Free resource
A short rubric, written before you look at the first paper, makes partial credit faster to give and easier to keep the same from the first paper to the last. Here’s a one-page template, the decisions worth making before you mark, and two filled examples.
By Oscar ONeill ·
You don’t need this template or any special format. MarkScanner works from whatever you already use: an answer key, worked solutions, or your own marking scheme. It drafts a rubric from those, and you edit and approve it. Writing down decisions like the ones below (which methods you’ll accept, which forms you require, how marks split across steps) helps, because MarkScanner uses them when it drafts your rubric.
Before you mark
Factoring or the quadratic formula? Clearing fractions or working with them? Decide which routes are acceptable, or say “any valid method”.
Points or x-values for intercepts? Simplified or unsimplified? Exact or rounded? If a form matters, write it down. If it doesn’t, say so.
If a student makes an early error and then works correctly from it, do later steps still earn their marks? Many teachers allow it for a slip; decide where you draw the line.
If the question says “check”, is the check worth a mark? Does a correct check that reveals a wrong answer still earn it?
Is there a mark for a concluding statement, units, or a labelled graph? Put it in its own row so it isn’t lost inside another mark.
Name the steps that show understanding, and give each its own mark, so a student who does one step well and slips on another gets credit for what they did.
The template
One row per step that earns a mark. Use the notes column for the decisions above. Most multi-step questions need three to five rows.
| Step | What earns the mark | Marks | Notes: methods, forms, follow-through |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 |
The printable PDF has room for four questions and the decision checklist on one page. Free to copy, adapt, and share.
Filled examples
These are one teacher’s reasonable choices, not the only ones. Each links to a worked example with four students marked against it.
| 1 | Valid method: sets y = 0 and factors, or uses the quadratic formula | 1 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Correct factors, or discriminant evaluated correctly | 1 |
| 3 | Both x-values (follow-through allowed) | 1 |
| 4 | States the x-intercepts | 1 |
Notes: Any correct factorization; points not required.
| 1 | Clears fractions (every term) or works with them correctly | 1 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Correct equation without fractions | 1 |
| 3 | Solves for x (follow-through allowed) | 1 |
| 4 | Checks in the original equation | 1 |
Notes: A correct check that shows a mismatch still earns the last mark.
Related
Try it free
Use your own account and your own papers. You approve the rubric, review the draft marks, and decide what goes back to students.
Email us and we’ll set up your account and help with your first assessment.
After your trial, $49 CAD/month plus HST per teacher.