Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

Helen M. Fetscher
University of Central Florida
April 23, 2014

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

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Introduction

Although it has been a worldwide conversation of debate for many centuries, there have
been stronger impressions within the past few decades about how to standardize writing. The
rubric debate is argued by many of whether using a rubric to analyze and grade subjective
criteria, such as writing and literature can be properly judged in the standard rubric that is used in
most grading systems. The argument in focus sheds light on the method that is being used to
grade writing, specifically within the primary and secondary educational levels. By doing so, the
shared objective of these references consider the many aspects that are conjoined in the writing
process and how these factors can bridge (or further gap) the communication between writer and
grader through usage of the rubric along with other possible solutions. Not only educators, but
everyone can find importance in this conversation because it provides a better understanding of
each individuals writing. It shows how rubrics can be influential and based on a habit-formed
method of analyzing writing, in which people may overlook a great idea when surrounded by
what readers often focus on and remember.
In order to review the fundamentals of how rubrics are utilized, there must be a form of
definition to stand by because rubrics in itself can be rather subjective. According to Linda
Mabry, a professor in the psychology of education insists a rather simple definition for rubric:
Rules by which the quality of answers is determined and that they have power to undermine
assessment (Mabry 1999). In its simplest form, Mabry addresses how rubrics cause such great
conflict of how it should be used. Otherwise it suggests that its subjectivity in regards to the
grader needs to be considered, lest it takes the power of assessment to minimize feedback to a
diluted form.

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

However, Mabry does not suggest removing the idea of rubrics altogether but to
acknowledge what it does and use it accordingly. She likewise addresses the extent in which it
recognizes the power of the graders thoughts and feedback as well. Many who argue have a
similar mindset that agrees to Mabrys definition, but propose an alternative form of it such as
portfolios, or techniques to incorporate with the rubric. Different methods of writing assessment
were proposed: Through standard rubrics, portfolios, teacher case studies, and other possible
writing assessment solutions. In depth, the annotations also provide psychological angles that
suggest how students writings are influenced by environment, testing conditions, etc. and invites
results of how writing is affected in whole. Therefore, these annotations include much of writing
assessment through exams, standardized tests, and many demographic factors that come into play
that influence writing. These authors gain credibility through much education of writing or a
background in understanding the assessment process. Little to no teaching experience or sources
that were too radical with authors of little credibility was unused for an extreme bias was present
with little support.
Synthesis of Standardized Writing
From several different sources, it becomes clearer that a better solution is to not argue of
whether a rubric determines what a good or bad paper is, but rather, that it only begins the
assessment process of writing. By placing all the criteria possible of what the grader desires, it
removes importance from the grader and deters the assessment process. What would need to be
assessed is: what are the testers absolute intentions when evaluating a piece of work. Turley
once again describes the correct function of the rubric in correlation with the Hillegas scale into
which rubrics expanded in the western world by this fashion. The success determined by Welch
found that this format does hold value if using the rubric to compare grades for a specific

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

standard. For example, Turley provided how school districts may use this to ensure teachers are
teaching on the same curriculum and discover based on the scores of the students how well the
teachers grade on that same testing standard (Turley 2008). In other words, the genre of the
rubric was not created for the intent of communication between students and teachers/graders,
but when strictly for standardization, can it be properly utilized.
Similarly, if the rubric is properly used as a tool that does not attempt to neutralize itself
and its intentions, the standardization of the rubric does not create an outlet for students to
receive feedback, but only for the sense of standardization. In the article Reading, Writing, and
Rubrics, Libby Baker, Naomi Cooperman and Barbara Storandt execute a process of finding
how rubrics try and make all writing as one through the program Writing Matters (as a follow up
from the preexisting group of Teaching Matters). Baker et al. describe that the essence of a
rubric must be calibrated at a large or universal level (Baker et al 2013) as the writing
assessment must follow the criteria of norming, scoring and then calibrating. For rubrics to be
synchronized and considered standardized, it is nearly impossible to be perfect at a larger scale
because of varying and unacknowledged factors from setting to setting. For instance, when
creating the norm of the classroom, defining a students writing holistically or analytically
through scoring can create a standardization bar that is significantly higher or lower than the
norm that is established on a larger scale outside of the classroom.
If the intentions of these English and writing teachers are to improve and assess a
students writing, regardless if it is a holistic or analytical approach, the rubric exclusively will
not suffice. If the rubric is used for the simple purpose of standardizing scores under one
umbrella of the same writing criteria, it does not provide students with knowing how to improve
the work they were provided, especially if access to the rubric was already given. Yeonsuk Cho

