WHAT IS A RUBRIC?

According to Arter and McTighe (2001), a rubric is a tool used for scoring which contains a criteria and a performance scale. It clearly explains the most important components of a complex demonstration or product and links it to a point value.

The text Understanding Assessment and Evaluation in Early Childhood Education (2005), defines the rubric as a written set of guidelines that details performances and products of varying quality, including explanation of what to look for at each level of achievement.

Sue Martin (2007) connects the rubric to indications and demonstrations of learning rather then just performance, allowing for subtleties in a child’s movement towards the learning goal.

• A rubric is simply a scoring guide for evaluating student work. It lists the important criteria that will be assessed and highlights the levels of quality for the criteria.

• Rubrics always describe the top level of achievement for a product or performance and a low level with others in between.

• Teachers can use rubrics to assess students, have students assess themselves and have students assess their peers.

• It is important to know that a rubric is just one of many tools available to collect information when assessing a learner.

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Rubrics for Regina Public Schools
http://web.rbe.sk.ca/assessment/Rubrics/