HOLISTIC RUBRIC

Holistic – relating to or
concerned with wholes or
with complete systems rather
than with the individual
parts.
Holistic Rubric
A holistic rubric is a rubric
where all elements of a
student’s work are evaluated
together using a single scale.
Reason for using Holistic Rubrics
It is important to provide an
overall summary of the
performance, understanding
and quality of students work.
It is more prudent to focus on
performance capabilities rather
than deficiencies.
Advantages
Quick-scoring/time saving

Good for summative

assessment as they give an
overall judgement of
performance
Emphasis on what the learner
is able to demonstrate, rather
than what she cannot do
They are often written
generically and can be used
with many tasks
Trained raters tend to apply
them consistently resulting in
more reliable measurement
Disadvantages
Does not provide detailed
information, may be difficult to
provide one overall score
Do not Provide specific
feedback about strengths or
areas to improve
Not useful for formative
assessment because they lack
specific details
When student work is at
varying levels spanning the
criteria points, it can be difficult
to select the single best
description
Criteria cannot be weighted
Components of Holistic Rubrics
Fig. 1
Title
Assessment Description
Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Performance Descriptor Performance D. Performance D. Performance D.

: Basic Rubic Format

1) Assessment Description
This should ideally be
placed at the top of the
rubric to remind students of
the task without having to
look in several places for all
assessment information.
2) Achievement Levels
A continuum which describes
the level of performance on the
task.
3) Performance Descriptor
These should describe the
relative differences in
performance between the
levels.
Fig 2.