Proficiency Scales and Rubrics

Video Transcription

Today, we're going to be looking at proficiency scales and rubrics, using them to assess standards-based assignments. And for today's lesson, I've chosen a quote by Aristotle which says, "what we learn to do, we learn by doing." By the end of today's lesson, you will be able to understand how to assess competency and standards-based assessments using the tool iRubrics to create proficiency scales and those standards-based rubrics. You will also be able to explain the importance of students and teachers in really tracking this progress as we've created it.

So let's review all of the steps involved in really creating that proficiency scale. The first step that you need to take is to determine your range of scores. Now, typically, when we are creating a proficiency scale using either your subject standard or the ISTE standards, you are going to use a range that follows the 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and so on all the way up to 4, and that will be the range that we are going to use today.

The next step involved is to describe that range based on students' level of independence completing the tasks, and the complexity of the tasks. Generally, these go from highest to lowest, so the more complex and the more independence needed, that's going to get you much higher on the scale as opposed to the opposite.

For step 3, we need to select the standard that we are going to assess. Sometimes, this will be just a standard within your content area, sometimes you will also use an ISTE standard, and you can put all of these together as you're creating your proficiency scale, as well as the rubric that you use to assess the student. Step 4 is writing that standard as it's written at the point of proficiency. So what we do here is, if we're looking on a normal four-point rubric, the proficiency is typically at a three, meaning you've met what's necessary. So we're going to use that area to write out the standard as it appears in our standards document.

Then step 5 is to add complexity and depth to that scale as we move up towards four. So we're going to take that proficiency and we're going to add a little more complexity and depth so that students who are already proficient can work towards a greater mastery and understanding of that area. Then step 6 is to do the same thing, but in the opposite direction. We're going to remove elements of complexity and depth as we move down the scale towards less proficiency, and finally, to no proficiency. If you choose to include a zero on your rubric and proficiency scale, it's important that you understand that that zero indicates that a student, even with extra help, isn't able to demonstrate proficiency, or even partial proficiency within that particular area.

Now, let's take a look at what it looks like to actually create that proficiency scale and rubric. We're going to use a real content standard, as well as an actual ISTE student standard in order to create this. So the content standard that I've chosen today is from English Language Arts and Literacy. It's for grades nine and 10, and it's 0.2.

It states that students will be able to determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze it in detail, its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details. They're also to provide an objective summary of the text. So this is a nice, hearty standard that we can use in order to create our proficiency scale.

I'm also going to use ISTE student standard number 2, Communication and Collaboration. This states that students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance to support individual learning, and to contribute to the learning of others. Now, in order to create this rubric, we are going to use a website known as iRubric. You can find iRubric at www.rcampus.com.

Now, when you get to the website, this is what you are going to see. I've already created a user name and password, but it's easy to sign up and it's absolutely free. And I'm going to click on Rubrics.

If I wanted to initially build a new rubric, this is what I would click on. It's very simple. I have the opportunity to build one from scratch, which is what we would do.

You press Start, and it allows you to kind of fill in the elements that you want. Then as you go down, it's already given me three major areas. So if I wanted to, here would be the area where I would go ahead and add in a zero.

On a proficiency scale, like we said before, you can go all the way down to 0, which is where you can indicate that a student, even with help, is not able to demonstrate that partial proficiency. I'm not going to include it on my scale or rubric, because I have another system within my classroom where I handle situations like that, but this would be the place to go ahead and do it. And you can easily add that extra column in to create that zero if you would like.

But I know that I want my proficiency scale to include a little bit more detail. I then can pick out the specific elements of that proficiency that I want to break apart and then fill in the information. I'm going to take you to one I've already created. When you take a look, you'll notice that I've added another area. I've added Exemplary at four points, and then below that is the Developing, and then what I like to call Novice. I feel like these are very student-friendly terms so that a student doesn't have to see something like Deficient.

You'll notice over here I've broken down our initial standard into three main area, and one that looks at the ISTE standards for communication. If we take that just element of identification of theme, I'm going to walk you through how I created that proficiency scale. I've written it almost exactly as it was before, but in student-friendly language, because the students are the ones who are really going to use this rubric.

When I move up to Exemplary, I'm adding a little more detail. I've shown that the student accurately identifies the theme in the novel, but that the theme is expressed as an insightful observation about people, life, and society rather than just a cliche. So you notice I've taken their basic ability to assess that theme and I've added to that with some depth and insightful observations beyond just the classic cliche.

If you go down from Proficiency, you'll notice that I've called out that the student has maybe a shallow understanding of the theme in this story. They might get at a theme, but not really the best theme or the strongest theme for the story, and that it's a statement of a general topic rather than the author's viewpoint. Finally, I've noted that even though they've grabbed at an element of the theme, that maybe it's written here as a moral or a cliche rather than a more nuanced theme like we've talked about in class.

Finally, Novice, this is the one I've given one point to. Now, I don't include a zero on my proficiency scales, but that doesn't mean that you don't have to. Here, I've noted that the student does not demonstrate an understanding of any theme within the story, and that the project, what they've created to help show that theme, reflects more a plot summary rather than the actual theme itself. That is something that we want them to do, but it cannot take the place of the theme.

I've then broken down into not only them identifying that theme, but developing the theme and recognizing its development throughout the story, as well as them being able to create an objective summary of the text. And those various areas from Novice to Exemplary follow a very similar pattern as the first one I pointed out. Finally, you'll notice I have identified the ISTE Communication and Collaboration Standard, focusing in Proficient, with the student being able to interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, employing one of a variety of digital environments, and them being able to communicate those ideas effectively.

When we move up to Exemplary, you'll see that they excel in that collaboration. They can use a variety of digital environments, and they show mastery in communicating that idea to a wider audience, as opposed to if we go down, showing where the student has limited or great difficulty in collaborating with their peers, and they're not really able to navigate and communicate their ideas digitally. What's really nifty about this site is that if you want to use this for students to turn in, we can do a test run. So when I'm actually using this rubric to grade a student, I would click on the area that I think they are, and I would highlight it so students can keep track of where they're exemplary, where they're proficient, where they're developing, or perhaps where they're a novice and they really need to up the ante just a little bit more.

Now that we've reached the end of today's lesson, you are able to review how to assess competency and standards-based assessment using the iRubrics tool to create proficiency scales and a standards-based rubric, as well as you can explain the importance of students and teachers tracking that progress, where students can really see those standards broken down in a proficiency scale. Now that you have learned about how to assess competency and standard-based assessments using some of the proficiency scales that are available to you, what would be the first step you might take to begin implementing these elements into your teaching? Feel free to pause the video if you need to to think about your answer to this question. To dive a little deeper and learn how to apply this information, be sure to check out the Additional Resources section associated with the video. This is where you'll find links targeted toward helping you discover more ways to apply this course material.