Process Introduction
From idea to implementation.
The Big Wonder that Started it All
In my 8th-grade Language Arts classroom, I often wondered: Do my students actually know how well they’re doing? Too often, I can tell that learning feels like a mystery to them. They might complete an assignment because it is required, but they aren’t always sure of their level or work, what made it successful, or how to make it better next time. I knew that kind of self-reflection needs to be intentionally taught. This wonder planted the seed of an idea for the beginning of my action research project. I had used rubrics and exemplars before as self-assessment tools, but I knew I could be more purposeful in how I could make learning more visible and meaningful for kids. There was still a lot out there that I could learn about this topic, and I knew it could have a high impact on helping students be more metacognitive, not just about work in our class but out in the real world. So, I investigated how using rubrics and exemplars—both separately and together—affect how students reflect on their learning and improve their work. I hoped that if students better understand expectations and know what “good” looks like, then they would be able to evaluate themselves more accurately, and they just might become more confident, independent learners. The action research involves implementing rubrics and exemplars and collecting data regarding self-assessment accuracy and the effects of usage on academic improvement. The purpose, method, and data collected correlate to the inquiry questions below: 1. How might using solely a rubric differ in impact from using rubrics paired with exemplars? The researcher will first collect qualitative data in the form of a pre-survey to rate students’ understanding of rubrics and exemplars and reflect on how these feedback tools have been used in their past academic experiences. This will provide a baseline understanding of perceived helpfulness related to clarity, expectations, and models. Throughout a unit of study, the researcher will quantitatively test student achievement and self-assessment accuracy when solely provided a rubric and then later compare data when provided both a rubric and exemplars to test if the combined use increases the level of work. 2. What role do exemplars play in helping students interpret rubrics and accurately assess their work? The researcher will collect quantitative data comparing student self-assessment scores using a rubric and compare the student self-score to the teacher’s rubric judgment on a formative task at the beginning of the unit. Before providing tools for self-assessment, qualitative survey data will be collected regarding the students' perceived areas of growth and self-identified next steps concerning the summative project. After students complete a draft of their summative task, the researcher will collect quantitative data comparing student self-assessment scores using a rubric paired with exemplars to the teacher’s scores. 3. How might the use of rubrics paired with exemplars impact students’ ability to identify areas of growth and take action to improve their level of work? Then, when the rubric paired with the model work is provided to students, qualitative data will be collected regarding the level of awareness and action taken to improve the level of work based on new understanding. The researcher will collect quantitative data on pre-revision and post-revision summative assessment task scores. The data collected will be analyzed by looking for trends in assessment scoring results (when comparing student self-assessment scores to the teacher’s evaluation). The researcher will need to examine the accuracy of the scores, calculate the percentage change from pre- to post-revision scores, and assess whether revisions based on the rubric paired with exemplars lead to significant score improvements. 
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ASSESSMENT
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