Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium:: English Language Arts Rubrics
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium:: English Language Arts Rubrics
Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium:: English Language Arts Rubrics
Sample Generic 4-point Argumentative Writing Rubric (Grades 6-11) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is fully sustained and consistently and purposefully focused: claim is clearly stated, focused and strongly maintained 4 alternate or opposing claims are clearly addressed* claim is introduced and communicated clearly within the context Organization The response has a clear and effective organizational structure creating unity and completeness: effective, consistent use of a variety of transitional strategies logical progression of ideas from beginning to end effective introduction and conclusion for audience and purpose strong connections among ideas, with some syntactic variety Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides thorough and convincing support/evidence for the writers claim that includes the effective use of sources, facts, and details. The response achieves substantial depth that is specific and relevant: use of evidence from sources is smoothly integrated, comprehensive, relevant, and concrete effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response clearly and effectively expresses ideas, using precise language: use of academic and domain-specific vocabulary is clearly appropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates a strong command of conventions: few, if any, errors are present in usage and sentence formation effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Argumentative Writing Rubric (Grades 6-11) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is adequately sustained and generally focused: claim is clear and for the most part maintained, though some loosely related material may be present 3 context provided for the claim is adequate Organization The response has an evident organizational structure and a sense of completeness, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected: adequate use of transitional strategies with some variety adequate progression of ideas from beginning to end adequate introduction and conclusion adequate, if slightly inconsistent, connection among ideas Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides adequate support/evidence for writers claim that includes the use of sources, facts, and details. The response achieves some depth and specificity but is predominantly general: some evidence from sources is integrated, though citations may be general or imprecise adequate use of some elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response adequately expresses ideas, employing a mix of precise with more general language use of domain-specific vocabulary is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates an adequate command of conventions: some errors in usage and sentence formation may be present, but no systematic pattern of errors is displayed adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Argumentative Writing Rubric (Grades 6-11) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is somewhat sustained and may have a minor drift in focus: may be clearly focused on the claim but is insufficiently sustained 2 claim on the issue may be somewhat unclear and unfocused Organization The response has an inconsistent organizational structure, and flaws are evident: inconsistent use of basic transitional strategies with little variety uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end conclusion and introduction, if present, are weak weak connection among ideas Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides uneven, cursory support/evidence for the writers claim that includes partial or uneven use of sources, facts, and details, and achieves little depth: evidence from sources is weakly integrated, and citations, if present, are uneven weak or uneven use of elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response expresses ideas unevenly, using simplistic language: use of domain-specific vocabulary may at times be inappropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates a partial command of conventions: frequent errors in usage may obscure meaning inconsistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Argumentative Writing Rubric (Grades 6-11) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response may be related to the purpose but may offer little relevant detail: 1 may be very brief may have a major drift claim may be confusing or ambiguous Organization The response has little or no discernible organizational structure: few or no transitional strategies are evident frequent extraneous ideas may intrude Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides minimal support/evidence for the writers claim that includes little or no use of sources, facts, and details: use of evidence from sources is minimal, absent, in error, or irrelevant Language and Vocabulary The response expression of ideas is vague, lacks clarity, or is confusing: uses limited language or domain-specific vocabulary may have little sense of audience and purpose The response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: errors are frequent and severe and meaning is often obscure
A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to [fill in with key language from the intended target].
