Ontario rubric

The Ontario rubric is a rubric system used to mark students in the Ontario province's school system.

The Ontario rubric is typically a chart with five columns. The first defines the category that is being evaluated, and the other four show levels 1 through 4. Level 1 is 50%-60%, Level 2 is 60%-70%, Level 3 is 70%-80%, and Level 4 is 80%-100%. Some teachers represent a perfect mark by suffixing a plus sign to the 4 ("Level 4+"). The Ontario rubric system is used more or less throughout high schools and elementary schools in Ontario.

The rows are typically broken into four strands:

• Knowledge/Understanding
• Thinking/Inquiry
• Application
• Communication

They can also be organized into sections for projects like this:

• Appearance/ Neatness
• Organization
• Information and Understanding
• General Appeal

Rubrics are usually only used if the school uses these four strands for marking, as they can otherwise cause unnecessary confusion. Rubrics provide a good breakdown of these four strands, but the strands are not weighted evenly. While a student may have received a low mark in only one of the rows, this can lead to a dramatic decrease in their overall grade if that strand is weighted heavier than the others. Similarly, if one receives a low mark in a strand that is not weighed heavily, it can have little effect on their mark. Rubrics are also often used for relatively hard-to-mark items such as CASI tests, and oral presentations.

The Ontario Rubric appears to be evolving into something known as a "competency profile". Competency profiles are much more user-friendly for teachers and students than the traditional text-based list of criteria.

Some criticisms of the Ontario rubric include the fact that a student is no longer being assessed based solely on his or her ability to comprehend and use the material learnt, but is instead being marked on the processes used. This limits creativity and growth on the part of the student as he/she becomes used to completing work within the confines of the rubric fearing that creativity will potentially result in a loss of marks.