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Just another academic classroom sites | lake superior college sites site, another rubric for creative assignments: short stories.
I have used a holistic, comment-based rubric for my short story assignment in Creative Writing for several years. After reading all this information about rubric, I decided to revise it into a point-based, more analytic rubric. I also changed the point values because the short story ends up being one of the longest assignments in the class, so I changed it from 100 to 150 points (I plan to decrease the points in their literary critique since that is a shorter overall assignment). I hope this new rubric makes the expectations of the assignment clearer to students and make grading more objective and clear.
Here is my original rubric (with examples of comments and a grade):
Short story rubric
Character development | Are the characters well developed through a variety of character techniques (such as dialogue, using gestures, observations, etc.)?
| ok | Good character but I wanted to know more about her—and see her more in action. So much of the story is summary that we only get general info on her. |
Plot | Is the plot interesting and original? Is the plot condensed enough to develop in the length of the story?
| ok | Good idea for plot—just need more scenes and less summary to make the story more effective. |
Story beginning | Does the story start with action or dialogue instead of summary?
| Needs work | It’s most effective to start with dialogue and/or action. You begin more with an introduction or summary. I would suggest just starting with the first scene—let the background of the characters come out through the plot. |
Scenes | Does the story contain scenes that let the characters act and move and not just a summary of events or time periods?
| Needs work | Good at the start but try to let the action and dialogue show things—try not to explain everything. Also you need more scenes—to really move the action along and help the readers get into the story and characters. |
Grammar and style | Does the story contain college-level writing and an interesting writing style? Are there too many grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors?
| Needs work | Avoid using second person (you) in fiction. Also some comma splices, apostrophe errors, run-ons, and other errors are getting in the way of your ideas. |
Dialogue | Is the dialogue in the story natural and realistic? Does it help develop characters, action, and scenes?
| ok | Use a comma between speaker and dialogue. Just need more dialogue in scenes. |
Setting and detail | Are the setting and details in the story well developed and unique?
| Good | Great detail about the city but need more details in some places–scenes would help with that. |
Overall comments | Great start here–see comments above for ways to improve the story. | ||
Grade | 84/100 | B |
Here is the first draft of my new rubric:
Short Story Assignment
Write a short story (possibly using a character/characters you have developed in class assignments (week three discussion assignment). Think about all the elements of fiction which the fiction lessons and your textbook discuss. Try to write a unique story in your own writing style. Try not to fall back on common plots, stereotypical characters, etc.
Length: 6-25 pages (1200-6000 words)
Format: Double-spaced, in RTF format.
Name the file as: yourlastname_story (for example: swing_story)
Make sure to have title page with name, name of story, date, etc.
Make sure to start a new paragraph when a new character speaks.
Make sure to use correct capitalization, spelling, and grammar. See this website for grammar review if needed: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
Plot
50 points | □ Plot is original and surprising (had tension), but not shocking. It engages audience throughout story. □ The plot is condensed enough to develop in a short story (time is condensed) □ Beginning of the story engages audience and begins with action or a scene and not summary or background. □ Ending is satisfying even if it’s abrupt or doesn’t wrap up all ideas. □ Story meets word requirements. | □ Plot is interesting but may contain some confusion, clichéd ideas, or vagueness. □ The plot is fairy condensed but may span too much time or have too much history or summary. □ Beginning of the story is interesting but may have too much summary and not enough action. □ Ending is ok but could be more satisfying or original. □ Story meets word requirements, but needs to be longer, ideas need to developed further. | □ Plot is not engaging, doesn’t contain tension, or is clichéd. □ The plot tries to cover too much time or is confusing to follow. □ Beginning of the story has too much summary and background—needs a scene and action. □ Ending is clichéd, shocking, or unbelievable. □ Story does not meet minimum word requirements. | |
Character development
20 points | □ Characters, especially main character, is developed well through multiple techniques (dialogue gestures, description, action, etc). □ Characters are unique and not stereotypes or one dimensional □ Character relationships are well developed and interesting. □ Character makes some significant change in the story. | □ Characters, especially main character, is developed well but needs more showing and less telling. Need to have the character in action more. □ Characters are interesting but may be a bit stereotypical or one dimensional at times. □ Character relationships are interesting but may need more development. □ Character makes some changes but they might not be enough or realistic based on the plot of the story. | □ Characters, especially main character, are not developed enough. Need action, dialogue, background, etc. □ Characters are stereotypical or one dimensional. □ Character relationships are not developed or unrealistic. □ Character does not make any significant or realistic changes throughout the story. | |
Scenes
20 points | □ Multiples scenes are used in the story to show and not tell the story □ Scenes are in a clear and logical sequence even if flashbacks are used □ Scenes are interesting and effective | □ Story has some scenes that develop ideas, but may need more scenes and less summary. □ Scenes are in a clear order but may need some reorganization. □ Scenes are good but may need more action or tension | □ Story is mostly summary and needs scene to develop characters, tension, and ideas. □ Scenes are not in a clear order and are confusing. □ Scenes are unrealistic or uninteresting or unoriginal. | |
Dialogue
15 points | □ Dialogue is natural and not stilted or awkward □ Dialogue is effectively used to develop characters, give character background, and develop tension. □ Dialogue uses correct quotation mark placement and is indented with each new speaker
| □ Dialogue original but may be stilted or inconsistent at time (need to use contractions, for example) □ Dialogue gives some character and plot details but could be used more to develop those traits. □ Dialogue uses mostly correct format, but may need some corrections like a comma between speaker and quotation or correct indentation.
| □ Dialogue is not used enough or is stilted and/or inconsistent (need to use contractions, for example or character’s voice changes) □ Dialogue needs to be used to develop characters and details more effectively. □ Dialogue does not follow correct format (indent with each speaker, comma between speaker and quote, correct quotation marks, etc.)
