Using Rubrics for Language Assessment

Abstract

The use of rubrics for classroom assessment has been evolving rapidly during the last decades. Unfortunately, because rubrics across language classrooms are only sometimes standardized, some may provide a non-friendly language for students, which is useless for their linguistic development. In addition to defining rubrics from an array of perspectives, the present chapter presents possible benefits linked to the appropriate use of rubrics among emergent bilinguals. Shabani and Panahi highlight essential benefits for students when presented with language assessment tools, such as rubrics, and the authors use their observation for this chapter. It aims to highlight the importance of rubrics in the language classroom in an effort for educators, evaluators, and policymakers to be more conscious when creating and using rubrics.