RUBRICS/LEVELS

What is a rubric?

A rubric is a set of skills that reflects what a student should learn during a given year of history (e.g. "I have to master all of the writing skills in Rubric 1 during my Freshman year. Then I have to master all of the writing skills in Rubric 2 during my sophomore year.") If you are looking for a quick and easy way to understand them:

Writing Rubric 1 = Writing skills I have to master my freshman year.

Writing Rubric 2 = Writing skills I have to master my sophomore year.

Writing Rubric 3 = Writing skills I have to master my junior year.

Writing Rubric 4 = Writing skills I have to master my senior year.

Remember that there are three LEVELS within each Rubric depending on how strong a writer you are. Make sure you know which level you are when looking at Rubrics.

You can see a complete listing of all the Writing Rubrics by going to the SCORING RUBRIC page. Be sure to click on the right Rubric(year) and level. If you need to know what a level is click on the What is a level? link above.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE SCORING RUBRIC PAGE.

What Rubric Am I In?

Freshman - Rubric 1

Sophomore - Rubric 2

Junior - Rubric 3

Senior - Rubric 4

Why am I in that Rubric?

Rubrics are based on grade level.

Freshman - Rubric 1

Sophomore - Rubric 2

Junior - Rubric 3

Senior - Rubric 4

How do I move up a Rubric?

You move up by simply demonstrating mastery of all the skills in your rubric level in all courses and moving up to the next rubric level in all courses.

What is a level?

Foundational, Standard, Accelerated

When we say "level" we are talking about FOUNDATIONAL, STANDARD, and ACCELERATED. It is very important that you understand what levels are and what level you are in. There are many reasons for this. Most students become very interested in their level when they see what it does to their GPA. If you are a freshman you may not think that GPA is particularly important. If you are a Junior, you probably think your GPA is extremely important. Why? Well, for all you Freshman out there, your GPA decides whether or not you get a single next year. Just kidding. Actually, your GPA is very important in deciding what college you want to go to. That is to say, if you have a high GPA, you probably will have lots of colleges to choose from. If you have a low GPA, you will have fewer colleges to choose from.

What does an 80 equal my GPA?

The table below gives you an example of how different levels wash out in your GPA. Look up the "Quality Points System" in your student handbook for a more thorough explanation.

Ask your history teacher or look on the top of your quizzes or papers. Look for a FOUNDATIONAL, STANDARD or ACCELERATED on the top of your quizzes.

Your level IS NOT based on the 1, 2, and 3 you see during EXPERT groups.

Why am I in that level?

You are in your level for four major reasons.

1. Because of the skills you have demonstrated mastery of so far on your history papers
2. because of the RATE at which you improve, grow and master skills on your history papers
3. because your English teacher AND your history teacher agree on what you have mastered and how fast you improve
4. standardized tests indicate that you can write at this level.

How do I move up a level?

Many people will push you to move up a level. The college office, your parents, your advisor, etc. But be careful. Moving up is hard. You cannot move up just because you want to move up. Remember, a great deal of work has gone into determining the level you're at right now.

The best way to find an answer to this question is to make an appointment with your teacher to meet during an extra help block or an available lab block to discuss this question. When you arrive at this appointment, be prepared to make an argument as to HOW you intend to move up.

1. Do you have copies of your essays?
2. Do you have copies of graded essays?
3. Do you have a handle on what the skills are in your current rubric?
4. And most importantly, do you have examples of papers which show mastery of the skills in your current rubric level? How can you move up if you don't have mastery of your current level!?

What does Mastery mean?

At Brewster, we are not interested in you just "passing" your quizzes, tests, and essays. We're not going to let you off that easy. We insist that earn MASTERY of all major assessments(quizzes, tests, essays, etc). What does that mean? That means that you have to earn an 80 or higher on all of these. If you earn an 80 or higher, obviously you have shown that you have a strong grasp of the quiz, test or paper so you have earned MASTERY.

What if I don't earn mastery?

If you get below an 80 on a major product, you have to re-take or redo that quiz, test or essay. However, although your grade will be averaged with the original grade, your retake cannot earn you a grade higher than 80. If you want a grade higher than 80, get it the first time!! This is called mastery based learning. It rewards focus and demands that everyone understand the skills and content taught in a given course.

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