Craig A. Mertler
Bowling Green State University

Rubrics are rating scales-as opposed to checklists-that are used with performance assessments. They are formally defined as scoring guides, consisting of specific pre-established performance criteria, used in evaluating student work on performance assessments. Rubrics are typically the specific form of scoring instrument used when evaluating student performances or products resulting from a performance task.

There are two types of rubrics: holistic and analytic (see Figure 1). A holistic rubric requires the teacher to score the overall process or product as a whole, without judging the component parts separately (Nitko, 2001). In contrast, with an analytic rubric, the teacher scores separate, individual parts of the product or performance first, then sums the individual scores to obtain a total score (Moskal, 2000; Nitko, 2001).

Holistic rubrics are customarily utilized when errors in some part of the process can be tolerated provided the overall quality is high (Chase, 1999). Nitko (2001) further states that use of holistic rubrics is probably more appropriate when performance tasks require students to create some sort of response and where there is no definitive correct answer. The focus of a score reported using a holistic rubric is on the overall quality, proficiency, or understanding of the specific content and skills-it involves assessment on a unidimensional level (Mertler, 2001). Use of holistic rubrics can result in a somewhat quicker scoring process than use of analytic rubrics (Nitko, 2001). This is basically due to the fact that the teacher is required to read through or otherwise examine the student product or performance only once, in order to get an "overall" sense of what the student was able to accomplish (Mertler, 2001). Since assessment of the overall performance is the key, holistic rubrics are also typically, though not exclusively, used when the purpose of the performance assessment is summative in nature. At most, only limited feedback is provided to the student as a result of scoring performance tasks in this manner. A template for holistic scoring rubrics is presented in Table 1.

Analytic rubrics are usually preferred when a fairly focused type of response is required (Nitko, 2001); that is, for performance tasks in which there may be one or two acceptable responses and creativity is not an essential feature of the students' responses. Furthermore, analytic rubrics result initially in several scores, followed by a summed total score-their use represents assessment on a multidimensional level (Mertler, 2001). As previously mentioned, the use of analytic rubrics can cause the scoring process to be substantially slower, mainly because assessing several different skills or characteristics individually requires a teacher to examine the product several times. Both their construction and use can be quite time-consuming. A general rule of thumb is that an individual's work should be examined a separate time for each of the specific performance tasks or scoring criteria (Mertler, 2001). However, the advantage to the use of analytic rubrics is quite substantial. The degree of feedback offered to students-and to teachers-is significant. Students receive specific feedback on their performance with respect to each of the individual scoring criteria-something that does not happen when using holistic rubrics (Nitko, 2001). It is possible to then create a "profile" of specific student strengths and weaknesses (Mertler, 2001). A template for analytic scoring rubrics is presented in Table 2.

Prior to designing a specific rubric, a teacher must decide whether the performance or product will be scored holistically or analytically (Airasian, 2000 & 2001). Regardless of which type of rubric is selected, specific performance criteria and observable indicators must be identified as an initial step to development. The decision regarding the use of a holistic or analytic approach to scoring has several possible implications. The most important of these is that teachers must consider first how they intend to use the results. If an overall, summative score is desired, a holistic scoring approach would be more desirable. In contrast, if formative feedback is the goal, an analytic scoring rubric should be used. It is important to note that one type of rubric is not inherently better than the other-you must find a format that works best for your purposes (Montgomery, 2001). Other implications include the time requirements, the nature of the task itself, and the specific performance criteria being observed. 

As you saw demonstrated in the templates (Tables 1 and 2), the various levels of student performance can be defined using either quantitative (i.e., numerical) or qualitative (i.e., descriptive) labels. In some instances, teachers might want to utilize both quantitative and qualitative labels. If a rubric contains four levels of proficiency or understanding on a continuum, quantitative labels would typically range from "1" to "4." When using qualitative labels, teachers have much more flexibility, and can be more creative. A common type of qualitative scale might include the following labels: master, expert, apprentice, and novice. Nearly any type of qualitative scale will suffice, provided it "fits" with the task. 

One potentially frustrating aspect of scoring student work with rubrics is the issue of somehow converting them to "grades." It is not a good idea to think of rubrics in terms of percentages (Trice, 2000). For example, if a rubric has six levels (or "points"), a score of 3 should not be equated to 50% (an "F" in most letter grading systems). The process of converting rubric scores to grades or categories is more a process of logic than it is a mathematical one. Trice (2000) suggests that in a rubric scoring system, there are typically more scores at the average and above average categories (i.e., equating to grades of "C" or better) than there are below average categories. For instance, if a rubric consisted of nine score categories, the equivalent grades and categories might look like this:

When converting rubric scores to grades (typical at the secondary level) or descriptive feedback (typical at the elementary level), it is important to remember that there is not necessarily one correct way to accomplish this. The bottom line for classroom teachers is that they must find a system of conversion that works for them and fits comfortably into their individual system of reporting student performance.

