Rubrics as Tools for Effective Assessment of Student Learning and Program Quality

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the potential of rubrics as tools for effective assessment and introduce the concepts of rubric assessment, construction, testing, and implementation, with critical stakeholder involvement and leadership support. Rubrics should be designed to align to outcomes and assess the level of achievement for each major component of an assignment. They can be constructed in a variety of ways with various kinds of points allocations. From design to implementation, a range of stakeholders including subject, curriculum, and assessment experts should be involved to ensure the rubric descriptions use measurable verbs and objective language. Rubrics design is an iterative process with an aim to continuously improve their effectiveness. Done well, rubrics can serve as support to student learning, consistent and transparent evaluation of students work, and course, program, and institutional learning quality assessment.