| |
Grammar and style
20 points | □ The story is written using college-level writing skills in a professional manner. □ The story does not contain many errors in spelling, sentences errors, pronoun use, apostrophes, or other errors. □ Style of the story is consistent and engaging and not wordy or overly passive. □ Story uses appropriate and consistent point of view. | □ The story is written at college level but may have some inconsistencies. □ The story contains some errors in spelling, sentences errors, pronoun use, apostrophes, or other errors. □ Style of the story is mostly consistent and engaging but may have some wordiness, vagueness, etc. □ Story uses appropriate point of view but may shift once or twice. | □ The story is not written at college level. □ The story contains many errors in spelling, sentences errors, pronoun use, apostrophes, or other errors. □ Style of the story is inconsistent and engaging contains too much wordiness, vagueness, etc. □ Story shifts point of view multiple times and for no logical reason. | |
Setting and detail
15 points | □ Setting in the story is clear, unique, and well developed. □ Setting is an important part of the plot or tension in the story. □ Details in the story such as colors, clothes, music, objects, are unique and used to develop characters and plot.
| □ Setting in the story is clear but could developed further. □ Setting could be used more as part of the plot or tension. □ Some of the details in the story such as colors, clothes, music, objects, are unique but could be used more to develop characters and plot. | □ Setting is vague or unclear. □ Setting has no relationship to the plot or characters. □ Story needs more details like colors, clothes, music, cars, landscape, etc. to develop characters and plot. | |
Paper format
10 points
| □ Story was submitted on time in the dropbox with correct file name. □ Story follows paper format (double-spaced, one in margins). □ Story has unique title and correct heading. | □ Story was submitted on time in the dropbox with correct file name. □ Story follows paper format (double-spaced, one in margins) with one or two minor errors. Story has a title and heading but may have some errors. | □ Story was not submitted on time in the dropbox and or has an incorrect file name. □ Story does not follows paper format (double-spaced, one in margins). □ Story has a not title and/or no heading. | |
Overall comments | ||||
Points | / Out of 150 points | Grade: |
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Teaching excellence & educational innovation, grading and performance rubrics, what are rubrics.
A rubric is a scoring tool that explicitly represents the performance expectations for an assignment or piece of work. A rubric divides the assigned work into component parts and provides clear descriptions of the characteristics of the work associated with each component, at varying levels of mastery. Rubrics can be used for a wide array of assignments: papers, projects, oral presentations, artistic performances, group projects, etc. Rubrics can be used as scoring or grading guides, to provide formative feedback to support and guide ongoing learning efforts, or both.
Using a rubric provides several advantages to both instructors and students. Grading according to an explicit and descriptive set of criteria that is designed to reflect the weighted importance of the objectives of the assignment helps ensure that the instructor’s grading standards don’t change over time. Grading consistency is difficult to maintain over time because of fatigue, shifting standards based on prior experience, or intrusion of other criteria. Furthermore, rubrics can reduce the time spent grading by reducing uncertainty and by allowing instructors to refer to the rubric description associated with a score rather than having to write long comments. Finally, grading rubrics are invaluable in large courses that have multiple graders (other instructors, teaching assistants, etc.) because they can help ensure consistency across graders and reduce the systematic bias that can be introduced between graders.
Used more formatively, rubrics can help instructors get a clearer picture of the strengths and weaknesses of their class. By recording the component scores and tallying up the number of students scoring below an acceptable level on each component, instructors can identify those skills or concepts that need more instructional time and student effort.
Grading rubrics are also valuable to students. A rubric can help instructors communicate to students the specific requirements and acceptable performance standards of an assignment. When rubrics are given to students with the assignment description, they can help students monitor and assess their progress as they work toward clearly indicated goals. When assignments are scored and returned with the rubric, students can more easily recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their work and direct their efforts accordingly.
Here are links to a diverse set of rubrics designed by Carnegie Mellon faculty and faculty at other institutions. Although your particular field of study and type of assessment activity may not be represented currently, viewing a rubric that is designed for a similar activity may provide you with ideas on how to divide your task into components and how to describe the varying levels of mastery.
Main navigation, articulating your assessment values.
Reading, commenting on, and then assigning a grade to a piece of student writing requires intense attention and difficult judgment calls. Some faculty dread “the stack.” Students may share the faculty’s dim view of writing assessment, perceiving it as highly subjective. They wonder why one faculty member values evidence and correctness before all else, while another seeks a vaguely defined originality.
Writing rubrics can help address the concerns of both faculty and students by making writing assessment more efficient, consistent, and public. Whether it is called a grading rubric, a grading sheet, or a scoring guide, a writing assignment rubric lists criteria by which the writing is graded.
Create a rubric at the same time you create the assignment. It will help you explain to the students what your goals are for the assignment.
Consider involving students in Steps 2 and 3. A class session devoted to developing a rubric can provoke many important discussions about the ways the features of the language serve the purpose of the writing. And when students themselves work to describe the writing they are expected to produce, they are more likely to achieve it.
At this point, you will need to decide if you want to create a holistic or an analytic rubric. There is much debate about these two approaches to assessment.
Holistic scoring .
Holistic scoring aims to rate overall proficiency in a given student writing sample. It is often used in large-scale writing program assessment and impromptu classroom writing for diagnostic purposes.
General tenets to holistic scoring:
Holistic rubrics emphasize what students do well and generally increase efficiency; they may also be more valid because scoring includes authentic, personal reaction of the reader. But holistic sores won’t tell a student how they’ve progressed relative to previous assignments and may be rater-dependent, reducing reliability. (For a summary of advantages and disadvantages of holistic scoring, see Becker, 2011, p. 116.)
