Belhaven University Holistic Rubrics Discussion Response

REPLY TO 

Vantashia Jones“>Vantashia Jones

When are holistic rubrics a better choice than analytic rubrics? When are analytic rubrics a better choice? Discuss your experiences using both in your classes. Include a reflection of how you could improve your implementation of rubrics.

Holistic rubrics are the broad type of rubric that include single measures. Holistic are the one-layered rubrics that are often used when trying to assess or look at a person’s overall action or accomplishment. These rubrics are often written using complete sentences. When completing holistic rubrics, they are less time consuming which means they don’t take long to complete. They are simple and easy to grade. A few advantages of using a holistic rubric are they emphasis on what the learner can demonstrate, rather than distinguishing what the student cannot do, help save time by minimizing the number of decisions the scorer make, and they can be applied consistently by trained raters increasing reliability.

Analytic rubrics are the rubrics that look like a grid with different sections for the student’s product listed in the left columns and their performance listed across the top row. Their performance levels are often displayed using numbers or descriptive tags. Analytic rubrics are important because they break down the features of each assignment. This makes the person whose scoring have a good view of the strong areas and which areas needs improvement.

Different people may feel different when it comes to comparing the two types of rubrics. Based off what I read between the two, I think the analytic rubric is the best rubric to use. I say this because the analytic rubric provides several scores whereas, the holistic rubric only provides a single score. As a result, the analytic rubric gives students a clearer picture of why they got the score they got. It is also good for the teacher, because it gives us the opportunity to justify a score on paper, without having to explain everything in a later conversation.

Christian Smith“>Christian Smith

The holistic rubric gives one score on a students performance, where a analytical rubric has several scores for the students task. The analytic rubric has different categories that are being evaluated. Analytical rubrics are best used when you need to see how the student is performing on all levels. This is more in depth and looks at more than just an overall performance. Holistic rubrics are best used for when there isn’t one specific answer, so for a writing assignment where there is a correct answer but it can be answered differently.

When I was an assistant teacher in the kindergarten classroom we would have a holistic rubric that we followed to gage the students overall performance in the classroom. Each student performed differently so this was the best way to grade them. Now that I’m a third grade inclusion teacher I use an analytical rubric much more. I use this so I can see how my students are performing on their tasks and it allows me to be more thorough when making their goals and helping them with their areas they struggle in.

in the inclusion classroom I would like yo implement the holistic rubric more than I have. I feel this would help the students and motivate them to keep trying their best.

Bessie Skinner“>Bessie Skinner

An analytic rubric breaks down the characteristics of an assignment into parts, allowing the scorer to itemize and define exactly what aspects are strong, and which ones need improvement. A holistic rubric is the most general kind. It lists three to five levels of performance, along with a broad description of the characteristics that define each level. The levels can be labeled with numbers (such as 1 through 4), letters (such as A through F) or words (such as Beginning through Exemplary). What each level is called isn’t what makes the rubric holistic it’s the way the characteristics are all lumped together. Usually when we talk about rubrics, we’re referring to either a holistic or an analytic rubric, even if we aren’t entirely familiar with those terms. A holistic rubric breaks an assignment down into general levels at which a student can perform, assigning an overall grade for each level. For example, a holistic rubric might describe an A essay using the following criteria: “The essay has a clear, creative thesis statement and a consistent overall argument. The essay is 2–3 pages long, demonstrates correct MLA formatting and grammar, and provides a complete works cited page.” Then it would list the criteria for a B, a C, etc. As educators, we know the power of a good rubric. Well-crafted rubrics facilitate clear and meaningful communication with our students and help keep us accountable and consistent in our grading. They’re important and meaningful classroom tools.