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Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Rubrics in Higher Education - Some Resources

What is a rubric?
The Centre for Teaching Excellence of the University of Waterloo (n.d.) defines a rubric as "an assessment tool that clearly indicates achievement criteria across all the components of any kind of student work, from written to oral to visual. It can be used for marking assignments, class participation, or overall grades."

Format of a rubric:
The Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning of the Yale University (2019) states that rubrics usually exist in tabular format. According to this Center rubrics are composed of:

  • "A description of the task that is being evaluated,
  • The criteria that is being evaluated (row headings),
  • A rating scale that demonstrates different levels of performance (column headings), and
  • A description of each level of performance for each criterion (within each box of the table)."

Types of rubrics:
Mertler (2001) identifies two types of rubrics, namely holistic and analytic rubrics. Holistic rubrics is the most commonly used rubrics. This type of rubric lists three to five levels of performance for broadly described characteristics for each level. Analytic rubrics have characteristics for different parts of the assignment.

Fluckiger (2001) identifies a third type of rubric called single point rubric. This rubric resembles an analytic rubric, but only focuses on proficiency criteria. Fluckiger (2001) describes it as follows: "The single point rubric is an ethical tool to assist students with their responsibilities of goal setting and self-assessment of their own education."

Some resources in alphabetical order:

Alsina, A., Ayllon, S., Colomer, J., Pena, R., Fullana, J., Pallisera, M., Burriel, M. & Serra, L. (2017). Improving and evaluating reflective narratives: a rubric for higher education students. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, pp.148-158.
doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.015 

Andrade, H. (2000). Using rubrics to promote thinking and learning. Educational Leadership, 57(5), pp.13-18.

Andrade, H. (2005). Teaching with rubrics: the good, the bad and the ugly. College Teachings, 53(1), pp.27-30.

Anstey, L. & Watson, G. (2018). A rubric for evaluating e-learning tools in higher education. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/9/a-rubric-for-evaluating-e-learning-tools-in-higher-education

Ansyari, M.F. (2018). Developing a rubric for assessing pre-service English teacher struggles with instructional planning. Cogent Education, 5(1). doi: 10.1080/2331186X.2018.1507175

Arter, J. & Chappuis, J. (2007). Creating and recognizing quality rubrics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice-Hall.

Barney, S., Khurum, M., Petersen, K., Unterkalmsteiner, M. & Jabangwe, R. (2012). Improving students with rubric-based self-assessment and oral feedback. IEEE Transactions on Education, 55(3), pp.319-325.

Besterfield-Sacre, M., Gerchak, J., Lyons, M.R., Shuman, L.J. & Wolfe, H. (2004). Scoring concept maps: an integrated rubric for assessing engineering education. The Research Journal for Engineering Education, 93(2), pp. 105-115. 

Bharuthram, S. (2015). Lecturers' perceptions: the value of assessment rubrics for informing teaching practice and curriculum review and development. Africa Education Review, 12(13), pp.415-428.

Bharuthram, S. (2018, Aug). Evaluation of assessment skills using essay rubrics in student self-grading at first year level in higher education. Journal for language Teaching, 52(1), pp.2-22.

Bharuthram, S. & Patel, M. (2017). Co-constructing a rubric checklist with first year university students: a self-assessment tool. Journal of Applied Language Studies, 11(4), pp. 35-55.

Broad, B. (2003). What we really value: beyond rubrics in teaching and writing assessment. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press.

Carnegie Mellon University, Eberly Center. (2019). Grading and performance rubrics. Retrieved from
https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/rubrics.html

Fluckiger, J. (2010, Summer). Single point rubric: a tool for responsible student self-assessment. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 76(4), pp.18-25.

Howell, R.J. (2011). Exploring the impact of grading rubrics on academic performance: findings from a quasi-experimental, pre-post evaluation. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 22(2), pp.31-49.

Jones, L., Allen, B., Dunn, P. & Brooker, L. (2017). Demystefying the rubric: a five-step pedagogy to improve student understanding and utilization of marking criteria. Higher Education Research & Development, 36(1), pp.129-142.

Jonsson, A. & Svingby, G. (2007). The use of scoring rubrics: reliability, validity, and educational consequences. Educational Research Review, 2, pp.130-144. doi: 10.1016/j.edurwv.2007.05.002 

Kishbaugh, T.L.S., Cessna, S., Horst, S.J., Leaman, L., Flanagan, T., Neufeld, D.G. & Siderhurst, M. (2012). Measuring beyond content: a rubric bank for assessing skills in authentic research asignments in the sciences. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 13, pp.268-276. doi:10.1039/C2RP00023G 

Leist, C.W., Woolwine, M.A. & Bays, C.L. (2012). The effects of using a critical thinking scoring rubric to assess undergraduate students' readings skills. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 43(1), pp.31-58. Retrieved 
from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1001041.pdf

Mertler, C.A. (2001). Designing scoring rubrics for your classroom. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(25). Retrieved from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=25

Montgomery, K. (2002). Authentic tasks and rubrics: going beyond traditional assessments in college teaching. College Teaching, 50(1), pp.34-39. Retrieved from
https://web.uri.edu/assessment/files/Montgomery_2002_AuthenticTasks_Rubrics.pdf

Moskal, B.M. (2000). Scoring rubrics: what, when and how? Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(3). Retrieved from https://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=3

Moskal, B.M. & Leydens, J.A. (2000). Scoring rubric development: validity and reliability. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(10). Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=10 

Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center. (n.d.). Rubrics for assessment. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/facdev/_pdf/guide/assessment/rubrics_for_assessment.pdf

Reddy, Y.M. & Andrade, H. (2010). A review of rubric use in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(4), pp.435-448.

Rust, C., Price, M. & O'Donovan, B. (2003). Improving students' learning by developing their understanding of assessment criteria and processes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(2), pp.147-164.

Sample, M. (2010). A rubric for evaluating student blogs. Retrieved from
https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/a-rubric-for-evaluating-student-blogs/27196

Simon, M. & Forgette-Giroux, R. (2001). A rubric for scoring postsecondary academic skills. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(18). Retrieved frohttp://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=18

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

Stiggins, R.J. (2001). Student-evolved classroom assessment. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

The University of Texas at Austin, Faculty Innovation Center. 2017. What is a rubric? Retrieved from
https://facultyinnovate.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/build-rubric.pdf

University of California, Berkeley, Center for Teaching & Learning. (2019). Rubrics. Retrieved from 
https://teaching.berkeley.edu/resources/improve/evaluate-course-level-learning/rubrics

University of Plymouth, Teaching and Learning Support. (2018). 10 Steps for creating marking rubrics. Retrieved from https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/uploads/production/document/path/11/11370/Guidance_for_Creating_Marking_Rubrics.pdf

University of Waterloo, Centre for Teaching Excellence. (n.d.). Rubrics: useful assessment tools. Retrieved from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/assessing-student-work/grading-and-feedback/rubrics-useful-assessment-tools

Wilson, M. (2006). Rethinking rubrics in writing assessment. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Wylie, C. & Lyon, C. (2016). Using the formative assessment rubrics, reflection and observation tools to support professional reflection on practice (Revised). Retrieved from https://cms.azed.gov/home/GetDocumentFile?id=59495f623217e10fbc43eb0d

Yale University, Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. (2019). Creating and using rubrics. Retrieved from https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/Rubrics