Student Name: _________________________________ School: _________________________
Scoring Guide
Each benchmark
out of 10 points
Qualitative Assessment Project
Year-Three/Four Debaters: Out-of-Round Assessment
Benchmark 62 – Rebuttal Practice Method
6 points
1. Indicate which of the following methods you have used this season to improve your debate rebuttal speeches.
Check all that apply in the left hand column.
Point allocation (up to 6 points total)
Check
Award 3 points if 4 out of 5 methods are checked in
____ reading through files and arguments____
left column
____ re-giving rebuttals during practice ____
Award 3 additional points if both “re-giving rebuttals”
____ having mini debates during practice ____
and “having mini debates” are 1st and 2nd choices
____ highlighting files and arguments
____
Award 2 additional points if either “re-giving
____ getting new evidence from coach ____
rebuttals” and “having mini debates” are 1st or 2nd
choices.
Award 1 additional point if “reading through files” or
“getting new evidence” is 1st or 2nd choice
Now go back to the list and rank (1-5) the methods according to how much you think they helped, with 1 being
the most important method to improve your debating and 5 being the least important.
1 point
2. If you have ever re-given a rebuttal speech during practice, how much do you think it helped you improve?
_√__ Great improvement
____ Some improvement
____ Undecided/neutral
1 point
3. If you have done a mini debate during practice, how much do you think it helped you improve?
_√_ Great improvement
____ Some improvement
____ Undecided/neutral
2 points
(1 point
for each)
4. Estimate how many times you have re-given a rebuttal during practice and/or engaged in a mini debate during
practice this season. Circle the appropriate response.
Re-give rebuttal 1 time
Mini debate
1 time
2-5 times
2-5 times
5+ times
5+ times
Benchmark 63 – Formulating an Intellectual Position on the Topic
1. Identify one affirmative position (such as an advantage or an entire case) and one negative position (such as a
disadvantage, counterplan or kritik) that clashed with each other on this year’s topic. Explain why the two
4 points
positions are incompatible or why they ‘disagree.’
3-4 points
Answer includes:
-- Full, cogent description of both an affirmative and negative position
-- Explanation of clash between positions that is mostly pointed, accurate, meaningful, and substantive
1-2 points
Answer includes:
-- Naming of both an affirmative and negative position, but perhaps very little description
-- Explanation of clash between positions that is most not pointed, accurate, meaningful, and substantive
0 points
No positions listed or explanation given
2 points
2. What is your own opinion about the clashing debate positions that you outlined above. Which one (position or
argument) do you think is more persuasive and why?
2 points
Answer includes:
-- Clear statement about which position student finds more persuasive
-- Warranted reason(s) for preferring one over the other position
1 point
Answer includes:
-- Unclear statement about which position student finds more persuasive OR
-- Reasons for preferring one over the other position are unwarranted, flimsy, unreflective
0 points
No preferred positions listed or explanation given
4 points
3. Imagine your school principal asked you what you thought about this year’s debate resolution, that the United
States federal government should substantially increase its economic engagement toward Cuba, Mexico, or
Venezuela. Briefly describe your overall stance on what (if anything) the United States federal government
should actually do about increasing economic engagement toward Latin America.
4 points
Answer contains all of the following elements:
-- Clear argumentative position on what the federal government should do about Latin American economic
engagement
-- Well-organized arguments for the policy position advocated
-- Some evidentiary support for each of the arguments
-- Engagement with and refutation of at least one contrary argument
3 points
- Answer contains three of the four elements itemized above.
2 points
- Answer contains two of the following four elements itemized above.
1 point
- Answer only contains a clear argumentative position on what the federal government should do about Latin
American economic engagement.
- Very little or no effort made to go beyond a short summary of the one of this year’s affirmative plans.
0 points
Nothing coherent in the answer, not even the statement of a plan.
4. Which affirmative case(s) did you and your partner read on the affirmative side this season?
0 points
(Reference
for quest. 3)
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Benchmark 64 – Overall Strategic View of the Topic
6 points
1. What do you think is the overall most persuasive debate argument (i.e. affirmative case, DA, CP or K) on this
year’s resolution (affirmative or negative). Why do you think it is more persuasive than other arguments?
5-6 points
Answer includes:
- Identification and clear description of an affirmative or negative position
- Clear explanation of position persuasiveness including direct comparison to at least one other position
- Authoritative and specific reference to the evidentiary support that makes the position the most persuasive.
3-4 points
Answer includes:
- Identification and sufficient description of an affirmative or negative position
- Sufficient explanation of position persuasiveness but no direct comparison to any other position
- Either no reference, or unspecific and unauthoritative reference, to evidentiary support that makes the
position the most persuasive
1-2 points
Answer includes:
- Identification but vague and unclear description of an affirmative or negative position
- Either no explanation of the position’s persuasiveness (1 point) or unconvincing, unclear, not fully coherent
or logical, or superficial explanation of the position’s persuasiveness (2 points)
0 points
No positions listed or explanation given
2 points
2. Describe the debate argument on this year’s resolution that you feel you know the best or have learned about
the most.
2 points
Answer indicates:
- Identification and clear description of at least one position
- Coherent statement of why the student knows the position best.
1 point
Answer indicates:
- Identification but only insufficient description of position
- No statement, or incoherent statement, of why the student knows the position best
0 points
No position listed or explanation given
3. Indicate which actions you have taken during this season to learn about the position you described above:
2 points
If 4or 5
checked, 2
points
If 3 checked
off, 1 point
____ read debate file for this argument
____ researched new evidence to supplement this argument
____ talked to coach or teammates about argument
____ read some of the original sources of the argument (books, articles etc)
____ researched the majority of this argument’s file on your own (cut cards)