1. Prepared by: Arcel Marie A. Emeliano
Developing Rubrics for Essay
Test

2. Rubrics
 Is an evaluation tool for essay test.
 It gives Quantitative and Qualitative descriptions.
 Holistic rubric or Analytic rubric
 A complete package of scoring.

3. Holistic rubric
 Make a single judgment about the object or behavior being
evaluated and give the overall traits of response.
 It uses criterion – based standards by providing descriptions of
the different levels of performance like:
 Most Acceptable, Very Acceptable, Acceptable, Barely Acceptable and
Unacceptable

4. Holistic Rubric for Assessing StudentEssay*
Rating Detailed Description of Performance at Each Level
Inadequate The essay has at least one serious weakness. It may be
unfocused, underdeveloped, or rambling. Problems with the use
of language seriously interfere with the reader’s ability to
understand what is being communicated.
Developing
Competence
The essay may be somewhat unfocused, underdeveloped, or
rambling, but it does have some coherence. Problems with the
use of language occasionally interfere with the reader’s ability to
understand what is being communicated.
Acceptable The essay is generally focused and contains some development
of ideas, but the discussion may be simplistic or repetitive. The
language lacks syntactic complexity and may contain occasional
grammatical errors, but the reader is able to understand what is
being communicated.
Sophisticated The essay is focused and clearly organized, and it shows depth of
development. The language is precise and shows syntactic
variety, and ideas are clearly communicated to the reader.
*Source: Allen (2004), p. 139.

5. Analytic rubric
 Describe the quality of the response in each criterion.
Resulting in multiple judgments about an object or
performance.

6. Analytic Rubricto Assess Information Literacy*
Below Expectations Meets Expectations Exceeds Expectations
Range of
relevant
materials
The paper cites only
web sites, has too
few primary sources,
or frequently cites
sources only marginally
related to the topic.
The paper cites
Reasonably relevant
Web sites, journals, and books,
although too few sources are
used or key materials that
should have been cited are
missing.
The paper cites a rich array of
relevant web sites, journals, and
books, including classic materials
related to the topic.
Citations The paper fails to cite
sources using a consistent,
formal, citation style.
Most of the citations follow a
consistent, formal style,
although occasionally citations
contain minor errors or provide
incomplete information.
All citations are complete,
accurate, and consistently
conform to a formal style.
Use of
Sources
Cited materials are
poorly integrated into
the paper and connections
between sources are not
noted.
Cited materials generally are
integrated into the paper, but
some important connections
between sources are not
explored.
Cited materials are well-
integrated into the paper and
connections between sources are
explicitly discussed.
Plagiarism The student fails to cite
sources when using
other’s ideas or fails to
include necessary quotation
marks or page numbers
for direct quotations.
The source of information is
generally clear, but
occasionally may be
ambiguous. Quotations are
properly indicated.
The source of all ideas is carefully
documented and quotations are
properly indicated.
*Source: Allen (2004), p. 139.

7. WHY DEVELOPED/USE RUBRIC?

8.  Because essay responses are constructed by students
 It helps clarify the expectations you and others have for
student performance by providing detailed descriptions of
those agreed upon expectations .

9. Steps in Writing Rubrics:
 Step 1: Set the Scale
 Step 2: Define the Ratings
 Step 3: Identify basic descriptions
 Step 4: Descriptions of what performance will look like at each
level

10. Setting Criteria in Developing Rubrics for
Essay Tests:
1. The descriptions must focus on the important aspects of an
essay response.
2. The type of rating must match the purpose of the assessment.
3. The descriptions of the criteria must be directly observable.

11. 4. Ensure that the criteria are understood by the students, parents,
and others.
5. The characteristics and traits used in the scale should be clearly
and specifically defined.

12. 6. Minimize errors in scoring.
• Generosity errors
• Central tendency error
• Severity error
7. Make the scoring system feasible.

13. Setting PerformanceLevel:
• Rating Scale is used
• Can be Qualitative scale
• Can be Numerical and Quantitative

14. SAMPLE RUBRIC FOR PERSUASIVE ESSAY TESTS*
Criteria
Quality
Very Good Good Fair Poor
Claim was
made.
I made a claim
and explained
why it was
controversial.
I made a claim but
did not explain why
it was controversial.
I made a claim
but it was
confusing or
unclear.
I did not make a
claim.
Reasons were
given in
support of the
claim.
I gave clear,
accurate reasons
in support of the
claim.
I gave reasons in
support of the
claim, but
overlooked
important reasons.
I gave one or two
reasons which
did not support
the claim well. I
gave irrelevant or
confusing
reasons.
I did not give
convincing
reasons in
support of the
claim.
Reasons were
considered
against the
claim.
I thoroughly
discussed the
reasons against
the claim.
I discussed reasons
against the claim,
but left out
important reasons
and/or I did not
explain why the
claim still stands.
I acknowledged
that there were
reasons against
the claim but did
not explain them.
I did not give
reasons against
the claim.

15. (Sample Rubric for Persuasive Essay Test continued)
Criteria
Quality
Very Good Good Fair Poor
Organization My writing was
well organized;
had a compelling
opening; had a
strong,
informative body;
had a satisfying
conclusion; and
had an
appropriate
paragraph
format.
My writing had a
clear beginning,
middle, and end. I
used an
appropriate
paragraph
format.
My writing was
mostly organized
but got off topic
at times. It had
several
paragraph format
errors.
My writing was
aimless and
disorganized.
Word choice The words I used
were striking,
natural, varied,
vivid.
I mostly used
routine words.
My words were
dull and
uninspired and
they sounded like
I was trying too
hard to impress.
I used the same
words over and
over. Some
words were a bit
confusing.

16. Criteria
Quality
Very Good Good Fair Poor
Sentence
fluency
My sentence were
clear, complete
and of different
lengths.
I wrote well –
constructed but
routine
sentences.
My sentences
were often flat
or awkward.
There were also
some run-ons
and fragments.
I had many run-
ons, fragments
and awkward
phrasing, making
my essay hard to
read.
Conventions I used the first
person. I used
correct sentence
structure,
grammar,
punctuations and
spelling.
My spelling was
correct on
common words.
There were
some errors in
grammar and
punctuations.
Frequent errors
were distracting
to the reader but
did not interfere
with the
meaning of my
paper.
My errors in
grammar,
capitalization,
spelling and
punctuations
made my paper
hard to read.
(Sample Rubric for Persuasive Essay Test continued)
*Source: Reganit, A. A, Elicay, R. & Laguerta, C. (2010). Assessment of Student Learning 1
(Cognitive Learning). Quezon City: C&E Publishing, Inc.

17. References:
 Reganit, A. A, Elicay, R. & Laguerta, C. (2010). Assessment
of Student Learning 1 (Cognitive Learning). Quezon City:
C&E Publishing, Inc.
 Stevens, Dannelle and Levi, Antonia. (2005). Introduction to
Rubrics. Sterling, VA: Stylus
 Navarro, R. Ph.D. & Santos, R. Ph.D. (2012). Assessment of
Learning Outcomes (Assessment 1). 2nd ed. Quezon City:
LORIMAR Publishing, Inc. pg. 33.