Here is an example of a partial holistic rubric:
Summary meets all the criteria. The writer understands the article thoroughly. The main points in the article appear in the summary with all main points proportionately developed. The summary should be as comprehensive as possible and should be as comprehensive as possible and should read smoothly, with appropriate transitions between ideas. Sentences should be clear, without vagueness or ambiguity and without grammatical or mechanical errors.
A complete holistic rubric for a research paper (authored by Jonah Willihnganz) can be downloaded here.
Analytic scoring makes explicit the contribution to the final grade of each element of writing. For example, an instructor may choose to give 30 points for an essay whose ideas are sufficiently complex, that marshals good reasons in support of a thesis, and whose argument is logical; and 20 points for well-constructed sentences and careful copy editing.
General tenets to analytic scoring:
Advantages of an analytic rubric include ease of training raters and improved reliability. Meanwhile, writers often can more easily diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of their work. But analytic rubrics can be time-consuming to produce, and raters may judge the writing holistically anyway. Moreover, many readers believe that writing traits cannot be separated. (For a summary of the advantages and disadvantages of analytic scoring, see Becker, 2011, p. 115.)
For example, a partial analytic rubric for a single trait, “addresses a significant issue”:
A complete analytic rubric for a research paper can be downloaded here. In WIM courses, this language should be revised to name specific disciplinary conventions.
Whichever type of rubric you write, your goal is to avoid pushing students into prescriptive formulas and limiting thinking (e.g., “each paragraph has five sentences”). By carefully describing the writing you want to read, you give students a clear target, and, as Ed White puts it, “describe the ongoing work of the class” (75).
Writing rubrics contribute meaningfully to the teaching of writing. Think of them as a coaching aide. In class and in conferences, you can use the language of the rubric to help you move past generic statements about what makes good writing good to statements about what constitutes success on the assignment and in the genre or discourse community. The rubric articulates what you are asking students to produce on the page; once that work is accomplished, you can turn your attention to explaining how students can achieve it.
Becker, Anthony. “Examining Rubrics Used to Measure Writing Performance in U.S. Intensive English Programs.” The CATESOL Journal 22.1 (2010/2011):113-30. Web.
White, Edward M. Teaching and Assessing Writing . Proquest Info and Learning, 1985. Print.
CCCC Committee on Assessment. “Writing Assessment: A Position Statement.” November 2006 (Revised March 2009). Conference on College Composition and Communication. Web.
Gallagher, Chris W. “Assess Locally, Validate Globally: Heuristics for Validating Local Writing Assessments.” Writing Program Administration 34.1 (2010): 10-32. Web.
Huot, Brian. (Re)Articulating Writing Assessment for Teaching and Learning. Logan: Utah State UP, 2002. Print.
Kelly-Reilly, Diane, and Peggy O’Neil, eds. Journal of Writing Assessment. Web.
McKee, Heidi A., and Dànielle Nicole DeVoss DeVoss, Eds. Digital Writing Assessment & Evaluation. Logan, UT: Computers and Composition Digital Press/Utah State University Press, 2013. Web.
O’Neill, Peggy, Cindy Moore, and Brian Huot. A Guide to College Writing Assessment . Logan: Utah State UP, 2009. Print.
Sommers, Nancy. Responding to Student Writers . Macmillan Higher Education, 2013.
Straub, Richard. “Responding, Really Responding to Other Students’ Writing.” The Subject is Writing: Essays by Teachers and Students. Ed. Wendy Bishop. Boynton/Cook, 1999. Web.
White, Edward M., and Cassie A. Wright. Assigning, Responding, Evaluating: A Writing Teacher’s Guide . 5th ed. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. Print.
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In the end, they actually make grading easier.
When it comes to student assessment and evaluation, there are a lot of methods to consider. In some cases, testing is the best way to assess a student’s knowledge, and the answers are either right or wrong. But often, assessing a student’s performance is much less clear-cut. In these situations, a scoring rubric is often the way to go, especially if you’re using standards-based grading . Here’s what you need to know about this useful tool, along with lots of rubric examples to get you started.
In the United States, a rubric is a guide that lays out the performance expectations for an assignment. It helps students understand what’s required of them, and guides teachers through the evaluation process. (Note that in other countries, the term “rubric” may instead refer to the set of instructions at the beginning of an exam. To avoid confusion, some people use the term “scoring rubric” instead.)
A rubric generally has three parts:
Rubrics take more time to develop up front, but they help ensure more consistent assessment, especially when the skills being assessed are more subjective. A well-developed rubric can actually save teachers a lot of time when it comes to grading. What’s more, sharing your scoring rubric with students in advance often helps improve performance . This way, students have a clear picture of what’s expected of them and what they need to do to achieve a specific grade or performance rating.
Learn more about why and how to use a rubric here.
There are three basic rubric categories, each with its own purpose.
Source: Cambrian College
This type of rubric combines all the scoring criteria in a single scale. They’re quick to create and use, but they have drawbacks. If a student’s work spans different levels, it can be difficult to decide which score to assign. They also make it harder to provide feedback on specific aspects.
Traditional letter grades are a type of holistic rubric. So are the popular “hamburger rubric” and “ cupcake rubric ” examples. Learn more about holistic rubrics here.
Source: University of Nebraska
Analytic rubrics are much more complex and generally take a great deal more time up front to design. They include specific details of the expected learning outcomes, and descriptions of what criteria are required to meet various performance ratings in each. Each rating is assigned a point value, and the total number of points earned determines the overall grade for the assignment.
Though they’re more time-intensive to create, analytic rubrics actually save time while grading. Teachers can simply circle or highlight any relevant phrases in each rating, and add a comment or two if needed. They also help ensure consistency in grading, and make it much easier for students to understand what’s expected of them.
