Grant Wiggins, an author of Educative Assessment and Assessing Student Performance, and a nationally recognized assessment expert who has been working in assessment reform for over two decades, makes a clear distinction between testing and assessment. In the interview transcript found here, Wiggins states that a good test is only a part of the picture we get during the student evaluation process. Wiggins believes that authentic assessment is needed to evaluate learners in order to get a better idea of their abilities.

"Authentic assessment is an assessment strategy where students are asked to perform real-world tasks that demonstrate meaningful application of essential knowledge and skills" (Mueller, 2006).

Unlike standardized testing that is an assessment tool to measure educational outcome, authentic assessment is a way for learners to use their understanding of a subject to solve real-world situations and problems. Authentic assessment provides students with opportunities to show what they know by applying knowledge and skills to perform meaningful tasks. Authentic assessment goes beyond recalling facts and choosing the correct answer on a test. It requires learners to perform a series of complex tasks to demonstrate understanding of the content and its application to a real-life situation.

Authentic assessment calls for consistent criteria to score student work. A rubric is an authentic assessment tool that is used to evaluate complex and subjective tasks. According to The Glossary of Education Reform,

"A rubric is typically an evaluation tool or set of guidelines used to promote the consistent application of learning expectations, learning objectives, or learning standards in the classroom, or to measure their attainment against a consistent set of criteria. In instructional settings, rubrics clearly define academic expectations for students and help to ensure consistency in the evaluation of academic work from student to student, assignment to assignment, or course to course. Rubrics are also used as scoring instruments to determine grades or the degree to which learning standards have been demonstrated or attained by students." (edglossary.org)

Rubric-based assessment provides consistent criteria and brings objectivity, clarity and fairness to the evaluation process. Using rubric-based assessment plays an important role during the formative assessment process when improving student performance and modifying classroom instruction are still possible.

It is important for the teacher and the student to have the same understanding of the expected learning outcome and of the same standard for achievement. Using a scoring rubric, also called an assessment rubric, ensures that the expectations are established and clearly stated.

According to Deb Armitage from Exemplars, “A rubric is an assessment guide that reflects content standards and performance standards. Rubrics describe the features expected for student work to receive each of the levels/scores on the chosen scale. An assessment rubric tells us what is important, defines what work meets a standard, and allows us to distinguish between different levels of performance.”

These rubrics can be used by teachers to evaluate student work, as well as by students in the self- and peer-assessment process.

A scoring rubric includes criteria and standards that are connected to learning objectives. It is used to assess a product or performance. Rubrics always describe the top level of achievement for a product or performance and a low level with other levels listed in between. Scoring rubrics are usually presented in a graphic form, such as a grid. The elements of a scoring rubric include:

• criteria (dimensions, or elements that are important, on which performance or a product is rated),
• levels (the rating scale, usually from excellent to poor),
• descriptors (definitions and examples that illustrate the attributes being measured).

According to Andrew Miller's article, there are some rules to follow when designing effective rubrics. They include using clear and descriptive language, using rubrics with the students, making rubrics comprehensible and organized. He also recommends including common practices shared by several teachers in one rubric (team rubric) to avoid a multiple of different rubrics for students to follow.

Rubrics can be divided into two groups: holistic or analytical. As described by Jon Mueller on his website, a holistic rubric “does not list separate levels of performance for each criterion. Instead, a holistic rubric assigns a level of performance by assessing performance across multiple criteria as a whole.” This type of rubric allows evaluating the overall impression of the product or performance, and the effectiveness of the work as a whole. Specific levels of performance are not listed.

On the other hand, Mueller defines an analytic rubric as one that “articulates levels of performance for each criterion so the teacher can assess student performance on each criterion.“ A product or performance is broken down into essential features. This type of rubric works best for evaluating complicated skills.

Scoring rubrics are commonly used to evaluate writing samples. Other uses of rubric-based assessment include group projects, multiple-step projects, oral presentations, problem solving, brochures, and posters completed by students in a variety of subject content areas. Scoring rubrics can also be applied to participation and behavior evaluation.

Examples:

Oral Presentation Rubric from www.readwritethink.org

Essay Rubric from www.readthinkwrite.org

Technology makes it easier for teachers to develop, modify, and share scoring rubrics. There are websites that offer tools to generate rubrics, such as Rubistar, iRubric, Rubrics4Teachers, and eRubric Assistant.

Strengths of rubric-based assessment include the following:

• It facilitates formative assessment by guiding learners in achieving the educational objective. Students can track their progress while working on the task and compare it against the rubric at any time. The teacher can monitor student work during the process and offer feedback to improve student performance.
• It sets clear expectations, ensures that the teacher and the student have the same understanding of the expected outcome, and establishes criteria of high-quality work. It offers consistent and objective assessment.
• It promotes student participation and responsibility for their own learning by involving students in the rubric development process.
• It promotes self-assessment by involving learners in the process of comparing their work against the rubric. Students develop desirable qualities of monitoring and correcting their own work, and using feedback to improve their performance.
• It allows student to demonstrate in-depth knowledge of a specific subject that is applied to real-life tasks.

Weaknesses of rubric-based assessment include the following:

• It might take longer to complete an authentic assesment than take a test.
• It might be a time consuming task for a teacher to develop rubrics.
• Students might get overwhelmed or confused when using subrics that are too complex or poorly written.
• It works best when used in combination with other types of assessment since it is just one of many assessment tools available to collect information when evaluating a learner.

Rubric-based assessment is a form of student evaluation that is integrated with the learning process because learning occurs as assessment takes place. Rubric-based assessment is based on standards, focused on the learner, and provides feedback during the process. These features make the assessment experience more authentic and effective. Technology provides teachers and students with support necessary to make rubric-based assessment an integral part of the educational process. For example, this tutorial explains how to use a Google Form as a grading rubric to make the process of grading assignments more efficient.

Brookhouser, K. (2013). Tips for Teachers: Using Google Forms for Grading. Retrievew from youtube.com

Goodrich, H. (1996). “Understanding Rubrics.” Educational Leadership, 54 (4), 14-18.

Miller, A. (2014). Tame the Beast: Tips for Designing and Using Rubrics. Retrieved from www.edutopia.org/blog/designing-using-rubrics-andrew-miller

Stevens, D. & Levi, Antonia J. (2013). Introduction to Rubrics: An Assessment Tool to Save Grading Time, Convey Effective Feedback, and Promote Student Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Wiggins, G. (2014). Defining Assessment. Retrieved from www.edutopia.org/grant-wigging-assessment

http://www.edutopia.org/assessment-guide-rubrics

www.exemplars.com/resources/rubrics/assessment-rubrics

jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/rubrics.htm