Grading Rubrics: What's in it for Faculty?

Higher education literature recognizes the vital role that grading rubrics exert on improving student academic performance (Howell, 2011). As an assessment tool, rubrics allocate points to specific evaluative criteria to gauge student performance (Truemper, 2004).  Benefits of rubric assessment have been noted to include: increased student understanding of instructor expectations (Oakleaf, 2008) and more meaningful grading experiences due to clearly stated evaluative criteria (Brescian, Zelna & Anderson, 2004). An analytic rubric, which allows for separate evaluation of each component of the assignment, has been shown to provide objective formative feedback to guide student performance (Oakleaf, 2009). In addition, studies of administrative and pedagogical advantages to using grading rubrics have been documented (Solan & Linardopoulos, 2011). Despite the growing body of research on rubric assessment as it relates to student perceptions and performance, few findings focus on the rigorous use of standardized rubric tools in instructional and program assessments, or on the perceptions of faculty who use these standardized assessment tools (Reddy & Andrade, 2010).

This presentation will present findings from a mixed method study that examined the use of standardized analytic rubrics for student assessment, and the perceptions of faculty who use them. A survey design methodology, involving both pre- and post-tests, was utilized to establish the effectiveness of standardized rubric-based interventions. Using a similar survey design, our audience will be actively engaged through the use of audience response systems in discussing analysis of findings.

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