Learn more about analytic rubrics here.
Source: Deb’s Data Digest
A developmental rubric is a type of analytic rubric, but it’s used to assess progress along the way rather than determining a final score on an assignment. The details in these rubrics help students understand their achievements, as well as highlight the specific skills they still need to improve.
Developmental rubrics are essentially a subset of analytic rubrics. They leave off the point values, though, and focus instead on giving feedback using the criteria and indicators of performance.
Learn how to use developmental rubrics here.
Ready to create your own rubrics? Find general tips on designing rubrics here. Then, check out these examples across all grades and subjects to inspire you.
These elementary school rubric examples come from real teachers who use them with their students. Adapt them to fit your needs and grade level.
You can use this one as an analytic rubric by counting up points to earn a final score, or just to provide developmental feedback. There’s a second rubric page available specifically to assess prosody (reading with expression).
Learn more: Teacher Thrive
The nice thing about this rubric is that you can use it at any grade level, for any text. If you like this style, you can get a reading fluency rubric here too.
Learn more: Pawprints Resource Center
Rubrics aren’t just for huge projects. They can also help kids work on very specific skills, like this one for improving written responses on assessments.
Learn more: Dianna Radcliffe: Teaching Upper Elementary and More
If you use interactive notebooks as a learning tool , this rubric can help kids stay on track and meet your expectations.
Learn more: Classroom Nook
Use this simple rubric as it is, or tweak it to include more specific indicators for the project you have in mind.
Learn more: Tales of a Title One Teacher
Developmental rubrics are perfect for assessing behavior and helping students identify opportunities for improvement. Send these home regularly to keep parents in the loop.
Learn more: Teachers.net Gazette
In middle school, use rubrics to offer detailed feedback on projects, presentations, and more. Be sure to share them with students in advance, and encourage them to use them as they work so they’ll know if they’re meeting expectations.
Argumentative writing is a part of language arts, social studies, science, and more. That makes this rubric especially useful.
Learn more: Dr. Caitlyn Tucker
Role-plays can be really useful when teaching social and critical thinking skills, but it’s hard to assess them. Try a rubric like this one to evaluate and provide useful feedback.
Learn more: A Question of Influence
Art is one of those subjects where grading can feel very subjective. Bring some objectivity to the process with a rubric like this.
Source: Art Ed Guru
You can use diorama projects in almost any subject, and they’re a great chance to encourage creativity. Simplify the grading process and help kids know how to make their projects shine with this scoring rubric.
Learn more: Historyourstory.com
Rubrics are terrific for grading presentations, since you can include a variety of skills and other criteria. Consider letting students use a rubric like this to offer peer feedback too.
Learn more: Bright Hub Education
In high school, it’s important to include your grading rubrics when you give assignments like presentations, research projects, or essays. Kids who go on to college will definitely encounter rubrics, so helping them become familiar with them now will help in the future.
Analyze a student’s presentation both for content and communication skills with a rubric like this one. If needed, create a separate one for content knowledge with even more criteria and indicators.
Learn more: Michael A. Pena Jr.
Debate is a valuable learning tool that encourages critical thinking and oral communication skills. This rubric can help you assess those skills objectively.
Learn more: Education World
Implementing project-based learning can be time-intensive, but the payoffs are worth it. Try this rubric to make student expectations clear and end-of-project assessment easier.
Learn more: Free Technology for Teachers
Need an easy way to convert a scoring rubric to a letter grade? This example for essay writing earns students a final score out of 100 points.
Learn more: Learn for Your Life
If you’re unsure how to grade a student’s participation and performance in drama class, consider this example. It offers lots of objective criteria and indicators to evaluate.
Learn more: Chase March
Plus, 25 of the best alternative assessment ideas ..
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Introduction.
Most graduate courses require students to produce written work although these products differ in purpose and required parameters (e.g., format, length, or tone). Thus, a faculty member might be called on to evaluate short reflection papers, longer lab reports, or longer still term papers. In evaluating a written product, it is important to choose or develop a rubric in order to bring consistency, fairness, and clarity to the task. Creating Rubrics
An analytic rubric is a scoring guide used to evaluate performance, a product, or a project. It has three parts: 1) performance criteria; 2) rating scale; and 3) indicators. How to Develop a Rubric
Using a rubric to evaluate student written work is helpful for both faculty and students. For faculty, rubrics
Rubrics help students to
Benefitting from Rubrics
Developing a rubric entails the following steps:
There are, of course, many types of student papers, which differ in the learning outcomes they represent and the skills they are meant to develop. Ideally, an instructor will develop a unique rubric for each assignment, based on the intent of the assignment and the relevant learning objectives as well as the overall learning objectives for the course. When creating a rubric to evaluate a written assignment, an instructor should be able to answer the following questions:
Designing and Using Rubrics
A review of a sample of rubrics for evaluating papers indicates that they vary in both the number of dimensions and the content of the dimensions included used; however, it is possible to extract several common dimensions for evaluation. These may include the following:
Organization/structure
Presentation of ideas
Writing style
An instructor creating a rubric should consider these dimensions and determine which ones are pertinent to the purpose of the assignment being evaluated. It is also possible to adopt or adapt existing rubrics. One common source is the Association of American Colleges and Universities Value Rubrics: Written Communication.
