Using Grading Rubrics

Believe it not, students sometimes come to see me because they're not happy with a grade they received from their instructors. Shocking, I know.

Perhaps the number one complaint is: "My instructor wasn't clear in how the assignment would be graded." I also hear things like, "My instructor didn't like me" and "The grading for the assignment was very subjective."

What's the solution to avoiding these kinds of complaints? I think the solution might be using grading rubrics. "Rubric" is just a fancy word for "scoring chart."

Here are some tips on using grading rubrics effectively:

1. Clearly show the students how the assignment will be graded. That means, share your grading rubric. In other words, if you give them the rubric only when you return their graded papers, you've still left them in the dark.

2. Keep the grading rubric simple. I've attached a link to some sample rubrics, but some of them look far too lengthy and complicated to me. I would recommend that you stick to five categories or less. This will make it easier for your students to understand, and it will also make it easier for you to use!

3. Put a specific point value on each category. Generally, if you're using five categories, I recommend giving each the same value -- 20 points. That way, the assignment adds up to 100. Not all assignments will have five equal categories, but think about ways to revise it so that you can keep the categories equal. This will make the grading rubric easier to use for students.

4. Use a likert scale, and don't be afraid to use a sliding scale. Instead of numbering your scale from 1 (poor) to 4 (excellent), I like to use the point values asssigned to each category -- poor becomes 10, average is 14, above average is 17, and excellent is 20. And, if I believe that a student is in between two categories, I simple highlight two categories and give the student the average (above average + excellent = 18; average + above average = 15, etc.)

5. Write a paragraph to explain your rubric evaluations. Grading a student's assignment with a rubric is quick, but don't cheat the student out of written feedback. I like to write a paragraph at the bottom to explain in a little more detail how the student fell short in certain categories (or succeeded in certain categories).

For examples of grading rubrics, check out the link below. If anyone is interested in seeing the grading rubric I use for assessing English papers, just let me know. I'll be happy to email it to you.

http://www.english.udel.edu/wc/faculty/tipsheets/rubrics.pdf