This year, I have moved to using a single lane rubric for assessing student projects. It has liberated the scoring process. Added bonus: it is less work to create and more likely to be able to be reused or only slightly modified for other assessments.
The single lane rubric doesn’t put a cap on student learning. When we plan our assessment or students self-assess, they describe the ways they will accomplish or have accomplished earning a “4.” My job is ensure fidelity of the score. I read through what a student has described and verify it meets the rigorous standard of mastery.
The single
lane rubric doesn’t list all the ways a student can not achieve the expectation. When a student misses the mark, I simply describe how it doesn’t meet the stated goal.
Personalizing feedback makes it more valuable. When students personalize their own feedback, the scoring process is more valuable (and less time consuming for the teacher.)
No more averaging and no more gaming points! When it comes time to “score” the project, I am not adding up scores and then dividing by an arbitrary total. I look at the story this document tells. Is this the story of mastery, competency, or still building knowledge. I use my professional judgement. If there is a disagreement, we have a conversation and I identify what I need evidence of to change the “grade.”
Here’s a PDF of my 1 lane rubric
Grit, Rigor, & Accountability 
2 thoughts on “Single Lane Rubrics”