Rubrics

You can create a rubric in several different ways:

• write it from scratch
• modify a generic rubric
• adopt a rubric from an original source

Rubrics, in general, are intended to provide your students with a clear picture of your expectations for a particular task. It is also a way for you to remove some of the subjectivity from grading assignments and tasks which do not have "one right answer."

Rubrics can also score how students perform while completing processes. These types of rubrics assess how students work together, for instance, performance of specified role in the group such as moderator, cooperation during group time, or contributions to needed information. The Cooperative Learning Rubric is a good example of a performance rubric. To find more rubrics, make sure to check out the Web sites listed in the resources section of this topic.

Performance assessments other than rubrics typically focus on the application of knowledge to a real-life experience (Burke, 2005). Performances can give a much clearer picture of what a student can actually do with the information, skills and strategies taught to him or her.

Some performance assessments you may want to explore in your own classroom are:

• filming
• research papers
• drama presentations
• visual representation - two dimensional, three dimensional
• journaling
• problem solving - group or individual