Sample Generic 4-point Informative-Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 35) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is fully sustained and consistently and purposefully focused: controlling idea or main idea of a topic is focused, clearly stated, and strongly maintained controlling idea or main idea of a topic is introduced and communicated clearly within the context Organization The response has a clear and effective organizational structure creating unity and completeness: use of a variety of transitional strategies logical progression of ideas from beginning to end Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides thorough and convincing support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the effective use of sources, facts, and details: use of evidence from sources is smoothly integrated, comprehensive, and relevant effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response clearly and effectively expresses ideas, using precise language: use of academic and domain-specific vocabulary is clearly appropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates a strong command of conventions: few, if any, errors are present in usage and sentence formation effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
effective introduction
Sample Generic 4-point Informative-Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 35) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is adequately sustained and generally focused: focus is clear and for the most part maintained, though some loosely related material may be present some context for the controlling idea or main idea of the topic is adequate Organization The response has an evident organizational structure and a sense of completeness, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected: adequate use of transitional strategies with some variety adequate progression of ideas from beginning to end adequate introduction and conclusion Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides adequate support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the use of sources, facts, and details: some evidence from sources is integrated, though citations may be general or imprecise adequate use of some elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response adequately expresses ideas, employing a mix of precise with more general language use of domain-specific vocabulary is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates an adequate command of conventions: some errors in usage and sentence formation may be present, but no systematic pattern of errors is displayed adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Informative-Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 35) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is somewhat sustained and may have a minor drift in focus: may be clearly focused on the controlling or main idea, but is insufficiently sustained controlling idea or main idea may be unclear and somewhat unfocused Organization The response has an inconsistent organizational structure, and flaws are evident: inconsistent use of transitional strategies with little variety uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end conclusion and introduction, if present, are weak Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides uneven, cursory support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes partial or uneven use of sources, facts, and details: evidence from sources is weakly integrated, and citations, if present, are uneven weak or uneven use of elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response expresses ideas unevenly, using simplistic language: use of domain-specific vocabulary that may at times be inappropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates a partial command of conventions: frequent errors in usage may obscure meaning inconsistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Informative-Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 35) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response may be related to the topic but may provide little or no focus: 1 may be very brief may have a major drift focus may be confusing or ambiguous Organization The response has little or no discernible organizational structure: few or no transitional strategies are evident frequent extraneous ideas may intrude Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides minimal support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes little or no use of sources, facts, and details: use of evidence from the source material is minimal, absent, in error, or irrelevant Language and Vocabulary The response expression of ideas is vague, lacks clarity, or is confusing: uses limited language or domain-specific vocabulary may have little sense of audience and purpose The response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: errors are frequent and severe and meaning is often obscure
A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to [fill in with key language from the intended target].
Sample Generic 4-point Informative-Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 611) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is fully sustained and consistently and purposefully focused: controlling idea or main idea of a topic is focused, clearly stated, and strongly maintained controlling idea or main idea of a topic is introduced and communicated clearly within the context Organization The response has a clear and effective organizational structure creating unity and completeness: use of a variety of transitional strategies logical progression of ideas from beginning to end effective introduction and conclusion for audience and purpose strong connections among ideas, with some syntactic variety Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides thorough and convincing support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the effective use of sources, facts, and details. The response achieves substantial depth that is specific and relevant: use of evidence from sources is smoothly integrated, comprehensive, and concrete effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response clearly and effectively expresses ideas, using precise language: use of academic and domain-specific vocabulary is clearly appropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates a strong command of conventions: few, if any, errors are present in usage and sentence formation effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Informative-Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 611) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is adequately sustained and generally focused: focus is clear and for the most part maintained, though some loosely related material may be present 3 some context for the controlling idea or main idea of the topic is adequate Organization The response has an evident organizational structure and a sense of completeness, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected: adequate use of transitional strategies with some variety adequate progression of ideas from beginning to end adequate introduction and conclusion adequate, if slightly inconsistent, connection among ideas Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides adequate support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes the use of sources, facts, and details: some evidence from sources is integrated, though citations may be general or imprecise adequate use of some elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response adequately expresses ideas, employing a mix of precise with more general language use of domain-specific vocabulary is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates an adequate command of conventions: some errors in usage and sentence formation may be present, but no systematic pattern of errors is displayed adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Informative-Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 611) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is somewhat sustained and may have a minor drift in focus: may be clearly focused on the controlling or main idea, but is insufficiently sustained controlling idea or main idea may be unclear and somewhat unfocused Organization The response has an inconsistent organizational structure, and flaws are evident: inconsistent use of transitional strategies with little variety uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end conclusion and introduction, if present, are weak weak connection among ideas Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides uneven, cursory support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes partial or uneven use of sources, facts, and details: evidence from sources is weakly integrated, and citations, if present, are uneven weak or uneven use of elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response expresses ideas unevenly, using simplistic language: use of domain-specific vocabulary that may at times be inappropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates a partial command of conventions: frequent errors in usage may obscure meaning inconsistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Informative-Explanatory Writing Rubric (Grades 611) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response may be related to the topic but may provide little or no focus: 1 may be very brief may have a major drift focus may be confusing or ambiguous Organization The response has little or no discernible organizational structure: few or no transitional strategies are evident frequent extraneous ideas may intrude Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides minimal support/evidence for the controlling idea or main idea that includes little or no use of sources, facts, and details: use of evidence from the source material is minimal, absent, in error, or irrelevant Language and Vocabulary The response expression of ideas is vague, lacks clarity, or is confusing: uses limited language or domain-specific vocabulary may have little sense of audience and purpose The response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: errors are frequent and severe and meaning is often obscure
A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to [fill in with key language from the intended target].
