I found the common mistakes in a making rubric is that the objectives and outcomes are not well defined.
Rubrics are a good tool to develop with the grading of assignments for both the instructor and the student. Mistakes that can commonly occur include the following:
• Using terminology that the user doesn’t understand, such as technical jargon
• Either omitting or not addressing specific criteria that is being assessed by the rubric
• Not using the performance levels effectively. For instance, using too many performance levels (over 5) and describing from a negative perspective instead of a positive encouraging one.
• Not using the correct type of rubric for the assessment such as Likert scale vs Full-Model
• Not determining the rubric’s scope of being either holistic or analytic.
Rubrics required time and attention when being created. The material being assessed needs to be taken into consideration and the types of users as well.
Oakleaf, M. (2009). Writing rubrics right: Avoiding common mistakes in rubric assessment. ACRL. Retrieved from http://meganoakleaf.info/writingrubricsright.pdf
MeriAnn,
It's all in the criteria. We have to make sure those are created effectively to serve their purpose.
Thanks for your input.
MeriAnn,
There is rarely a one-size-fits-all rubric that really works. It's important to take the time to make rubrics that work for your assignments, projects, etc.
I agree that it is sometimes difficult to make them specific enough to help the student.
Sometimes, in order to save time, we create "cookie cutter" rubrics, that don't actually provide quality information for assessing information for the students. It makes it quicker for us as instructors initially, but doesn't really provide for the students what we need it to.
George,
Definitely. We have to take time to plan the rubrics and make sure the criteria are appropriate. We want to make sure the rubrics are measuring what they are supposed to be measuring. Thanks!
I think that some common mistakes include rushing on the rubric and not taking tie to plan, not matching the objectives covered to the rubric, having a lot of criteria listed on the rubric.
Tom,
Right on. We do have to make sure we, as online instructors, are providing a comprehensive yet usable rubric to students. Thanks.
Some common mistakes that online instructors might make when creating rubrics as articulated in Module 2 are:
Putting too many criteria in the rubric,
Using a varying scale within a single level of assessment,
Not allowing for students to see improvement,
Not clearly defining the criteria, and
Not connecting the assignment or project to course outcomes within the rubric.
Tom
Edward ,
It is difficult to find something that just works. We do need to tweak it to meet our needs and make sure the criteria and points match our needs. Thanks for your input.
For me, the first mistake was to surf the net and find something that I thought would be what I wanted. It did not work and the numerical criteria was impossible to use for grading purposes. This module has provided significant learning for me.
Thanks
Phyllis,
We can go overboard for sure. It is essential to make the criteria clear and make sure students can easily understand the expectations. Thank you.
Hello All!
I think that some of the common mistakes when writing rubrics would be in being too detailed on the rubric. I think if you have too much information on how to obtain a point or too you may lose the person that you are assessing. It should be easy to understand how you will assess them.
maryln,
The criteria, again, are the key elements. That's what makes them just right or too rigid. Thanks for bringing this up.
Some of the mistakes that I have seen in the rubrics is that they are to rigid in the assessment. It appears that some of the rubrics that I have used that was created by the institution have not been tested. This can cause frustration for the students as well as the instructor.
Sharon,
We do need to spend the time to craft rubrics that match the assignments. It's not really a "one size fits all" kind of thing. Thanks for your input.
Traci,
Yes, the key is the rubric's criteria and making sure everyone understands the course expectation. When they get too difficult to understand they are not easy for anyone to use. Thanks for your input.
I believe some common mistakes that an instructor can make in creating rubrics is that there is a common rubric that can be used for all assignments. Even if the nature of the assignment (performance, process, or product) is the same, I fund there is always some refinements I need to make to the rubric. The rubric needs to directly address the specific learning objectives. The other aspect I learned from this module is that the rubric should be crafted so the students can use it for self assessment. I always provide my rubrics to the students but never articulated that they should use them to determine if they have demonstrated the competencies outlined in the rubric. I will do so going forward.
I know I have sometimes found myself making my rubrics complicated. This causes the students to tune out and not even use the rubric.
