Assessment rubrics providing objective criteria by which teachers measure student achievement. Rubrics are also useful for the student by communicating clearly defined goals and expectations.
In a formal setting the learner is given specific criteria on which they will be graded. This also allows the teacher to tailor the assessment to the lesson making sure that all objectives are covered in the instruction.
Rubrics maybe used by the learner as a checklist or a way of evaluating their work. Also the rubric is a tool to evaluate the lesson or project in its entirety.
Again goals and expectations are communicated to the student at the beginning of the lesson/project. Teachers, students, and parents are informed of the criteria and point value. All students are evaluated based on the same criteria.
Rubrics can be tailored to any lesson. However, lesson goals must be clearly defined and the strategies stated before creating a rubric. This must happen to ensure the validity of the rubric.
The rubric is very flexible fitting most teaching and learning styles. Making students aware of what to expect from the beginning of the lesson will help ensure success. Rubrics also reduce subjective grading and vague expectations. Again all students are graded on the same criteria.
Students may also evaluate themselves or their peers using an informal rubric. This will give the teacher feedback on what the students felt were successful objectives and or objectives they struggled with.
Data can be gathered by observation the student work as well as evaluating the project formally. The teacher may have the student turn in a self evaluation prior to the completion of a lesson/project giving the teacher time to clarify any misunderstandings.
Rubrics provide feedback regarding the effectiveness of the instruction. Teachers may also evaluate specific criteria that may have not been met by the majority of the students.
Rubrics can allow the student an opportunity to grade themselves as well as their peers. With self-evaluation a teacher can learn more about how the student felt about his or her learning experience.
Rubrics can be made to evaluate the learning process as well as the final projects. Observations can be made during the learning experience and graded based on skills demonstrated. For a completed project rubrics can be used to grade the overall goals and objectives stated at the beginning of the lesson.