Developing Rubrics within the
Context of Assessment Methods
Peggy Maki
Senior Scholar
Assessing for Learning
AAHE
pmaki@aahe.org
Rubrics
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Rubrics establish a basis upon which you
ascertain how well a student is achieving or
performing or using or integrating “x”
Raters use these to judge work
Professors use them to give students
feedback
Students use them to develop work and to
understand how their work meets those
standards
What are the key elements in a rubric?
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Levels of achievement
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Criteria that distinguish good work from poor
work
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Descriptions of criteria at each level of
achievement
Examples of Levels of Achievement
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Verbal or numerical rankings (such as
conceptual understanding is apparent;
conceptual understanding only adequate;
conceptual understanding not adequate; does
not attempt conceptual understanding
Mastery levels (levels of attainment)
Holistic (one score overall); analytic
National standards for scoring
Departmental standards for scoring (developed
through consensus)
Examples of Criteria for Conceptual
Attainment in Fundamental Mathematics
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Conceptual understanding apparent
Consistent notation, with only an occasional
error
Logical formulation
Complete or near complete
solution/response
Ways to Derive Rubrics:
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Develop through consensus with colleagues
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Derive from examples of student work (A-F)
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Derive from knowledge about transition from
novice to expert
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Draw on students’ experiences
Format for Scoring Sheet
Level
Trait 1
Trait 2
Trait 3
Trait 4
Trait 5
Level
Level
Indicators
Develop a rubric for one outcome:
Where You Seek Evidence…
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Course-embedded
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In-class
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Out-of-class
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Off-campus
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On-line
Some Methods That Provide Direct
Evidence
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Student work samples
Collections of student work (e.g.,
Portfolios)
Capstone projects
Course-embedded assessment
Observations of student behavior
Internal juried review of student
projects
Direct Evidence (continued)
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External juried review of student
projects
Externally reviewed internship
Performance on a case study/problem
Performance on problem and analysis
(Student explains how he or she solved
a problem)
Direct Evidence (continued)
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Performance on national licensure
examinations
Response to critical incident
Locally developed tests
Standardized tests
Pre- and post-tests
Essay tests blind scored across units
Mapping
Methods That Do Not Provide Direct
Evidence but May Be Combined with Other
Methods – Indirect Methods
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Faculty publications (unless students are
involved)
Courses selected or elected by students
Faculty/student ratios
Percentage of students who study abroad
Enrollment trends
Percentage of students who graduate within
five-six years
Diversity of student body
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Focus groups (representative of the
population)
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Interviews (representative of the population)
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Surveys
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Other sources of information that
contribute to your inference making:
NSSE results, grades, participation rates
or persistence in support services,
course-taking patterns, majors
Identify Methods that Will Assess Your
Outcome Statement Using Your Rubric: