Evaluation Rubrics

Content Outline

1. Objectives

2. Introduction

3. What are rubrics?

4. How is a rubric structured?

5. How do rubrics relate to assessment?

6. When do I use a rubric? When it’s the right tool for the job?

1. Objectives

At the end of this session you will be able to,

 Create Evaluation rubrics

2. Introduction

Rubrics are a tool to help you evaluate student performance. Knowing how to create
and use rubrics gives you a better understanding of assessment and another option
for assessing student performance. Rubrics are a great way to improve
communication, learning, and grading fairness.

3. What are rubrics?

A rubric is a scoring tool that explicitly represents the performance expectations for
an assignment or piece of work. A rubric divides the assigned work into component
parts and provides clear descriptions of the characteristics of the work associated
with each component, at varying levels of mastery. Rubrics can be used for a wide
array of assignments: papers, projects, oral presentations, artistic performances,
group projects, etc. Rubrics can be used as scoring or grading guides, to provide
formative feedback to support and guide ongoing learning efforts, or both.

In instructional settings, rubrics clearly define academic expectations for students

and help to ensure consistency in the evaluation of academic work from student to
student, assignment to assignment, or course to course. Rubrics are also used as
scoring instruments to determine grades or the degree to which learning standards
have been demonstrated or attained by students. A rubric is a scoring guide that
 helps teachers evaluates student performance, based on a range of criteria. A rubric
lists the criteria, or characteristics, that student work should exhibit and describes
specific quality levels for those criteria.

4. How is a rubric structured?

A rubric is structured like a matrix. A rubric is a matrix of criteria and their

descriptors. The left side of a rubric matrix lists the criteria for expected product or
performance. Across the top of the rubric matrix is the rating scale that provides a
set of values for rating the quality of performance for each criterion. Descriptors
under the rating scale provide examples or concrete indicators for each level of
performance.

Rating Scale

Above Meets Below

Criteria that
Criterion A
Describe the
Criterion B
product
Criterion C

Indicators are added here

Figure I: Structure of a rubric

5. How do rubrics relate to assessment?

Pencil and paper tests, for example, are not always the best way to measure student
learning. When you know more about assessment you can improve learning for your
students. When you know about rubrics you have another tool for assessment.

6. When do I use a rubric? When it’s the right tool for the job?

Rubrics are a tool you should add to your assessment toolbox. Knowing when to use
your rubric tool requires understanding a little about assessment concepts such as
authentic assessment, criterion- and norm-referenced tests, reliability, and validity
so let's get our vocabulary straight.

Assessments, Tests and Evaluations are terms often used interchangeably but
they are not synonymous.

 Assessments are a collection of multi-dimensional data that give you feedback

on what your students are learning or what they already know. Teachers use
 assessment results to adjust or improve their instruction; students use them to
refocus their efforts.

 Tests are tools used to measure knowledge, skills, or abilities (and often
memory).We tend to think of tests as objective and with true/false and multiple
choice questions.

 Evaluations are statements about quality based on values. Evaluations are used
for making a judgment or stating a value usually resulting in a decision about
quality: we evaluate a program so we can decide whether to improve, maintain,
or discontinue it; we evaluate student’s work when we need to assign a grade or
determine whether they pass or fail a course.

 Authentic assessment is aimed at student performance of "real-world" tasks.

Authentic assessment measures how well students use knowledge and skills in a
real context or for an authentic task: write a report, make a presentation, design
an experiment, or solve a problem. Authentic assessment focuses on the ability of
the student to apply learning, not to memorize information or take tests.

7. What Authentic Assessment is NOT?

Authentic assessment is different from the "traditional" assessment methods of

paper-and-pencil tests with multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blanks, and true-false
responses. These types of tests typically only require that students recall information
and select one correct answer. They reveal what a student can recognize, recall or
"plug in" out of context. Authentic assessment is a multi-dimensional approach to
measuring students' ability to perform in 'real' or authentic contexts.

Rubrics support authentic assessment. They are useful for measuring student
performance of real-world tasks. When you want students to engage in a real world
tasks, rather than study content and take a test, rubrics provide a framework for
addressing those tasks, particularly when they involve several elements, steps, or
characteristics. Use your rubric tool for authentic assessment of real world tasks such
as writing reports, making presentations, designing experiments, demonstrating a
professional skill, or solving problems.

