END OF QUARTER RUBRIC

 

VERSION '05-'06

Nothing Compares 2 U

(Sinead O’Connor)

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

(take your pick)

I’m a Believer

(The Monkees)

What Have I Done to Deserve This?

(Pet Shop Boys)

Content Mastery

Consistently demonstrates insightful content mastery in writing and discussion

Consistently grasps details, nuances or subtleties

Consistent content understanding in writing and discussion

Sometimes grasps details, nuances or subtleties

Periodic understanding; lacking depth

 

Offers quick, superficial answers and shows little interest in developing those first responses

Critical Thinking

 Seeks outside information to complement course content

Connects content to current event or outside issues

Synthesizes material while reading, writing or discussing; analyzes and interprets throughout the process.

Analyzes and interprets throughout the process.

Consistently strives to challenge, deepen and test own ideas honestly, confronts opposition arguments not just to find flaws, but also to discover and benefit from the merits of those arguments; listens and reads with an open mind.

Identifies and resolves fallacies and inconsistencies

May engage outside information to complement course content

Periodically connects content with current events/outside issues

Reads with attention to detail and the ability to synthesize most material, clear evidence of thoughtful reading, in written work & discussion

Serious thinker, reconsiders and critiques own ideas when prompted, intellectually honest and open-minded.

Identifies fallacies and inconsistencies

 

Reads thoroughly and, in written work and discussion, may give some evidence of being insightful about the reading

Thoughtful but sometimes fails or is unwilling to reconsider his or her own ideas seriously

 Inconsistently identifies fallacies and inconsistencies

 

 

Offers quick, superficial answers and shows little interest in developing those first responses

Unaware of fallacies and inconsistencies

 

Academic Discipline

Consistently prepares all assignments (all drafts) in a thorough and timely manner

Self-disciplined throughout any creative or intellectual process; always strives to do meaningful, probing work, uses others to test ideas

Consistently prepared for constructive participation

Purposefully revises and conferences in a timely manner

Intellectually alert and curious.

Revises and conferences, but lack true “revision” or timeliness

Majority of assignments completed thoroughly and on time

Usually self-disciplined, self-motivated and generally independent

Often prepared for constructive participation

Not revisions, more like edits, rarely conferences

Sometimes completes assignments on time. This student is never blatantly irresponsible but may sometimes need others to direct his or her work

Little effort to revise or conference often works well but fails to complete some important assignments

 May complete reading assignments but does not demonstrate a thorough or thoughtful grasp of the text

Collaboration, Civic and Social Conduct (ethical behavior)

Fills multiple roles (leads and follows)

Monitors and adjusts for group relations

Encourages all group members to share their ideas

Cares about goals; helps direct the group in setting and meeting goals

Consistently demonstrates ethical conduct and decision making  in: technology use, content discussion, group process

Is strikingly involved in fostering a thoughtful, productive classroom

Furthers conversation as both a listener and a contributor

Consistently participates meaningfully in writing group

Contributes to a thoughtful, productive classroom, group project or conference, by coming prepared and remaining attentive and involved

Honestly works at all roles

Participates in  writing groups, tries to resist instructing group members

Often listens and contributes or may contribute more than listens

Can support a point of view but is not consistently open-minded regarding the views of others

Does not seriously detract from others' work but only rarely contributes to discussions or sometimes adds comments which show a lack of real attentiveness or grasp of the discussion's focus

Limited writing group participation or simply tells peers what to do

Tends to dominate the discussion without listening to others

Hinders or contributes nothing to group processing

Makes very few contributions to discussions or is notably disruptive at times

Demonstrates poor ethical conduct and decision making in: technology use, content discussion, group process

No or meaningless writing group participation

Does not engage in discussion

Metacognition
Self-Regulation

Purposefully reflects and tracks progress

Articulates what is being done, why, and how and understands how it affects learning

Adjusts for strengths and obstacles

Uses past task reflection to adjust for future endeavors

Reflects with each task, but only because instructed to; may not track progress over all

Usually able to articulate why an approach is (or is not) successful but doesn't see the connection to learning (unless prompted)

May use past reflection for goal setting

Reflects with little depth because haven't yet developed the strategies for doing it; does not track progress

Can not articulate what, why or how

No effort at meaningful, purposeful reflection

Is not interested in learning how to reflect

Presentation of Work

Writes with impressive clarity, technical polish and a sense of purpose arising from sincere interest use of language and investment in the content

In oral presentation: articulate, prepared, rehearsed, well-supported and informed

Visual work has strong aesthetic appeal; not cluttered, graphics enhance content; image selection is appropriate; enhancements enrich the viewing and learning experience and significantly contribute to conveying the content and meaning

Writes with clarity and correctness

Articulate and prepared but lacking depth of understanding, investigation or evidence

In visual work multimedia elements adequately contribute to conveying the content and meaning; most graphics used used appropriately to enrich the experience; purpose is not readily evident.

Writes with some clarity but with some notable editing errors or occasional awkwardness

Inarticulate or unclear, inadequate preparation, rehearsal or evidence

Visual work lacks attention to aesthetic design. Graphics are random or insufficient and do not enhance content.

Writes  without attention to detail or without adequate development of ideas

May complete work but often in a sloppy or thoughtless fashion

In visual work graphics interfere with or distract from content and communication of ideas.

 

NOTE ON THE USE OF THIS RUBRIC:
The purpose of a rubric when assessing student work is to provide benchmarks of achievement which allow a student to understand their current level of mastery and discipline in order to set goals for future drafts, assessments, or, in this case, marking periods. For as long as possible we will refrain from discussing grades, per se, and focus our discussion on achievement and progress. As long as a student continues to set goals, reflect and evaluate their work and habits, set new goals and modify their work, habits and effort accordingly, they will realize increasing success and achievement as the year progresses. Thus, rather than penalizing a student who begins the year as a believer and ends the year with nothing compared to them by averaging a lower earlier grade with a later higher one, the student is evaluated according to mastery and achievement as demonstrated by their ability and mastery by the end of the year. However, a student who may begin the year with the drive and motivation to knock on heaven's door, but who then slacks off, loses focus and discipline and ends up wondering what they did to deserve this, will not be boosted from a D to a C because first quarter was strong when it is not reflective of the ability or master he or she consistently demonstrated.

 

Students, please review this rubric with your parents, and parents, at least at the end of each quarter, please ask your student to review this rubric with you and show you the work they did that quarter and how it corresponds to that quarter's evaluation of their progress. Feel free to contact us at any time with questions you may have about this evaluation method.