Kohn, Alfie. "The Trouble with Rubrics." English Journal 95. (2006): n. pag. Web. 17 Nov 2009.
“The Trouble with Rubrics” is a short article that talks about some of the problems that the constant used of rubrics unintentionally have provoked. According to one of the teachers cited in the article, it was a surprise when she assigned a class assignment and one of her students asked if they had to follow a specific rubric. In this particular incident some students were demonstrating overdependence on the rubric and guidelines rather than showing enthusiasm and understanding of the assignment they were about to do. This problem seems more common as educators become more dependent on the used of rubrics. Rather than encouraging students to demonstrate what they have learn and to take risks in their academic assignments, students have learn to give teachers what they want to hear or what they consider will be enough to pass the class. In other words, this type of educational approach only encourages superficial thinking and conformity in students. As for teachers it only gives them concrete information to justify the grades given to each student.
What are some of the strong arguments that experts are using against the used of rubrics?
According to the article, “Rubrics are, above all, a tool to promote standardization, to turn teachers into grading machines or at least allow them to pretend that what they’re doing is exact and objective.” The used of rubrics should be one of the many sources that teachers can use to understand the students engagement and understanding of the classroom assignment.
Should teachers stop using rubrics?
As it is mentioned before, creating a dependency on a specific grading method is not beneficial to students or teachers; it is better and more adequate to create new ways of grading students performance. Rubrics are not bad, is how students and teachers used it that create a problem.
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