Authentic Assessment and Rubrics

Assessment methods based as closely as possible to real world experiences are called authentic assessment. Originally these were restricted to internship and apprenticeship experiences but have been expanded to the arts and other performances. The student is observed in action and the instructor provides feedback (direction). Now authentic assessment is being applied to all areas of the curriculum.

Real world experiences or simulations are normally complex and multi-faceted. A system is needed to analyze the complexities and to create clear criteria for student performance or their creation of a product. When provided with the assignment, a rubric establishes expectations. It is an authentic assessment tool which is growing in popularity due to its useful in assessing complex and subjective criteria.

Advantages of using rubrics in assessment include:

allowing assessment to be objective and consistent
allowing the instructor to clarify his/her criteria in specific terms
clearly showing the student how their work will be evaluated and what is expected
providing useful feedback regarding the effectiveness of the instruction
provide benchmarks against which to measure and document progress

The common features rubrics share include:

delineation of primary traits of performances and products
descriptions of various levels of performance or of product quality
a range for rating performance

Examples

Research Paper

http://rubrics.kon.org/rubric-undergraduate-research-outcomes.html

Full Course Assessment Rubric:

Digital Video Project Rubrics:

Rubric Websites

Automating Authentic Assessments with Rubrics

http://stone.web.brevard.k12.fl.us/html/comprubric.html

Rubrics and Evaluation Resources (includes downloadable templates)

http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/ho.html

Rubrics: Your Source for Information about Music Rubrics

http://research.franklin.uga.edu/assessment/content/rubrics

Weighted Rubrics

Creating Rubrics

http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4521.html

Teachnology: The Online Teacher Resource- collection on rubric generators

http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/

Rubrics 4 Teachers: Extensive Guide to Educational Rubrics

http://www.rubrics4teachers.com/

Rubistar: Online tool to help teachers create rubrics

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

Lesson Assessment Rubrics

http://www.alvernia.edu/academics/professional-programs/education/PDF/Rubric_for_Lesson_Plan.pdf

Jon Mueller's Authentic Assessment Toolbox

http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/rubrics.htm

Sample Rubrics

Sample Presentation Rubrics

From the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College: Oral Presentation Assessment
From Purdue University College of Science: Oral Presentation Rubric

Sample Literature Review Rubrics

From Winona State University: Literature Review Rubric
From Weber State University: Literature Review Rubric
From Camas High School: Literature Review Rubric

Sample Reflection Assignments/Reflection Letter Rubrics

From Rcampus: Reflective Letter Rubric
From University of Minnesota Duluth: Grading Rubric for Reflection Assignments

Sample Project Proposal Rubrics

From Southwestern: Student-Faculty Collaborative Summer Research Program Evaluation Rubric
From Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy: Project Proposal Assessment Rubric
From Carnegie Mellon University: Project Proposal and the System Analysis and Design Deliverable Rubric
From University of Alberta University Wellness Services: Project Proposal Scoring Rubric
From Fermilab Science Education Office: Project Proposal Rubric

Sample Project Results Report Rubrics

From Digital Commons@University of Nebraska—Lincoln: Project Report Evaluation
From University of Alabama College of Engineering: Lab and Project Report Evaluation

Sample Interview Paper Rubrics

From California State University, Sacramento: Interview Paper Rubric
From North Seattle Community College: Rubric for an Interview Paper
From the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media: Rubric for a Paper Based on an Interview

Sample Essay Rubrics

From readwritethink: Essay Rubric

Sample Persuasive Essay Rubrics

From readwritethink: Persuasion Rubric
From readwritethink: Persuasive Writing Scoring Guide

Sample Library Research Assignment Rubric

From Nyack College: Library Research Assignment Rubric

Faculty Spotlight View Other Award Winners

Constance Goodman
College of Education & Human Performance Each semester I approach my classroom in the spirit of the late James Baldwin, "For these are all of our children. We either profit by or pay for whatever they become." Education is a life or death situation for many children in our public schools. The young boys to your right represent the real impact of teaching...

Cynthia Gundy
College of Business Administration Cynthia Gundy A college education is about preparing students for the rest of their professional lives. Indeed students must be taught the discipline's jargon, its decision making tools and how best to apply them as well as the underlying foundation on which those theories are based. But so many other critical lessons are k...

Alireza Rahrooh
College of Engineering and Computer Science Alireza Rahrooh Teaching is a craft. Like any manual craft, it deals with tasks that must be done and redone every day. Each day of teaching brings failures, accomplishments, crises and delightful surprises. But it is always difficult. No class, no lecture, no assignment is ever perfect. Only with great effort can they be made ac...

Authentic Assessment and Rubrics

Examples

Rubric Websites

Sample Rubrics

Faculty Spotlight View Other Award Winners

Where to Find Us

Contact Us