Assessing Standards Through Rubrics

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Assessing Standards Through Rubrics

• Milton Hershey School
• Houseparent Professional Development
• 2002-03 Session 1
• Denise G. Meister, Ph.D.
• Penn State Harrisburg

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• Standards are back!

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Purposes of Standards

• 1 Set a goal for students that they can
  visualize accomplishing through their own actions.

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• 2 Provide informed feedback to students about
  particular work that they can then revise to
  bring up to standard.

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• 3 Set an agenda for the professional community
  of adults for which they can take responsibility
  as a united group.

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• 4 Set goals for the community that will (a)
  provide a clear sense of what everyone needs to
  do for the students and (b) assemble the
  resources to do so.

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• 5 Establish a clear system of accountability
  that is the publicly recognized basis at every
  level of the system.

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Benchmarks

• Interval markings to make sure that all children
  are headed toward reaching the Desired Result.
• Formative (ongoing) investigations of each
  childs performance.

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Goal Setting

• 4 levels of performance to be used as
  benchmarks.
• Level 3 or 4 counts as the exit level
• (level to be achieved to fulfill the standard)

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Rubrics

• Clear and Consistent Way to Determine if Students
  Are Meeting the Standards

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What are rubrics?

• They describe levels of performance or
  understanding for a particular topic.
• They contain a list of explicit criteria for
  assessing performance or product.
• They are a list of the specific standards to
  which children will be held accountable.

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Why Use a Rubric?

• Allows everyone to know what is expected.
• Eliminates bias and subjectivity
• Minimizes the arbitrariness of judgments yet hold
  the learners to high standards of achievement.

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What kinds of rubrics exist?

• Analytical
• Breaks down the performance into the different
  levels of behavior expected, assigning each a
  point value and which are totaled for a
  quantitative measure.

• Holistic
• Rater wants to estimate the overall quality of
  the performance and assign a numerical value to
  that quality.
• Need good models for students to see

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How are rubrics written?

• Checklists
• A list of behaviors, traits, characteristics that
  can be scored as present or absent.
• Good for complex behaviors which can be divided
  into a series of clearly defined, specific
  actions.

• Rating Scales
• A scale based on a continuum from poor to
  exemplary. The attributes for each level are
  described.

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How are rubrics created?

• Review the standards that are meant to be met.
• Review the criteria that will be used to judge
  the childs product or performance and make sure
  these criteria fit the standard.

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• Make a frame by deciding on the major categories
  and sub-categories the rubric will address.
• Describe the 4 levels of performance that match
  each criterion. Choose words or phrases that
  capture the actual differences among the levels
  of performance.

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More Guidelines

• Keep it short and simple
• Each rubric item should focus on a different
  skill.

• Evaluate only measurable criteria
• Ideally the entire rubric should fit on one sheet
  of paper.

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2 key questions to ask when designing rating
scale rubrics

• 1. What are the most important characteristics
  which show a high degree of the trait?
• 2. What are the errors most justifiable for
  achieving a lower scale?

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Other Pointers

• Assess process as well as product.
• Check number of points given.
• Be sure the line between acceptable and
  unacceptable is clear.
• Be sure there are not too many criteria.
• Weight one area if it is more important than
  others.
• Test the rubric with children to see that it is
  understandable.
• Revise the rubric as needed.

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Dishwashing Rubric
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Time to Apply the Knowledge

• In your group devise a rubric for a clean room.
  Use a four point rubric.
• Include at least 3 criteria that will be judged
  along these four points
• 4 points exemplary
• 3 points proficient
• 2 points emerging
• 1 point novice

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Template A Clean Room
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Consensus

• Examine other groups rubrics.
• List where your group agreed with the
  characteristics/level.
• List where your group disagreed with the
  characteristics/level.
• Discuss if your group wants to change
  characteristics or make argument against the
  change.

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P.S.

• Give rubric to students for their input.
• Unclear
• Ill-defined
• Unfair
• After using rubric, revise, revise, and revise