Steps in the Design of Scoring Rubrics

A step-by-step process for designing scoring rubrics for classroom use is presented below. Information for these procedures was compiled from various sources (Airasian, 2000 & 2001; Mertler, 2001; Montgomery, 2001; Nitko, 2001; Tombari & Borich, 1999). The steps will be summarized and discussed, followed by presentations of two sample scoring rubrics.

These steps involved in the design of rubrics have been summarized in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Designing Scoring Rubrics: Step-by-step procedures

Two Examples

Two sample scoring rubrics corresponding to specific performance assessment tasks are presented next. Brief discussions precede the actual rubrics. For illustrative purposes, a holistic rubric is presented for the first task and an analytic rubric for the second. It should be noted that either a holistic or an analytic rubric could have been designed for either task.

Example 1: 
Subject - Mathematics 
Grade Level(s) - Upper Elementary

Mr. Harris, a fourth-grade teacher, is planning a unit on the topic of data analysis, focusing primarily on the skills of estimation and interpretation of graphs. Specifically, at the end of this unit, he wants to be able to assess his students' mastery of the following instructional objectives:

• Students will properly interpret a bar graph.
• Students will accurately estimate values from within a bar graph. (step 1)

Since the purpose of his performance task is summative in nature - the results will be incorporated into the students' grades, he decides to develop a holistic rubric. He identifies the following four attributes on which to focus his rubric: estimation, mathematical computation, conclusions, and communication of explanations (steps 2 & 3). Finally, he begins drafting descriptions of the various levels of performance for the observable attributes (steps 4 & 5). The final rubric for his task appears in Table 4.

Example 2:
Subjects - Social Studies; Probability & Statistics
              Grade Level(s) - 9 - 12            

Mrs. Wolfe is a high school American government teacher. She is beginning a unit on the electoral process and knows from past years that her students sometimes have difficulty with the concepts of sampling and election polling. She decides to give her students a performance assessment so they can demonstrate their levels of understanding of these concepts. The main idea that she wants to focus on is that samples (surveys) can accurately predict the viewpoints of an entire population. Specifically, she wants to be able to assess her students on the following instructional objectives:

• Students will collect data using appropriate methods.
• Students will accurately analyze and summarize their data.
• Students will effectively communicate their results. (step 1)

Since the purpose of this performance task is formative in nature, she decides to develop an analytic rubric focusing on the following attributes: sampling technique, data collection, statistical analyses, and communication of results (steps 2 & 3). She drafts descriptions of the various levels of performance for the observable attributes (steps 4 & 5). The final rubric for this task appears in Table 5. 

Resources for Rubrics on the Web

The following is just a partial list of some Web resources for information about and samples of scoring rubrics.

• "Scoring Rubrics: What, When, & How?" (http://ericae.net/pare/getvn.asp?v=7&n=3). This article appears in Practical Assessment, Research, & Evaluation and is authored by Barbara M. Moskal. The article discusses what rubrics are, and distinguishes between holistic and analytic types. Examples and additional resources are provided.
  
• "Performance Assessment-Scoring" (http://www.pgcps.pg.k12.md.us/~elc/scoringtasks.html). Staff in the Prince George's County (MD) Public Schools have developed a series of pages that provide descriptions of the steps involved in the design of performance tasks. This particular page provides several rubric samples.
  
• "Rubrics from the Staff Room for Ontario Teachers" (http://www.odyssey.on.ca/~elaine.coxon/rubrics.htm) This site is a collection of literally hundreds of teacher-developed rubrics for scoring performance tasks. The rubrics are categorized by subject area and type of task. This is a fantastic resource…check it out!
  
• "Rubistar Rubric Generator" (http://rubistar.4teachers.org/) 
  
• "Teacher Rubric Maker" (http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/) These two sites house Web-based rubric generators for teachers. Teachers can customize their own rubrics based on templates on each site. In both cases, rubric templates are organized by subject area and/or type of performance task. These are wonderful resources for teachers!

References

Airasian, P. W. (2000). Assessment in the classroom: A concise approach (2nd ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Airasian, P. W. (2001). Classroom assessment: Concepts and applications (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Chase, C. I. (1999). Contemporary assessment for educators. New York: Longman.

Mertler, C. A. (2001). Using performance assessment in your classroom. Unpublished manuscript, Bowling Green State University.

Montgomery, K. (2001). Authentic assessment: A guide for elementary teachers. New York: Longman.

Moskal, B. M. (2000). Scoring rubrics: what, when, and how?. Practical Assessment, Research, & Evaluation, 7(3). Available online: http://ericae.net/pare/getvn.asp?v=7&n=3

Nitko, A. J. (2001). Educational assessment of students (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

Tombari, M. & Borich, G. (1999). Authentic assessment in the classroom: Applications and practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

Trice, A. D. (2000). A handbook of classroom assessment. New York: Longman.

 

Contact information

Craig A. Mertler
Educational Foundations & Inquiry Program
College of Education & Human Development
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH 43403

mertler@bgnet.bgsu.edu
Phone: 419-372-9357 Fax: 419-372-8265