How to Write Rubrics for Third Grade

Assessment is part of teaching.

The function of educational assessment is twofold. First, it tells the teacher how well her student understands the content presented in class, and gives her data with which to create a report card. The second function of an assessment, however, is even more important. It should inform students what specific areas need improvement. When assessment is a test, this is not an issue; students can see which questions they've missed right on the page. But when the assessment is a project or writing assignment, as it often is in the third grade, things are not as clear. A number or letter grade gives the student little specific information about ways to improve, so a rubric is needed.

Instructions

Writing a Rubric

1. Write out four or five specific skills you want students to gain from the assignment, or goals they need to complete. For example, one target skill in a third-grade writing assignment might be: "Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence." A target goal in a third-grade lab report might be: "Write two observations of the experiment."

2. Once you have your list, go back and make sure that each is a concrete skill that can be easily assessed. For example, "Uses complete sentences" can be checked against the essay. A category such as, "Each paragraph is well-written," on the other hand, is far too vague. Your assessment in this category might be 100 percent accurate, but it won't help the student understand why her paragraph is or is not well-written.

3. Create only four or five categories. More than this can be overwhelming for a third-grader.

4. Either on your computer or by hand, create two columns. On the left side, type or write the categories you've chosen.

5. On the right side, assign each category a point value. In order to make grading easier, the point values should add up to 100. However, categories do not have to be the same value. For example, if there is one "core skill" that was the focus of the assignment, it can be worth more points.

6. Draw a few lines beneath the rubric for comments and the final grade.

7. Photocopy enough rubrics for your class and hand them out on the day you start the assignment. This way students understand your expectations and how they are going to be assessed beforehand.

Tips & Warnings

• It is preferable to use a computer to create rubrics, so you can save them for future classes. Also, if your class has a website, you can post the rubric online for reference.

• If it's a writing assignment, make students responsible for stapling the rubric to the final product. This will force them to check and see if they've met expectations before handing in the assignment.

References

• How to Make a Rubric in Less Than Five Minutes