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

has given a study in the article, Assessing Writing: Are We Bound By Only One Method? that
demonstrates how rubrics do in fact help to standardize a very similar score upon different
graders. However, the rubric solely cannot be enough to depict a students capabilities of writing
through one test of writing. Cho explains how the students would perform better when not placed
under pressured testing conditions; especially if they were timed to write about topics that were
either unfamiliar or uninteresting to them. Cho likewise approached the error in this through
research of the psychological comparison that poor writers cognitively try and get it right on
their first try (Cho 2003). Therefore, if the students are placed in a testing environment where
they are to believe in their capabilities to write well on their first attempt, the results (statistically
speaking) would reflect mediocre work.
Previously, it has been mentioned that several factors make it difficult to standardize and
unify writing to be assessed via rubrics. Aside from these cases, there are also other factors that
can become an issue such as language barriers. Students may have very good writing capabilities
but are limited when set by rubrics to write coherently in other languages. According to the
article Discerning Writing Assessment: Insights Into an Analytical Rubric, Spence shows how
a teacher may be able to discern their students work clearly, but someone who is outside of the
classroom setting may find it who has no knowledge of the students language deficiency, may
find it mediocre and confusing (Spence 2010). What must be understood is that by providing one
holistic score to interpret writing, the student is not given any proper feedback as to why or what
could a student do to achieve a better score in the future. Similarly, the analytical rubric has
many negative factors as well. Just as Spence elaborated, an analytical rubric can consist of a 6x6
(with several of degrees for axis) matrix with labeling descriptors of what degree a student did
well on a paper.

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

It appears that error lies in attempting to make something subjective into something that
is objective using rubrics. By misusing its function, it creates more gaps in the communication
necessary between student and teacher. The rubric can be used as a form of standardization but
not as a sole substitute for any feedback or improvement possible from the teacher as expressed
in the article Why I wont be using Rubrics to Respond to Students Writing. Maja Wilson is a
certified teacher with experience in which her belief follows that words and writing is
something described as opposed to defined (Wilson 2007). In other words, she claims that
rubrics do not fit well as a solution to answering students writing, since it does not acclaim for
writing being a subjective piece and formulates it to be gradable under objective standards.
Considering the discourse community of teachers, the overall genre of rubrics needs to be
clarified before placed into classroom and testing procedures, particularly in writing. If this genre
is intended to form an answer to the ambiguous question of how do I write this assignment
well, the solution should not limit the possibilities that are formed in writing. If many teachers
continue to use the rubric in lieu of their capabilities of providing proficient feedback, the rubric
will serve as the audience of the writer and therefore, the student or writer will not elaborate in
any unique or personal approach to writing. Rather, a student would persist to appease the rubric
that has set a place as superior of what is needed. This would suggest that nothing more is
analyzed of the paper outside of the rubric. This tunnel visions the goals of the teachers, graders,
as well as the students by limiting what is considered outstanding work.
The rubric is not something to be thrown out, but to be reevaluated as a tool with some
standardization purpose, recognizing that varying factors supersede the evaluative purposes of
the rubric that requires subjectivity to be permitted by the teacher or grader. But to reevaluate the
rubric brings light onto a lesser known solution to the rhetorical question: The use of portfolios.

