Introduction to Rubrics

What is a rubric? Rubrics classify behaviors or abilities into categories that vary along a continuum, and they are tools that can be used for measuring those behaviors or abilities. They can be used to classify virtually any product or behavior, such as essays, research reports, oral presentations, and group activities. Scoring rubrics are versatile tools for simplifying the review of the product or behavior by clearly specifying assessment criteria. There are many types of rubrics including holistic rubrics and analytical rubrics. Rubrics can be very course specific or can be created to measure an outcome for a program or even across campus.

How can I use a rubric? There are numerous uses for rubrics. Individual instructors can use them to assess student work in a course. Individual students can also use them to assess their own work. Programs can use them to assess outcomes across several courses in a program. Campuses can use them to assess outcomes across disciplines. 

Are there different types of rubrics? There are two major types of rubrics.

Ø      A holistic rubric involves one global, holistic rating. It gives a single score or rating for an entire product or performance based on an overall impression of a student’s work. In essence, one combines all the important ingredients of a performance or product to arrive at an overall, single judgment of quality. Holistic rubrics are usually more useful for summative and/or large-scale assessment where an overall performance rating is needed. For example, portfolios are often assessed using holistic rubrics.

Ø      An analytical rubric divides a product or performance into essential traits or dimensions so that they can be judged separately. A separate score is provided for each trait and each dimension is separately rated, resulting in more detailed analysis than is provided by holistic rubrics. Analytical rubrics are usually more useful for day-to-day classroom use since they provide more detailed and precise feedback to the student.
 

Why should I consider using a rubric?

Ø       Complex products or behaviors can be examined efficiently. Faculty have many demands on their time, and assessment activities should be structured to use that time effectively. Rubrics focus raters on the learning objectives being assessed, allowing them to tune out extraneous variables. For example, if faculty are analyzing a set of lab reports to assess students' ability to statistically analyze data, the rubric should help them ignore other aspects of the reports, such as the quality of the literature review and written communication skills.

Ø       Developing a rubric helps to clarify faculty expectations. We frequently use terms like "critical thinking" or "cultural sensitivity," but we often have different conceptions of what these terms mean, making it difficult to communicate our expectations to students and each other.

Ø       Well-trained reviewers apply the same, agreed-upon standards to the products being reviewed. This generates data that are likely to be reliable and valid.

Ø       Summaries of results reveal patterns of student strengths and areas of concern. These assessments allow us to identify learning objectives that require increased attention.

Ø       Rubrics are criterion-referenced, rather than norm-referenced. Raters ask, "Did the student meet the criteria for level 5 of the rubric?" rather than "How well did this student do compared to other students?" This is important for program assessment because you want to learn how well students have met your standards.