Janette,
We have to assess everything we do but rubrics me their criteria are essential to the learning process. We have to make sure they are up to par. Thanks.
I think the greatest mistake is not planning for revision of the rubric. Before a rubric is perfected, it takes many rounds of experimentation and then re-writing.
Rick,
The key to an effective rubric, though, are the criteria and that the rubric is connected directly to the learning outcomes. The students have to understand how what they are doing is connect to what they are supposed to be accomplishing in the course. Thanks!
The biggest and most common mistake I see in an online environment as far as reubrics go focuses on thefocal point of what is deemed most important. You and I may teach the same unit over rubrics. As a teacher with a background in English, I may focus on the spelling, grammar, and format of how well- or poorly- the assessment tool is completed by the student. At the same time, you may focus on the advantages and disadvantages of using rubrics. Your approach may be contextual and you may not put much focus on grammar, format, or mechanics.
Michael,
Definitely. We have to be very careful with the criteria and categories we use in the rubrics. With careful consideration, we can help students move closer to the learning objectives. Thanks!
Gregory,
Thank you for brining that up. The instructor should be able to adjust the rubric provided to them so that it is ensured that the rubric is measuring what it should be measuring. The instructors are the closest to the content, objectives, and assessment so they should have that flexibility. Thanks!
The main mistakes I've made in the past when creating rubrics it to be too open ended with the criteria, which can cause arguments or grade inflation.
The biggest mistake I see is that institutionally developed rubrics target the wrong criteria, are not linked to student improvement and have ranges for "levels" within a criteria.
I'd like to help them along, but I need some sources.
Can someone provide a source(s) that documents empirically that having these ranges of scores within levels contributes to lower inter-rater reliability, to too great a variance in scoring or to decreased student learning?
Sabahudin,
Can you not edit the rubric? A rubric that does not assist the students in understanding the expectations, assess the assignment/project with appropriate criteria and help you assess how to help the students improve, it not a good rubric. See if you can at least providing some input into the rubrics.
Thanks!
I have most of my rubrics created for me. I think that very little is devoted to the actual product in terms of how the assignment is presented. Since the world we live in requires a lot of attention to things such as spelling, mechanics, layout and neat organization, I believe that the assignments should have a larger amount of points devoted to this aspect. However, I see that most of the rubrics give only 10% for the named components. If the sentence is written but no one can understand it, has it really been written?
Catherine,
The criteria are essential. Too many can be confusing, but too little can not serve the purpose as well. Thanks for your input.
Hello,
Some faculty could make the rubric too complicated by adding too many criteria. They could also develop a rubric that does not assess what should be looked at.
John,
Yes, the objectives are key to the development and use of rubrics. I am thrilled you brought this up. I actually list the objectives that the rubric is connected to so students can more easily understand why they are doing what they are doing. Thanks!
Rubrics require the instructor to devote attention to all of the objectives, rather than focusing on the most obvious ones. I think this helps alleviate grade inflation since students will know exactly where their assignment scored points and where points were deducted.
Aaron,
Good point. As we use the rubrics, we have to think about the assignment as well and whether or not they connect correctly. We can also get feedback once we use the rubric from the students to enhance the rubric for the next time we use it. Thanks!
I would think a common mistake might be not testing the rubric on assignments. Through testing the rubric's application, the instructor may find out that the metrics she chose do not match the assignment types. In the case that they do fit, she will be more confident in their application.
Melinda ,
It's all in the criteria. You can have a rubric about writing components, grammar/spelling, and form or format. I use rubrics all the time in business communication to assess their letters and reports.
James,
Right on. The more we stress this and that the criteria have to be just right, the more we understand simple things we can to do help improve our rubrics. Thanks!
Sandra,
Nice bulleted list. Thanks for the link to additional information as well. We continue to learn from each other. I'll add this to my list of things to review.
This interests me, particularly because I teach writing, and writing can still be really subjective, even with an effective rubric. I would love to read how others keep their writing rubric objective.
