Evaluating standards-based assessment rubrics in a postgraduate public health subject

• Published in: Assessment and evaluation in higher education Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 837 - 849
• Main Authors: Kite, James, Phongsavan, Philayrath
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 18.08.2017; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Academic Standards; Blended Learning; College students; Competency based assessment; e-learning; Educational evaluation; Evaluation methods; Focus Groups; Formative Evaluation; Graduate Students; Graduate studies; Health Education; Higher education; Mixed Methods Research; Outcomes of Education; Postdoctoral Education; postgraduate education; Program Evaluation; Public Health; Rubrics; Scoring Rubrics; Standards-based assessment rubrics; Student assessment; Student Evaluation; Students; Undergraduate Students
• ISSN: 0260-2938; 1469-297X
• DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2016.1199773

Standards-based assessment rubrics are recognised as an important tool for ensuring clear criteria in higher education. Most of the available evidence on rubrics comes from studies with face-to-face undergraduate students. Our study evaluated the introduction of rubrics into a postgraduate subject that included both online and face-to-face students. We conducted formative evaluation with former students to develop the rubrics, as well as surveying current students for process and impact evaluation, supplemented with a focus group. Process results showed that the rubrics were used widely and were generally considered to be of at least some use. Clarity of the rubrics was the main issue affecting perceived usefulness, particularly for the assessment tasks that had undergone comparatively less formative evaluation. Impact evaluation showed mixed results, with students that reported always using rubrics having higher marks on average compared to students who did not always use the rubrics. However, an expected improvement in marks across the whole student cohort compared to previous years did not eventuate, although this could be explained by a number of factors independent of the rubrics. Our results provide some evidence for the use of rubrics in postgraduate and online settings but highlight the need for rigorous formative evaluation.