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

According to Bob Broad in his article Pulling Your Hair Out: Crises of Standardization in
Communal Writing Assessment, portfolios have been evaluated as a test matter at the end of a
testing academic year to evaluate how changes have been made to a students writing to focus on
portfolios alone (Broad 2000). Although portfolios have become more popular in the past decade
or so, this separate genre is seen entirely separate and lesser known in writing assessment. Since
teachers and administration interested in the learning changes are part of this same discourse
community, a broad common goal must exist in desiring a universal understanding of what is the
function of the rubric and a portfolio.
A New Perspective
If standardized test scores in reading and math can be accumulative of what has been
learned in the past, writing can likewise be accumulated on an individual. This can only be
attainable if both a rubric and portfolio were to be properly evaluated and utilized to
understanding different students work. No research has considered how students would respond
to the use of portfolios for the sake of evaluation and assessment. Conclusively, rubrics would be
used exclusively for standardization among other students without creating an objective bar of
what are the expectations. Rubrics have proven successful in understanding and comparing other
students to a similar standard but likewise, portfolios are deemed useful in analyzing
improvement. Studies should be implemented on using this more so as controls as to how a
student should learn and where to provide feedback for students. In the same retrospect, if
portfolios are a new addition to the assessment of writing, combining it with the useful tool of
the rubric can be nothing less than beneficial. This is only true however, if the rubric is
universally understood and the portfolio universally defined. Currently, these portfolios are
described as the gathered and accumulated pieces of writing work done by students to be

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

personally analyzed as the writer and to keep track of how they have improved and visibly see
the differences in their work (Hamp-Lyons 2002). According to Broad and his case study through
the First Year Program, portfolios are to be used as opposed to testing by itself (Broad 2000)
and that rubrics would be considered obsolete in his eyes.
A proposal then is to first reevaluate the function of the rubric on a larger scale and to use
it accordingly to justify its findings and comparisons when analyzing students work. Following
this reevaluation, would be to embrace the use of this tool and its successes for standardizing, but
not for assessing writing within the realm of being a good or a bad paper. Instead, combine
the beneficial tool of rubrics with the modern use of portfolios to enhance a students work
avoiding grading holistically or analytically through the objectiveness of the rubric. Rather,
allow grades and feedback to channel through an active portfolio. If this form of assessment of
writing is used on a larger scale, portfolios can begin to accumulate as opposed to being thrown
out or deemed unnecessary to the student at the end of the academic year. If it is known as
popularly as the rubric, the improvements of the student can likewise grow if portfolios were
carried on from one grade to the next, as opposed to starting from scratch. This will also benefit
the teacher who can become aware of their students capabilities and use a new rubric
accordingly. In this way, incoming students into each classroom are not falsely presumed as to
what they ought to know when entering that class. Rather, the portfolios can speak for
themselves in addressing the strong and weak points of each individual upon entering a class. In
result, the rubric will serve in assessment and standardization but does not handicap the student
and teachers form of communication through the limitations of a descriptive grid.
Project Proposal

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

In order to achieve this idea of combining the portfolio method and the rubric method, it
must first be implemented on a smaller scale. Ultimately, it would be ideal to see the portfolio
portion carry out throughout middle school, followed by high school. However, when initiating
this paradigm switch, it would perform better in smaller scales. Therefore, if a teacher desires to
use a form of a rubric, it is best advised to have the same rubric implemented across all of the
writing/English teachers within that school. In order to avoid many previous issues that have
been incorporated with using rubrics, the teacher should be able interpret the writing through
their eyes and see the rubric liberally.
Once the rubric is understood universally throughout the school and is understood as
guidelines used for standardizing, the portfolio can then be implemented. This portfolio can be
broken down with their improvements and where they have shown growth. A students portfolio
can likewise consist of the students previous work that they have excelled on in order to create a
connection of where their strengths and weaknesses lie. Another feature of the portfolio can be
an inter-collaborated system that provides a place for teachers to show their feedback and even
suggestions for the student as well as upcoming teachers.
By following this method, the upcoming teachers will be provided with the previous
work of the student without wasting time in discovering the strong and weak points of their
students. In addition, by liberally applying the guidelines of the standardized and uniformed
rubric, teachers and students will become familiar with the testing procedures without it
becoming the direct cause of their grades, writing methods, or stress under pressured testing
conditions.
Over time, the methods can be used throughout the school and possibly spread to others,
until the district or even state levels follow this method. Students will be graded by the discretion

Standardizing Writing Through Rubrics

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of the teacher on the local level and their portfolios can be submitted to higher authority, which
can follow similar rubrics to decide whether or not a student is capable of advancing, rather than
quantifying the work. Through this pragmatic methodology, it highlights the qualitative factor in
writing and embraces the feedback of teachers without distressing the students on each
individual piece that may not reflect their best work. In result, students are aware that only their
best work is needed in what is actually graded, creating scholars that become more
enthusiastic, intrigued and engaged with doing their best work.