Developing and Utilizing Rubrics

Developing and Utilizing Rubrics

Rubrics are valuable tools to enhance your teaching, grading and communication practices. These structured assessment tools, often presented in a matrix format, offer a standardized way to evaluate specific student tasks and performance behaviors.  Rubrics are typically used to grade assignments such as papers, presentations, case studies and even student participation. By utilizing rubrics, you can establish a common framework, promote consistent grading practices, and provide students with transparent expectations for your assignments.

Why Use a Rubric:

• Creating a Common Framework and Language: Rubrics provide a shared vocabulary for discussing and assessing student work, fostering clear communication among instructors and learners.
• Consistency in Complex Tasks: When evaluating intricate assignments, rubrics ensure that all criteria are consistently assessed.
• Objective Evaluation: Rubrics offer a more objective means of assessment, preventing arbitrary grading and comparisons between different students' work.
• Fostering Collaboration: Faculty can collaborate on or share rubrics, facilitating shared expectations and grading practices across courses and departments.
• Program Assessment: Rubrics can also be employed to assess entire programs, aiding in continuous improvement and accreditation processes.

To learn more about types of rubrics and ways to effectively implement them in your courses, visit the Course Design webpage.  The Learning Design team is also available to meet with faculty to discuss developing and revising rubrics for your courses.

Digital Rubrics in Brightspace:

The rubric tool is just one of the innovative features in Brightspace. The tool gives you the option to create an analytic or holistic rubric that can be attached to an assignment, quiz, or discussion board. As you build your rubric, you will find that Brightspace allows you to customize rubrics to match the specific learning outcomes and assessment goals of your courses. This flexibility ensures that the rubric aligns with the unique requirements of each assignment as well as the course objectives. There are options to add, subtract and modify criteria, number of levels, and point values.

Brightspace allows you to assign weights to criteria within a rubric, making it possible to emphasize certain aspects of an assignment that are more critical than others. The tool can automatically calculate grades based on rubric scores and weights, while helping to maintain a record of assessment results in the ‘Grades’ section.  You may also choose to score the rubric manually by selecting the ‘no score’ option and enter the points/percentage manually in the grade book.

Another critical feature of the digital rubrics tool in Brightspace that it is accessible, ensuring that all students have equal access to grading criteria and feedback.

You can find more information on how to create a rubric in Brightspace using the rubrics tool here:  Create a rubric using the Rubrics tool.

Additional Resources:

Stevens, D. D., & Levi, A. J. (2013). Introduction to rubrics: An assessment tool to save grading time, convey effective feedback, and promote student learning. Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Sample Rubrics:

https://wp0.vanderbilt.edu/cft/2010/09/tools-for-grading-sample-rubrics-and-spreadsheets/

https://www.uis.edu/sites/default/files/inline-images/Economics-MA-Written-Rubric-CSUEB.pdf

https://www.uis.edu/sites/default/files/inline-images/MBA-Leadership-Rubric-CSU-Eastbay.pdf

AAC&U Value Rubrics (Learning Design Team can provide you with these rubrics)

https://www.aacu.org/value-rubrics

Cult of Pedagogy Blog Post

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/holistic-analytic-single-point-rubrics/

Would you like help implementing the strategies discussed above? E-mail learningdesign@bentley.edu to schedule a consultation with one of our Instructional Designers!