Stylus/Stylus Publishing - Introduction to Rubrics: An Assessment Tool to Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback and Promote Student Learning

Introduction to Rubrics

An Assessment Tool to Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback and Promote Student Learning

Paperback: 978 1 57922 115 7
Price: $18.95

Publisher: Stylus Publishing
November 2004 , 112 pp., 7" x 9 7/8"

You need rubrics if:
* You find yourself repeating the same comments on most student papers
* You worry that you’re grading the latest papers differently from the first
* You’re concerned about communicating the complexity of a semester-long assignment
* You question the consistency of your and your colleagues’ grading scales
* Grading is taking up far too much of your valuable time

Research shows that rubrics save professors time while conveying meaningful and timely feedback for students, and promoting self-regulated and independent learning. The reason rubrics are little used in higher education is that few faculty members have been exposed to their use.

At its most basic a rubric is a scoring tool that divides an assignment into its component parts and objectives, and provides a detailed description of what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable levels of performance for each part.

Rubrics can be used to grade any assignment or task: research papers, book reviews, participation in discussions, laboratory work, portfolios, oral presentations, group work, and more.

This book defines what rubrics are, and how to construct and use them. It provides a complete introduction for anyone starting out to integrate rubrics in their teaching.

The authors go on to describe a variety of processes to construct rubrics, including some which involve student participation.They demonstrate how interactive rubrics--a process involving assessors and the assessed in defining the criteria for an assignment or objective--can be effective, not only in involving students more actively in their learning, but in establishing consistent standards of assessment at the program, department and campus level.

Table of Contents:

I. An introduction to rubrics: Chapter 1 What is a rubric?; Do you need a rubric?; What are the parts of a rubric?; Part-by-part development of a rubric; Part 1: Task description; Part 2: Grading scale; Part 3: Dimensions; Part 4: Descriptions of the Dimensions; Creating your first rubric: Is it worth the time and effort?; Chapter 2 Why use rubrics?: Rubrics provide timely feedback; Rubrics provide detailed feedback; Rubrics encourage critical thinking; Rubrics facilitate communication with others; Rubrics help us refine our teaching; Rubrics level the playing field; Chapter 3 How to Construct a Rubric: Four key stages in constructing a rubric: Stage One: Reflecting; Stage Two: Listing; Stage Three: Grouping and Labeling; Stage Four: Application; Construction of a scoring guide rubric; Construction of a 3 to 5 level rubrics; II. Rubric construction and use in different contexts: Chapter 4 Rubric Construction and the Classroom: Involving students in rubric construction; Five models of collaborative rubric construction: I. The Presentation Model; II. The Feedback Model; III. The Pass-the-Hat Model; V. The Post-it Model; V. The 4x4 Model; Chapter 5 Rubric Construction with Teaching Assistants, Tutors or Colleagues: Involving teaching assistants in rubric construction; Involving other tutorial staff in rubric construction; Involving colleagues in rubric construction; Chapter 6 Grading with Rubrics: Performance Anchors: Being consistent and focused; Detailed, formative feedback: Gaining speed; Individualized, flexible feedback: A trade-off; Summative feedback: Assigning grades; Grading our own teaching; Evaluating our own rubrics: Metarubrics; Chapter 7 Variations on a theme: Discipline-specific rubrics; Science: laboratory rubric; Business Management: Classroom participation rubric; Graphics Design: Sophomore portfolio review rubric; Rubrics for assignments done in stages: “Staged”rubrics; Several rubrics for one assignment: “Multiple” rubrics; References; Appendices: A. Blank rubric format: 3 level rubric; B. Blank rubric format: 4 level rubric; C. Blank rubric format: 4 level rubric, landscape format; D. Blank rubric format: Scoring guide rubric; E. Interview analysis paper scoring guide rubric ; F. Leading a class discussion scoring guide rubric; G. Portland State University Studies Program Rubric: Ethical Issues; H. Portland State University Studies Program Rubric: Holistic Critical Thinking; I. Portland State University Studies Program Rubric: Quantitative Literacy; J. Portland State University Studies Program Rubric: Writing; K. Portland State University Studies Program Rubric: Diversity; L. Website Information: Introduction to Rubrics

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Reviews & Endorsements:

"Introduction to Rubrics has two vital things in its favor. First, it is short, and second, it is packed with useful information. This book is an ideal resource for those who are just beginning to think about using rubrics. However, it is also very useful for those of us who already use rubrics but need to refine our applications or get new ideas about how to optimize their use. Introduction to Rubrics is an inexpensive paperback, well worth adding to your collection or your institution’s teaching and learning center. There are other resources on the web that have many more rubric samples, such as Rubistar (n.d.), but the strength of Stevens and Levi’s (n.d.) resource is that it is geared exclusively to college-level teaching, where a site such as Rubistar is not.”
- Currents in Teaching and Learning (Center for Teaching and Learning at Worcester State College)

“I have been teaching for 20 years and have always stayed away from rubrics as too mechanical—without ever giving them a fair chance. This summer, desiring to improve my teaching, I read a number of books on teaching in higher ed. in our library, including yours. I found your book very well organized, no longer than it needed to be, and very helpful. This morning I will be working on making two or three rubrics for projects in my Understanding Movies class for fall, and I expect them to improve the quality of student learning and the process of the class. And I expect to make a number of rubrics for my other two fall classes in the ensuing weeks.”
- Scott Moncrieff, Professor, English, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI, in an e-mail to the authors

"The authors serve up the seven short chapters of this 128-page book as easy to read, delectable teaching and learning aids that can be adapted and employed with almost any post-secondary course, at any level...a handy resource with excellent potential for cultivating interdisciplinary relationships and an aid that extends the location of education beyond the classroom."
- Teaching Theology & Religion

"Introduction to Rubrics offers an excellent guide to those student affairs professionals who have articulated clear intended learning and development outcomes and sought ways to measure the degree to which students are mastering those outcomes."
- Journal of College Student Development

"This wonderfully compact introduction to rubrics will serve higher education teachers well, regardless of discipline or level of instruction. Stevens and Levi take the reader through the process of constructing rubrics, varied forms of rubrics, and a multitude of ways to use rubrics. I especially applaud the student-centered approaches to rubric development. When departments or groups of faculty use rubrics as described in this book, they will indeed achieve the ‘academic currency’ sought today in higher education."
- Amy Driscoll, Director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment , California State University, Monterey Bay

"A total gap has long existed in higher education for a user's reference that aids in the important task of design and use of rubrics. Stevens and Levi are the first to step forward to fill this gap, which in itself would make the book a success. Its strengths are in the detail and extensive examples. As the title states, this is a book that emphasizes the tool and methods of use. It serves as a valuable resource for the new user in a content discipline and belongs in every faculty developer's library."
- Edward Nuhfer, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning , Idaho State University

"I was thrilled to come across this book, as there are so few texts out there that address the use of rubrics in the college classroom. Stevens and Levi have done a laudable job of conveying the rationale for using such a grading tool in higher education, and have provided, generously, many outstanding examples. What I find most compelling is that it is so much more than an introduction: Stevens and Levi provide an effective blueprint for the creation of one's own customized rubrics. This a much-needed new resource."
- Adrielle A. Mitchell, Department of English , Nazareth College

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