Honestly, I've never been a fan of rubrics. Although they can be very helpful (they allow the students to know exactly what the teacher expects from an assignment, and allows the the teacher a guide for grading an assignment) I feel that a rubric is similar to presenting an example of what a teacher expects; it stifles a student's creativity. When given a model, or example of something, most students try to emulate the specific example, not going beyond what is asked for. Think about us as future teachers: most of us just copy the model of lesson plan our professors give us, not adding or omitting anything. Is it because we agree with the example or because it's what is expected to receive the highest grade?
As a future teacher, I do not expect to use rubrics as much as I may use guidelines or other methods to evaluate a student's work. I don't want to limit how creative a student may want to be with a paper, project, drawing, etc. However, I do understand that establishing a specific guideline, like a rubric, for an assignment can justify why a student may receive an 'A' versus a 'A-' or a '4' versus a '3'. Also, if questioned about a students grades, rubrics can be used to show how each grade, or assignment was determined.
Overall, I believe rubrics have a purpose in the classroom, however, I would prefer not to use them.
15 years ago