Building Rubrics that Align with Standards & Documenting Candidates’ Effects on Student Learning

Cynthia Conn, Ph.D., Associate Director, Office of Academic Assessment; Instructor, College of Education

Paul Alley, Project Director, College of Education

Kathy Hildebrand, Ph.D., Assistant Dean of Assessment & Continuous Improvement, College of Education

Workshop Objectives

Define what a rubric is and multiple uses of rubrics

Apply step-by-step procedures for developing a rubric

Research existing SPA or discipline developed rubrics

Align rubrics with SPA or discipline standards

Rubrics

Definition: “At its most basic, a rubric is a scoring tool that lays out the specific expectations for an assignment. Rubrics divide an assignment into its component parts and provide a detailed description of what constitutes acceptable or unacceptable levels of performance for each of those parts.” (Stevens & Levi, 2005, p. 3)

Benefits Improve students’ end products & increase

learning Assists with clearly communicating assignment

expectations to students and teaching assistants Improve consistency of grading Speed up grading Once a quality rubric is created it can be

adapted to new situations or assignments

Rubrics

Rubric-Outcomes Alignment

Step 0: Develop Rubric-Outcomes Alignment Table Purpose: Document alignment between

standards and assessments in order to produce necessary program and unit level reports

(Educational Technology Example)

Developing Rubrics Step 1: What are the essential learning

objectives of your assignment? Usually these are found in your assignment

description and/or listed in the objectives of your course.

In the case of a summative or signature assignment, there should be “Core” objectives/outcomes that are aligned to the SPA or discipline standards you hope to measure by selecting this assignment(Word Doc Example)(TaskStream Rubric Wizard)

Step 2: Choose the criteria to be evaluated. Name the evidence to be produced. Describe the best work you could expect* Describe the worst acceptable work you might

expect* Develop intermediate-level descriptions*

* Hint: These criteria can be developed based on past student work on similar projects, observation of presentations, interviews with students, tutors, TAs, in cooperation with instructors of similar courses, adaptation of other rubrics, or SPA provided definitions.

Developing Rubrics

Step 2 (cont.): Choosing number of levels for summative/signature

assignments: Levels should correspond with the categories put forth by

NCATE: Approaches, Meets or Exceeds If there is not direct alignment, then you will need to note

how the data should be interpreted in terms of these three levels for both your SPA report and for purposes of summarizing data for unit level reports

(Example Reviewer Forms: National Recognition Report & Review Worksheet)

Developing Rubrics

Developing Rubrics

Step 2 (cont.) : An alternative is for student’s to help

generate the rubric criteria. Why? To improve the student’s motivation,

interest, and performance in the project through increased participation and control.

A second alternative is to adapt an existing rubric to the specified assignment Resources:

Specialized Professional Association web sitesRubiStar: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.phpTaskStream Rubric Wizard, Sample RubricsUniversity Rubric Banks (see slides 12 & 13)

Example Original Rubric, Participation Rubric for Unit

Development created by Dr. Barbara Frandsen at St. Edward's University, St_ Edward's University.htm

(http://www.stedwards.edu/cte/resources/grub.htm)

Adapted Participation Rubric created for group project in ETC 545: Internet for Educators Group_Participation_Rubric.htm

(http://www4.nau.edu/assessment/oaainfo/workshop/Rubrics/Group_Participation_Rubric.htm)

Step 3: Pilot the Rubric. Apply the rubric to a sample of student work; ask a colleague for feedback; and ask NCATE coordinating staff members (i.e., Kathy Hildebrand or Cynthia Conn) to review.

Step 4: Email to TaskStream Project Director, Paul Alley via TaskStream (if possible): Rubric(s) and associated assignment instructions for all

summative/signature assignments Completed Rubric-Outcomes Alignment Table

Developing Rubrics

Step 5: Distribute the rubric to students before they begin the assignment.

Step 6: Evaluate the end product. Compare individual students' work with the rubric to determine level of achievement.

Step 7: Revise and review the rubric based on the results of use. Note: The “Core” elements related to SPA or discipline standards should remain consistent. Initial Rubric: InitialCurriculumWebScoringRubric.pdf

(http://www4.nau.edu/assessment/oaainfo/workshop/Rubrics/InitialCurriculumWebScoringRubric.pdf)

Revised Rubric: ETC545CurriculumWebProjectRubric.htm(http://www4.nau.edu/assessment/oaainfo/workshop/Rubrics/ETC545CurriculumWebProjectRubric.htm)

Developing Rubrics

Online Rubric Banks University of Wisconsin, School of Education:

Professional Development: Rubric Bank http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/rubrics.shtml A listing and links to Seven-categories (many of the

categories with 10-12+ rubrics each) of rubrics. Some of the rubrics are not specifically designed for higher education.

Collaboration Rubrics http://edweb.sdsu.edu/triton/tidepoolunit/Rubrics/collrubric.ht

ml http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/collaborub.html

University of Dallas: Dallas Area Network for Teaching and Education: Rubric Bank http://dante.udallas.edu/edu5352/rubrics.htm

Shrock’s Rubric Bank http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/assess.html#web

Online Rubric Banks Northern Arizona University, Liberal Studies Writing

and Oral Communication Rubrics http://www4.nau.edu/assessment/assessment/liberal/index.h

tm

Northern Arizona University, English 105 Essay Rubrics http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~shd2/eng 105.htm

Developing A Rubric: Online Resources

Create Your Own Rubrics Online Online Teacher Rubric Resources

http://www.kenton.k12.ky.us/tr/rubrics.html This page has excellent links to many different rubric generators.

Electronic Rubric Tools RubiStar

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php“An online tool to help the teacher who wants to use rubrics but does not have the time to develop them from scratch. Start with the tutorial (it includes information on changing categories, their headings and content). Register (free) with them so that you can save & edit what you create.” (Heidi Goodrich Andrade, Ohio University)

Rubric Builder (Free trial download for 30 days) http://www.rubricbuilder.on.ca/

Rubrics Generator (free) http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/

Rubricator ($49.95) http://www.rubrics.com

Rubric Construction Set (free) http://landmark-project.com/classweb/tools/rubric_builder.php3

Sources Maki, P. L. (2004) Assessing for learning: Building a

sustainable commitment across the institution. Stylus Publishing, LLC. Virginia.

Allen, M. J. (2004) Assessing academic programs in higher education. Anker Publishing Co. Inc. Massachusetts.

Stevens, D. D. & Levi, A. J. (2005) Introduction to rubrics: An assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback and promote student learning. Stylus Publishing LLC. Sterling, Virginia.

Creating rubrics: Inspire your students and foster critical thinking. (2000-2005) Pearson Education, Inc. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/page/4521.html