RUBRICS: THE VERSATILE AND PRACTICAL CHOICEAssessment Day 4.0February 2016

Eric Streeter, Senior Academic Advisor

Outline• What are rubrics• Why we chose to use rubrics• Creating the rubrics• Experience using rubrics in academic advising• Data

WHAT ARE RUBRICS?

Rubrics• Used to score or rate• Articulates what is being measured and the scale it is

being measured on• Descriptive rubrics: the gold standard

• The scales is further explained for each item being measured

A Descriptive Rubric Example

 Needs

Improvement (1)

Developing (2) Sufficient (3) Above

Average (4)

Clarity (Thesis

supported by relevant

information and ideas.)

The purpose of the student

work is not well-defined. Central ideas

are not focused to support the

thesis. Thoughts appear

disconnected.

The central purpose of the student work is identified.

Ideas are generally

focused in a way that

supports the thesis.

The central purpose of the student work is clear and ideas are

almost always focused in a

way that supports the

thesis. Relevant details

illustrate the author’s ideas.

The central purpose of the student work is clear and supporting

ideas always are always

well-focused. Details are relevant,

enrich the work.

Your Experience with Rubrics• Academic assignments• Judged contests (talent show, costume contest, etc.)• Performance evaluations• Candidate evaluations• To an extent – some survey questions resemble rubrics

WHY USE RUBRICS?

The Choice: Rooted in Mapping• Direct measure for learning outcomes• Context for learning for measuring: mostly advising

appointments• Ease of use• Versatility

• Conversations in advisement appointments• “Assignments” completed by advisees• Timeframes for use

Rubric VersatilityAdvising Structure:• College of Arts and Sciences• School of Architecture and

Planning• School of Engineering and

Applied Sciences• School of Management• School of Medicine and

Biomedical Sciences• School of Nursing• School of Pharmacy and

Pharmaceutical Sciences

• School of Public Health and Health Professions

• Student Advising Services• Athletics• Access to College Excellence

Program (ACE)• Daniel Acker Scholars• Educational Opportunity

Program (EOP)• Student Support Services

(SSS)• University Honors College

CREATING OUR RUBRICS

Rubric Tool

Baseline, form Campus Labs• Was already available to us

• Easy to access• Easy to set up

Development & Testing• Developing the criteria and descriptions

• Decision to use a 3 point scale

• Testing• Several advisors form different departments• Multiple contexts• Increased support for the tool

ADVISING ASSESSMENT RUBRICSMajor and General Education Requirements RubricGoals Rubric

Decisions and Tradeoffs

Choice

• Flexibility for sampling method• Timeline• Sample size

Tradeoffs

• Challenges to viability of the data

Decisions and Tradeoffs

Choice

• Baseline tool• Availability• Ease of use• Ease of set up

Tradeoffs

• Lack of flexibility to make certain customizations• Comment sections• Criteria descriptions• Built in reports do not say

much• Advisors cannot view the

data they entered

Decisions and Tradeoffs

Choice

• Entering student person number• Demographic data • Makes using the tool faster

when other demographic data is not entered

Tradeoffs

• Some data gets lost when ID numbers get entered incorrectly

Decisions and Tradeoffs

Choice

• 3 point scale• Easy to use• Required less instruction

Tradeoffs

• Less dynamic data

Challenges• Training

• People do not understand what a rubric is at first• When to do the assessment

• Limitations of the Baseline tool• Challenges to the data based on the tradeoffs

Successes• Positive feedback about ease of use• Every unit agreed to use at least one rubric• Data!

DATA

LO: Students will know the requirements for their major•Requirements Rubric

LO: Students will know the requirements for their major•Requirements Rubric

LO: Students will know the requirements for their major•Requirements Rubric

LO: Students will know the requirements for their major•Requirements Rubric

LO: Students will know their requirements for general education•Requirements Rubric

LO: Students will know their requirements for general education•Requirements Rubric

LO: Students will be able to select appropriate courses based on their goals

• Goals Rubric

LO: Students will be able to select appropriate courses based on their goals

• Goals Rubric

LO: Students will be able to select appropriate courses based on their goals

• Goals Rubric

USING THE DATA

“Closing the Loop”• Share data • Engage stakeholders • Make interpretations• Set targets for improvement• Brainstorm ideas for improvement• Implement changes for improvement• Continue to assess after changes are implimented