LESSON 7:Developing and Using Rubrics for Alternative Assessment

What is a Rubric?
Levy (2005)

• A rubric is a scoring tool that lays out specific expectations for an assignment.
McMillan (2007)

• A rubric is a scoring guide that uses criteria to differentiate between levels of student
proficiency.
A rubric is an assessment tool that specifies the performance expectations for any kind of
student work, particularly those that are not traditional in nature.
3 Features of a Rubric:
Criteria

• These are the factors to be used in determining the quality of a student’s response.
Descriptors

• These are the characteristics associated with each criterion (qualitative distinction).

Performance Levels

• These identify students’ level of mastery within each criterion.

Types of Rubric:
Generic Rubric

• It contains criteria that are general and can be applied across tasks.
• Most convenient for teachers who do not have time and skills to develop different
types of rubrics.
• However, the teacher may not be able to assess accurately the student’s
performance for a particular task.
• For example, the same rubric that can be used to evaluate both oral presentation and
research output.
Task-specific Rubric

• It contains criteria that are unique to a specific performance task to be assessed.

• This rubric is best for instruction and formative assessment since it provides student
feedback on what needs to be improved in their performance.
• For example, a rubric can only be used for oral presentation and another rubric is
applicable for research output.
Holistic Rubric

• A student’s performance or output is evaluated by applying all criteria

simultaneously, thus providing a single score based on an overall judgment about the
quality of student work.
• However, it does not inform students of their specific strengths and weaknesses
which may not be helpful in guiding them in improving their performance.
Analytic Rubric

• A student’s work is evaluated by using each criterion separately, thus providing

specific feedback about a student’s performance or product along several
dimensions.
• One advantage is it identifies the student’s strengths and areas for improvement.
Characteristics of a Good Rubric:
Explicit

• A good rubric should contain criteria and performance indicators that are clear,
concrete, and observable. Each benchmark should have clearly delineated
indicators.
Aligned

• good rubric should contain criteria that are aligned with the expected quality of
performance, as well as with the intended learning outcomes.
Authentic

• A good rubric should include criteria and performance indicators or descriptors that
are meaningful and require the application of real-life skills.
Valid

• A good rubric should be able to measure what it intends to measure.

Diagnostic

• A good rubric should be able to communicate to the students what is expected of

them in the course and allow them to reflect on their performance.
Steps in developing a rubric:
Step 1: Determine the learning outcomes and the performance task to be evaluated.

• It is important to be clear about the learning outcomes and the specific performance
task that will be evaluated.
 • Choose tasks that are essential, authentic, complex, and feasible.
Step 2: Identify the quality attributes or indicators of the performance task.

• List all possible attributes or indicators of a good performance.

• Explore and specify the skills, knowledge, and/or behavior that you will be looking for
to describe the standard in one’s performance.
Step 3: Determine the criteria or dimensions.

• Cluster the list of attributes and/or indicators into possible groups or categories and
label the categories.
• For example, in a dance performance task, movement, body position, placement on
stage, and dance style can be grouped under “Technical Skills”.
• For example, for a research report rubric, you may include as criteria the different
parts of a research, such as the introduction, RRL, methods, results and discussion.
Step 4: Determine the benchmark and point values.

Step 5: Write the benchmark or performance descriptors for quality work criteria.

• The performance descriptors should describe the relative differences between

performances at each level.
(1) Aspects of performance or behavior at different levels:

• evaluates the different characteristics of… (4 points)

• analyzes the different characteristics of… (3 points)
• describes the different characteristics of… (2 points)
• lists the different characteristics of… (1 point)
(2) Adjectives and adverbs to present different qualitative differences between levels:

• Explains to a very great extent the… (4 points)

• Explains to a great extent the… (3 points)
• Explains with moderate accuracy the… (2 points)
• Explains with limited accuracy the… (1 point)
(3) Numeric references to identify quantitative differences between levels:

• Gives more than 4 relevant examples of… (4 points)

 • Gives 3 – 4 relevant examples of the… (3 points)
• Gives 1 – 2 relevant examples of the … (2 points)
• Gives no relevant examples of the … (1 point)
(4) Degrees of assistance needed by the student to complete the task:

• Explains the topic correctly on his own… (4 points)

• Explains the topic with very little assistance… (3 points)
• Explains the topic with occasional assistance… (2 points)
• Needs assistance from the teacher most of the time … (1 point)

LESSON 8: Organization and Analysis of Data from Alternative Methods

How do we quantify results from scales and checklists?

• Scales could be a measure of noncognitive dimensions of students’ behavior.

• When the items in the scale are answered by students, the response format
quantifies the behavior measured by the scale.
Likert Scale

• used to measure students’ favorability and unfavourability toward a certain object.

• The total score is a representation of the overall trait being measured.
• High scores represent favorable attitude, and low scores represent unfavorable
attitudes.