Sample Generic 4-point Narrative Writing Rubric (Grades 38) Score Establishment of Narrative Focus and Organization Narrative Focus The narrative, real or imagined, is clearly focused and maintained throughout: effectively establishes a setting, narrator and/or characters, and point of view* Organization The narrative, real or imagined, has an effective plot helping create unity and completeness: effective, consistent use of a variety of transitional strategies logical sequence of events from beginning to end Development: Elaboration and Language Elaboration of Narrative The narrative, real or imagined, provides thorough and effective elaboration using details, dialogue, and description: effective use of a variety of narrative techniques that advance the story or illustrate the experience Language and Vocabulary The narrative, real or imagined, clearly and effectively expresses experiences or events: effective use of sensory, concrete, and figurative language clearly advance the purpose The narrative, real or imagined, demonstrates a strong command of conventions: few, if any, errors in usage and sentence formation effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling Conventions
Sample Generic 4-point Narrative Writing Rubric (Grades 38) Score Establishment of Narrative Focus and Organization Narrative Focus The narrative, real or imagined, is adequately focused and generally maintained throughout: adequately establishes a setting, narrator and/or characters, and point of view* 3 Organization The narrative, real or imagined, has an evident plot helping create a sense of unity and completeness, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected: adequate use of a variety of transitional strategies adequate sequence of events from beginning to end Development: Elaboration and Language Elaboration of Narrative The narrative, real or imagined, provides adequate elaboration using details, dialogue, and description: adequate use of a variety of narrative techniques that generally advance the story or illustrate the experience Language and Vocabulary The narrative, real or imagined, adequately expresses experiences or events: adequate use of sensory, concrete, and figurative language generally advance the purpose The narrative, real or imagined, demonstrates an adequate command of conventions: some errors in usage and sentence formation but no systematic pattern of errors is displayed adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling Conventions
Sample Generic 4-point Narrative Writing Rubric (Grades 38) Score Establishment of Narrative Focus and Organization Narrative Focus The narrative, real or imagined, is somewhat maintained and may have a minor drift in focus: inconsistently establishes a setting, narrator and/or characters, and point of view* Organization The narrative, real or imagined, has an inconsistent plot, and flaws are evident: inconsistent use of basic transitional strategies with little variety uneven sequence of events from beginning to end opening and closure, if present, are weak weak connection among ideas Development: Elaboration and Language Elaboration of Narrative The narrative, real or imagined, provides uneven, cursory elaboration using partial and uneven details, dialogue, and description: narrative techniques, if present, are uneven and inconsistent Language and Vocabulary The narrative, real or imagined, unevenly expresses experiences or events: partial or weak use of sensory, concrete, and figurative language that may not advance the purpose The narrative, real or imagined, demonstrates a partial command of conventions: frequent errors in usage may obscure meaning inconsistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling Conventions
Sample Generic 4-point Narrative Writing Rubric (Grades 38) Score Establishment of Narrative Focus and Organization Narrative Focus The narrative, real or imagined, may be maintained but may provide little or no focus: 1 may be very brief may have a major drift focus may be confusing or ambiguous Organization The narrative, real or imagined, has little or no discernable plot: few or no transitional strategies are evident frequent extraneous ideas may intrude Development: Elaboration and Language Elaboration of Narrative The narrative, real or imagined, provides minimal elaboration using little or no details, dialogue, and description: use of narrative techniques is minimal, absent, in error, or irrelevant Language and Vocabulary The narrative, real or imagined, expression of ideas is vague, lacks clarity, or is confusing: uses limited language may have little sense of purpose The narrative, real or imagined, demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: errors are frequent and severe and meaning is often obscured Conventions
A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to [fill in with key language from the intended target].
