Mistakes in Making Rubrics
What are some common mistakes online instructors may make when creating rubrics?
The first mistake many instructors make is not allocating sufficient time to develop the rubrics. It seems that many times they are developed quickly (I am sometimes guilty of this), and this can impact the consistency in grading and student understanding of expectations.
Another common mistake is including too many criteria. With too many criteria included, the rubric can become overwhelming for students, and therefore becomes ineffective. As we learned in the module, 4-8 criteria would be ideal.
It is a mistake to assign ranges of points, rather than a specific point value. Each criterion should have a specific point value to reduce confusion and even subjectivity in the use of the rubric.
Another common mistake is not clearly defining the criteria that you have included in the rubric. Our goal with the rubric is to clarify expectations for students. Therefore, when the criteria are vague or poorly defined this will lead to student confusion which then impacts student learning. Along with this, it is essential to link the criteria to the course objectives.
In the presentation it mentioned providing a means for students to see they are improving. That is one area I had not fully considered. I do see why it is often overlooked yet really does need to be incorporated into the design of the rubric.
Great module!
Jennifer ,
Wow Thanks! You "got" it. It does take time to think through the design and implementation of a rubric.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Some common mistakes made when creating rubrics are: not allowing sufficient time to make a quality rubric, not being specific with point values, including too few or too many criteria, and using a checklist rather than a rubric.
First off, quality rubrics take time to make. It includes really analyzing the assignment and how it aligns with the cours objectives, and the instructor must reflect on what the students should REALLY be taking away from the assignment. Oftentimes I will do a rough draft of a rubric, then come back to it another day to get a fresh perspective on it. Plus it often takes ongoing tweaking as the rubric is used from class to class.
Secondly, using specific points values is difficult for me to do for some reason! I have found myself always using a range. I think that it leaves me more "flexibility," when in reality it makes my grading more inconsistent. I will now be assigning one point value to each level.
The third mistake I've included is having too few or too many criteria. I've found myself either being way too broad, and have fewer than 3 criteria which gives the students very little direction, or completely picking the assignment apart and having too many criteria. Having too many can somtimes lead into making this "rubric" into a checklist.
Which leads me into my next mistake: using a chekclist rather than an actual rubric. A checklist is simply a list of things that needs to be included in an assignment - not really assigning levels of competence or mastery. It's simply there or it's not. This is not a true rubric.
Debra,
Wow, you really have articulated this well. Don't you think that most educators underestimate the time it takes to create a good rubric. Also, you are correct about the difference between a list and a rubric.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
There are many common mistakes online instructors make when working with rubrics.
The most common mistake online instructors make when working with rubrics is that they do not allocate enough time for planning and creating the rubric. The instructor should begin the process of creating the rubric with enough time to create a proper rubric for the assignment.
Another common problem when creating rubrics is to include too many criteria or categories. Rubrics should have a maximum of 8 categories. Too many criteria will make the rubric difficult for the students to understand, and difficult for the instructor to use.
Another common problem with rubrics is not clearly defining the criteria that is being evaluated. The rubric's criteria must be easy to understand for students.
Laura,
Great answer! So many so called rubrics are really just checklists. They do take time to make.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
So far in my online teaching, my classes already have the rubric generated for me. However, based upon my readings in this class so far, I can see where I can improve upon them. The main area of improvement will be in the point system. Since I am in an art based course, my rubrics need to be adjusted to allow my students more creativity rather than locking them down to a specific set of goals. I still want the goal met, but the students need to be able to exercise creativity as well.
Fred,
Good! Do you think that sometimes the use of rubrics increases grade inflation?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
It could be considered a mistake to create a range, however, I have found ranges to be an agreeable component of my rubrics.
Another point made was specifically defining criteria. I may also add that there are challenges in "specifically / clearly defining" the criteria.
At times some students mis-interpret common wording that we instructors take for granted.
Believe me, I have seen it. Students respond to some feedback writing, OH NOW I understand what you want -- I thought it meant . . .
Do you have that experience?
Appreciated the point made about too much criterion. When some aspects of assessment are left to students' perceptions, the assessor opens creativity and speculation - in some areas, this is a new experience for them.
Comments?
this is a great discussion point.
Based on this instruction, most have identified the learning points presented in the module. I won't reiterate same points; I will bring another comment to the table however.
first, creating a rubric is hard in my opinion. I may have a tendency to "delegate" the rubric writing to a higher authority rather than learn this new skill. I have written rubrics before; after reading some of the learning points in this module, I am going to take rubric writing a lot more seriously -- so thank you for that.
As we educators strive to teach -- we also have personal perspectives that evaluate if the learners are grasping what WE (if we have designed the rubric) expect is important. We all teach differently and have tendencies to teach what WE think is important -- my point? We must be reminded that creating a rubric should be neutral -- it's not about us -- but about a general criteria (the objectives of the course)
Make sense? I rambled on a bit there . . .
Common mistakes when creating rubrics are among the following: not taking enough time to evaluate the course objectives (evaluate, synthesize the intention, read carefully for understanding (not only yours but the meaning behind the concepts) and finally rubrics must be written perfectly, including perfect grammar and text - no typos.
Point values could become mistakes when they are weighted unevenly. If 85% of the weighted value for grammar is indicated, students may get the impression that grammar was more important than content, for example.
Too much information given in the rubric could become overwhelming for students -- we want to motivate not the opposite.
The wording must be universally understood for a rubric to be helpful. Slang wording is inappropriate and dated. Take for instance the word "often." On a scale from zero to 100%, what exactly does the word "often" represent in amount of time?
What do you think?
Rebecca,
You are RIGHT! We do take for granted that students understand our "language". I think you really stated some real issues with rubrics. I think we have to be careful about too much guidance and stifling creativity. It is indeed a fine line. . . .
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Rebecca,
Nice! You make some great points. I think your best point is the idea it really isn't about us! (no you are not rambling. . . .) :)
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Rebecca,
Yes! I have been embarrassed about my points addition! I am now going back to look at my rubrics to make sure often is not use! :)
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
The rubrics for my classes are made for me. However, some of them don't always align with the task requirements. Discussion board grading rubrics are generic and fit all standard DB assignments. However , individual assignment task have more detailed criteria. Sometimes I have to modify the criteria for these grading rubrics to fit the task requirements.
Antoinette,
Interesting. I hope the person making them understands the content and the learning process. I'm glad you modify. Thanks for your input.
Rubrics may be too simple and not constructive in their design. It is "easier" to develop a more standard format, but it does not improve the quality. And actually can create confusion on the part of the student.
Another mistake is to focus on details that may be open for interpretation. The rubric needs to be specific in such a manner as to be clear.
Jocelyn M. Dervis
Jocelyn,
The design of the rubrics is imperative. I also put learning outcomes in the rubric so the students can connect their assignments/projects to the course outcomes. Thanks for your input.
It seems to me that perhaps some common mistakes in creating rubrics would be that the instructor does not necessarily identify all elements or criteria necessary for any given task. It may also be tricky to identify specific numbers and/or levels of performance. Instructors may also find it difficult to navigate the criteria and whether or not scoring is accurate, unbiased and/or consistent with the characteristics of any given task.
Jade Pumphrey
