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Creating Rubrics Through Negotiable Contracting and Assessment

 What would happen if students were invited to help decide how their work should be evaluated? Would they exploit the opportunity, designing standards so ridiculously low as to guarantee a glut of effortless good grades?Surprisingly, the answer is no. Experience in Mrs. Martha Polin's class at Robert Wagner Middle School in Manhattan shows that students who are given a role in the assessment process of a mural from a historical novel lesson can and do rise to the occasion....

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Benefit from rubrics

Students and Teachers Alike Can Benefit from Rubrics

 Joyce Kasman Valenza from The Philadelphia Inquirer Interviews Dr. Andi StixDid you ever wonder why your school paper got an 85 when Suzie’s got a 94? Did you ever ask your teacher exactly why? Was the answer a little vague? And did that grading process really help you understand how you might improve your work next time around? and benefit from rubrics?Five years ago, if you had asked me what a rubric was, I would have been puzzled. Now...

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The Art of Negotiable Contracting

 It may have the sound of being more than it really is, but negotiable contracting is indeed an art. While not immediately evident to the casual observer, it is practiced with a deftness and precision comparable to an artist applying a brushstroke to a canvas. We already know that students perform at higher levels if they have ownership of their work. But the finishing touch to this grand design is to create an atmosphere of achievement and accomplishment where...

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