Sample Generic 4-point Opinion Writing Rubric (Grades 35) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is fully sustained and consistently and purposefully focused: opinion is clearly stated, focused, and strongly maintained 4 opinion is communicated clearly within the context Organization The response has a clear and effective organizational structure creating unity and completeness: effective, consistent use of a variety of transitional strategies logical progression of ideas from beginning to end Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides thorough and convincing support/evidence for the writers opinion that includes the effective use of sources, facts, and details: use of evidence from sources is smoothly integrated, comprehensive, and relevant effective use of a variety of elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response clearly and effectively expresses ideas, using precise language: use of academic and domain-specific vocabulary is clearly appropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates a strong command of conventions: few, if any, errors in usage and sentence formation effective and consistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
effective introduction
Sample Generic 4-point Opinion Writing Rubric (Grades 35) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is adequately sustained and generally focused: opinion is clear and for the most part maintained, though some loosely related material may be present context provided for the claim is adequate Organization The response has an recognizable organizational structure, though there may be minor flaws and some ideas may be loosely connected: adequate use of transitional strategies with some variety adequate progression of ideas from beginning to end adequate introduction and conclusion Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides adequate support/evidence for the writers opinion that includes the use of sources, facts, and details: some evidence from sources is integrated, though citations may be general or imprecise adequate use of some elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response adequately expresses ideas, employing a mix of precise with more general language use of domain-specific vocabulary is generally appropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates an adequate command of conventions: some errors in usage and sentence formation are present, but no systematic pattern of errors is displayed adequate use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Opinion Writing Rubric (Grades 35) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response is somewhat sustained with some extraneous material or a minor drift in focus: 2 may be clearly focused on the opinion but is insufficiently sustained opinion on the issue may be unclear and unfocused Organization The response has an inconsistent organizational structure, and flaws are evident: inconsistent use of transitional strategies with little variety uneven progression of ideas from beginning to end conclusion and introduction, if present, are weak Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides uneven, cursory support/evidence for the writers opinion that includes partial or uneven use of sources, facts, and details: evidence from sources is weakly integrated, and citations, if present, are uneven weak or uneven use of elaborative techniques Language and Vocabulary The response expresses ideas unevenly, using simplistic language: use of domain-specific vocabulary that may at times be inappropriate for the audience and purpose The response demonstrates a partial command of conventions: frequent errors in usage may obscure meaning inconsistent use of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
Sample Generic 4-point Opinion Writing Rubric (Grades 35) Statement of Purpose/Focus and Organization Score Statement of Purpose/Focus The response may be related to the purpose but may offer little or no focus: 1 may be very brief may have a major drift opinion may be confusing or ambiguous Organization The response has little or no discernible organizational structure: few or no transitional strategies are evident frequent extraneous ideas may intrude Development: Language and Elaboration of Evidence Conventions Elaboration of Evidence The response provides minimal support/evidence for the writers opinion that includes little or no use of sources, facts, and details: use of evidence from sources is minimal, absent, in error, or irrelevant Language and Vocabulary The response expression of ideas is vague, lacks clarity, or is confusing: uses limited language or domain-specific vocabulary may have little sense of audience and purpose The response demonstrates a lack of command of conventions: errors are frequent and severe and meaning is often obscured
A response gets no credit if it provides no evidence of the ability to [fill in with key language from the intended target].