Giving Feedback Using Rubrics

Giving students (and parents) feedback is important.  One way we do this is by giving grades.  But by just giving general grades such as "85%" or "B" it is difficult for students and parents to understand how a student can improve.

Using rubrics is the best way I have found to give more specific feedback.  By identifying what it means to show understanding, I can then evaluate a students performance based on that criteria.  

Here is the general rubric that I use for each learning target in a unit:

I break each unit into 10-12 learning targets and assess the student using the rubric above.  You might notice that I don't go below 5.  My reasoning is that a 5/10 is a solid "F" and communicates the message of "minimal understanding" just fine.  I never give zeros anymore, they just are necessary. 

I also use rubrics for projects and other assignments.  For example, I have my students blog a few times a week.  Here is my rubric I use for blogging:

Finally, I'll share a rubric that I used with a digital project: