Unit Five: Rubrics
Objectives:
Students will be able to understand the importance of having a rubric as an authentic assessment tool.
Students will be able to use three common features in creating an original rubric.
Students will be able to understand the advantages in using a rubric as an assessment tool.
Rubrics are an integral part of assessment. A rubric is an authentic assessment tool used to measure students' work. It is a scoring guide that seeks to evaluate a student's performance based on the sum of a full range of criteria rather than a single numerical score. A rubric is a working guide for students and teachers, usually handed out before the assignment begins in order to get students to think about the criteria on which their work will be judged. The rubric is one authentic assessment tool which is designed to simulate real life activity where students are engaged in solving real-life problems.
Rubrics have 3 common features:
There is a focus on measuring a stated objective
There is a range used to rate performance.
Rubrics contain specific performance characteristic arranged in levels indicating the degree to which a standard has been met.
Advantages of rubrics:
Rubrics improve student performance by clearly showing the student how their work will be evaluated and what is expected.
Rubrics will help students become better judges of the quality of their own work.
Rubrics allow assessment to be more objective and consistent.
Rubrics force the teacher to clarify the criteria.
Rubrics reduce the time teachers evaluate work.
Rubrics provide useful feedback.
Read this! Example of Portfolio Rubric
As you look at the example of the rubric for a portfolio, consider the qualities it has. Which qualities demonstrate authentic assessment? Support your opinion.
Reflection
1. Refer back to your mini-lesson for Writer's Workshop. Create a short assignment for your mini-lesson and then create a rubric for that assignment. What qualities are you going to focus on? Why did you choose those qualities?
2. How would you begin using authentic assessment in your classroom? What types of things do we have to take into consideration when it comes to assessing our students? Using information from each of the units to support your ideas, record your thoughts.
Back to the home page: Teaching for Understanding