Rubrics
A rubric is a technique of recording students’ performance of in an assessment where various standards are being evaluated and where the quality of individual performance is vital. A rubric is designed as a guide that aids the assessor in making uniform and consistent judgments on the excellence of student performance. Rubrics can either be holistic or analytic in nature. An educator using rubrics uses a marking criteria that entails the elements considered during the process of scoring such as superiority of argument and amount of research done. Rubrics also contain descriptive terms concerning the level of every criteria being tested such as distinction, credit or pass.
Rubrics are useful in categorizing the work of a student since the student’s work is graded against a preset standard and outlines the criteria for meeting the set standard. They also offer an objective way of recording grades without requiring the student’s personal details. Using rubrics in language art assessment is important since they deliver feedback to the learners on the quality of their performance and how best to make improvements.
One disadvantage of rubrics is that they don’t take the student’s environment into account. Some students work hard to grasp concepts but are impeded by factors such as family problems and or personal learning challenges. Rubrics can also be too analytical to use when grading creative projects and might not cover all the intangible factors in an art assessment.
Checklists
Assessments using checklists are suitable when the educator is examining for the presence of particular elements in the performance of the students. The assessor, uses a formulated checklist to mark every element as addressed by the student. The to...
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...ore assessment criteria. It can be employed to inform students of the requirements of an assessment and to what extent they meet the set criterion. The main upside of this tool is its ability to effectively match a score to a chosen criterion. However, rating scales do not provide information to the students on how they can improve performance.
Conclusion
Assessment is an important part of education as it allows teachers, parents and students to measure performance and devise means of improvement. These assessment tools are among many that should be used complimentarily to cover for the weaknesses of each other.
Works Cited
Tompkins, G. E. (2009). Language arts: patterns of practice (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Campbell-Rush, P. (2008). Teachable moments: Linking assessment and teaching in talk around writing. Language arts, 86(5), 352-361.
Teachers would share information and research as well as their own experiences to support and develop the grading reform. An English teacher had shared her experience on using the method of practicing and retaking for her assessments. Students who didn’t do well in a section the first time had the chance to put their practice into extra work for the second time, and the grading of that work had replaced the first. As a result, more than 65% of her students scores had increased and they were able to master the skill. This development had strengthen their grading.
At East Brooklyn Community High School, we follow a different type of rubric to assets students. Each day teachers are to
Assessment for learning informs and promotes the achievement of all pupils, as it encourages them to take responsibility for their own learning. It focuses on the learning process and how to improve a child’s academic progression, finding out where pupils are within a learning range, where they need to go and how best to get them there. Lots of different assessment for learning strategies can be used to help pupils in their learning, and these can be adopted by teachers to gain an understanding of what has been achieved and what steps should be taken next in order to progress learning forward.
In the following unit the two main things we learned about was rubrics, how to make them and what exactly does engineering mean in science. I really liked how we are focusing on rubrics because all my life that is how I have been graded but I do not see how they are made and the different types of rubrics there are. The first rubric we talked about was the holistic rubric. “Holistic rubrics are constructs that contain different levels of performance that describe the quality, quantity, or quantity/quality of a task” (Luft, pg. 25). Holistic rubrics are to help the teacher find the appropriate fit for the student’s work. This is usually based off a score of 1-4 or a letter grade which is divided into a broad category and helps the teacher find
This artifact is a lesson plan I designed for a second grade class teaching grammar, writing, reading comprehension, connections to art, and project presentation that demonstrates my ability to support and expand each learner’s expression in speaking, writing, and other media. The lesson begins with grammar instruction, guided practice, and individual practice, which expands the learner’s writing skills. The learner’s writing expression is also supported through guided practice during the ‘Checking for Understanding’ section of the plan and expanded through the challenge of creative writing in the ‘Independent Practice’ section. I support each learner’s speaking skills by grading each student at or slightly above his or her level during the
All assessments will be purposeful, and the goal of the assessment will be determined before the assessment is given. Assessment and evaluation will be ongoing throughout the year to provide reliable information. Assessments will also be authentic during the natural daily schedule. I will assess by creating portfolios, observing the children, and taking anecdotal notes. The assessments will allow me to measure students’ success and development. I will gather data from multiple sources to ensure that the data is reliable. I will maintain ethical behavior in all forms of assessment and evaluation. I will also reflect on my own teaching practices to better myself for my
This assessment is an example of a performance assessment that could be given to children in kindergarten or first grade. This paper will discuss what characteristics of the student assessment makes it reliable as well as what motivational factors are included that will encourage students to want to succeed.
