Creating & Recognizing Quality Rubrics: (Assessment Training Institute, Inc.)

Teachers learn to choose or develop sound instructional rubrics and to use rubrics effectively with students to maximize learning. An accompanying CD-ROM contains more than 25 sample rubrics. Recommended for use with the companion training video, Designing Performance Assessments for Learning.     Additional Resources Available. Study Guide: Creating & Recognizing Quality Rubrics Download Rubric Evaluations   These supplemental evaluations are provided to support individuals and learning teams reviewing the contents of the book Creating & Recognizing Quality Rubrics by Judy Arter. These additional rubrics are included to (a) provide additional practice using the Rubric for Rubrics, and (b) show users some of our favorite classroom rubrics. However, evaluations for these additional rubrics are not on the CD. Rather, they are included on this part of our web site. Visit http://ati.pearson.com to read more articles on assessment, download study guides, and more!

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents   1 Defining Rubric ................................................................. 1 Contexts for Rubrics ..................................................... 3 Helping Teachers................................................................. 3 Helping Students ................................................................. 4 Rubrics as Part of Assessment of and for Learning........... 4 Types of Assessments Requiring Rubrics and Scoring Guides........................................................ 6 Types of Rubrics............................................................. 6 Comparing Holistic and Analytic Rubrics .......................... 7 Comparing Task-Specifi c and General Rubrics................ 10 When to Use the Various Types of Rubrics ....................14 Learning Targets................................................................ 14 Recommendations for When to Use Each Type of Rubric........................................................................ 17 Focus on General Rubrics................................................. 24 The Path Ahead: Book Content .....................................26 Summary......................................................................27   2 What a Good Rubric Looks Like .............................. 29 Features of a Good-Quality Rubric ...............................31 Understanding Rubric for Rubrics Criterion 1: Coverage/Organization ......................... 34 Understanding Rubric for Rubrics Criterion 2: Clarity ...................................................... 39 Practicing with the Whole Rubric for Rubrics...................43 Rubric for Rubrics Criterion 1: Coverage/Organization ............................................. 46 Rubric for Rubrics Criterion 2: Clarity ......................... 54 For More Practice.............................................................. 60 Summary......................................................................62   3 How to Develop a General Rubric........................... 65 Rubric Development ....................................................67 Developing a Rubric When the Criteria Are Unclear .....68 Step 1: Choose a Learning Target Worth the Time ......... 68 Step 2: Search out Existing Relevant Scoring Guides ........................................................................... 68 Step 3: Gather Samples of Student Work......................... 69 Step 4: Sort Student Work ................................................ 69 Step 5: Group Like Indicators Together........................... 73 Step 6: Identify Student Work That Illustrates Each Level on Each Criterion ...................................... 77 Step 7: Test the Rubric and Revise It as Needed............. 78 Step 8: Repeat the Cycle of Scoring and Revising........... 80 Developing a Rubric When You Already Have an Idea of the Structure of the Criteria ................81 Developing Student-Friendly Versions............................82 Summary......................................................................84   4 Quality Performance Tasks.......................................... 87 Planning for Task Quality ...............................................90 Determining the Purpose of the Assessment .................. 90 Identifying the Learning Targets to Be Assessed ............ 91 Criteria for Good Tasks .................................................92 Task Quality Criterion 1: Content of the Task ................ 92 Task Quality Criterion 2: Sampling............................... 100 Task Quality Criterion 3: Distortion Due to Bias......... 103 Authenticity and Complexity ...................................... 106 Ensuring Performance Task Quality .............................. 107 Summary.................................................................... 108   5 How to Convert Rubric Scores to Grades...........109 Grading Caveats ......................................................... 111 Caveat 1: Use Grades Only to Communicate ................. 112 Caveat 2: Use Grades Only to Communicate About Learning ........................................................... 113 Caveat 3: Grades Are Not the Best Way to Give Students Feedback on Learning........................ 114 Assigning a Grade to a Single Piece of Work Scored with a Rubric .................................................. 114 Don’t Use Percentages, Use a Logic Rule ...................... 114 How to Weight Rubric Scores ......................................... 120 Determining a Final Grade Across Several Pieces of Work, All Scored Using a Rubric ................. 122 Combining Rubric Scores with Percentage Scores to Determine a Final Grade ........................................ 126 Step 1: Average the Ratings on the Rubric Portion of the Grade................................................... 126 Step 2: Convert to a Logical Percentage ....................... 126 Step 3: Decide on the Weight for Each Portion of the Grade and Compute the Average Percentage .... 128 Step 4: Convert the Average Percentage to a Grade ..... 128 Summary.................................................................... 129   6 Tasks and Rubrics as Assessment for Learning .....131 Performance Assessments as Episodes of Learning ...... 133 Rubrics as Teaching Tools............................................. 135 Strategy 1: Provide a Clear and Understandable Vision of the Learning Target..................................... 137 Strategy 2: Use Examples and Models of Strong and Weak Performances or Products ........................ 138 Strategy 3: Offer Regular Descriptive Feedback ........... 140 Strategy 4: Teach Students to Self-Assess and Set Goals ..................................................................... 143 Strategy 5: Design Lessons to Focus on One Aspect of Quality at a Time........................................ 144 Strategy 6: Teach Students Focused Revision............... 144 Strategy 7: Engage Students in Self-Refl ection and Let Them Keep Track of and Share Their Learning... 145 Summary.................................................................... 146   7 Communicating with Parents about Rubrics ........147 What Rubrics Are and When You Use Them................. 149 How Using Rubrics Benefi ts Learning ............................. 152 How Rubrics Are Used in the Classroom ...................... 153 How to Interpret Rubric Scores ...................................... 154 How Parents Can Use Rubrics with Their Children ...... 155 Suggestions for Sharing Information with Parents.......... 156 When ................................................................................ 156 How .................................................................................. 157 Students’ Role in Communicating with Parents ............ 158 Summary............................................................................. 159   Glossary .............................................................................161   Bibliography .......................................................................165   Appendix A Rubric for Rubrics....................................179   Appendix B R ubric Sampler Table of Contents..........189 Appendix C Rubric Sampler Rubrics   Referenced in the Text ....................................................191   Appendix D Rubric for Tasks ........................................247   Appendix E CD Table of Contents .............................253

About the Author :
A nationally recognized expert in performance assessment, Judy Arter's background includes statewide writing assessments, development of large-scale and classroom-based assessments for competency assessment and development of district performance assessments. Prior to joining ETS, Judy directed Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory's (NWREL) assessment unit. She has written extensively on performance assessment and rubrics, and is the co-author of Creating & Recognizing Quality Rubrics. Prior to joining ATI, Jan Chappuis was a curriculum and assessment specialist responsible for professional development and school improvement. Her background as an elementary and secondary teacher, combined with her assessment expertise and professional development experience, enables Jan to provide teachers and school leaders with practical solutions for motivating students and involving them in their own academic success. Her most recent publication, Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning, helps teachers adopt formative assessment practices shown to improve learning.