District Rubrics

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Within PowerSchool SIS, a user must have the Sign in to Administrative Portion of PowerSchool box checked and the Sign in to PowerTeacher box unchecked in order to see the District Rubrics option under Setup in the left navigation menu of the Unified Classroom Admin portal.
Note: You must be an admin and not a teacher to access district rubric creation and editing. Users with both permissions are unable to access the district rubric creation and editing area.

  1. From your user account in PowerSchool SIS, select Security Settings from the left navigation menu.
  2. Select the Teachers and Affiliations tab, then uncheck the box beside Sign in to PowerTeacher.
  3. Select the Admin Access and Roles tab, then be sure the box beside Sign in to Administration Portion of PowerSchool is checked.
  4. Navigate to the Unified Classroom Admin portal.
  5. Select Setup from the left navigation menu, then select District Rubrics to view, manage or create district rubrics.

Filtering Rubrics

  1. Select Setup from the left navigation menu, then select District Rubrics.
  2. Select from the options at the top to sort the list of rubrics according to District Rubrics or Teacher Created Rubrics. 
  3. Click Filter, then choose from the drop-down menu.
    Note: Click Add to combine filters.

Planning the Contents of Rubrics

Prior to creating a rubric, plan what your rubric needs to contains and how it will be used. Identify the standards, criteria, and values for each level of the rubric to make the process of building the rubric more efficient. 

You may choose to follow an example you have used in the past, one that your district or grade-level team developed, one developed by your state department of education, or one that a colleague has shared.

For example, you can copy some of the following sample standards and criteria for a 9th-grade Writing course as you create a new rubric in Unified Classroom.

Values: EMAB scale, with E = Exceeds, M = Meets, A = Approaches, B = Below

Focus: 9-10.W.02a – Introduce a topic and organize complex ideas, concepts, and information.

* E. Introduces topic in a sophisticated thesis statement

* M. Introduces topic in a clear thesis statement

* A. Introduces superficial topic in a weak thesis statement

* B. Fails to introduce a relevant topic or lacks a thesis statement

Language: 9-10.W.02c – Use varied transitions and sentence structures.

* E. Uses purposeful and varied sentence structure

* M. Uses correct and varied sentence structure

* A. Uses limited or repetitive sentence structure

* B. Uses sentence fragments and/or run-ons

Organization: 9-10.W.04 – Produce clear and coherent writing.

* E. Purposefully and logically uses a variety of techniques to organize information

* M. Uses a variety of techniques to organize ideas and concepts

* A. Uses few techniques to organize ideas

* B. Includes little or no discernible organization of ideas

Development: 9-10.W.09 – Draw evidence from texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

* E. Skillfully develops the topic using well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotes, and other examples that are pertinent and substantial

* M. Provides sufficient and relevant evidence to develop the topic

* A. Provides minimal or irrelevant evidence to develop the topic

* B. Provides inaccurate, little, or no evidence to support topic

For some projects, you may wish to evaluate behavioral criteria. For example, a rubric containing the following criteria would be suitable for evaluating an individual's effort on a group project.

Contribution:

* E. A leader who contributed ideas and effort

* M. Did what was required

* A. Inconsistent effort

* B. Did not participate

Focus on Task:

* E. Very self-directed

* M. Dependably on task

* A. Needs to be reminded to stay on task

* B. Rarely on task; lets others do the work

Working with Others:

* E. Almost always shares with and supports the efforts of others; tries to keep people working productively together

* M. Usually listens to and shares ideas with others; can be counted on as a strong team member

* A. Often listens to and shares ideas with others, and is sometimes a good team member

* B. Rarely listens to or shares ideas with others; not a good team player

Time Management:

* E. Successfully manages time and completes all assigned tasks

* M. Consistent in managing time and completing tasks

* A. Inconsistent in managing time or completing tasks

* B. Fails to manage time or complete tasks

Creating Rubrics

  1. Select Setup from the left navigation menu, then select District Rubrics.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Enter a Name and Description.
  4. Select a Default Score Calculation Method.
    • Score separately
    • Use weights
    • Use points
    • Auto-calculate standards
    Note: If you choose to use points, choose between converting the grade scale or using numbers. 
  5. Click Criteria + to add criteria to the rubric. Standards, Other Criteria, or a combination of both can be selected to measure student success
    1. Select from the list of Standards .
    2.  Choose Other Criteria, then select from the drop-down to view and choose from the lists of My Criteria, Other Teachers' Criteria, or District Criteria.
      Note: The levels of criteria available to you depends on your user permissions. Only users with school or district-level permissions can view other teachers' or district criteria.
    3. You can also create and add new criteria.  
      1. Select Other Criteria, then click Criteria +.
      2. Enter the criteria Name and Descriptions.
      3. Click Edit to select a Grade Scale. 
      4. Select from the Grade Scale options, then click Submit. 
        Note: The mapped Grade Scale, Description of each grade, and Color Levels that appear are determined within in the SIS at the district level. 
        A sample five point rubric including Color Levels and Cutoff scores for each level.
    4. Click Save Criteria.
  6. A grid displays the selected criteria. Select a row to enter Descriptions of student work for each level of success, then click OK.
    Note: Teachers can attach links to examples of student work at each level, as well as links to other resources using the rich text editor.
    A description of student's performance at each level is provided to serve as a reference when scoring student work.
    The descriptions you enter when creating a rubric appear when you hover over its associated value while scoring assignments assigned that rubric.
    One of the descriptions you entered is visible when hovering over it's associated value.
  7. Modify the Default Weight and Default Points for each level, if necessary.
  8. Click Save. These defaults are saved and appear when the rubric is used again.
    The rubric editor is open to reveal the Default Weight and Default Points being modified for each level.

Editing Rubrics

  1. Select Setup from the left navigation menu, then select District Rubrics.
  2. Hover over a rubric in the list, then select Edit.
    A list of rubrics is shown with the cursor hovering over the Edit option for one of the rubrics.
  3. Change the Default Score Calculation Method, the weights and points of any associated criteria, remove a standard or criterion from the rubric, or click Add Criteria to add criteria to the rubric.
  4. Click Save after making all desired changes.