Essential Skills
 

Project-based Learning Rubric

Score Levels

Content

Conventions

Organization

Presentation

4

-- Is well thought out and supports the solution to the challenge or question

-- Reflects application of critical thinking

-- Has clear goal that is related to the topic

-- Is pulled from a variety of sources

-- Is accurate

-- No spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors

-- High-level use of vocabulary and word choice

-- Information is clearly focused in an organized and thoughtful manner.

-- Information is constructed in a logical pattern to support the solution.

-- Multimedia is used to clarify and illustrate the main points.

-- Format enhances the content.

-- Presentation captures audience attention.

-- Presentation is organized and well laid out.

3

-- Is well thought out and supports the solution

-- Has application of critical thinking that is apparent

-- Has clear goal that is related to the topic

-- Is pulled from several sources

-- Is accurate

-- Few (1 to 3) spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors

-- Good use of vocabulary and word choice  

-- Information supports the solution to the challenge or question.

-- Multimedia is used to illustrate the main points.

-- Format is appropriate for the content.

-- Presentation captures audience attention.

-- Presentation is well organized.

2

-- Supports the solution

-- Has application of critical thinking that is apparent

-- Has no clear goal

-- Is pulled from a limited number of sources

-- Has some factual errors or inconsistencies

-- Minimal (3 to 5) spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors

-- Low-level use of vocabulary and word choice

-- Project has a focus but might stray from it at times.

-- Information appears to have a pattern, but the pattern is not consistently carried out in the project.

-- Information loosely supports the solution.

-- Multimedia loosely illustrates the main points.

-- Format does not suit the content.

-- Presentation does not capture audience attention.

-- Presentation is loosely organized.

1

-- Provides inconsistent information for solution

-- Has no apparent application of critical thinking

-- Has no clear goal

-- Is pulled from few sources

-- Has significant factual errors, misconceptions, or misinterpretations

-- More than 5 spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors

-- Poor use of vocabulary and word choice

-- Poorly organized

-- Content is unfocused and haphazard.

-- Information does not support the solution to the challenge or question.

-- Information has no apparent pattern.

-- Presentation appears sloppy and/or unfinished.

-- Multimedia is overused or underused.

-- Format does not enhance content.

-- Presentation has no clear organization.

Rubrics are all the rage in assessing student work. Fads not withstanding, they work. Students can see what the teacher expects and can essentially grade their own projects.

This is a rubric pulled from the Microsoft website. It's a generic rubric that is modified to fit specific projects.

Students in Essential Skills will always have access to the rubric applicable to the project du jour.

 

 

 

 

 IN Essential Skills we exercise the whole brain.
Education experts believe that rubrics improve students' end products and therefore increase learning. When teachers evaluate papers or projects, they know implicitly what makes a good final product and why. When students receive rubrics beforehand, they understand how they will be evaluated and can prepare accordingly. Developing a grid and making it available as a tool for students' use will provide the scaffolding necessary to improve the quality of their work and increase their knowledge.

Rubrics offer several advantages. 

  • Rubrics improve student performance by clearly showing the student how their work will be evaluated and what is expected.
  • Rubrics help students become better judges of the quality of their own work.
  • Rubrics allow assessment to be more objective and consistent.
  • Rubrics force the teacher to clarify his/her criteria in specific terms.
  • Rubrics reduce the amount of time teachers spend evaluating student work.
  • Rubrics promote student awareness about the criteria to use in assessing peer performance.
  • Rubrics provide useful feedback to the teacher regarding the effectiveness of the instruction.
  • Rubrics provide students with more informative feedback about their strengths and areas in need of improvement.
  • Rubrics accommodate heterogeneous classes by offering a range of quality levels.
  • Rubrics are easy to use and easy to explain. 
 
4  Consistently does all or almost all of the following:
 
Accurately interprets evidence, statements, graphics, questions, etc.
Identifies the salient arguments (reasons and claims) pro and con.
Thoughtfully analyzes and evaluates major alternative points of view.
Draws warranted, judicious, non-fallacious conclusions.
Justifies key results and procedures, explains assumptions and reasons.
Fair-mindedly follows where evidence and reasons lead.
 
3  Does most or many of the following:
 
Accurately interprets evidence, statements, graphics, questions, etc.
Identifies relevant arguments (reasons and claims) pro and con.
Offers analyses and evaluations of obvious alternative points of view.
Justifies some results or procedures, explains reasons.
Fairmindedly follows where evidence and reasons lead.
 
2  Does most or many of the following:
 
Misinterprets evidence, statements, graphics, questions, etc.
Fails to identify strong, relevant counter-arguments.
Ignores or superficially evaluates obvious alternative points of view.
Justifies few results or procedures, seldom explains reasons.
Regardless of the evidence or reasons maintains or defends views based on self-interest or preconceptions.
 
1  Consistently does all or almost all of the following:
 
Offers biased interpretations of evidence, statements, graphics, questions, information, or the points of view of others.
Fails to identify or hastily dismisses strong, relevant counter-arguments.
Ignores or superficially evaluates obvious alternative points of view
Argues using fallacious or irrelevant reasons, and unwarranted claims.
Regardless of the evidence or reasons, maintains or defends views based on  self-interest or preconceptions.
Exhibits close-mindedness or hostility to reason.
 
In Essential Skills, classroom discussions are conducted with the intent of developing level 4 thinking skills. These skills are then expected to be applied to all projects and classroom assignments.

This rubric is based on the work of Peter Facione and Noreen Facione. They have developed the four-level Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric to assess the critical thinking skills and some of the dispositions identified by the Delphi project as these skills are demonstrated by students in essays, projects, presentations, clinical practices, and such.