rubric

TEACHING Exceptional Children, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 8-11. Copyright 2003 CEC. Rubrics in Inclu What can students learn from chocolate chip cookies? What are the qualities of a great cookie? How about one that didn't quite make the taste test? How do such andlyses relate to school? How can we use this familiar con- tent to “treat” studenis to an awareness of their own perform- ance? Here’s one answer: Rubrics. Rubrics are becoming increasingly popular in classrooms as a way for stu- dents to understand the expectations of assignments and, in turn, for teachers to assess their individual performance. As special education students become more involved in high-stakes assess- ment, teachers need to be aware of how rubrics can help determine their stu- dents’ understanding of a given task. This article can help you familiarize your students, with and without disabil- ities, with the terminology and the use of rubrics (see box, “What Are Rubrics?”). 8 w CouNcCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. udents Understand L] Susan J . S.ahnun Why Use Rubrics? One positive aspect of using a rubric is that it allows teachers to examine instruction and assessment in a matrix format. The rubric should clearly delin- eate the teacher’s expectations for per- formance so that all students, including those with special needs, understand what they need to accomplish. By using a rubric, students with dis- abilities can begin to evaluate their work; thus, students become more aware of their potential strengths and weaknesses in completing assignments. The rubric can also serve as a commu- nication tool among teachers, students, and parents when examining specific strengths and weaknesses of students’ performance. Designing a Rubric The following six steps are helpful in designing a rubric: * Describe an exemplary response of all attributes that describe a quality per- formance. This step will encourage students 1o perform at an expert level. For example, What is the best response?! What sets this apart from others? Settings - * Brainstorm the qualities of an exem- plary response and all essential com- ponents of the desired performance. At this point, you and your students make a checklist of all criteria. * Categorize the criteria. Here, you will translate the components into descriptors of the task or project. You and the students can then check the descriptors against expected student performance. ® Select the rubric format (i.e., analytic or holistic). In doing this, consider the purpose of the assessment; num- ber of expected outcomes; number of students in the class; and usefulness of the rubric to all, including you as By wsing o rubric, studenis—both with and without disabilities hecome more aware of thelr potential strengths and weaknesses in compleling assignments, Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

the teacher and students with and without disabilities. e Design the rubric by describing the levels, exemplary to poor. Other rubrics have used scales such as novice 1o expert or a 1-4 numerical scale. * Select the scale to be used. Few teach- ers and students can make reliable discriminations in performance across five or more categories. Thorndike {1997} recommends using a 4-point scale to minimize student confusion and enhance student per- formance. Thorndike (1997) stated that the best scoring rubrics provide clear criteria for evaluating student performance and proficiency and are somehow related to the student’s educational objectives. In the same way that you write the behav- ioral component of an objective, you should avoid using analogous words that may confuse the meaning of the performance criteria. Examples of anal- ogous words are good, proper, many, or appropriate. To clarify the terms for stu- dents, for example, you could define “good” as “only one spelling error per paragraph.” Gunning (2001) stated, The foundation of a rubric is the set of evaluative criteria that will be used to assess students’ work. The criteria should func- tion as an instructional guide so that the teacher can use them to plan lessons and activities that will help the students master the skills being taught. (p. 134) In developing the rubric scale, ensure ease in use for students with and without disabilities. The highest point value should describe a truly exemplar performance. Use precise language that clearly defines the characteristics of the performance to be evaluated. Also, the language should clearly describe the various levels of quality so those stu- dents with and without disabilities can easily discriminate between points on the scale. A Pructice Exercise: Determining the World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Here is an effective activity to assist stu- dents with disabilities in understanding rubrics. It involves six steps, with het- erogeneous groups of five to six stu- dents each: ¢ Each group of students receives a bag of chocolate chip cookies containing at least six different brands of cookies that vary in size, shape, and texture. Ask the groups to discuss and describe what the best chocolate chip cookie would look and taste like. e Students brainstorm the essential components of the World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookie. The best seoring rubrics provide clear swriteria for svatuating student performance and proficiency und are samehow related to the student’s sduralonal abiechves. ¢ Each group shares their list with the class to develop and agree on five descriptive categories (e.g., Texture, Appearance, Taste, Contents, and Smell). e The students select the format they wish to use for the rubric. For this particular activity, the analytic format was chosen because students are asked to analyze the best cookie. ¢ Students design the levels of the rubric from poor (1) to exemplary (4). Students examine their cookies and brainstorm characteristics that would be placed under each numeric or descriptive level. Once the levels have been determined, each group of