Use Spreadsheets for Rubrics
When it comes to calculating things, don’t do it by hand. I was standing in 110˚ heat yesterday as the ladies at the fireworks stand attempted 5 times to calculate my bill. I’m still not confident they calculated it correctly. Even when using a calculator it is too easy to accidentally type in a wrong value or lose track of where you’re at. Even when confusion is not an issue, time is. Setting up a spreadsheet is faster when you need to do calculations for each student.
While I am personally not a fan of rubrics that put arbitrary percentages on categories that are treated as mutually exclusive, I know this is a popular style. Remember, a rubric score is not the same as a percentage. On a 4 point rubric, the possible scores should not be A, C, F and really low F. Using a spreadsheet for your rubric can make the score calculation faster.
My rubric template allows you to design a 4 point rubric and weight the categories. It then creates a copy of the rubric for each student on the roster allowing you to easily assess against the rubric and give comments. It then gathers all of the scores into a single roster making it easy to view everyone at once. It then will allow you to email a copy of each student’s evaluation to the student and have it appear in their Google Drive.
Create a copy of the rubric template.
Copy and paste your roster along with email address into the first and second columns. You will need a valid email address for each student in order to send copies of the rubric. If a student does not have a valid email address, use your own email address.
The 2nd tab is labeled “Edit This Rubric.” Click on this to customize the rubric.
Student Name and Comments
On the rubric template leave the student name and comments spots blank. You will fill this in after you make a copy for each student.
- Enter an assignment name in the yellow box in cell F1. This will be copied to each student and will be used to name the student copies later.
- Set the points possible in cell D3.
- Set the percentage for each category in row 8. By default, they are set at 100%, 85%, 75% and 65%.
- List the criteria of the rubric in column C.
- Set the weight of each of the criteria. By default each category is evenly weighted.
Trick, delete one of the percentages to have the rubric automatically tell you how many points you still need.
- Click once and type (no need to delete) the description for each category at each level.
- Add additional criteria and descriptions. The category weight and default score of 4 will automatically be added.
Use the Add-On menu to create a copy of the rubric for each student. Choose “RubricTab” and “Start.” You will need to authorize the Add-on.
This should open a sidebar menu with some button choices. After your rubric is created you will want to choose “Create Rubrics.”
Creating rubrics creates a copy of the rubric for each student. Click on the tabs along the bottom to assess each student.
By default each student has a rubric score of 4. Simply click one time on the cell in column A and type over the default value with a score of 3, 2, 1 or 0. No decimals. Enter in student comments into cell F3. The overall score is automatically calculated. Both percentage and points.
Go to the next tab and assess the next student.
Make a List
A new feature in my rubric template is to allow you to compile the rubric scores before emailing the scores to the students. In the sidebar menu, click the button to “Compile Rubrics.”
For each student, their score and comments will be gathered into a single list on the roster tab.
After compiling all of the rubrics into a single list, you can share the rubric with each student. Choosing “Email Rubrics” in the sidebar will make a COPY of each student’s rubric to a new spreadsheet. Students are NOT able to see the scores of other students. The new spreadsheet will be shared with the student and can be located in their Google Drive. The student will also receive an email with a link to the rubric.
To share the rubric with students in Google Classroom, copy the link to the rubric found in column D of the roster and paste it into the private comments in Google Classroom for each student.