Good and bad practices in rubrics: the perspectives of students and educators

Abstract

A rubric is both an assessment and an evaluation tool that is widely adopted in education. However, little is known about good and bad practices in rubrics by either students or educators in nursing education, as well as in Asian higher education in general. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the views of students and educators on good and bad practices in rubrics. A total of 82 participants, 78 nursing students and 4 educators, were involved in the study. Fourteen focus group interviews were conducted (13 interviews for students and 1 for educators), and six themes discerned. Good practices were categorised into: (1) standardisation of evaluation method, (2) objectiveness of evaluation, (3) guidelines for students’ work, and (4) transparency of evaluation. Bad practices in rubrics were: (5) vague descriptions in marking rubrics, and (6) failure to provide the ranges of marks for each grade. To conclude, good rubrics can ensure fair and consistent marking and lead to more objective assessments of student performance, thus promoting academic standards. This study can provide educators with insights into how to develop good rubrics and avoid bad ones.