Students make an irregular draft of their assignment. They observe their improvement by comparing their work-in-progress to the supposed expectations. For instance, if students are writing, they can use colored pencils to circle a typical phrase in the rubric the same in their drafts as an evidence of reaching the standards articulated in the key phrase. If students have understood they have not obtained a specific standard in their draft, they give themselves feedback which can be a reminder to make progress in their final drafts. This process can be done for each standard on the rubric, with different colored pencils (Andrade, Du, & Wang,
Neither rubric is better than the other. All have a place in authentic assessment (Custer, 1996), correspond as closely as possible to real world experience going beyond the typical pencil and paper activity (Montgomery, 2002),, and calling for greater accountability and transparency, especially in the assessment of student learning (Diller & Phelps, 2008).
"What's Wrong With Rubrics." Ascd. ASCD Professional Learning Services, Oct. 1997. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
What is pivotal in assessment is that it enhances teaching and learning; it is also the crucial link between learning outcomes, the content that is taught and learning activities. Furthermore, Sieborger (1998) states that assessment is a reciprocal process; as it is used by both learners and teachers to decide where the learners are at in their learning and where they need to go and how best to get there. The characteristics that Sieborger identifies to be contained in assessment are made up of: tasks, exercises, tests and exams, which are set and assessed by educators.
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a
An effective teacher will constantly review their teaching practices, identifying the way students respond and their results from the programs administered by their teachers. By constantly administering assessments to review their teaching students will be less likely to struggle as content will be up to date and appropriate to the students. Assessment needs to be given to the students in a clam and collective manner. Teachers should strive to reduce the stress of assessments; this often limits student’s potential. Teachers need to incorporate both formative and summative assessment strategies. During the beginning of a lesson topic it is important to track the progress being made by the students. Teachers need to constantly assess what topics are the students grasping and moving forward with and on the other hand which areas is extra help or teaching required. This is the role of formative assessment, which ultimately plays the role of monitoring the learning progress (Gronlund, 1993, p.5). As for summative assessment, such as formal testing and the end of semester reports giving
Assessment is a tool used in the classroom every day. It is used to measure a student’s mastery of a skill or knowledge of a given subject. It is also what demonstrates to the teacher what the students have learned. Educators use that information to determine if they need to re-teach to a specific student, group, or the entire class. They can also use that information to determine the rate of their teaching. Assessments are important because, as teachers, we need to know what difficulties our students have and what needs to be refined for them. While I do believe in assessment and feel that it is one of the key components of teaching, I am more concerned with a child’s process of learning rather than the overall product that comes from it. This is where grades come in for me. Grades determine the students’ level of mastery on a subject, nothing more. Grades should not be the exclusive indicators that a student has learned the information that is presented to them. It is the things a student learns along the way that truly matter and sometimes cannot be measured.
As I reflect on my past assessment process, I realized how much my assessments have changed over the years. In my early years, I used tests for informational recall as my assessments. I felt these were appropriate guidelines in which I needed to follow in order to substantiate a student’s grade. Every assignment or tests was given a point value and then based on the amount of points, a grade was given. Every student’s assessment was exactly the same, and the assessments did not contain any subjectivity. I felt confident in giving the grade based on a valid point system. However reflecting back, I see that I did not include any performance-based assessments or individual learning styles in my early assessment. I also did not take into consideration the individual needs of my students. My assessment approach was awful. I am embarrassed that I use to assess students in this manner.