Example of a Rubric

I received a great comment and request this evening by someone reading the previous blog about report cards. They requested an example of a rubric that may accompany a portfolio piece. Below is a Project Rubric that one of my students recently added to his portfolio. This rubric is very specific to a project and was one that was developed within my classroom with the help of the students. I chose this to share because it is one that I have on hand. But it gives the basic idea of how a student could demonstrate what they have learned in response to a set rubric or criteria. Included with the rubric (in his portfolio )is his body of work, which includes an essay on the experiments he conducted, a faux newspaper about ants, photos of his experiments as well as graphs. The rubric was presented at the beginning of the project so students had a sense of how to gauge their own progress along the way.

The great thing about a rubric is that it sets up the expectations clearly for students so they don’t have to be guessing what they need to be working toward. The rubric below represents the self reflection of the student, without my input. However, most rubrics also have a place for my feedback as well.

Of course a rubric could be created that covers a much larger scale or subject mater. A rubric could be used to show the developmental stages of a writer, reader, mathematician or artist. This kind of continuum of learning much more clearly allows all parties involved to see where students have come from and where they are going. Many school districts already use learning continuums when developing scope and sequence and these could be easily used in classrooms and with portfolios.