(Vol. 1, No. 2 - Spring 1997)
Back to index
Back to "New ways of testing and grading"
Just what is a rubric?
If you're the parent of an elementary or middle school child, you may have
heard the word "rubric" and wondered what it means.
If you're the curious type, perhaps you pulled out your dictionary and sorted
through definitions like "the title of a statute" or "something
highlighted in red" before settling on an unsatisfying but schoolish-sounding
definition like: "an established rule, tradition, or custom."
Actually, a "rubric" -- at least the kind your child is talking
about -- isn't any of these things. Heidi Goodrich, a rubrics expert, defines
a rubric as "a scoring tool that lists the criteria for a piece of
work or 'what counts.' " For example, a rubric for an essay might tell
students that their work will be judged on purpose, organization, details,
voice, and mechanics.
A good rubric also describes levels of quality for each of the criteria,
usually on a point scale. Under mechanics, for example, the rubric might
define the lowest level of performance as "many misspellings, grammar,
and punctuation errors," and the highest level as "all words are
spelled correctly; your work shows that you understand subject-verb agreement,
when to make words possessive, and how to use commas, semicolons and periods."
Goodrich quotes a student who said he didn't much care for rubrics because
"if you get something wrong, your teacher can prove you knew what you
were supposed to do." Reason enough to give rubrics a closer look!
Why use rubrics?
According to Goodrich:
- They help students and teachers define "quality."
- When students use rubrics regularly to judge their own work, they
begin to accept more responsibility for the end product. It cuts down on
the "am I done yet?" questions.
- Rubrics reduce the time teachers spend grading student work and makes
it easier for teachers to explain to students why they got the grade they
did and what they can do to improve.
- Parents usually like the rubrics concept once they understand it,
and they find rubrics useful when helping with homework. As one teacher
says: "They know exactly what their child needs to do to be successful."
Cubberly teachers Lorrie LaCroix and Karen Maine are among a growing group
of middle grades educators who use rubrics in their everyday classroom teaching.
"If our students can read that rubric and know what the expectation
is," says LaCroix, "this greatly enhances their ability to reach
it. You can tell them to 'reach for the stars,' but if they're just grappling
out there in the dark, they're not going to make it. With the rubric they've
got a clear-cut route. They know what has to be done."
Maine helped introduce rubrics at Cubberly several years ago when she taught
5th grade. When she moved to middle school, she became a district innovator
in the use of rubrics and scoring guides to teach math. (Scoring guides
also describe what students must do to produce top-quality work on a particular
assignment but don't elaborate on different levels of quality. See the example
on page 7.)
"I wasn't a good math student when I was in school," Maine says.
"And I think part of the reason was I didn't always have a clear idea
of how to break down the process. The rubric provides an excellent focus
and kids want that."
Expert Heidi Goodrich says rubrics are most effective when teachers provide
students with actual examples of poor, mediocre, and good work. Maine regularly
posts examples of student papers on her classroom walls so students have
concrete examples of quality work .
While many teachers in the LBUSD middle schools are now experimenting with
rubrics, most still rely on "generic" rubrics that can be used
as a general guide to writing assignments, oral presentations, or math problems.
Some teachers say they don't have time to create rubrics or scoring guides
for specific assignments, projects or units.
But curriculum experts believe that teachers who develop special rubrics
and other assessments for major assignments will end up saving time in the
long run and will be more effective teachers.
"When teachers begin designing assessments as part of their lesson
planning," says LBUSD consultant Beverly Bimes-Michalak, "the
process forces them to think carefully about what they're going to teach
and what they expect students to learn."
Michalak recommends that teachers actually involve their students in developing
rubrics and other assessments. Karen Maine is one of a small number of Long
Beach teachers already experimenting with that idea. "A kid who can
write the rubric for a math problem knows the whole process inside and out,"
she says. "He can apply the knowledge and skills and can go over and
above it."
Although it's far from the norm in LBUSD classrooms today, the district's
curriculum leaders imagine a day when most teachers will routinely tie their
lessons to standards and create or adapt rubrics and guides that allow both
students and teachers to measure progress toward reaching them.
LOOK AT Karen Maine's "Problem of the Week"
rubric.
Read Cubberly students' opinions about rubrics.