this to occur is when the students receive good feedback. Good feedback helps clarify what good performance is, facilitates self-assessment, delivers high quality information to the learner, encourages dialogue between the teacher and student, encourages positive motivation and self-esteem and provides an opportunity to close the gap, and informs the instruction for the teacher (the AfL piece). The feedback enables the student to fix what was less than model in his/her performance and reinforces authentic learning. Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick go on to say that Some believe that ability is fixed (entity view,) while others believe that learning is dependent upon the effort put into the learning (incremental view.) These beliefs have an effect on learning. Students with the entity view are more likely to give up when faced with a poor grade, but they will continue working with constructive feedback; especially when given an opportunity for resubmission. The best practices for feedback include:

  • Checking progress and offering feedback in the middle of a project or learning task
  • Introducing two stage assignments where feedback on the first stage helps performance on the second stage
  • Teacher modeling an effective strategy
  • Providing action points for the students
  • Involving the students in developing the action points. (Rosleiser &Ross, n.d.)

Through these steps, teachers grow more confident learners and more assessment savvy teachers. Students achieve at the projected increase of over 20% increase in standardized test results due to effective feedback as Marzano (2003) mentions. Teachers begin to have the assessment literacy skills to create a classroom based on our goal of Assessment For Learning.

For these reasons, we propose a two day workshop for the purpose of sharing with teachers the importance of informative feedback provided through effective uses of instructional rubrics. Thirty lucky middle school teachers will gain a deeper understanding of the importance and creation of specific learning targets, how to more effectively use Rubistar and other rubric making tools, analyze use of rubrics, and learn how and what to do with the data generated on the rubrics of such performance based assessments. From there, participants will learn how to engage students in managing their own learning to inform their instruction.

References

Andrade, H. (2002). Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning.Educational

Leadership,57(5), 13-18.

(Education Data Management Solutions 20101123 Formative assessment and its uses for improving student achievement)Education Data Management Solutions.(n.d.).Formative assessment and its uses for
improving student achievement.Retrieved November 23, 2010, from

Marzano, R. (2003). What works in schools translating research into action. Alexandria,
VA: ASCD.

Mertler, C. (2001). “Designing scoring rubrics for your classroom.” Practical
Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7 (25). Retrieved November 8, 2010 from

Moskal, B. (2000). "Scoring rubrics: what, when and how?." Practical Assessment,
Research & Evaluation, 7(3).

Moskal, B. (2003). “Recommendations for developing classroom performance
assessments and scoring rubrics.”Pracitcal Assessment, Research & Evaluation,
8(14).Retrieved November 8, 2010 from

Moskal, B. & Leydens, J. (2000). “Scoring rubric development: validity and reliability.”

Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(10). Retrieved September 17, 2004 from

(Nicol D J Macfarlane-Dick D 2006 Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback and practice)Nicol, D. J., & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated
learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback and practice. Studies on
Higher Education, 31(2), 199-218.

Popham, W. (2006). Assessment for educational leaders. Boston, MA:Pearson.

(Rohleiser C Ross J A 20101123 Student self evaluation: what research says and what practice shows)Rohleiser, C., & Ross, J. A. (n.d.).Student self evaluation: what research says and what
practice shows. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from
library/articles/self_eval.php.