Grading Rubrics

A grading rubric is a  set of criteria for evaluating your classwork and for giving you feedback.

Why a grading rubric?

• To let you know performance expectations and grading standards in advance
• To objectively score your assignments
• To help you evaluate and improve your work over the semester

Homework Grading Rubric

Content	Mechanics	Grade
Assignment goal is met Sophisticated understanding of the subject Imaginative, well-considered, comprehensive answer	Paper is legible; paper meets length and content requirements Title is descriptive and specific Clear, logical, well-structured and concise argument is developed; data, figures or tables clearly support the argument Sources of information are authoritative and are cited Very few (<2) spelling/grammar mistakes	A
Assignment goal is met Basic understanding of the questions posed is demonstrated Answer considers major issues involved	Paper is legible; paper meets length and content requirements Title is descriptive and specific Clear, logical and concise argument is developed; data, figures or tables clearly support the argument Sources of information are authoritative and cited Few (<5) spelling or grammar mistakes	B
Assignment goal is poorly met Limited or poor understanding of questions posed Answer doesn't address major issues involved	Paper is legible; paper doesn't meet length/content requirements Title is general and doesn't describe paper content Writing is disorganized; argument is hard to follow; little/no  support for argument from data, figures or tables Sources of information are not acknowledged or not authoritative Spelling and grammar mistakes are distracting (5-10).	C-D
Assignment goal not met Poor/absent understanding of questions posed Answer doesn't address major issues involved	Paper is illegible; paper doesn't meet length/content requirements Title absent or irrelevant Writing is disorganized; argument impossible to follow No supporting data, tables, figures No citations or references; evidence of plagiarism. Numerous (>10) spelling/grammar mistakes.	E

Exam Grading Rubric

Content	Mechanics	Credit
Instructions followed Answer complete and concise No extraneous information	Correct, legible short sentence or phrase answer Numbers have units Work is shown (when calculations are required) Extra credit question or test error found/corrected	Full + extra credit
Instructions followed Answer complete and concise No extraneous information	Correct, legible short sentences or phrases Numbers have units Work is shown (when calculations are required)	Full
Instructions not followed Answer incomplete Extraneous, irrelevant information	Incorrect, legible short sentence or phrase answer Numbers don't have units Work is not shown (when calculations are required)	Partial or none

Demonstration Assessment Grading Rubric

Content	Mechanics	Credit
Instructions followed Answer complete yet concise No extraneous information	Thoughtful, legible, short answer displays understanding of demonstrated principle Good grammar/spelling: complete sentences, minimal errors Work is shown (when calculations are required)	Full
Instructions not followed Answer incomplete Extraneous, irrelevant information	Illegible answer displays misunderstanding of demonstrated principle Poor grammar/spelling: incomplete sentences and grammar errors make answer unintelligible Work is not shown (when calculations are required)	Partial or none

Take Home Quiz Grading Rubric

Content	Mechanics	Credit
Instructions followed Answer complete and concise No extraneous information	Correct, legible short sentence and/or calculation answer Correct or reasonable inferences drawn from quantitative results Numbers have units, graph axes are labeled, graph has title Work is shown (where calculations are required)	Full
Instructions not followed Answer incomplete Extraneuous, irrelevant information	Incorrect or illegible short sentence and/or calculated answer Incorrect or unreasonable inferences drawn from quantitative results Numbers don't have units, graph axes are unlabeled, graph is untitled Work is not shown (where calculations are required)	Partial or none

Sources:

Rubric Basics
Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide
Tewksbury, B., 1996, Teaching without exams - the challenges and the benefits.  Journal of Geoscience Education 44: 366-372, referenced in: Course Notes, National Association of Geoscience  Teachers (NAGT) Workshop for Early Career Faculty in the Geosciences: Teaching, Research and Managing your Career, June 1-6, 2002, Williamsburg, VA.
B. Tewksbury, pers. comm., August 2002, July 2003.