DFaye Anderson

Professor B. Gleason

ENGL0862

Dec. 2014

Response #4

“Using a Scoring Guide or Rubric to Plan and Evaluate an Assignment”

            Rubrics work well for all, students, parents and instructors.  They take the mystery out of grading and clarify expectations. Rubrics serve to reduce stress.  They help to lower anxiety and reduce stress. “Using a Scoring Guide or Rubric to Plan and Evaluate an Assignment, “lays out the pros and cons of several different rubrics, suggesting which is best suited for particular work.

            The Checklist rubric is the simplest, much like a To Do list. It is asks you to cross off or check off each assignment as you complete it. Though the author suggested that the Checklist is good for grammar school, I’ve used it as a proofreading rubric

 C.apitalization

R. un on sentence

I. ndent

S. pelling

P. unctuation

 

            Students are asked to proofread in these five areas or, if their problem is only run on sentences, I have them read for that, and check it off the list.  I say that they want their writing to be as “crisp as your fried chicken.”  It’s easy to remember and helps students  who are uncertain as to what to look for when proofreading.

The Rating Scale Rubric is the kind companies and organization often use to when they measure their performance. It can be administered and evaluated relatively quickly. Though more extensive than the Checklist Rubric, it still has a major drawback. Sometimes it’s difficult to assign distinction between one category “Great” and another, “Excellent.”  I see this problem in the evaluation forms for an IEP student.

In addition, there are at least three other rubrics, the Holistic Rubric, often used to assess artistic talent, the Structured Observation Rubric, which can be used to evaluate literature and the Descriptive Rubric. We use a Descriptive Rubric to grade the Regents essays and essays written during interim and final exams. . Even though it takes longer to evaluate work with the Descriptive, it gives the better , more accurate results.

Rubrics make grading so much easier. They make students aware of the standards and can be used as guideposts, to check off as they go.