journal entry 6

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

In the article, "The Trouble with Rubric, " author Alfie Kohn explains why rubrics are not the best assessment to use in classrooms. Kohn expresses although rubrics are an easy and efficient way to assess students, rubrics are not always effective. Kohn believes that grading students' work should not be easy and quick since the students' took their time and effort in delivering their work. Kohn states, "students whose attention is relentlessly focused on how well they’re doing often become less engaged with what they're doing. There’s a big difference between thinking about the content of a story you’re reading (for example, trying to puzzle out why a character made a certain decision), and thinking about your own proficiency at reading." He feels that students who complete their work based off a rubric for the assignment is no longer completing the assignment and learning from it. Instead, the rubric creates a checklist of the information they need to incorporate within the assignment. He also states that rubrics are unnecessary to justify the students' work to parents.

If you were a teacher would you use rubrics?
Yes, I think that I would use rubrics within my classroom. I think that it gives students a checklist how to get a good grade. With a rubric, I am telling the students what they need to incorporate in order to receive an A.

Do you believe you can use rubrics to assess students?
I think you can use rubrics to assess students to a certain degree. But, I also think it is very important to use visual and oral assessments within your classroom because some students who do not do well on rubrics still may understand and comprehend the learned material.