AACU Value Rubrics: Written Communication
Other examples of specific rubrics include the following:
Research Paper Rubric Cornell College Cole Library
Rubric for Research Paper Kansas State Assessment Toolkit
Rubric for Research Paper University of Florida Center for Teaching Excellence
Writing Rubric for Psychology Middlebury College Academics
Grading Rubrics: Essays Brandeis University Writing Program
Academic essay rubric University of Southern California Center for Teaching Excellence
Essay Grading Rubric University of Michigan Sweetland Center for Writing
College Level Writing Rubric Virginia Union University
Grading Rubric for Papers St. John’s University
Grading Rubric for Writing Assignment The American University of Rome
Reflection Writing Rubric Carnegie Mellon University Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence
Reflective Essay University of Florida Center for Teaching Excellence
Reflective essay rubric University of Southern California Center for Teaching Excellence
Creating Rubrics University of Texas/Austin Faculty Innovation Center
Evaluating Rubrics DePaul University Teaching Commons
Building A Rubric Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning
Designing & Using Rubrics University of Michigan Sweetland Center for Writing
Grading with Rubrics Western University Center for Teaching and Learning
Grading Rubrics Berkeley Graduate Division Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Resource Center
Rubric Code: By Ready to use Public Rubric Subject: Type: Grade Levels: (none) |
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Writing Across the Curriculum
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Grading rubrics (structured scoring guides) can make writing criteria more explicit, improving student performance and making valid and consistent grading easier for course instructors. This page provides an overview of rubric types and offers guidelines for their development and use.
Why use a rubric?
Guidelines for Creating a Writing Rubric
Additional Ways to Use Rubrics
While grading criteria can come in many forms—a checklist of requirements, a description of grade-level expectations, articulated standards, or a contract between instructor and students, to name but a few options—they often take the form of a rubric, a structured scoring guide.
Because of their flexibility, rubrics can provide several benefits for students and instructors:
What types of rubrics are there?
Rubrics come in many forms. Here are some of the key types, using terms introduced by John Bean (2011) , along with the advantages and disadvantages of rubric types, as detailed by the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA ).
Holistic Rubrics stress an overall evaluation of the work by creating single-score categories (letter or numeric). Holistic rubrics are often used in standardized assessments, such as Advanced Placement exams. Here is a sample of a holistic rubric .
Some potential benefits of holistic rubrics:
Some potential challenges of holistic rubrics:
Analytic Rubrics stress the weight of different criteria or traits, such as content, organization, use of conventions, etc. Most analytic rubrics are formatted as grids. Here is a sample of an analytic rubric .
Some potential benefits of analytic rubrics:
Some potential challenges of analytic rubrics:
Generic Rubrics can take holistic or analytic forms. In generic rubrics, the grading criteria are generalized in such a way that the rubric can be used for multiple assignments and/or across multiple sections of courses. Here is a sample of a generic rubric .
Some potential benefits of generic rubrics:
Some potential challenges of generic rubrics:
Task-Specific Rubrics closely align the grading criteria with the language and specifications in the assignment prompt. Here is a sample of a task-specific rubric .
Some potential benefits of task-specific rubrics:
Some potential challenges of task-specific rubrics:
Step 1: Identify your grading criteria.
What are the intended outcomes for the assignment? What do you want students to do or demonstrate? What are the primary dimensions (note: these are often referred to as “traits” or as “criteria”) that count in the evaluation? Try writing each one as a noun or noun phrase—for example, “Insights and ideas that are central to the assignment”; “Address of audience”; “Logic of organization”; “Integration of source materials.”
Suggestion: Try not to exceed more than ten total criteria. If you have too many criteria, you can make it challenging to distinguish among them, and you may be required to clarify, repeatedly, the distinctions for students (or for yourself!).
Step 2: Describe the levels of success for each criterion.
For each trait or criterion, consider a 2–4-point scale (e.g. strong, satisfactory, weak). For each point on the scale, describe the performance.
Suggestions : Either begin with optimum performances and then describe lower levels as less than (adequately, insufficiently, etc.) OR fully describe a baseline performance and then add values. To write an effective performance level for a criterion, describe in precise language what the text is doing successfully.
Effective grading criteria are…
Ineffective: Includes figures and graphs.
Effective: Includes figures that are legible and labeled accurately, and that illustrate data in a manner free from distortion.
Ineffective: Use the IMRAD structure.
Effective: Includes a materials and methods section that identify all components, technical standards, equipment, and methodological description such that a professional might reproduce the research.
Ineffective: Contains at least five sources.
Effective: Uses research from carefully vetted sources, presented with an in-text and terminal citation, to support assertions.
Ineffective: Does not use slang or jargon.
Effective: Uses language appropriate to fellow professionals and patient communication in context.
Step 3: Weight the criteria.
When criteria have been identified and performance-levels described, decisions should be made about their varying importance in relation to each other.
Suggestion: If you use a point-based grading system, consider using a range of points within performance levels, and make sure the points for each criterion reflect their relative value to one another. Rubrics without carefully determined and relative grade weights can often produce a final score that does not align with the instructor’s expectations for the score. Here is a sample of a rubric with a range of points within each performance level .
Step 4: Create a format for the rubric.
When the specific criteria and levels of success have been named and ranked, they can be sorted into a variety of formats and distributed with the assignment. The right format will depend on how and when you are using the rubric. Consider these three examples of an Anthropology rubric and how each format might be useful (or not), depending on the course context. [ Rubric 1 , Rubric 2 , Rubric 3 ]
Suggestion: Consider allowing space on the rubric to insert comments on each item and again at the end. Regardless of how well your rubric identifies, describes, and weighs the grading criteria, students will still appreciate and benefit from brief comments that personalize your assessment.
Step 5: Test (and refine) the rubric.
Ideally, a rubric will be tested in advance of full implementation. A practical way to test the rubric is to apply it to a subset of student assignments. Even after you have tested and used the rubric, you will likely discover, as with the assignment prompt itself, that there are parts that need tweaking and refinement.
Suggestion: A peer review of the rubric before it gets used on an assignment will allow you to take stock of the questions, confusions, or issues students have about your rubric, so you can make timely and effective adjustments.
