Entering Standard Rubrics into eLumen
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If you've had experience writing rubrics in the past, you can easily tell that the format you have used isn't the same as the format needed by eLumen. However, don't worry; you can still write rubrics the way you always have, and you can still use them for eLumen.
And for those of you who want to learn how to write rubrics the "standard" way, follow the instructions below. Toward the bottom of the page, we'll tell you how to enter these standard rubrics into eLumen.
Standard rubrics
Standard rubrics are typically more multifaceted than the rubric format used in eLumen. They are used to assess multiple purposes of an assignment. For instance, an English instructor might want to assess students separately in categories such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
The instructor could create a table in a word processor, listing the categories that students will be graded on down the left side and listing the point ranges for grades across the top. She could then fill in the remaining table with the corresponding criteria.
View an example standard rubric (PDF).
Specifically, here's how you can create a standard rubric:
- To begin writing a rubric, list the performance components you will use to evaluate student achievement. You can do this on a piece of paper, or you can create a table in a word processor. The first step in developing a rubric is to determine which concepts, skills, or performance standards (SLOs) you are assessing and how you will assess them: essay, test, portfolio, etc.
- Next--this is the most difficult part in the process--put into words the criteria you use to distinguish between success and failure, or between and among the various letter grades. In other words, you'll have to articulate how, exactly, you distinguish an "A" from a "B" and so forth in whatever task it is you have assigned to your students.
- Finally, based upon the purpose of the task, determine a point value for each level of achievement.
After you use the rubric for the first time, you will need to evaluate it. Did it work? How can it be altered to more accurately assess student learning outcomes? Perhaps the rubric descriptions need to be rewritten or revalued to more accurately capture student achievement or failure and what you expect your students to accomplish in your class.
While this may seem daunting, it’s important to realize that you have already done most of this work. All you need to do is to pick one of your assignments, preferably a paper or essay, and ask yourself what exactly it is you're looking for.
Enter a standard rubric into eLumen
Before entering the above example standard rubric into eLumen, notice in the rubric that the left column shows the categories that the students will be graded on. Across the top of the rubric is how the students will be graded.
In eLumen, the point scale for each of the areas you will evaluate must be the same because only one rubric can be associated with one SLO.
For this example, the SLO has already been entered into eLumen in the same manner as Step 1 of this tutorial.
- On your Course Details page (My Catalog Courses> Course Definition > Details).
- To enter the rubric, click Edit next to your SLO. A page titled Edit Student Learning Outcome appears.
- Add a new rubric by clicking New. This will bring up a page titled Add Rubric. Complete the following information:
- Enter a Name that you will later recognize.
- Adding text in Description is optional.
- Status is defaulted to Active. Do not change this.
- Owner is defaulted to your department. Do not change this.
- Build the levels of the rubric from the bottom up (i.e., level 4 is the best and level 0 is the worst). A level 0 is given automatically. Click Add New Scale Level, and for each, copy and paste the criteria from your document, beginning with the lowest criteria and ending with the highest. When all levels have been entered, click Save. This rubric is now associated with the SLO.
- Select Magnitude. You will be setting the appropriate "size" of the intended achievement. Since the example standard rubric is for an essay, select Assignment.
- Select the Achievement Area (also known as the core competency) to which you believe this SLO should belong. Your SLO must be associated with one of the core competencies.
- Select the appropriate Standard of Evidence level. Enter the number 5, then click View Std of Evidence Levels to see whether that is the right choice. If not, select the number for the correct description.
- Status is automatically set to Active. Do not change this.
- Click Save to save all of this information. You will be returned to the Course Details page.
- Click New in the column titled Specified Expectations. These are the categories you are going to grade your students. In the example rubric, "Examples/Details" will be one Specified Expectation, and "Explanation" will be another Specified Expectation.
- On the New Specified Expectation page, you will copy, or type, in the description of the first category. For this example, the first category is "Examples/Details." Leave everything else alone, and click Save.
- Continue clicking New and adding the description for each category of the rubric you want to assess. For this example, the second, and final, category is "Explanation." Again, leave everything else alone, and click Save. You'll return to the Course Details page.
- Specified Expectations will be filled with your information, and the last column will state Ready for Assessment.
View a digital movie of entering a standard rubric into eLumen.
You are now ready to add an assessment. Click to view instructions on adding an assessment.