Using Rubrics in Marking

WISEflow rubrics, available on all flow types, are designed to assist assessors in reaching grading outcomes and providing feedback to students in a structured and consistent way. There are various advantages to using rubrics in the assessment process and these are discussed further in the author section of this site as well as in our webinar series.

WISEflow rubrics come in two formats, the standard and the custom rubric. The standard rubric is a fixed format and is akin to a traditional scoring matrix with assessment domains on one axis and achievement descriptors across the other. The custom rubric is more flexible and allows authors to use any of WISEflow's test question types to construct bespoke scoring forms and feedback sheets.

Where a rubric has been enabled on the flow, use the Rubric button, shown below, to access it.

If you want to use rubrics as a marking method on FLOWseries flows, read through the information on FLOWseries Portfolio in this article (FLOWseries > Extra Features). Rubrics must be attached by the manager if rubrics-based assessment is enabled on FLOWseries.

Marking With a Standard Rubric

An example of the standard rubric is shown below:

1. Sharing options: Choose whether the completed rubric should be private or shared with participants or co-assessors (or both).
2. View options: Options to toggle the size of the rubric on the screen or to expand and collapse the rows.
3. The assessment domain and its weighting.
4. The scoring scale with achievement descriptors for each increment on the scale. Select the appropriate box to record your score.
5. Text feedback area (if enabled).
6. Audio feedback area (if enabled).
7. Progress monitor: Displays how many assessment domains have been completed.
8. Approve the rubric. This is greyed out until all assessment domains have been completed.

Marking With a Custom Rubric

An example of the custom rubric is shown below:

1. Sharing options: Choose whether the completed rubric should be private or shared with participants or co-assessors (or both).
2. View options: Option to toggle the size of the rubric on the screen
3. Response fields. This may vary significantly depending on the design of the rubric and may show any combination of different fields. The above example shows three number entry fields that correspond to different items of the submission, as well as an open-ended feedback field. For more information on designing custom rubrics, please see here.
4. Where a custom rubric is laid out over several pages, use this arrow to move to the next page
5. Progress monitor: Displays how many assessment domains have been completed.
6. Approve the rubric. This is greyed out until all assessment domains have been completed.

Approving the Completed Rubric

Once the rubric has been completed, the next step in the process is to use the scores generated in the rubric to confirm a final grade to be entered on the appropriate grading scale. This can be a manual or automated process, depending on the flow settings. WISEflow has a helpful tool called the grade scaler which, if enabled, can assist by automatically scaling marks generated via the rubric to fit the final grading scale (more information here).

There are three possible ways that this process can work:

1. A grade scaler is present on the flow and is enforced
2. A grade scaler is present on the flow but is not enforced
3. No grade scaler is present on the flow

A Grade Scaler is Present on the Flow and is Enforced

Once all assessment domains have been completed the approve rubric button will become available. Click the approve rubric button to generate the final score and grade.

1. The total score generated via the rubric
2. The final grade as determined by the preconfigured grade scaler
3. Reopen the rubric to make any changes (only available until the final marks have been registered in the grade overview screen)

A Grade Scaler is Present on the Flow but is not Enforced

Where a grade scaler is not enforced it effectively acts in an advisory capacity. The process of approving the rubric is very much the same as in the previous example, however, the assessor is subsequently able to change the grade that has been suggested and applied.

The above shows a grade awarded on a categorical grading scale. Where the final grading scale is numeric, a text entry box will be used instead.

No Grade Scaler is Present on the Flow

Where no grade scaler is being used on a flow the assessor must manually enter the grade based on the score generated in the rubric.

The above shows a grade awarded on a categorical grading scale. Where the final grading scale is numeric, a text entry box will be used instead.

It is possible for assessors to submit an overall final grade using the marking overview without completing the assigned rubric.

Adding a Rubric as an Assessor

Where a flow has not been preconfigured with a rubric, it is possible for individual assessors to add their own. This may help to support a situation where assessors have their own rubrics that they like to use to help structure their marking.

Please note, however, that

• It is not possible for assessors to add their own rubric where one has already been attached by a manager during the initial flow configuration
• Rubrics added individually by assessors would not be applied to any co-assessor view, so this may not be a suitable approach if using a double-marking strategy.

To add the rubric as an assessor, access the left-hand flow menu from inside the marking tool and click Add under the Rubrics section.

The resulting pop-up window shows all the rubrics currently available to you as an assessor (i.e those you have created or that have been shared with you). Select the plus sign next to the relevant rubric and Attach.

It is also possible to add a grade scaler as an assessor. For more information, please see the article on reaching a final grading outcome.