Do Rubrics Enhance Self-Assessment Accuracy?

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Abstract: Rubrics are a widespread means to enhance task performance. However, in contrast to the question of whether rubrics effectively foster task performance, the question of why rubrics are effective has received relatively scarce attention. Frequently, researchers have assumed that rubrics help learners to accurately self-assess their task performance, paving the way for effective regulation and thereby enhancing task performance. The present experiment tests this potential mechanism. N = 118 students read a scientific article and were tasked with writing an abstract for it. Afterward, they self-assessed the quality of their abstracts, which, dependent on the experimental condition, was or was not supported by a rubric. Then, all learners could decide on which dimensions relevant to the quality of their abstracts they would like to receive further instruction. They could then revise their abstracts. We found that rubrics fostered self-assessment accuracy (lower bias and better absolute accuracy) but did not enhance the effectiveness of the subsequent regulation. We conclude that rubrics effectively enhance self-assessment accuracy but do not necessarily pave the way for effective regulation.