You need rubrics if:

• You find yourself repeating the same comments on most student papers
• You worry that you're grading the latest papers differently from the first
• You're concerned about communicating the complexity of a semester-long assignment
• You question the consistency of your and your colleagues' grading scales
• Grading is taking up far too much of your valuable time

Research shows that rubrics save professors' time while conveying meaningful and timely feedback for students, and promoting self-regulated and independent learning. The reason rubrics are little used in higher education is that few faculty members have been exposed to their use.

The authors go on to describe a variety of processes to construct rubrics, including some which involve student participation. They demonstrate how interactive rubrics—a process involving assessors and the assessed in defining the criteria for an assignment or objective—can be effective.

Dannelle D. Stevens and Antonia J. Levi

ISBN 1-57922-115-7; 2004; 112 pages; softbound