stu- dents selects a characteristic and describes it across all four levels. ¢ They decide the type of scale that will be used, which may include numeric or descriptive values. For this activity, a numeric scale was chosen as an example, but students may choose to use the words outstanding, best, good, and poor (see Figure 1). To conclude this activity, each group of students shares their completed rubric for comparison and contrasting purposes. They then sort their cookies according to the rubric they have devel- oped (if any have survived all the taste tests). As the facilitator, you should review the process of developing a rubric and stress the importance of using the crite- ria on the rubric as a guide when com- pleting a project or assignment. Be ready for a lively class discussion as stu- dents debate between exemplary and poor examples. TEACHING ExXcePTIONAL CHILDREN = MAR/APR 2003 w9 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Special education shudents in inclusive dussrooms con mere readily partidpete in assiguments and assessments when they waderstand the expechutions and grading pragess. eated expectations. Other examples of where rubrics have been introduced and used are the New York State Learning Standards Assessments. Fourth-grade classrooms typically include students with wide ranges of abilities who may pursue rultiple path- ways to learn effectively, participate meaningfully, and work towards attain- ing the curricular standards. At the fourth-grade level, students are tested in English Language Arts (ELA}, Mathematics (Math), and Science. Student performance on the ELA and Math assessments are evaluated on a 1 (not proficient) to 4 (highly proficient) scale. Each numeric value is defined by a set of performance skills, and stu- dents in a given level can perform the majority of what is described. For example, in the math assessment a “1” would include the following skills: basic addition and subtraction, count groups of objects, and recognize simple data. A “4” would include ordering dec- imals, use of percents, use of estima- tion, applying graphical data, and drawing conclusions. To prepare stu- dents for these assessments, many teachers are developing parallel tasks and using New York's rubrics to evalu- ate student work. Final Thoughts Using the chocolate chip cookie activity as an introduction to the process of developing rubrics allows students to develop necessary self-evaluation skills. Through rubric usage, self-evaluation skills can then be generalized to all sub- ject areas. An added berefit of using rubrics is enhanced student performance because students have a better under- standing of what is expected of them. As educators, we can see rubrics not only as an assessment tool but also as an instructional tool. Students with disabili- ties are just one group that can benefit from knowing what is expected of them in terms of academic performance. Rubrics can be beneficial to all members of the school community—from students to parents and teachers to superintend- ents. As teachers pursue the use of rubrics in their classrcom, they know that the time spent in developing clear expectations for assignments will be a benefit to students and teachers alike. References Goals 2000. (1997). Genesee Valley Schools and higher expectations for all: Training the trainers. (Available through the Genesee Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services, 80 Munson St., LeRoy, NY 14482.) Gunning, T. G. (2001). Assessing and correct- ing reading and writing difficulties {2nd ed.). Bostan: Allyn & Bacon.* Marzano, R., Pickering, D., & McTighe, J. (1993). Assessing outcomes: Performarnce assessment using Dimensions of Learning model. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Popham, W. J. (2000). Modern educational measurement. Practical guidelines for edu- cational leaders. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.* Thorndike, R. M. (1997}. Measurement and evaluation in psychology and education (6th ed.}. Upper Saddle River, NI Merrill/Prentice Hall.* Venn, J. J. (2000). Assessing students with special needs (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.* Ysseldyke, J. (2001). Reflections on a research career: Generalizations from 25 vears of research on assessment and instructional decision making. Exceptional Children, 67, 295-309. =BooksNow *To order the book marked by an asterisk (*), please call 24 hrs/365 days: 1-800-BOOKS- NOW (266-5766) or (732) 728-1040; or visit them on the Web at http:// www.clicksmart .coms/teaching/. Use VISA, M;/C, AMEX, or Discover or send check or money order + $4.95 S&H ($2.50 each add’l item) to: Clicksmart, 400 Morris Avenue, Long Branch, NI 07740; (732) 728-1040 or FAX {732) 728- 7080. Elizabeth Wikfors Hall {CEC Chapter #402), Assistant Professor; and Susan J. Salmon (CEC Chapter #564), Assistant Professor, Ella Cline Shear School of Education, State University of New York, Geneseo. Address correspondence to Elizabeth Wikfors Hall, Ella Cline Shear School of Education, State University of New York, College at Geneseo, 1 College Circle, 220B South Hall, Geneseo, NY 14454 (e-mail: Halle@gene- seo.edu). TEACHING Exceptional Children, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 8-11. Copyright 2003 CEC. Ad Index AGS, pp. 7, 49, 55 American Printing House for the Blind, p. 4 The Conover Company, p.35 Council for Exceptional Children, pp. 27, 67, 78, 79 Curriculum Associates, pp. 60, 61 GMS Management, p. 1 Issaquah School District, p. 20 Kurzweil, cover 2 LR Consulting, p. 49 Lake County Special Education District, p. 4 Matanuska-Susitna, p. 69 University of Minnesota, p. 7 Milton Hershey, p. 21 NASCO, p. 69 Netchemia, p. 21 New Jersey City University, p. 43 University of Northern Colorado, p. 55 Omaha Public Schools, p. 4 Read Naturally, cover 3 San Luis Obispo, p. 15 Sopris West, p. 35 Sound Reading Solutions, p. 35 Steck-Vaughn, cover 4 TextHelp.com, p. 66 TEACHING ExCepTiONAL CHILDREN m MAR/APR 2003 w11 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.