Beyond their value as formative and summative assessment tools, rubrics can be used to support teaching and learning in the classroom.
Here are three suggestions for additional uses:
Any Downsides to Rubrics?
While many faculty members use rubrics, some resist them because they worry that rubrics are unable to accurately convey authentic and nuanced assessment. As Bob Broad (2003) argues, rubrics can leave out many of the rhetorical qualities and contexts that influence how well a work is received or not. Rubrics, Broad maintains, convey a temporary sense of standardization that does not capture the real ways that real readers respond in different ways to a given work. John Bean (2011) has also described this as the “myth of the universal reader” and the “problem of implied precision” (279). Of course, the alternative to using a rubric, such as providing a holistic grade with comments that justify the grade—still a common practice among instructors—is often labor-intensive and poses its own set of challenges when it comes to consistency with assessment across all students enrolled in a course. Ultimately, a rubric’s impact depends on the criteria on which it is built and the ways it is used.
46 editable rubric templates (word format).
A grading rubric template is a type of tool used for assessment. You can use it to express your expectations regarding the work of your students . In it, you’ll define what you will assess. You’ll also describe the criteria for how you will evaluate their work.
You can use this template to articulate what excellent work looks like. This would also help your students understand what they should work on.
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It takes a lot of time and effort to create a superior rubric template. You can make one on your own or download a blank rubric template from here. The important thing is that you first decide what criteria you’ll include in it.
Using rubrics will make it easier for you to assess the work of your students. With it, you can easily determine where your students excelled and where they need help. Although these templates are very convenient and effective, making them is another story.
If you make a template from scratch, you’d need a lot of time and effort. But once you’ve made or downloaded a template, your work becomes easier.
Teaching is one of the noblest professions in the whole world. But this job isn’t for everyone. It involves a lot of patience, determination, time-management skills , and so much more. Although it’s a highly fulfilling profession, there are times when it can be difficult.
As time goes by, curriculum change and methods for teaching are constantly revised. One effective method which teachers follow these days is the rubric method. This is a way to teach and assess the work of students easily and efficiently.
Grading rubric templates are quite popular with teachers. They can help teachers conduct an assessment of their student’s work and performance. But you can also use such templates in different ways, not just for teaching. You can use such templates for:
Other alternate uses of templates are as follows:
These are just some examples of how and where you can use such templates. A blank rubric template is a very useful tool which can make your life easier. If you’re a teacher and you haven’t even tried using such template, you should consider it.
Although it’s time-consuming to make, using it will save time in the long-run. Besides, if you don’t want to make the template yourself, you can download one from here.
In its simplest definition, a rubric is a tool for scoring. You use it to describe your performance expectations for a piece of work, a task or an assignment. The basic components of a rubric include:
You can use rubrics to give feedback to your students regarding their performance. It’s a tool you can use for grading projects, papers, presentations, and more. Along with these basic components, you can also add other information.
Just make sure not to complicate the template too much. Otherwise, it won’t be as easy to use as a basic rubric template.
Aside from being very easy to use, rubrics also have other advantages. Their simplicity makes them very appealing. Using such templates would allow you to evaluate your students’ performance. You can do this with much efficiency and ease. Here are some advantages of using rubrics:
Aside from these advantages, there are more for you to enjoy. A well-designed template can offer a lot of benefits to teachers. They can help you to:
As we’ve mentioned earlier, a lot of teachers are now using rubrics. They use it to communicate their expectations to their students. As a teacher, you can use the template to give your students feedback. Give them information on how they’re progressing with their work. You can also use it to come up with your students’ final grades.
A grading rubric template includes the criteria you will use to assess a specific task. This can be anything from writing a paper to giving an oral presentation, and more. Rubrics permit teachers to convey their expectations to students.
You can also use them to track the progress of a student from the start of the task to the end of it. It provides a reliability of grades which is why students appreciate them too. Here are some tips to guide you when you’re creating a template for yourself:
Typically, your template should fit into a single page. This is ideal so you can quickly see all the criteria and descriptions. If you have a rubric with a lot of pages, you’d have to search through them to find the information you’re looking for.
This would reduce its efficiency. Therefore, you should plan the template well so you can construct it well too.
A grading rubric template is an excellent tool for assessment. We’ve gone through the different advantages of such templates. You can definitely benefit a lot from using them. If it’s your first time to use rubrics, these pointers may help you out:
Samples of Basic, Expository, and Narrative Rubrics
How to score a rubric, basic writing rubric, narrative writing rubric, expository writing rubric.
An easy way to evaluate student writing is to create a rubric . A rubric is a scoring guide that helps teachers evaluate student performance as well as a student product or project. A writing rubric allows you, as a teacher, to help students improve their writing skills by determining what areas they need help in.
To get started in creating a rubric, you must:
To learn how to turn a four-point rubric into a letter grade, use the basic writing rubric below as an example. The four-point rubric uses four potential points the student can earn for each area, such as 1) strong, 2) developing, 3) emerging, and 4) beginning. To turn your rubric score into a letter grade, divide the points earned by the points possible.
