 |
Tips for
Creating |
Faculty |
Developing
Your Rubric
It
is often easier to adapt a rubric that someone else has created, but if
you are starting from scratch, here are some steps that might make the
task easier:
 | Identify what type of rubric
you want to create – holistic or analytic. |
| Identify what overall outcomes
or points you are assessing. Then identify the
characteristics/competencies of the overall outcome you are assessing.
(For example, if "Written Communication" is my overall
outcome, perhaps "Thesis," "Support," and
"Organization" are each characteristics of that larger
outcome.) |
| Determine how many levels you
will have on your rubric. For example, will you have a level for each
grade range (A-range, B-range, C-range, etc.) or will you have only
several levels such as “outstanding,” “acceptable,” not
acceptable”? |
| Determine a descriptive label
for each of these categories. For example, “A-Range” is a
category. However, you don’t have to use grades. A descriptive word
like “Emerging” or “Developing” can sometimes work better as
labels for categories because they focus students on the description
rather than the grade. |
| Describe the best work you
could expect using the characteristics you selected. This describes
the top category. Note: the best way to do this is to start with
student work that you have sorted into several piles (excellent, okay,
poor). Then read through the “excellent” pile of work and describe
what makes it excellent. This will help you form this top category. |
| Describe the worst acceptable
product using the characteristics you selected. This describes the
lowest acceptable category. Again, you can do this by starting with
the student work and working backwards into the language to describe
the work in this category. |
| Develop descriptions of
intermediate-level products and assign them to intermediate
categories. You might develop a scale that runs from 1 to 5
(unacceptable, marginal, acceptable, good, outstanding), 1 to 3
(novice, competent, exemplary), or any other set that is meaningful.
Use student work to help you determine these levels. |
| Continue to monitor the
language and vocabulary you use in your rubric. Make sure it is
written in a way your audience will understand. |
| Remember to use sample rubrics
for language that you can adopt for your own rubric. You need not
“invent the wheel.” |
| Plan to revise
your rubric after testing it on student work. Often you will begin
with a rubric that seems perfect, but during the process of using that
rubric to score student work, you will find areas that you forgot to
include on the rubric or that are in adequate and need to be revised. |
| Peer feedback can also help you further revise your rubric. |