Assessment Rubrics Decoded

Kelvin Heng Kiat Tan is an associate professor in the Department of Learning Sciences and Assessment at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is one of the series editors for the Routledge book series Assessment in Schools: Principles in Practice.

‘This book presents a significant and thorough critical discussion of the widespread use of rubrics in educational assessment. The many advantages of rubrics as an assessment tool are accentuated, however, what impressed me more, was the profound critical reflection on the limitations and risks of using rubrics technically without the support of a comprehensive pedagogical perspective. This is a book parents, teachers, school leaders, and policy makers should be acquainted with.’ – Kari Smith, Professor, Head of Norwegian Graduate School in Teacher Education (NAFOL), Department of Teacher Education, NTNU, Norway ‘What you have in your hands is not the typical rubrics book. Kelvin Tan has done it again like he did in his 2012 “Student self-assessment: Assessment, learning and empowerment”. In this rubrics book he helps the reader to reflect about what are rubrics, their boundaries and how to take our understanding one step further’ - Ernesto Panadero, Researcher, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and Honorary Professor, Deakin University, Australia'There is a general consensus in the field of education that rubrics work. This instructional tool is intended to articulate specific components and expectations for an assignment to students, enhance reliability of assessments, save instructors’ time when marking, and help students to improve their self-assessment capabilities. However, as with most tools in education, questions of how rubrics work, for whom, and under what instructional circumstances need to be explicated. This volume will help you to get answers to these – and many additional -- questions. It is written in a very engaging manner with plentiful practical examples and personal anecdotes, and will be a great resource for future and current educators. If you want to understand the nature, purpose, potential applications, advantages, and caveats of rubrics, this book is for you.' - Anastasiya A. Lipnevich, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Director of Faculty Research Development, Queens College and the Graduate Center,The City University of New York

• Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction to decoding rubrics Chapter 2: The challenges of understanding and using rubrics chapter 3: The Anatomy of a Rubric Chapter 4: Rubrics for Different Types of Learning and Learners Chapter 5: Rubrics for scoring, interpretations and decision-making by Lin Rongchan Chapter 6: How Rubrics are understood and used formatively Chapter 7: Rubrics, power, and conduct chapter 8: Effects of rubrics on students’ motivation and well-being by Alan Yang Qidong Chapter 9: Validating students’ voice in writing through self-assessment and rubrics creation by Salwati Salim and Jasmine Suppramaniam Chapter 10: Rubrics – a school leader’s perspective by Sheree Chong Index