Fermilab LInC
Mini-Lesson: Rubrics and Assessment

Purpose:

To review the advantages of rubric based assessment
To identify clear and concise descriptors within a rubric

Lesson:

By this time in our class sequence, you have already selected a project to use with your students. Your project rubric will not only aid you in assessing and evaluating student work, but will provide a helpful scaffolding for your students as they plan and carry out their project. It is the tool that keeps them focused. In this lesson we are going to look carefully at rubrics from two perspectives: teacher assessment of student progress and student use as planning tool and target for success.

Part 1: Read and discuss the article, Rubric-based Assessment, by John Keller and Curt Bonk. After you have read the article, be ready to share the following:

An additional rubric resource that might be helpful to gain additional insight into the construction and use of rubrics is Building for Success: Methodology: Working with Rubrics.

Part 2: Let's take a look at the ACT Simulation Rubric.

How well does the ACT Simulation Rubric match what you have just read in the article?
Do any of the descriptors need to be clarified?
Is the rubric written clearly enough that students would be able to use it to focus their work?
Does the rubric match the task? Are the student expectations clearly identified?

Task/Assignment:

Take a look at your project's rubric and see if you need to improve your rubric's design.