I recently had a conversation with a few parents of gifted students about how their students’ teachers use rubrics (a means of evaluating student work) to grade all student assignments in their class. There was a wide variety of opinions about the topic of rubrics for grading, and about assignments in general. Some people thought assignments were “not as rigorous as they used to be,” a view perhaps many have when looking back at their own schooling. The question by another parent was “were assignments actually rigorous, or do you just think they were?” That’s a good point. Sometimes memory, especially of years past, has a way of smoothing over things we were not good at or thought were hard. Another person thought that the use of endless rubrics that her daughter brings home greatly limits her daughter’s ability to think and creatively complete assignments to show what she knows. Others agreed, and some disagreed.
It is true that some teachers use rubrics to evaluate and/or grade every assignment they give in their class. It is also true that some teachers do not use rubrics at all, and that still others use rubrics to evaluate only big projects. It seems that there is great diversity in how teachers evaluate student work. For gifted students, flexibility in evaluating their work can lead to a greater understanding of the abilities of the students, and their ability to think critically, be creative, and express themselves at a deep level. Sometimes having to fit vast creative, deep, and/or critical thinking into a rubric’s confines may be upsetting or limiting for gifted students; however, it all depends on the rubric and how it is used. This is often a controversial topic, but there are ways to understand both sides of the issue of using or not using rubrics. Understanding the purpose of rubrics and how your student’s teacher uses them is a start. Below are some resources about rubrics including benefits and limitations. Resources About Rubrics How to Create and Use Rubrics for Formative Assessment and Grading ASCD http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112001/chapters/What-Are-Rubrics-and-Why-Are-They-Important¢.aspx Rubric Tool Utah Education Network https://www.uen.org/rubric/know.shtml How Do Rubrics Help? Edutopia https://www.edutopia.org/assessment-guide-rubrics The Benefits & Limitations of Grading Rubrics Etale Newsletter, Dr. Bernard Bull http://etale.org/main/2014/04/10/the-benefits-limitations-of-grading-rubrics/
7 Comments
Lilia Zamenski
8/23/2022 09:15:27 pm
I am happy to tell you that after this school year I will retire. I appreciate all what you do for us teachers.
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11/17/2022 12:31:53 pm
I was able to create a math rubric that I'm going to use with my classes.
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DAWN JOHNSON
11/25/2022 12:44:28 pm
I WILL BE RETIRING AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR
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Norma
12/8/2022 11:47:05 am
I will attempt to use rubrics in the classroom.
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Guillermo Lozano
12/27/2022 10:53:14 am
I was using rubrics to evaluate the assignments/projects. I will go over again to check if they are correct or need to be more challenging.
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Beatrice Macias
1/6/2023 10:08:12 am
I like ti implement rubrics for writing. It provides a roadmap to successful writing.They motivate students to try harder.
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Ana Gomez
1/27/2023 03:27:53 pm
Rubrics can help the students in that they can be checking what it is they need in order to be 100% successful in any activity they pursue
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