Rethinking Writing Rubrics with Maja Wilson

Barry Lane interviews Maja Wilson, author of Rethinking Rubrics in Writing Assessment (Heinemann) . She describes how her frustration with writing rubrics lead to her study of their history and new understandings on how to assess student writing off the educational power grid. Start a revolution in your English department by doing a study circle around Maja's book. Learn what real assessment is.

Re-thinking rubrics is available at www.heinemann.com .
More ideas and lessons on teaching writing can be found at www.discoverwriting.com in the teacher's center.

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• high
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• SAT
• AP

[TROLLERSDELIGHT]

YES! THE COMMENTS HAVE BEEN OVERTAKEN WITH INTELLIGENT PERSPECTIVES! TAKE THAT, CYNICAL NAYSAYERS!!

[gmayer66]

While it is true that creative writing cannot be nailed down to a formula, most writing is formulaic in nature. Students learn to write functional and useful kinds of documents: Essays, reports, etc.

I don't think it is objectivity that rubrics offer, but rather consistency and efficiency. The choice of rubrics remains that of their creator, and can be as subjective as they like.

I agree that rubrics do not instruct students in the art of writing.

[gmayer66]

(B) "Just responding", as Ms Wilson suggests, does not necessarily give the students greater creative license. Rather, it sets implicit criteria ("this is what I feel", etc), by which work is judged, that they cannot take into account ahead of time, and probably even after they get their marked papers. Additionally, after grading 30-40 essays, there is no guarantee that the teacher's insights are going to be fresh, relevant or even consistent.

Rubrics come a long way to address these problems.

[gmayer66]

I have two objections:

(A) Rubrics by themselves do not come with any prejudices about the writing process. Rather, they allow anyone to apply their own standard consistently across an entire classroom. So yes, if you use ready-made rubrics, you are enforcing a template over student writing, but this does not have to be the case. You can (should?) create your own rubrics per written assignment.

[avaltair]

It is important to grade the progress a student makes and to make sure they are understanding and developing complete thoughts and the fundamentals to ensure proper communication.

However, its a process to achieving this in writing, and its the process of the progress that should count. This is a great book.

[rktjgbba]

I find that writing rubrics offer objective, formulaic, short hand annotations. They register grammar, punctuation, or even rhetorical devices, but they fail to instruct the student writer in the writing process.

Richard Marius claims that we each have our own writing process. It's a messy business. But once a student discovers their process, they become engaged writers and begin to think critically about their writing and their topic. Engaaged writers produce interesting writing.

[levisque67]

I don't agree with Ms. Wilson. Writing skills can be graded objectively. Even writing with texture (aka rhetorical devices) can be graded. Grading someone's thoughts is not our job.

I'd be curious to read her book.