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Assessing student performances on Service-Learning projects cannot be done in the traditional way – based on a series of numerical scores. Rubrics are a collection of attainment targets set at the onset of a given assignment.

These targets are measurable and help evaluate the learning outcomes expected at the end of each project. Scoring rubrics also help students by providing feedback about the strengths and weaknesses of their work, and indicating areas for improvement.

In an attempt to generate criteria for your rubric, you could bear in mind the following as basic criteria for project based assessment:

• originality
• required elements
• technical skills
• communication to audience
• collaboration

Points can be allocated to performance levels measuring the degree to which the individual targets have been achieved, and/or the degree to which the project has been completed based on specified timelines. The four levels included in this rubric are:

• exceeding expectations
• meeting expectations
• approaching expectations
• needs improvement. 

The Rubric Categories

Originality

• Originality addresses the source of the students’ work. 
• Originality refers to the extent to which students have created their own designs based on their own unique ideas. 
• The most original images are those creatively produced by the students themselves.
• Work that includes clip art, templates, or other borrowed images can be considered original.  In particular, if the students alter the image, or use the image in a novel way, the work can be considered original. 
• Work that students have simply copied from another source will not be considered original.

Required Elements

• This category measures the extent to which the students have incorporated the required elements of the lesson into their work product.
• The “Review It” section of each activity or project lists the required elements for that lesson.
• This category also considers whether or not the students have attempted the “challenge” components of an activity or project. 
• The focus of this category is the required elements. Work that includes completed “Review It” elements and no challenges attempted is therefore scored higher than work with completed challenges but incomplete “Review It” elements.

Technical Skills

• This category addresses the degree to which the students can use the technical skills introduced thus far to complete the activity or project.
• This category also considers how well the students use the technical skills and whether they need help to improve their use of needed technology tools.

Communication to Audience

• This category considers the extent to which the students have created a product that communicates a message about their community or other program topics.
• This category specifically addresses the design elements (colors, sizes and words)  students have used to convey their intended meaning to their audience.   

Collaboration

• Collaboration addresses the working relationship between the students in a group (of two or more).
• Collaboration refers to the extent to which the team worked together to plan, do, share, and review their product. 
• Teams with the highest degree of collaboration are those in which team members set goals jointly, work hard on the components of the activity or project for which they are individually responsible, and help each other along the way.
• Teams have not collaborated effectively if one student does all the work, or if one student dictates precisely what will happen and how.  

  Download Sample Rubric for assessing a Social Studies unit on Current Affairs