Example: The student earns 18 out of 20 points. 18/20 = 90 percent; 90 percent = A
Suggested Point Scale :
88-100 = A 75-87 = B 62-74 = C 50-61 = D 0-50 = F
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Establishes a clear focus Uses descriptive language Provides relevant information Communicates creative ideas | Develops a focus Uses some descriptive language Details support idea Communicates original ideas | Attempts focus Ideas not fully developed | Lacks focus and development | ||
Establishes a strong beginning, middle, and end Demonstrates an orderly flow of ideas | Attempts an adequate introduction and ending Evidence of logical sequencing | Some evidence of a beginning, middle, and end Sequencing is attempted | Little or no organization Relies on single idea | ||
Uses effective language Uses high-level vocabulary Use of sentence variety | Diverse word choice Uses descriptive words Sentence variety | Limited word choice Basic sentence structure | No sense of sentence structure | ||
Few or no errors in: grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation | Some errors in: grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation | Has some difficulty in: grammar, spelling, capitalization, punctuation | Little or no evidence of correct grammar, spelling, capitalization or punctuation | ||
Easy to read Properly spaced Proper letter formation | Readable with some spacing/forming errors | Difficult to read due to spacing/forming letter | No evidence of spacing/forming letters |
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Skillfully combines story elements around main idea Focus on topic is profoundly clear | Combines story elements around main idea Focus on topic is clear | Story elements do not reveal a main idea Focus on topic is somewhat clear | There is no clear main idea Focus on topic is not clear | |
| Characters, plot, and setting are developed strongly Sensory details and narratives are skillfully evident | Characters, plot, and setting are developed Sensory details and narratives are evident | Characters, plot, and setting are minimally developed Attempts to use narratives and sensory details | Lacks development on characters, plot, and setting Fails to use sensory details and narratives |
Strong and engaging description Sequencing of details are effective and logical | Engaging description Adequate sequencing of details | Description needs some work Sequencing is limited | Description and sequencing needs major revision | |
Voice is expressive and confident | Voice is authentic | Voice is undefined | Writer's voice is not evident | |
Sentence structure enhances meaning | Purposeful use of sentence structure | Sentence structure is limited | No sense of sentence structure | |
A strong sense of writing conventions is apparent | Standard writing conventions is apparent | Grade level appropriate conventions | Limited use of appropriate conventions |
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Informative with clear focus and supporting details | Informative with clear focus | Focus needs to be expanded and supporting details are needed | Topic needs to be developed | |
Very well organized; easy to read | Has a beginning, middle, and end | Little organization; needs transitions | Organization is needed | |
Voice is confident throughout | Voice is confident | Voice is somewhat confident | Little to no voice; needs confidence | |
Nouns and verbs make essay informative | Use of nouns and verbs | Needs specific nouns and verbs; too general | Little to no use of specific nouns and verbs | |
Sentences flow throughout piece | Sentences mostly flow | Sentences need to flow | Sentences are difficult to read and do not flow | |
Zero errors | Few errors | Several errors | Many errors make it hard to read |
Find writing resources | tpt, learn more about writing resources.
Writing worksheets can help your child develop essential writing and literacy skills needed for school and life. If you’re a teacher or parent looking for printable and digital writing resources to help your student learn a writing concept, look no further! TPT has an extensive collection of resources, created by other teachers, that are designed to help with any need across grade levels.
For elementary students who are just learning to write, you can use worksheets to practice letter formation. Students in middle and high school can use learning stations to learn how to write and revise essays. With plenty of TPT resources at your fingertips, you can sharpen your student's writing skills in no time. Extend writing activities beyond the classroom and observe as your child nurtures their imagination, enriches their vocabulary, and enhances their storytelling prowess.
Here are a few ideas for writing activities — from our teacher-created resources — that you can find on TPT and that are designed to teach students how to write effectively. (Pro tip: These worksheets serve as an excellent complement to our reading materials.)
Encourage students to keep daily journals where they can freely express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This practice helps them develop their writing style and build the habit of writing regularly.
Provide engaging prompts that encourage imaginative storytelling. For instance, you could ask students to write about a world without the internet, or ask them to describe something only using one of their five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste).
Have students exchange their written work with a peer for feedback. This helps them strengthen their ability to identify and correct mistakes in grammar, punctuation, and spelling; give constructive criticism; and revise their writing based on feedback.
Provide sentence and paragraph building exercises to help students understand the basic structure of writing and how to organize their ideas coherently.
Ask students to write letters to real or fictional recipients. They could compose formal letters, persuasive letters on specific topics, thank-you notes, or postcards.
Create a classroom blog where students can publish their writing for a wider audience. This teaches them to write for a purpose and consider their audience's perspective.
Guide students through the process of researching and writing informative or argumentative essays. Teach them how to construct persuasive arguments and counterarguments on various topics, include evidence, and cite sources.
Explore different forms of poetry, such as haikus, sonnets, and free verse. Encourage students to experiment with imagery, rhythm, and metaphor.
By incorporating these (and other!) writing activities into your lesson plans, you can nurture a love for writing.
What types of writing resources are available on tpt.
There are many different types of writing resources sold by Sellers on TPT. Some popular writing lessons include creative writing, poetry, writing essays, writing expository, and handwriting.
Educators can save time preparing writing lessons with resources created by experienced teachers. Simply start a search for writing resources on the TPT marketplace, and filter by grade level, price, and/or resource type to find materials that've been proven to work in classrooms like yours. No matter what you’re teaching, there are plenty of writing lessons and activities sold by Sellers on TPT that are tailored to meet your students' skill levels.
Rubric for short-answer writing on a topic.
Rubric suitable for short-answer, formative assignments that address a task on a topic. Use this rubric when asking students to directly, but briefly, defend a claim about or explain a topic.
Consider using the Short Answer QuickMark Set with this rubric. These drag-and-drop comments were tailor-made by veteran educators to give actionable, formative feedback directly to students. While they were explicitly aligned to this particular rubric, you can edit or add your own content to any QuickMark.
This rubric is available and ready to use in your Feedback Studio account. However, if you would like to customize its criteria, you can "Duplicate this rubric" in your Feedback Studio account and then edit the rubric as needed. Or, you can download this .rbc file and then import to your account to begin editing the content.
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Benefits of Using Writing Rubrics. Writing rubrics offer many advantages: Clarity: Rubrics clarify expectations for students. They know what is required for each level of performance. Consistency: Rubrics standardize grading. This ensures fairness and consistency across different students and assignments. Feedback: Rubrics provide detailed ...
