Rubric Assessment On the path to Common Writing Assessments

Writing Data: What should we collect? Data should be collected from a variety of sources such as writer’s notebooks, first drafts, published pieces, one-on-one writing conferences, self-assessments, journals, and content specific writing.

The only way to raise the quality of writing in a school is to create, share, and celebrate the specific criteria for that quality with everybody on a regular basis. - Barry Lane Rubrics can do something grades alone have never accomplished: They can define quality. They give students the criteria and terminology to respond to their own and others’ work. -Kathleen Strickland and James Strickland

Rubric Tips Rubrics are best used to measure complex tasks/performances involving a variety of skills Rubrics provide descriptive feedback to the learner and help the teacher “coach” the learner A common understanding of quality work is achieved when teachers and students reflect on exemplars together

More Tips Due to the formative (assessment for learning) nature of rubric assessment, it is not good practice to give an overall score Rubrics may be also used to gather whole class or school wide data to inform teaching and PFI/Accreditation goals by looking at the rubric in a more holistic manner.

Developing a High-Quality Rubric Begin with the guide and select a task based on the outcomes Decide on a Writing GCO that you want to assess Write it in the top box on planning sheet A “Describing What Needs to be Learned” Complete one planning sheet per grade level by writing what students need to be able to do and possible evidence that can be collected that shows they can do it.

Writing Outcome: What students need to be able to do:Possible Evidence: Describing What Needs to be Learned

Setting Criteria From Planning Sheet A select one of the “Possible Evidence” tasks to use for this assessment Move this to Planning Sheet B “Criteria Setting” Now list criteria for what counts with this assignment. These criteria should be specific to the assignment If you have samples of previous work from students, examine these exemplars Record details for each of the criteria

Assignment: Criteria (What counts):Details: Criteria Setting

The Rubric Takes Shape Choose one of the criteria and list in point form all the indicators for a successful performance (When listing the indicators you should consider the assignment and the writing trait you are assessing) Once you have the descriptors for a successful performance listed place them on the rubric grid in the “Effective” column

Continuing… Depending on the number of scoring points you have selected you continue to add to the rubric on either side of the “successful” performance column You may use such descriptors as we find in our provincial reporting documents: does not yet meet expectations, demonstrates some …,demonstrates most …, successfully demonstrates all…,exceeds the expectations

Example Writing Rubric Student Name:________________________ Title:________________________________ Explanation of evaluation codes: 5 means knowledge, skill or ability exceeds grade level expectations. 4 means knowledge, skill or ability strongly meets grade level expectations. 3 means knowledge, skill or ability meets grade level expectations. 2 means knowledge, skill or ability meets minimum grade level expectations. 1 means knowledge, skill or ability does not yet meet grade level expectations. Does not yet meet Meets minimumMeetsStrongly meetsExceeds Ideas

Some final considerations Rubrics that you design according to the purpose of the assessment and the task are always more reliable than ones that are created by a book author Discussion with your colleagues will deepen understanding and move your school toward common and reliable assessment of student writing

“We must constantly remind ourselves that the ultimate purpose of evaluation is to enable students to evaluate themselves.” Arthur Costa