Get Your Students Hired
I had a situation once in my class where my grading rubric prevented a serious argument.
A student came to me after a midterm exam to contest his grade. He was not satisfied with the points he had earned and believed that his answers deserved a better grade. I had structured the questions for the exam very carefully and as a result creating a rubric was easy.
Each essay question had 7 components, and each component required an accompanying example. Because I had such a specification, I was able to demonstrate to the student that he had ignored certain components in his answers and as a result received the grade he had. This defused what could have be a serious situation, as he clearly saw that the method I used to grade the exam was unbiased and objective.
Hi Keith,
When there is a rubric, students have nothing to complain about. They do not have a leg to stand on. A makes for a smooth grading on an assignment.
Patricia
They're a great way to make sure expectations are clearly spelled out and show students exactly what they need to do - I agree.
Hi Sherri,
I hear you loud and clear! The feeling is mutual. Using rubrics make grading so much easier and when the students want to complain they really don't have a leg to stand o..n.it is there in black and white what is to be done.
Patricia
Hi Cathleen,
Rubrics will certainly minimize the number of questions pertaining to graded assignments. Students fully undertstand where they have lost points by utilizing a rubric.
Patricia
I absolutely love using rubrics, I actually give each grading rubric for every assignment my students complete the first week of class and we go over every component that week and again before each individual assignment is due.
I rarely have a student challenge a grade now, and sometimes have to laugh when I might overhear a student say, “this isn’t fair, I have all the information†and another student will pipe up and say… “Look at your rubric, you only provided one example; it says you have to have three.â€
I too give students the rubric up front so they know my expectations. Then I also give them a cleaned up rubric (not my original, messy score sheet)with the appropriate markings so they know exactly what areas were lacking. I seldom get questioned how/why I scored a paper in a certain way.
I had no idea how important a good rubric is until I began graduate school. Since completing my graduate program, I have always provided rubrics to my students, but I always have to explain what they are! Students often tell me how grateful they are to have an "outline" of expectations on every assignment due for the course. This makes grading easier for me and helps keep my students focused on the outcomes of the class. I wouldn't teach a class without a rubric.
Rubrics are absolutely essential. It not only gives the students the expectations it keeps me grading and monitoring in a fair and consistent manner. This has been proven in my experiences more often than not. Any time a grade was contested I referred directly back to the rubric and situation was completely rectified.
Hi Josef,
Super! You must have a game plan to present to your students as to how assignments, projects, tests, quizzes, etc. are graded, otherwise a lot of chaos can occur.
Patricia