Exploring Rubrics

       When I think of assessment or even assignments, the first thing that pops into my head is rubrics. Rubrics are "one of the most versatile and effective assessment tools" (Drake, Reid & Kiloton, 2014). These forms of assessment are crucial for a student and their ability to succeed, as it provides guidelines and expectations that the teacher/instructors are looking for, which you should follow in order to achieve a good mark.

      I found this section of the textbook very interesting as I was not aware of the different types of rubrics. I may have seen them within my education, but was never taught about specific types of rubrics, which is why I thought I would share these types of rubrics with you all, as it really interested me. So with saying this, Drake, Reid & Kiloton (2014) state that there are four different types of rubrics, which are: analytic, holistic, generic and task-specific.

     Starting with the first type of rubric, after reading this chapter of the textbook, I learned that an Analytic Rubric focuses on specific, separate criteria, striving to look for more specific expectations for each section within the rubric. I have definitely come across this rubric many times throughout my  schooling years, but I would definitely say that this type of rubric would be used within older grade classrooms, as it has more specific expectations for different sections within the assignment's rubric. Below is an example of an Analytic Rubric, just to refresh everyone on what this type of rubric looks like.

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     The second type of rubric as stated by Drake, et al., (2014), is the holistic rubric. This rubric is used when looking at the "big picture" or the overall quality of work or an assignment. Unlike the analytic rubric, this rubric does not have specific categories, it more has just levels/percentages of your overall assignment/work/presentation, displaying the mark you got overall. I can see this type of rubric being implemented within elementary schools for younger grades. Here is an example of the Holistic Rubric.

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     The third type of rubric is the Generic Rubric. Drake, et al., (2014) describe this rubric as a rubric you use when students are doing a presentation or persuasive essay. This type of rubric usually looks for how a student performs within a given task. I don't know about you, but I have definitely seen this rubric several times throughout elementary school and even high school/university whenever I have had to do an oral presentation with a group. Below is an example of the Generic Rubric.

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       (Sorry this image is very big, but it is the only way you'll be able to clearly see the expectations within this rubric, as the font is very small).

     The last and final rubric used for assessments is the Task-Specific Rubric. It is pretty self-explanatory when this rubric is used- for specific tasks. This rubric is looking at the quality of work based on the specific tasks provided by the teacher/instructor. I feel like this rubric would not be used as often as the rest, and would only be used by certain teachers for certain tasks. Here is an example of this rubric.

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    I decided to do my blog on rubrics as I believe that rubrics are crucial for students and their success. I know that I personally rely heavily on rubrics to get a good idea of what the teacher/instructor is looking for/expecting. Rubrics are very handy especially when you have teachers who may be very vague in explaining the work/assignment guidelines. When thinking about rubrics and which is best for students and their work, I definitely believe that Analytic or Task-Specific rubrics are best for older students (such as ourselves) or those in high school, as they are more specific. Also, these rubrics set out clear guidelines for the students to follow, which helps the students a lot more, especially since school work/assignments get harder the older the grade the students are in, and the expectations become more intense and specific.

   What do you all think? Which type of rubric do you like best?

    As bad as this may sound, I believe that many students bypass rubrics because they are too lazy and believe they know what they are doing and what the teacher expects just based off what the teacher says about the assignment in class. I find this very shocking and unfortunate, as rubrics are there to help you succeed, and many students pass up the opportunity because it's too much effort to "look at the rubric". I know I always have the rubrics right beside me when I do my work, just so I know that I have covered all the expectations and done all I can in order to achieve the best mark I can. 

    Thinking back to high school, most of my classes had very vague and general rubrics. I remember being very frustrated with classes/teachers because I never truly understood what the expectations were and did not find it fair that the teachers did not provide us with this information. I felt as if some teachers did not care about how we did on the assignment, which really affected my motivation towards the work/assignments I was assigned. Because of this experience, it makes me think of how I would set the expectations in my future classroom and how I would want to really emphasize what I (as a teacher) am looking for and how these students can get a level 4 (80%-100% mark). To me this shows that the teacher really cares about their students and their success by providing them with the information and expectations they need to know in order to achieve great marks.

   Have you ever had a bad experience with rubric expectations? What kind of rubric was it?

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    Overall, I truly believe that all students should use rubrics as guidelines when doing their work, to make sure they are on the right track and have covered all the expectations. These forms of assessment are handed to us so we can succeed, so I strongly believe we should take full advantage of these resources.

Thanks for reading! 

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