8. Creating a Rubric

 Define the purpose and goals of your assignment

 Define the criteria

 Design the rating scale

 Write the descriptors for each scale point

As we go through each step of creating a rubric, we shall do this with the help of an
example.

Create a rubric for baking a cake.

8.1. Define the purpose and goals of your assignment

The first step in creating a rubric is to identify the purpose of the assignment;
hence it should be well defined.
How to define the purpose?
The following questions will help you define the purpose:

 Is the rubric being used to assign a grade or performance?

 Is the rubric giving a feedback to the students to improve on their
performance?
 Is the rubric for a multi-dimensional project or a simple straight forward
assignment?

Therefore it becomes very important to know right from the beginning what is
the purpose of the task. For creating a rubric for baking a cake, we will assess
the skills of the students such as following the recipe, baking the cake evenly,
whether the cake is moist and soft, following instructions, etc. Baking a cake
requires each of these skills and is the task chosen for this assessment.
It is essential to analyse the knowledge and skills required for the learning task.
This task includes sub tasks and both physical and mental activities.
Some questions given below will help you think about the criteria for the rubric.

 What are the knowledge, skills and behaviors required for the task?
 What are the steps required for the task?
 What are the characteristics of the product?

This exercise will help you create a list of criteria. Once you have prepared the
list of the criteria, select the items that are important and eliminate the items
that are not important. Finally, consider your list once again to make sure that it
has the characteristics of good criteria.

8.2. Characteristics of good criteria

 Observable and measurable
 Important and essential
 Distinct from other criteria
 Clarity and precise and no ambiguity
 Criteria for baking a chocolate cake: Given below is just an example of how
a criterion is written to give an idea and understanding.

Criteria

Recipe followed correctly

Cake has the correct proportion of the ingredients required for baking a
chocolate cake.

Taste

Cake has the flavor of chocolate and is soft and moist.

Evenly baked

Cake is baked for the correct amount of time and is evenly baked.

Appearance

Cake has a neat and clean appearance. The layers of the cake are even and
overall is visually appealing.

8.3. Designing the Rating Scale:

Determining the levels of quality for student performance. The number of

rating scale points you use depends on the purpose of your rubric as well as
the assignment.

Rating Scale

Below Meets Above

Criterion A

Criterion B

Criterion C

Given below are examples of different rating scales.

Example 1: Performance Met standards Performance Did Not Meet Standards

Example 2: Items Present Items Not Present

This Communicates: Yes No

Figure VI: 2 rating scale

Example 1: Below Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations

Example 2: Fail Pass Honors

Example 3: Never Sometimes Always

Example 4: Limited Acceptable Proficient

This Communicates: No Yes Yes, and more

Figure VII: 3 rating scale can be used for summative scoring or when the performances
need to be sorted into few groups.

Example 1: Beginning Developing Competent Accomplished

Example 2: Fail Fair Pass Exceed

Example 3: Never Sometimes Usually Always

This Communicates: No No, but Yes, but Yes

Figure VIII: 4 rating scale provides a more detailed feedback to the students.

More rating points provide more detail. But more rating points a rubric has, the more
difficult it gets to delineate the differences between each point. Another thing to
remember is that the differences between scale points should be equal, meaning that the
difference between a "1" and a "2" is the same as the difference between a "4" and a
"5." Using scales that are not equal and continuous can create confusion for students.

Writing Performance Descriptors for each scale point:

The final step in creating rubrics is to write descriptions for each scale point.

Below Meets Above

Criterion A
Criterion B
Criterion C

Descriptors are added here

It is essential to write good descriptors. Let us look at the characteristics of a good

descriptor.
Examples of rubrics

Rubric: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Criteria Excellent Good Average Poor

