Nature of Science Essay Scoring Rubric

WARNING: This in-course summative assessment is related to the Admission to Student Teaching institutional gateway for physics teacher education majors. In order to receive the positive recommendation of the PTE coordinator required for Admission to Student Teaching, all candidates must earn an overall average score of 2 (Acceptable) or above on of this performance task, in all three parts of the essay writing process. In addition, no single dimension may be scored unacceptable.

Dimension	Unacceptable (0)	Inadequate (1 pt)	Weak (1.5 pts)	Acceptable (2 pt)	Strong (2.5 pts)	Score
Title & Abstract Page (addend)	Title only; no abstract provided or inappropriate.	Abstract rambling, imprecise and not comprehensive; on separate page with title.	Abstract rambling, imprecise or not comprehensive; on separate page with title.	Abstract concise, comprehensive, clearly communicates nature of essay's contents; on separate page with title.	N/A
Organization (addend)	Thesis statement, introduction, body and close essentially indistinguishable; mostly specific information with few generalities.	Has some of the essential components but is disorganized; no real movement from generalities to specifics.	Has all the essential components, but is disorganized; moves generally from generalities to the specifics.	Thesis statement, introduction, body, and close clearly discern-able; essay moves regularly from generalities to specifics.	N/A
Writing Style (addend)	Too familiar (e.g., repeated use of ≥you≤); rambling commentary; poorly formulated paragraphs.	Mixed style; mostly too familiar; some-what professional, and/or poorly formulated paragraphs.	Mixed style; mostly professional; somewhat too familiar; well formulated paragraphs.	Mixed style but can be fixed with a few minor revisions; well formulated paragraphs.	Suitable for journal publication with only insignificant modifications.
Professionalism (addend)	Unprofessional; no evidence of significant use of references; provides mostly general commentary and personal opinions; strong evidence of ≥surface learning≤	Less profession-al; some material of substance, but lots of personal commentary; could be enhanced considerably; shows more ≥surface learning≤ than ≥deep learning≤	More profession-al; material mostly of substance, but includes some opinions; could be enhanced somewhat; shows more ≥deep learning≤ than ≥surface learning≤	Profession; clear evidence of use of several references; material of substantive value; mostly research based; needs little improvement; evidence of ≥deep learning≤	Very profession; clear evidence of use of several references; material of substantive value; research based; no needed improvement; strong evidence of ≥deep learning≤
Accuracy (addend)	Multiple and gross errors in fact; grossly inaccurate conclusions.	Multiple minor errors in fact; poorly-drawn conclusions.	Minor errors in fact; reasonably well drawn conclusions.	No discernable errors in fact; well-grounded conclusions.	N/A
Citations (addend)	Cleary uses othersπ ideas without making in-line citations giving credit due.	Often uses otherπs ideas without making in-line citations.	Once or twice uses otherπs ideas without making in-line citations.	Makes appropriate use of in-line citations to credit due to others.	N/A
Completeness (addend)	Addresses full range of subject matter poorly.	Addresses full range of subject matter irregularly.	Addresses full range of subject matter adequately.	Addresses full range of subject matter very thoroughly.	N/A
Spelling, Grammar, and Punctuation (addend)	Poorly written with numerous spelling, grammatical, and/or punctuation errors; a number of major and minor grammatical errors; essentially unreadable.	Tolerably well written; a fair number of minor spelling, grammatical, and/or punctuation errors; a few major error; confusing to reader; no evidence of revision & proofing.	Reasonably well written; a few minor spelling, grammatical or punctuation errors; easy and interesting reading; evidence of regular revision and proof reading.	Well written; no grammatical errors; insignificant number of punctuation errors; no spelling errors; easy and interesting reading; clear evidence of regular revision & proofing.	Exceptionally well written; no grammatical or punctuation errors; no spelling errors; easy and interesting reading; clear evidence of regular revision & proofing.

Dimension		Unacceptable (0 )	Inadequate (1 pt)		Weak (1.5 pts)	Acceptable (2 pt)	Strong (2.5 pts)
Format & Appearance (addend)		Gross violation of essay format guidelines dealing with font, font size, line spacing, and border areas; poor print quality.	Fails to meet two or three guidelines of appropriate font, font size, line spacing, and border areas; fair print quality.		Fails to meet one the guidelines for appropriate font, font size, line spacing, and border areas; good print quality.	Uses appropriate font, font size, line spacing, and border areas; good layout; good print quality.	N/A
References (addend)		None provided; essay clearly lacks evidence of appropriate review of resources.	None provided; essay shows some evidence of review of two or more resources.		Two or three provided but lacks critical sources; essay shows evidence of review of several resources.	Four or more provided; essay shows evidence of review of several major critical resources.	N/A
							Sum of Addends:	30
Script Length (assumes correctly formatted minus title, abstract, references and lesson objectives; submitted on time; post deadline no value; multiplier on sum of addends)				Required 6-8 page paper: 1 complete pages (0.17X) 2 complete pages (0.33X)	3 complete pages (0.50X) 4 complete pages (0.66X)	5 compete pages (0.83X) 6 complete pages (1.00X)	7 complete pages (1.05X) 8 complete pages (1.10X)
				Required 4-6 page paper: 1 complete pages (0.25X) 2 complete pages (0.50X)	3 complete pages (0.75X) 4 complete pages (1.0X)	5 complete pages (1.05X) 6 complete pages (1.10X)
Integrity (multiplier on above)	Essay clearly plagiarized; no citation provided at all. (0X)			Essentially plagiarized; large amounts of direct quoting even though reference(s) provided. (0.5X)	Essay not far from plagiarized; mere rearrangement of words; no evidence of own creativity. (0.7X)	Clearly work of student; makes appropriate use of references and citations. (1X)	N/A
General Comments:							Raw Score:	30
							Normalized Score:	50