I wouldn't grade on a rubric

If I were ever to be a teacher or a professor, I would try very hard to avoid grading on a rubric.

One of my classes recently had student presentations, and the professor graded them on a rubric. The rubric was also handed out to the class so that we could collectively peer-grade the presentations.

The first two groups that went never saw the rubric before. Which is too bad because their presentations were very thoughtful and obviously well prepared; they had done their work. But if they missed a couple of the specific points that were being looked for—

too bad.

I think that, as a professor, that’s a silly thing to do to yourself. If I were grading such a presentation, I’d be more compelled to grade the effort and the intent of the presentation. It’s rarely a good idea to try to get people to hit some specific checklist that they’ve never seen.

At best you’re trying to get students to regurgitate concepts instead of forming their own opinions, and at worst you’re forcing yourself into a corner where it’s impossible to give a good grade to a group that has clearly made a good presentation.