Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I disagree with the rubric being unnecessary. Students should absolutely know exactly how they will be evaluated. They should not have to guess.
I disagree. I'm not evaluating my students work if I tell them what to include. I'm evaluating their ability to follow instructions. I should be able to say "Write a background section discussing reaction types." and be done but I can't. I have to include a checklist of all the things that add up to a discussion of reaction types. At some point, they should know when they've explained something without my telling them. They need to learn to evaluate their own work. If I ask them to explain something, I do not think it's unreasonable for them to be able to evaluate whether or not they have done an adequate job.
That is very sad I remember back in my day when we had to write a paper it was always the who, what, where, when, why, how. No rubric. My daughters teacher provided this for their first book report and I was like, what's this? My daughter told me it was the information that had to be included in the report, hello? you could have just told them that, why do you have to send a sheet of paper home explaining it?
I do think the rubrik may be helpful, but it can also create too much emphasis on assessing performance. Studies have shown that too much attention to the quality of one’s performance is associated with more superficial thinking, less interest in whatever one is doing, less perseverance in the face of failure, and a tendency to attribute the outcome to innate ability and other factors thought to be beyond one’s control.
If the rubrik just tells you what elements you need to include in your project, it can keep you focused on those elements. Kids do need clear expectations.
I disagree with the rubric being unnecessary. Students should absolutely know exactly how they will be evaluated. They should not have to guess.
I disagree. A lot of us seemed to get through school without a rubric, again, I didn't even know what this was when my daughter brought it home. We all listened to the teachers oral instruction of what needed to be included in a report or lab write up, took notes and did it. Now teachers have become babysitters having to spoon feed instructions in exactly what should be included. This leaves very little room for a student to use the brain God gave them because they are just answering specific questions.
I do think the rubrik may be helpful, but it can also create too much emphasis on assessing performance. Studies have shown that too much attention to the quality of one’s performance is associated with more superficial thinking, less interest in whatever one is doing, less perseverance in the face of failure, and a tendency to attribute the outcome to innate ability and other factors thought to be beyond one’s control.
If the rubrik just tells you what elements you need to include in your project, it can keep you focused on those elements. Kids do need clear expectations.
They do need clear expections yes, but do they need step by step instruction of exactly what should be included? Again, when I was in school there was no rubic, there were oral instructions as to what was expected and if you didn't listen and take notes, well then, you obviously would not get a good grade. Now a days kids are given exactly what to included with no room for imagination what so ever.
I do think the rubrik may be helpful, but it can also create too much emphasis on assessing performance. Studies have shown that too much attention to the quality of one’s performance is associated with more superficial thinking, less interest in whatever one is doing, less perseverance in the face of failure, and a tendency to attribute the outcome to innate ability and other factors thought to be beyond one’s control.
If the rubrik just tells you what elements you need to include in your project, it can keep you focused on those elements. Kids do need clear expectations.
I agree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momma_bear
I disagree with the rubric being unnecessary. Students should absolutely know exactly how they will be evaluated. They should not have to guess.
Again, I agree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauramc27
I disagree. A lot of us seemed to get through school without a rubric, again, I didn't even know what this was when my daughter brought it home. We all listened to the teachers oral instruction of what needed to be included in a report or lab write up, took notes and did it. Now teachers have become babysitters having to spoon feed instructions in exactly what should be included. This leaves very little room for a student to use the brain God gave them because they are just answering specific questions.
There's a lot of stuff that we didn't have in school that kids have now. I don't ever buy that argument.
I think a general rubric is good. I haven't had a kid in middle school for about 10 years now, and they had rubrics back then too. I don't see the difference between a "rubric" and the bold, other than the method of presentation.
I disagree. A lot of us seemed to get through school without a rubric, again, I didn't even know what this was when my daughter brought it home. We all listened to the teachers oral instruction of what needed to be included in a report or lab write up, took notes and did it. Now teachers have become babysitters having to spoon feed instructions in exactly what should be included. This leaves very little room for a student to use the brain God gave them because they are just answering specific questions.
Yup. My students don't write a research section so much as they answer a series of questions. I can only grade them on whether or not the questions are right or wrong. I can't grade on quality of writing (I'm told my class is not an English class ).
I can't say "Write 3 or 4 paragraphs comparing and contrasting ionic and covalent compounds". I have to say: Define and explain ionic and covalent bonding - 2 points. List and discuss the properties of ionic and covalent compounds - 2 points. Explain why the melting points of ionic compounds are higher than the melting points for covalent compounds - 1 point. Explain why ionic compounds are electrolytes - 1 point.
If I don't, specifically, ask for it, I can't grade it. I have to tell them EXACTLY what I'm grading and how many points each element is worth. It's all about the GRADE ya know.... This has lead to MAJOR grade inflation.
The difference between instructions and a rubric is that a rubric details exactly how the assignment will be graded. The assignment now becomes all about the grade. It's a check list for getting a higher grade...no thought required.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 01-07-2012 at 05:14 PM..
Yup. My students don't write a research section so much as they answer a series of questions. I can only grade them on whether or not the questions are right or wrong. I can't grade on quality of writing (I'm told my class is not an English class ).
I can't say "Write 3 or 4 paragraphs comparing and contrasting ionic and covalent compounds". I have to say: Define and explain ionic and covalent bonding - 2 points. List and discuss the properties of ionic and covalent compounds - 2 points. Explain why the melting points of ionic compounds are higher than the melting points for covalent compounds - 1 point. Explain why ionic compounds are electrolytes - 1 point.
If I don't, specifically, ask for it, I can't grade it. I have to tell them EXACTLY what I'm grading and how many points each element is worth. It's all about the GRADE ya know.... This has lead to MAJOR grade inflation.
The difference between instructions and a rubric is that a rubric details exactly how the assignment will be graded. The assignment now becomes all about the grade. It's a check list for getting a higher grade...no thought required.
Rubrics do not need to be that specific to be effective.
The assignment now becomes all about the grade. It's a check list for getting a higher grade...no thought required.
I think that whether a student is all about the grade depends on the student and whether they really love the subject matter. A student who is taking Chemistry because it is required for graduation is only taking it to get a grade. I don't see what's wrong with that. Not every student loves every subject.
I can tell you that my son is taking AP Physics so he can get college credit for it. He has ZERO interest in Physics. He doesn't care about learning anything in that class. He just wants credit for it. His Economics and Government class are different for him. He loves those subjects and cares about learning things in those classes.
I think that' just the nature of high school. Kids have to take stuff that they don't really care to take. Teachers have to accept that for some students it really is just a grade. The higher the better.
Rubrics do not need to be that specific to be effective.
They do if I want to be able to grade those elements. The problem is, parents will argue against grading anything that isn't called out in the rubric so, if I'm going to grade it, I'd better call it out.
For high school students, I think a, generic, set of instructions should suffice. I put out a general set of instructions for writing lab reports at the beginning of the year but I still get calls from parents for not giving rubrics that are specific to the particular lab in question. Apparently, the instruction "Explain the chemistry behind this lab." isn't clear enough.
I love rubrics because they make grading (and defending the grade) much, much easier for the teacher.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I remember back in my day when we had to write a paper it was always the who, what, where, when, why, how. No rubric. My daughters teacher provided this for their first book report and I was like, what's this? My daughter told me it was the information that had to be included in the report, hello? you could have just told them that, why do you have to send a sheet of paper home explaining it?
Yup. My students don't write a research section so much as they answer a series of questions. I can only grade them on whether or not the questions are right or wrong. I can't grade on quality of writing (I'm told my class is not an English class 
). 
