Customizable rubrics basically are standard parameters that help teachers to methodically evaluate an assignment, eliminating any scope of ambiguity in scoring. These parameters or criteria are made available to students to communicate the expectations for an assignment. This in turn enables students to determine the quality of work required to achieve the highest possible mark.
Benefits of using customizable rubrics
- Rubrics help both teachers and students in defining quality.
- When students start using rubrics to judge their work, they begin to take more responsibility towards the assignment.
- Rubrics not only make it easy for teachers to grade students, but it also helps in justifying them. By using rubrics, teachers can easily point out where and why students scored low.
- Rubrics also enable teachers to offer feedback to learners and thereby help improve their performance.
How to create customizable rubrics?
Creating the right rubrics is a complex task though quite rewarding. Follow these steps to create customizable rubrics.
- List criteria for performance assessment: The criteria must be in sync with the learning outcomes that are being assessed. For instance, a musical concert might be rated for rhythmic accuracy and intonation. Similarly, when rating an oral presentation, parameters such as content, delivery and language will be considered. Whatever be the criteria, ensure that it is clearly detailed.
- Decide performance levels: It is imperative to determine performance levels. Use descriptions such as Excellent, Good or Needs Improvement or use numerical scores such as 4, 3, 2, and 1.
- Write down description for each performance level: Clearly describe different performance levels that match with each criterion. It is also a good idea to sort examples of actual work of students in three different sections: Best, Poor and Needs Improvement.
- Review rubrics periodically: Once the rubrics are created, evaluate its progress from time to time and modify it as per the requirement.
Rubrics make it easy to grade papers. With a rubric on their side, teachers know exactly what to look for in a student’s project. It saves time and makes work easy. Rubrics facilitate fair grading, while also allowing students to understand their scores and make improvements in their weak subjects.