Your professor may use a slightly different rubric, but the standard rubric at AUR will assess your writing according to the following standards: A (4) B (3) C (2) D/F (1/0) Focus: Purpose. Purpose is clear. Shows awareness of purpose. Shows limited awareness of purpose.
Writing rubrics exist to help you understand the assignment fully and show how you can reach the score you desire. A rubric is often illustrated in a table that includes: Row headings that articulate the requirements. Column headings that show the different scores possible. Boxes inside the rubric that show how each requirement can be achieved ...
Holistic scoring is a quick method of evaluating a composition based on the reader's general impression of the overall quality of the writing—you can generally read a student's composition and assign a score to it in two or three minutes. Holistic scoring is usually based on a scale of 0-4, 0-5, or 0-6.
An assignment prompt is a set of instructions for a written assignment. It gives students topics or questions to then address in writing. The assignment prompt gives students a starting point for what to write about, and often provides expectations for the written work. The purpose of the prompt is to provide students with clear understanding ...
Rubric Best Practices, Examples, and Templates. A rubric is a scoring tool that identifies the different criteria relevant to an assignment, assessment, or learning outcome and states the possible levels of achievement in a specific, clear, and objective way. Use rubrics to assess project-based student work including essays, group projects ...
Core 105 Short writing assignments. These short writing assignments provide some insight into how you develop your ideas in response to reflective questions. Thoroughness, specificity, and timeliness are the important features to address in these assignments. Rubric Code: TXB5339. Ready to use. Public Rubric. Subject: Humanities. Type: Assignment.
I have used a holistic, comment-based rubric for my short story assignment in Creative Writing for several years. After reading all this information about rubric, I decided to revise it into a point-based, more analytic rubric. I also changed the point values because the short story ends up being one of the longest assignments in the class, so ...
Step One: Identifying Criteria. The first step involved in creating assignment-specific rubrics is revisiting an assignment's intended outcomes. These objectives can be considered, prioritized, and reworded to create a rubric's criteria. If, for example, an instructor assigns a literature review hoping that students might become skilled at ...
Rubric possible points is 16. --->Built by clfdpa using iRubric.com. Free rubric builder and assessment tools. iRubric: Short writing assignment rubric - CX6AXC3
Paper Assignments. Example 1: Philosophy Paper This rubric was designed for student papers in a range of philosophy courses, CMU. Example 2: Psychology Assignment Short, concept application homework assignment in cognitive psychology, CMU. Example 3: Anthropology Writing Assignments This rubric was designed for a series of short writing ...
Engaging and full development of a clear thesis as appropriate to assignment purpose. Consistent evidence with originality and depth of ideas; ideas work together as a unified whole; main points are sufficiently supported (with evidence); support is valid and specific. Organization is sequential and appropriate to assignment; paragraphs are ...
Microsoft Word - Short Story Grading Rubric2018.docx. Ms. Gondringer English 7. Writing a Short Story - Assignment. • You will write a descriptive, fictional short story. • To begin the story, use one of the introductory lines below. This line MUST appear in the first paragraph of the story, although it does not have to be the first line.
Writing rubrics contribute meaningfully to the teaching of writing. Think of them as a coaching aide. In class and in conferences, you can use the language of the rubric to help you move past generic statements about what makes good writing good to statements about what constitutes success on the assignment and in the genre or discourse community.
15 Helpful Scoring Rubric Examples for All Grades and Subjects. In the end, they actually make grading easier. By Jill Staake, B.S., Secondary ELA Education. Jun 16, 2023. When it comes to student assessment and evaluation, there are a lot of methods to consider. In some cases, testing is the best way to assess a student's knowledge, and the ...
An analytic rubric is a scoring guide used to evaluate performance, a product, or a project. It has three parts: 1) performance criteria; 2) rating scale; and 3) indicators. Using a rubric to evaluate student written work is helpful for both faculty and students. For faculty, rubrics. Rubrics help students to. Benefitting from Rubrics.
iRubric T6X9C4: Rubric title Short Writing Assignment Rubric. Built by profmoore using iRubric.com. Free rubric builder and assessment tools.
Here is a sample of a rubric with a range of points within each performance level. Step 4: Create a format for the rubric. When the specific criteria and levels of success have been named and ranked, they can be sorted into a variety of formats and distributed with the assignment.
Holistic scoring is a quick method of evaluating a composition based on the reader's general impression of the overall quality of the writing—you can generally read a student's composition and assign a score to it in two or three minutes. Holistic scoring is usually based on a scale of 0-4, 0-5, or 0-6.
Writing assignment grading; These are just some examples of how and where you can use such templates. A blank rubric template is a very useful tool which can make your life easier. ... You use it to describe your performance expectations for a piece of work, a task or an assignment. The basic components of a rubric include: The criteria which ...
The four-point rubric uses four potential points the student can earn for each area, such as 1) strong, 2) developing, 3) emerging, and 4) beginning. To turn your rubric score into a letter grade, divide the points earned by the points possible. Example: The student earns 18 out of 20 points. 18/20 = 90 percent; 90 percent = A.
Browse free writing rubrics on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources. ... Creative Writing, Short Stories, Writing. FREE. Rated 4.67 out of 5, based on 83 reviews. 4.7 (83) Add to Cart. Writing Rubric for Primary Grades. ... The writing prompt, length of assignment, etc. is ...
Rubric. Short answer rubric (US English) Rubric for short-answer writing on a topic. Rubric suitable for short-answer, formative assignments that address a task on a topic. Use this rubric when asking students to directly, but briefly, defend a claim about or explain a topic. Consider using the Short Answer QuickMark Set with this rubric.