Week # 5: Rubrics and Alternative Assessment

When I learned we were supposed to come up with the rubrics, the first thing I did was read about it. As I was reading on Alternative Assessment, I realized this would be the ideal situation when assessing students. Unfortunately, this is not what happens at the place where I teach. We have those traditional formal quizzes, midterm written and oral exams. Even the online exam is in the old "format", with multiple choice questions and fill in the blanks. The only situation when students interact in a meaningful way is during class, when we talk about the issues and take a stand. Students are assessed on the occasion and are granted what we call "Class Grade". This grade is neglected, though.  They put more effort on the "exams". 

I really like the idea we should provide students with tasks that will lead to communication for meaningful purposes. I think if we offer activities that replicate challenges they will face in real life situations, maybe they will see the importance and relevance of the activity and, consequently, participate more. 

After reading on this fantastic approach, I started thinking about the rubric I would have to put together. First thing I did was grab the folder with the "Holistic Scoring Rubrics for Compositions" we use in the Advanced Writing 2 course.  Then, I thought: “I’ll have to spend a lot of time adapting these rubrics to what I consider reasonable now that I have more information on the issue”.

I tried RubiStar for the first time. To my surprise, I found exactly what I needed! And the best part of it: it took me less than 10 minutes to come up with a much more practical and fair breakdown score.”

From now on, I’ll use it and I’ll devote the time saved to other activities!

Helô