Success Criteria as a Rubric

We see lots of Success Criteria written as bullet points or a checklist. This is great, but sometimes a checklist just doesn’t quite hit the mark for your Learning Target. How about writing your Success Criteria as a rubric?

This week we want to share a link to a blog that speaks to the power of Success Criteria when presented in a rubric. While there, you can also check out Marzano’s Levels of Understanding rubrics.

We know that the blog includes an elementary math example, (counting to 100) , but it is a good concrete example of the use of Success Criteria that can be applied with all grade levels and content.

Below we've included 4 other examples of Success Criteria rubrics for a variety of content areas and grade levels.

Science: (You might want to rework this into student friendly language so that students could self-reflect on their level of learning.)

Level	Description
Level 4 Above and Beyond	Student accomplishes level 3 AND goes beyond in some significant way, such as:            Explaining unexpected results            Judging the value of the investigation            Suggesting additional relevant investigations
Level 3 Complete and Correct	Student analyzes and interprets data correctly and completely, AND draws a conclusion compatible with the analysis of the data
Level 2 Almost There	Student notes pattern or trends, BUT does so incompletely
Level 1 On Your Way	Student attempts an interpretation, BUT ideas are illogical, OR ideas show a lack of understanding
Level 0	Student’s response is missing, irrelevant, or illegible.
x	Student had no opportunity to respond

Math: 

Learning Target:  I can solve equations that include rational numbers

Descriptor	Proficiency Scale
3	I can always or almost always correctly solve one-step equations that include rational numbers (fractions, decimals, and integers)           I remember to check my answers for accuracy
2	I can solve one-step equations that include whole numbers         Sometimes I can solve one-step equations that include rational numbers. (fractions, decimals, and integers)           I mostly recognize which operation to “undo” first
1	I am still working to solve one-step equations that include whole numbers          I get stuck on which operation to “undo” first

Language Arts:

Learning Target:  I can summarize a story

Success Criteria (How I will know that I hit the Learning Target?)

4 ~ Exceeds the Target My summary includes ALL of the following:          Written in paragraph form           Setting           Main Characters           The Problem           Four important details from the beginning, middle, and end of the story that lead to the resolution of the main character’s problem           Resolution

3 ~ Meets the Target My summary includes ALL of the following:           Setting           Main Characters           The Problem           Three important details from the beginning, middle, and end of the story that lead to the resolution of the main character’s problem          Resolution

2 ~ Close to meeting the Target I included at least three of the requirements above

1 ~ Not close enough to meeting the Target I included less than three of the requirements above

Let us know if you experiment with writing your Success Criteria in rubric form. It would be wonderful to have more examples to share out with colleagues.