Verbal Frequency Scale

• used to measure how often a habit is done. The items here are measures of a habit.
• The total score is a representation of the overall habit being measured.
• High scores represent a high frequency of habit, and low scores represent a low
frequency of habit.
Linear Numerical Scale

• used when a large array of ratings is provided among the participants within a
continuum.
• The same interpretation from Likert scales.

Graphic Scale

• this scale uses illustrations to represent the degree of presence or absence of the
measured characteristics.

How do we quantify results from Rubrics?

• The points depend on the quality of the behavior shown by the learner’s performance.
• The reliability of the assigned points can be determined when the scoring of two or
more observers to the same behavior is consistent.

The Kendall’s Tau coefficient of concordance (𝜏) is used to test the agreement among
raters.
How do we quantify results from Portfolio?

• Assessment generated from portfolios can be both qualitative and quantitative.

• When assessing portfolios using a quantitative approach, scales and rubrics can be
used.
• When assessing using a qualitative approach, use narrative feedback.
The following criteria can be used when assessing portfolios:
1. Completeness of the entries – all parts are complete
2. Accuracy of the reflections – authentic reflection
3. Organization of content – entries are properly labeled

LESSON 9: Communicating & Reporting of Assessment Data from Alternative Methods

Definition of Feedback

• Feedback is a powerful means of helping learners improve their academic

performance.
• Feedback is a specific practice that allows the learners to determine which part of
their performance needs improvement.
Feedback refers to comments or other information that learners receive concerning their
success on learning tasks or tests, either from the teacher or other people.
Classroom Assessment Feedback is defined as information communicated to the learner
that is intended to modify the learner’s thinking or behavior for the purpose of improving
learning (Shute, 2007).
Contents of Feedback:
(1) The part of the answer or response that needs to be corrected
(2) The specific strategy to be used to perform the task
(3) The suggested procedure that needs to be undertaken by the learner
(4) A direction to the learner where to find the answer
(5) A challenge to the learner to think about the appropriate response
(6) A clarification on some misconceptions of the learner
Types of Feedback:
Informal Feedback

• can occur at any time as it is something that emerges spontaneously in the moment
or during action.
• can be used to see how students are progressing and usually occurs during the
learning.
• occur when the teacher visits students as they are engaged in a task to make sure
they are on the right track.
Formal Feedback

• is planned and systematically scheduled into the process.

• is often written or a combination of oral and written, and usually occurs at the end of
a task.
• includes the likes of marking criteria, competencies or achievement of standards.
Formative Feedback

• to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that instructors can use to
improve their teaching and students to improve their learning.
• helps students to improve and prevents them from making the same mistakes again.

Summative Feedback

• to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against

some standard or benchmark.
• consists of detailed comments that are related to specific aspects of their work,
clearly explains how the mark was derived from the criteria provided.
Peer Feedback

• occurs when students offer each other advice and suggestions in relation to each
other’s work.
• providing students with regular opportunities to give and receive peer feedback
enriches their learning experiences and develops their professional skill set.
Self Feedback

• This is the ultimate goal of feedback for learning.

• Teachers can help students to become more independent through explicit modelling
and instruction, and teaching the skills of self-assessment and goal setting.
Constructive Feedback

• Negative feedback – corrective comments about past behavior. It focuses on

behavior that wasn’t successful and shouldn’t be repeated.
• Positive feedback – affirming comments about past behavior. Focuses on behavior
that was successful and should be continued.
• Negative feed-forward – corrective comments about future performance. Focuses
on behavior that should be avoided in the future.
• Positive feed-forward – affirming comments about future behavior. Focused on
behavior that will improve performance in the future.
Considerations in giving feedback:
1. Feedback needs to be specific and concrete.
2. Feedback needs to be based on the agreed criteria.
3. Feedback should provide recommendations or suggestions on how to improve
performance.

Different forms of Feedback:

1. Focus on the product or performance.
This kind of feedback describes how well the performance was done.
Examples:

➢ “All parts of the paper are complete. You have used up-to-date references. ”

➢ “Include a definition of terms based on the main author. ”

➢ “Rephrase the findings stated by the author on page 25. ”

2. Focus on the procedure.
This kind of feedback focuses on the step-by-step process that needs to be done by the
learner. Examples:

➢ “Follow the guidelines stated in the workbook in conducting the experiment to get
accurate results. ”

➢ “Try a different procedure in solving the problem. ”

➢ “Use more adjectives to describe the main character in your story. ”

3. Focus on the strategy to improve the work.
Strategies refer to the different cognitive and metacognitive actions that the learner needs
to think about in order to arrive at a better work or performance.
Examples:

➢ “Given the criteria for delivering a speech, which parts did you achieve well and provide
evidence. ”

➢ “Use different methods to check if your answers are correct. ”

➢ “Compare your work with the model, which parts are different? How can you improve
these parts further?”