Journal 6: The Trouble with Rubrics- NETS V

Kohn, A. (2006). The Trouble with Rubrics. English Journal, 95(4), Retrieved October 6, 2009 from
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/rubrics.htm

Alfie Kohn provides many reasons why he feels that rubrics are not the best ways to assess student progress and achievement. First, one of the many reasons he gives for not being a fan of rubrics is that teachers see them as being a quick and efficient way to assess student work. Kohn feels that grading shouldn’t be quick and efficient and that it is not something to just get done. If a teacher is assessing a student’s quality of learning that teacher should not be concerned about getting it done in the fastest and easiest way possible. He states that student’s progress and work cannot fit neatly into a nice little rubric box. He also stated that teachers shouldn’t feel like they need to use a rubric to justify to parents why they gave their student a particular grade. Next, he feels that if students are completing their assignments based off of a rubric that student is not truly learning or getting any value from the assignment. The student will do the assignment according to the rubric and will not force him or herself to think critically or to take risks. The student will only be concerned with the grade or assessment and not with the value of the assignment at hand. Finally, he states that in using a rubric, or standardized assessment, he feels that not only is the value of teaching compromised, but also that the value of learning is compromised as well. Even though he has a lot of reservations about using rubrics, he does state that using a rubric can be beneficial if it is one of many sources used to assess student learning, as long as it isn’t the only standard used. He feels that teachers need to come up with better ways to access student learning.

Can rubrics be beneficial?
I think that rubrics can be beneficial in the fact that it gives students a foundation to work off from. A student can know what is expected of them through using a rubric. A student can assess their own work as they go. I do agree with Kohn that a rubric can prohibit risk taking and creativity but I feel that students also need to know what is required of them.

How can I use rubrics in my own classroom?
I can use rubrics as a guideline for assessing student achievement. After reading this article I realize that I shouldn’t base the entire grade off of one grading assessment but I think that it can be a beneficial tool. I also think that students can use rubrics in a very limited way to assess their own work.