Texture Cookie is crisp Cookie is crisp Cookie is either Cookie is
on the outside on the outside crisp or chewy. neither crisp
and chewy and chewy nor chewy.
inside and is inside.
moist.
Appearance Cookie is Cookie is whole Cookie is whole Cookie is
whole, evenly and evenly but too brown broken and
baked and has baked. or too light in either
a golden brown color. overbaked/
color. underbaked.
Taste Cookie is Cookie is Cookie is semi Cookie is stale
freshly baked freshly baked fresh and has a and dry and
and has a and has a buttery flavor lacks the taste
sweet,rich sweet,buttery with taste of of chocolate.
buttery flavor flavor with chocolate .
with a unique taste of
taste of rich chocolate .
smooth
chocolate .
Chocolate chips Cookie has Cookie has Cookie has Cookie has too
chocolate chips 75% chocolate 50% chocolate few or too
in every bite. chips in every chips in every many chocolate
bite. bite. chips.
Softness Cookie is soft, Cookie is soft Cookie is either Cookie is
chewy and and chewy. soft or chewy. neither soft nor
melts in the chewy.
mouth.
Packaging Packaging is Packaging is Packaging is Packaging is of
excellent.It is good.It is average. poor quality.It
attractive,conv convenient, It is either is neither
enient,economi economical and convenient or convenient nor
cal and protects the economical and economical and
protects the cookie from protects the does not
cookie from getting cookie from protect the
getting damaged. getting cookie from
damaged. damaged. getting
damaged.
Rubric: Oral Presentation skills

CRITERIA EXCELLENT-4 GOOD-3 FAIR-2 NEEDS

IMPROVEMENT-1
CONTENT Full Full knowledge Partial Does not have
knowledge and good knowledge the knowledge
and excellent understanding and good and
understanding of the content understanding understanding of
of the content with valid of the content the content.
with valid explanation and in parts.
explanation examples.
and
examples.
SEQUENCE AND Presenter Presenter Presenter Presenter does
ORGANIZATION follows a follows a logical follows a not follow a
OF CONTENT logical sequence most logical logical sequence
sequence of of the time sequence which creates a
information during the sometimes lack of
throughout presentation which creates understanding of
the which difficulty for the presentation
presentation participants can the for the
which follow. participants to participants.
participants follow.
can follow.
ELOCUTION Presenter is Presenter is loud Presenter is Presenter is
loud and clear and clear and is sometimes either too loud or
and audible mostly audible loud and too soft during
throughout throughout the clear. the presentation.
the presentation. Incorrect Incorrect
presentation. Correct pronunciation pronunciation of
Correct pronunciation of of the words the words most
pronunciation words most of sometimes. of the time
of the words the time during during the
throughout the presentation.
the presentation.
presentation.
ENTHUSIASM Presenter is Presenter is Presenter is Presenter shows
enthusiastic enthusiastic sometimes no enthusiasm
and positive most of the enthusiastic during the
throughout most during the during the presentation.
the presentation. presentation.
presentation.
EYE CONTACT Presenter Presenter Presenter Presenter does
maintains maintains eye sometimes not maintain eye
direct eye contact most of maintains eye contact during
contact the times during contact. the presentation.
throughout the
the presentation.
presentation.
BODY LANGUAGE Presenter Presenter makes Very little No movements
moves freely movements and movements and gestures and
and is gestures and is and gestures obvious signs of
confident, relaxed most of and displays tension and
relaxed and the time. signs of nervousness.
has poise. tension.
Observable and measurable behavior

Use consistency in language: Descriptors need to be consistent. Avoid the use of

making up an entirely new description for each rating scale point. It means that the
words in each point should be the same-only the degree to which the standard is met
should vary. For example if one criterion for baking a chocolate cake includes “flavor”,
then the word “flavor” should be used in each scale point.

Indicate the degree to which the standards are met: The description of the
behavior should be the same across the table but it will vary in degree. There are three
ways to indicate a variation in degree: amount, frequency or intensity.

Uses of rubrics:

 Rubrics are important because they help students clarify the quality of work they
need to produce. In short, it helps both students and teachers define “quality”.
 Students are able to judge their own work and they also become responsible for their
work.
 Rubrics reduce the time teachers spend on grading the work of the student. It also
makes it easier for the teacher to explain why they got the grade and what they can
do to improve their grades.
 Students are able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their work and
channelize their efforts accordingly.

Conclusion:

Rubric is an important assessment toolbox. A rubric are also teaching tools that support
student learning and also helps in the development of sophisticated thinking skills.
A rubric when used correctly serves the purpose of learning as well as evaluation and
accountability. Rubrics serve as indicators to students as to what kind of work is
expected from them and helps both teachers and students define “quality”.