Rubrics

[musicbug]

I decided to use rubrics for grading my fifth graders writing. I wanted to know from others who have used this method the benefits and pitfalls of this approach. I see only good things at the moment.I can focus the students to improve by the feed back rubrics. Also I am looking into using rubrics in other subject areas but I'm concerened that they won't be as effective. Suggestions???

I began using Rubrics during my first year of teaching business. I love them for certain projects.

I use Rubrics specifically for project type work where it may be hard for a student to know exactly what I may be looking for on an assignment. I have used Rubrics for all types of research/PowerPoint presentation projects . I have also used them for practicums when my students work with other staff members to practice their newly learned skills in an office environment (remember, I teach business). I use them frequently for creative projects such as when a student creates something like a fax cover sheet in Office Administration or when my Accounting students created an Enron timeline this year.

A good place to create your Rubrics is on Rubistar.com. I use it all of the time and they are saved on the site for you for use from year to year. You can use a Rubric that is already created or modify one to meet your needs.

One of the most important factors involved in Rubrics assessment is the parent and the parent's attitude about what they see contained in the Rubric form. Parents need to be educated about the positive effects of specifying expectaions. Parents also need to see the correlation between a B+ and a 3 in a Rubric, for instance. Most parents only want to see that A in order to feel that their child is succeeding. Whole class information sessions are great opportunities for the students to increase their understanding of Rubrics. Parent Nights or Open House nights are perfect for either speaking about Rubrics or for issuing written explanations of Rubrics. These written explanations can be fun, use a cartoon format showing a shocked parent asking, "What do you mean you got a 3 on your project?!" Or you can have a table of equations showing how a 2 in a Rubric is a sign that more effort & instruction is needed both for the student and help from the parent.

I teach in Missouri and we are required at our school to align all curriculum to the state standards "The Show-Me Standards." WE have re-written all curriculum and we have to have a performance event and a scoring guide (RUBRIC) for each objective we teach. I teach first grade, so I had never used a lot of rubrics before, but I do now! I've found that they have made me, my students and parents more aware of the progress their child is making. If you educate the parents on how the scoring process works they come over to your side rather quickly. The students can better understand and see their own progress and even predetermine scores sometimes. We still have to use standard grades at our school, but it is easy to use both and hopefully someday we will make the complete transition to progress...and not just a letter grade!