RUBRIC Teaching Students to Use Grading Rubrics …

1 40 THECOUNCIL FOREXCEPTIONALCHILDRENM ontgomery (2000) indicated thatmost Students do not understand whythey received a particular grade on anassignment. The Students may reasonthat their being good or bad or theteacher s perception of them is whythey were given a particular stated that asking studentsto complete the same assessment thatthe teacher will use might give valuableclues to the Students understanding ofthe task and readiness for self-reflectionskills. Then the teacher will be able toguide Students toward setting realisticimprovement article includes a definition ofgrading Rubrics , a rationale for their use,ways to introduce Rubrics to studentswith learning disabilities using theRUBRIC strategy, and suggestions forrubric Are Grading Rubrics ?

2 Though the original definition ofrubric meant marks in red (Finson &Ormsbee, 1998, p. 80), today a RUBRIC isviewed as a Grading guideline to followin assessment. Rubrics answer the ques-tion regarding the criteria by which astudent s work should be , the RUBRIC becomes a scoringtool indicating what counts (Goodrich,1996-97; Montgomery, 2000).Scores are awarded based on prede-termined criteria set forth in the of performance for eachlevel are contained within the rubricand indicate gradations of quality fromhigh to low. Depending on the type ofrubric used (see Table 1), grades areawarded by the total score only ( ,holistic) or by separate pieces beingjudged and then totaled into a finalscore ( , analytic; Nitko, 2001).

3 Teachers, parents, and Students canview the work from both formative andsummative assessment perspectives: Formative knowingahead of time what is expected andusing the criteria as expectations, therubric becomes a guide throughoutthe project. In this way, progresstoward a goal and the process oflearning is evaluated; hence, forma-tive assessment is accomplished. Therubric also provides a guide for clearRUBRICT eaching Students to UseGrading RubricsCynthia W. Jackson Martha J. LarkinStudents are reviewing a RUBRIC to beused to grade a particular is a fifth-grade stu-dent with learning dis-abilities in written ex-pression.

4 He receives allof his instruction in aninclusive classroom,where he has two teach-ers, Mrs. Sanders (gen-eral education) and (special educa-tion). Scott liked socialstudies class when hecould do research abouthistorical events usingthe computer. Even sci-ence class was funbecause he and hisclassmates could doexperiments and go onfield trips. Now Scott saffection for these class-es and school is dimin-ishing rapidly, becauseMrs. Sanders and make me writeall the time, notedScott. He furtherexplained, I guess Imake bad grades be-cause I m not goodenough, or maybe myteachers don t like me.

5 Istudy really hard and fora long time each night,but I just can t get thiswriting stuff. If I have towrite, I m just gonnafail. Teaching Exceptional Children, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 40-45. Copyright 2002 RUBRIC : Teaching Students to Use Grading Rubrics by Jackson and Larkin, Teaching Exceptional Children, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2002, pp. 40-45. Copyright 2006 by The Council for Exceptional Children. Reprinted with permission. communication among teachers, par-ents, and Students as expectations foracademic success are clarified andrefined toward the final product.

6 Summative thefinal product is submitted, summativeassessment is accomplished as therubric is used to award a final can therefore use Rubrics ineither formative or summative assess-ment indicating growth and sequence,as well as assessing the total learningprocess. Together, both types of assess-ment provide a comprehensive systemof evaluation (Montgomery, 2000;Oosterhof, 1999; Weber, 1999).Why Use Grading Rubrics ? Students who have learning disabilitiesneed a systematic way to help assesstheir own and their peers work. Nitko(2001) stated that when Grading rubricsare shared with Students , the learningaims are clarified.

7 Although you providegrades and feedback to Students regard-ing the quality of their work, self-assess-ments and peer assessments are neces-sary components to help studentsreflect on their performance. Suchreflection can help Students to locatetheir errors, determine a better way toapproach a task, and learn the neces-sary information intended from per-forming the , Students understanding of thegrading criteria and their importance inthe product or performance is strength-ened when they are involved in usingrubrics (Ward, & Murray-Ward, 1999). Students then are able to focus on whatis considered important.

8 As summa-rized by Weber (1999), Rubrics help stu-dents achieve focused goals that helpthem learn. Figure 1 lists the benefits ofstudents using Do Teachers IntroduceGrading Rubrics to Students ?Many Students who earn an Aon anassignment have no idea why theyreceived the grade. Students oftenassume that the teacher likes them orthat they are naturally good in a partic-ular area. Therefore, the RUBRIC serves asa systematic tool to guide student , you must properly introduceyour Students to Rubrics if the studentsare to use this new tool effectively. Youmust give Students opportunities tobecome familiar with Rubrics .

9 Goodrich(1996-97) provided several steps thatcan help you orient your Students to theuse and/or creation of Grading Table 2 for a summary of Goodrich ssteps for creating and using Instruction ThroughStrategies Goodrich s (1996-97) steps provide aframework; but you may decide youneed a strategy, which is an individual sapproach to a task, to help studentswith learning disabilities work withrubrics (Ellis & Lenz, 1996). Such astrategy becomes a scaffold for the stu-dents future reference or a springboardto activate memory on how to performa a review of the literature, regard-ing characteristics of adolescents withlearning disabilities, Larkin and Ellis(1998) noted that these Students are notlikely to use effective or efficient learn-ing or performance strategies becausethey do not know about them, do notrecognize the need to use them, or maynot be willing to expend the effortrequired to use them.

10 Therefore, if stu-dents with learning disabilities are touse a strategy for assessing work, thenit must be a strategy that they can betaught and a strategy that they will findworth their efforts to the content, design, andusefulness features for a good learningTEACHING EXCEPTIONALCHILDREN SEPT/OCT2002 41 Table 1. Types of RubricsAnalytic Rubrics Separates pieces of an activityindividually and then adds allscores for a total rating Is more process orientedHolistic Rubrics Rates an activity in its entiretywithout regard to the separatepieces Is more product oriented Is used when the components ofan activity are too interrelated foreasy division Students know before beginning an assignment what the expectations forperformance will be.