The document provides a rubric template for developing rubrics to assess student work. It recommends describing the specific assignment or activity to be assessed. Key attributes of exemplary work should be imagined and categorized into facets or dimensions. Standards for each dimension should be outlined precisely using measurable language aligned with standards. The type of rubric and grading scheme should be determined and explained. Developing clear, detailed rubrics helps students understand expectations and allows for more objective assessment of their work.

1. Steven M. Baule, ED.D., PH.D.
North Boone CUSD 200
February 14, 2014

2. Performance
Factors
Producing Quality
Work
Using Work Time
Effectively
Accepting
Responsibility
Job Knowledge
Communicating
Effectively
Advanced
Proficient
Basic
Below Basic
Maybe not a Super
Leaps tall
buildings in a
single bound.
Must take a
running start to
leap tall
buildings.
Can only leap
over short
buildings or
medium
buildings.
Crashes into
buildings when
attempting to
jump over
them.
Cannot
recognize
buildings at all
let alone jump
them.
Is faster than a
Is as fast as a Not quite as fast
speeding bullet. speeding bullet. as a speeding
bullet.
Would you
believe a slow
bullet?
Is stronger than Is stronger than Is stronger than
a locomotive.
a tornado.
a hurricane.
Shoots the
Breeze.
Wounds self
with bullets
when
attempting to
shoot the
breeze.
Full of hot air.
Walks on water Walks on water
consistently.
in emergencies.
Washes with
water.
Drinks water.
Eyes water.
Talks with God.
Talks to
him/herself.
Argues with
him/herself
Loses argument
with him/her
self.
Talks with
citizens.
Modified from Pascack Valley HS website http://pascackvrhs.schoolwires.com/Page/6832

3. Give students a clear understanding of the
assignment & concrete details about how to
obtain a particular score
Allow parents to understand in detail how a
grade was earned
Encourage students to self-assess and reflect on
their own performance
Makes assessment easier for teachers and less
subjective

4. Rubrics do require an initial investment of your time.
But once they are completed, they are easily adaptable
to a variety of assignments.
Articulating the gradations of the rubric is sometime
challenging.
You may notice that your students ask for rubrics for all
assignments. They like knowing what is expected and
how to achieve high markings.

5. 1. Look at models: Show stu d ents exam ples of good and not-so-good w ork.
Id entify the characteristics that m ake the good ones good and the bad
ones bad .
2. List criteria: Use the d iscu ssion of m od els to begin a list of w hat cou nts
in qu ality w ork.
3. A rticulate gradations of quality: Describe the best and w orst levels of
qu ality, then fill in the m id d le levels based on you r know led ge of
com m on problem s and the d iscu ssion of not-so-good w ork.
4. Practice on models: H ave stu d ents u se the ru brics to evalu ate the m od els
you gave them in Step 1.
5. Use self- and peer-assessment: Give stu d ents their task. As they w ork, stop
them occasionally for self- and peer-assessm ent.
6. Revise: Alw ays give stu d ents tim e to revise their w ork based on the
feed back they get in Step 5.
7. Use teacher assessment: Use the sam e ru bric stu d ents u sed to assess their
w ork you rself.

6. From Bonnie Mullinix, Monmouth University, 2003

7. Criteria
An effective rubric must possess a specific list of
criteria, so students know exactly what the
teacher is expecting.
Some of these can come from the Common Core
Standards
Kathy Schrock’s Guide

8. From Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators

9. From Rubistar

10. There should be gradations of quality based on the
degree to which a standard has been met. The
gradations should include specific descriptions of what
constitutes "excellent", "good", "fair", and "needs
improvement". Each gradation should provide
descriptors for the performance level.
With the NB grading scale, four levels make the most
sense, e.g., A, B, C , F
For some sections, potentially a Pass/Fail approach

11. Excellent
Good
Needs
Improveme
Acceptable
nt
Main Criteria 1
Description of
key points
Description of
key points
Description of
key points
Description of
key points
Main Criteria 2
Description of
key points
Description of
key points
Description of
key points
Description of
key points
Pass
Fail
Minor Criteria 3

12. From Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators

13. Effective rubrics offer a lot of descriptive
language. The rubric describes exactly what is
expected.
By specificity, the descriptors enable student
performers to verify and comprehend their
scores.

15. The difference in quality from a score of 4 to 3
should be the same difference in quality from a
score of 3 to 2. All descriptors should model
consistent levels of continuity.
Excellent
Good
Acceptable
Needs
Improvement
4
3
2
1

16. Beyond
Expectation
Meets
Expectation
Under
Expectation
4
3
2
Yes, plus
4
Yes
3
Pass
2 (P)
Missing or
with Major
Errors
1
No, but
2
No
1
Fail
1 (F)
Excellent
Good
Acceptable
Needs
Improvement
4
3
2
1

17. Level 4—"Yes, I briefly summarized the plot."
Level 3—"Yes, I summarized the plot, but I also
included some unnecessary details or left out
key information."
Level 2—"No, I didn't summarize the plot, but I
did include some details from the story."
Level 1—"No, I didn't summarize the plot."
From H.G. Andrade, EL, Feb 2000

18. A "good" rubric should be able to be used by
various teachers and have them all arrive at
similar scores.
I find this really helps when grading
assignments; previously I would have to go
through everything twice to make sure I hadn’t
started too hard or too easy

19. A rubric possessing validity, scores what is
central to the performance and assignment, not
what is easy for the eye to see and simple for
the teacher to grade.
Samples
Don't forget to provide samples at various
achievement levels
After first use, keep some exemplars

20. Example 1 - Upper
Example 2 - Lower
From Baule & Lewis and UW-WW

21. W.5.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine a topic and convey ideas and
information clearly.
Common Core Checklists

22.  Provide a concluding statement or section
related to the information or explanation
presented.
 Link ideas within and across categories of
information using words, phrases, and clauses
(e.g., in contrast, especially).

23. Provides a concluding statement that summarizes the
topic in a concise manner using content appropriate
vocabulary.
Provides a concluding statement related to the
information presented.
Concluding statement is present but not complete.
Concluding statement is missing or contains significant
errors.

24. From SchoolCenter.com

25. Specific Ideal Description: Describe what an ideal student work
would look like (specific to assignment)
Categorization: Group these descriptors into categories called
dimensions
Outline of standards: Write the standard for each dimension,
using concrete, specific, and measureable criteria. It is easiest to
write this as the ideal or acceptable level
Rubric levels: Decide what type of rubric is appropriate for this
assignment or group of students.
Explanation of grading: Include the weighting or grading
scheme. Remember, each piece of the rubric doesn’t need to be
weighted the same.
Modified from Pascack Hiills HS website http://pascackvrhs.schoolwires.com/Page/6832

26. Describe the activity you want to assess.
Imagine receiving student work. What would the perfect product look like? What specific attributes would it
have?
Categorization - Group the descriptors, if necessary, and assign a category name (facet) for each.
Outline the standards – flesh out each dimension by writing the standards for each: be measurable and
specific! Look to CCSS or ISBE standards as a place to start.
Rubric levels – what type of rubric would be best? General or assignment-specific?
Now pull this all together to create your rubric. Here is a table to begin, although you should modify it to
adapt to your needs.
FACET
4
3
2
1
Points
Possible
Mechanics &
Grammar
4
Topic Sentence
8
Concluding Sentence
8
Etc…
Explanation of grading – Are all of the dimensions equal in weight? Will you add up the total and use it as the
grade or as a raw score, or will you scale the results, average them, etc?

28. A holistic rubric consists of a single scale with all
criteria to be included in the evaluation being
considered together (e.g., clarity, organization,
and mechanics). With a holistic rubric the rater
assigns a single score (usually on a 1 to 4 or 1 to 6
point scale) based on an overall judgment of the
student work. The rater matches an entire piece of
student work to a single description on the scale.
For more on types of rubrics see University of Virginia Academic
Assessment or School Center’s Power of Rubrics

29. Articulating thoughts through written communication— final paper/project.
Above Average: The audience is able to easily identify the focus of the work and is engaged by
its clear focus and relevant details. Information is presented logically and naturally. There are no
more than two mechanical errors or misspelled words to distract the reader.
Sufficient: The audience is easily able to identify the focus of the student work which is
supported by relevant ideas and supporting details. Information is presented in a logical manner
that is easily followed. There is minimal interruption to the work due to misspellings and/or
mechanical errors.
Developing: The audience can identify the central purpose of the student work without little
difficulty and supporting ideas are present and clear. The information is presented in an orderly
fashion that can be followed with little difficulty. There are some misspellings and/or mechanical
errors, but they do not seriously distract from the work.
Needs Improvement: The audience cannot clearly or easily identify the central ideas or purpose
of the student work. Information is presented in a disorganized fashion causing the audience to
have difficulty following the author's ideas. There are many misspellings and/or mechanical
errors that negatively affect the audience's ability to read the work.
From DePaul University Teaching Commons

30. From DePaul University Teaching Commons

31. Advantages
Emphasis on what the learner is able to demonstrate, rather than what
s/he cannot do.
Saves time by minimizing the number of decisions raters make.
Can be applied consistently by trained raters increasing reliability.
Disadvantages
Does not provide specific feedback for improvement.
When student work is at varying levels spanning the criteria points it
can be difficult to select the single best description.
Criteria cannot be weighted.

32. Rubistar
http://rubistar.4teachers.org
iRubric
http://www.rcampus.com/indexrubric.cfm
Teacher Planet
http://www.sites4teachers.com/ (search for rubric
or assessment generators)

34. Thank you for your attention