Specific and Descriptive Criteria

Providing specific and descriptive criteria on how the students will be graded is important. Evaluation of students work and participation should be clearly stated in the grading policy. Use of rubrics, grades and opportunities for students to measure their own learning is helpful for students to gauge their learning process. Providing these rubrics and grading guides is helpful for the student to understand the method of your grading.

 

Need a tool for grading essays, projects or performances? Use a rubric.

Rubrics are a tool that make assessment and grading easier. A rubric is a scoring guide that lists the required elements or characteristics of a student product and describes different levels of quality for each element (see an example).

Rubrics are best suited for assessments such as essays, projects or performances because they make grading easier and give students more detailed feedback. Rubrics also facilitate alignment because they can directly reflect the learning objectives.