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Integrating Communication

Integrating Culture



Curriculum Planning

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Rubrics: Connect-Reflect...

Now that you know all about rubrics. Let's apply this new knowledge through some self check exercises.

Activity 1: Below is a list of questions based on the Performance Guidelines (pp.237-240). Select the criteria that best reflects where that question would be answered in your rubric.

  1. How well are they understood?
  2. How well do they understand others?
  3. How accurate is their language?
  4. How extensive and applicable is their vocabulary?
  5. How do they maintain communication?
  6. How is their cultural understanding reflected in their communication?

The questions in Activity 1 can assist you in determining which criteria in a rubric will work for you in a given performance assessment. Grant Wiggins provides a rule for determining the quality of a rubric with the following question:

"Can you imagine someone meeting all your proposed criteria but not being able to perform well at the task? (If so), then you have the wrong criteria."

Wiggins, Grant, and Jay McTighe. 1998. Understanding by Design.Alexandria, Va.: Asso-ciation for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

When designing your own rubrics consider the Wiggins rule along with the following recommendations for designing rubrics backwards:

  1. Start with the ends (performance goals
  2. Identify the language elements you are emphasizing
  3. Describe each element in terms of the performance you want to see
  4. Revise in terms of what will help students set targets to improve

Taken from WAFLT Summer Language Leaderhsiop Institute 2006, Paul Sandrock.

To further assist you in understanding some of the necessary components to a good rubric, do Activity 2 found at the Virtual Assessment Center.

These student opinions may assist you in creating a more comprehensible rubric as well as giving you a more clear understanding of how effective they can be for students. "What Students Say About Rubrics."


Rubrics: Connect-Reflect: Word Document

  1. Keeping in mind all that you have learned in this module, think of a student performance you would like to assess. Create/revise a rubric to evaluate student abilities. Be sure to include this rubric in your personal portfolio. You may want to use an online rubric creator such as RubiStar to assist you.
  2. Evaluate your rubric based on these characteristics that define a rubric. Explain where you are strong and weak as appropriate. What changes would you make?
    The rubric...
    • is a guide for students and teachers.
    • is a checklist of non-negotiables.
    • highlights qualities of a product worthy of evaluation.
    • doesn't allow for incomplete or unacceptable work.
  3. Evaluate your rubric's purpose based on the characteristics described below? Explain where you are strong and weak as appropriate. What changes would you make?
    • For the students: The rubric provides criteria to help achieve excellence in their performance.
    • For the teacher: The rubric describes expectations for student achievement and provides clear criteria for evaluation of the performance task.
  4. How well does your definition and purpose of a rubric from the "Rubrics: Remember" section match the above characteristics?
  5. Now take a look at Aunt Olive's rubric on rubrics which is found in the Virtual Assessment Center. Evaluate your rubric according to those criteria. What is your score? How might you improve your score?

For additional practice evaluating assessment tasks and rubrics, visit the Virtual Assessment Center and complete Activity 5.

Next: Curriculum Planning

© 2004 Wisconsin Association For Language Teachers
Last updated: September 10, 2006