The Grading Podcast 130 - Rubric or Scoring Guide: Why Clarity Matters and How to Build Effective Rubrics
In this episode, Sharona and Boz discuss the recent grading controversy at the University of Oklahoma and use it as a launching point to focus on why rubrics matter so much to grading integrity, consistency and student learning. They reflect on how loosely defined criteria invite subjectivity, create wildly different grading outcomes for the same work, and leave students guessing about what “counts” as quality.
Rather than debating the specific incident, they dissect the difference between scoring guides and true rubrics, the importance of clearly defined performance levels, and how rubric design shapes whether grades function as feedback or as punishment. The conversation emphasizes rubrics as communication tools—meant to make expectations visible, learning improvable, and grading decisions defensible.
Ultimately, strong rubrics are not about compliance or point allocation, but about aligning assessment with learning goals, supporting revision and growth, and reducing the hidden curriculum that traditional grading too often creates.
Links
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- University of Oklahoma student claims religious discrimination over failed essay: What we know
- OU Essay Controversy: What Happened in the Samantha Fulnecky Case
- How to Design Effective Rubrics
- Rubrics in higher education: an exploration of undergraduate students’ understanding and perspectives
- Steps to Designing a Rubric (Video)
- Rubric for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Concert (A. Ransom)
Resources
The Center for Grading Reform - seeking to advance education in the United States by supporting effective grading reform at all levels through conferences, educational workshops, professional development, research and scholarship, influencing public policy, and community building.
The Grading Conference - an annual, online conference exploring Alternative Grading in Higher Education & K-12.
Some great resources to educate yourself about Alternative Grading:
Recommended Books on Alternative Grading:
- Grading for Growth, by Robert Talbert and David Clark
- Specifications Grading, by Linda Nilsen
- Undoing the Grade, by Jesse Stommel
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Music
Country Rock performed by Lite Saturation, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.