Graded Assignments for All
(aka: Universal Design)
Not everyone thinks alike
 Disabilities
 Learning styles
 Cultural
emphases
 Historical
social
inequalities
Inclusive Excellence = paradigm shift
 From different =
problem
 to differences =
variety of
strengths
The Challenge
 Institutions tend
to reproduce
themselves
 What WE do
well looks
“right”
Universal Design for Learning:
 Present content in multiple ways
 Multiply how students report their
learning
 Stimulate interest and motivation for
learning
http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/UDL/CASTfaqs.shtml
Let Freedom Ring!
 Multiple products can
serve your goals
 You NEED NOT grade
EVERYTHING
 You SHOULD NOT
grade some things!
UDL lets students choose their path
 Students meet
your goals
 without
accommodations
whenever possible
 using their own
strengths and
interests
But! How will I grade?!!!???
 Connect goals to
grading
 Use a rubric:
 reduce focus on
form
 Increase fairness
 provide useable
feedback
What’s a rubric?
 A systematic
scoring guide
 Shared with
students
 Provides both
summative and
formative
feedback
1. Identify your goals
Enduring
Understanding
Important to
Know and
Do
Worth Being
Familiar With
Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding
By Design, Expanded 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005).
2. Align assignment with goals
 Where does this
assignment fit?
 To what does it build?
 How does it build?
 What’s negotiable?
What isn’t?
 Define the
assignment: topic,
process, goals
3. What kind of rubric?
 Holistic : single score, overall impression, vs.
 Analytic : several dimensions
 General : criteria generalized across tasks,
vs.
 Task specific: unique to a specific task
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/assessment/iar/students/report/rubrics-types.php
4. Can an existing rubric work?
 Address the most important aspects?
 Include anything extraneous?
 Can you adapt from another field?
 Can you combine or modify?
 Is the rubric is clear?
 Did you test it?
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/assessment/iar/students/report/rubricsdevelopment.php
Does it have needed parts?
 A scale
 Criteria for both strengths and errors
 e.g.: Overall Impact; Work
quality/Craftsmanship; Quality of Methods
or Content; Sophistication
 Indicators for each criteria
 Standards by level
5. Should you design your own?
 Determine the key components
 Clearly define key components
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/assessment/iar/students/report/rubri
cs-development.php and
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/diia/assessment/iar/students/report/ru
brics.php
Other helpful sites:
 http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php - annoyingly pink online-generated
rubric development tool. Free! For K-12, but can be edited for more complex
learning
 http://www.rcampus.com/index.cfm Another free rubric development site –
requires log-in.
6. What do the levels look like?
 Describe the highest level first
 Be clear: e.g., What does “clear” mean?
 Circle the words that can vary
 Avoid comparative language
 Look for concepts instead
 depth, breadth, quality, accuracy, scope,
extent, complexity, degrees
7. Develop a scoring scale
 How many score levels?
 Define the difference between levels.
 Ensure the scales are consistent across
components.
How do the levels vary?
 Presence to absence
 Complete to incomplete
 Many to some to none
 Major to minor
 Consistent to inconsistent
 Always, generally, sometimes, rarely
8. Involve students!
 Their feedback
is best for
clarity
 Test your rubric
on real
products