Rubrics

Rubrics - Hitting the Mark

ESE548 : The Class : Rubrics

Rubric A rubric is a little like a ruler. When essays are graded, it is easy to be subjective. By listing the expectations that will be used to determine the adequacy of an essay, the teacher makes essay writing and grading more objective.

The teacher knows what things add up to a good response and the student knows what to include in that essay to show what has been learned.

By making a rubric, the teacher is less likely to be swayed by the length of the response or the fact that the student knows what opinion the teacher wants to see and writes the response in that form.

Of course, a rubric can be developed for any assignment, not just for essays. Many times a rubric will be detailed to let you know what to include in your responses.

An example of the way I use rubrics follows.

Example One:

Essay One - "What Am I Giving Youth?" Now that you have looked at others' ideas and historic reasons for education, it is your turn to define your philosophy. In this essay of 500-1000 words, argue your ideas around why you teach, the role of students, a teacher's role, what you feel we owe society, how we show progress and the essence of fulfilling the teaching role.

Excellent	500 - 1000 words, well organized, at least five points provided, examples shared, cogent perspective advanced, summary statement pulls material together.
Good	500 words, organized, several points offered, addressed the question, summary statement provided.
Marginal	Length is under 500 words, skirts the question rather than discussing it, few or no examples provided, may be missing summary, or final statement may not address the essay question. The student will receive assistance in sharpening the essay.

Example Two

Excellent	All three questions are discussed. The essay is cogent and provides a strong weaving of opinion about what should be included in school curriculums and how it relates, or need not relate to what we know about development, individual needs and literature suggesting a wide array of intelligences.
Marginal	States a position without providing justification or rational argument; ideas lack consistency and/or not all questions were considered in the response.

Once you have finished you should:

Go back to Frequently Asked Questions

E-mail J'Anne Affeld at Janne.Affeld@nau.edu

Course developed by J'Anne & Martha Affeld