Assessing Master Students’ Competencies Using Rubrics: Lessons Learned from Future Secondary Education Teachers

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide insights into the appropriateness of teaching-learning and evaluation processes using rubrics, for student self-assessments. We studied students enrolled on the Master’s in Secondary Education Teaching—Music Specialism course. In the Spanish secondary education system, music is seen as increasing equity and improving student performance in line with the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The training of new teachers and the ongoing professional development of the current teaching force are critical for improving the quality of education. We adopted an action-research approach and obtained feedback from the Masters’ students via questionnaires administered at the start and end of the process (pre- and post-test). Our results show that using rubrics as formative and shared assessment tools has a positive influence on students’ perceptions of their acquisition of both transversal and specific competencies, as well as demonstrating the utility of rubrics for their future professional practice. However, rubrics on their own are not sufficient to increase the facility for learning and awareness among students.