Resources for Teachers

Most teachers have graded speeches and presentations by creating their own grade sheets that list important criteria with either open-ended responses or numerical scales that indicate their assessment of the student performance.

Students and faculty alike have often argued the subjective nature of those forms since we often don't have agreement as to what earns a student a "ten" score versus some other rating. A presentation may earn an "A" from one teacher but receive a "C" from another even though they use the same rating form.

Using these subjective rating forms has value in maintaining the individuality needed for special assignments and classroom circumstances. However, when it comes time to demonstrate student progress to administrators, colleges or businesses, it is helpful to have a consistent, standardized rating form that is universally accepted.

The foundation for such a rating form comes from the development of academic performance standards. Communication teachers and professionals have worked extensively with the National Communication Association in developing K-12 Speaking, Listening and Media Literacy Standards. That document has been a model for many states developing their own standards.

The SLAP rubrics have been designed with the NCA and state standards in mind. The rubrics were developed and tested by Illinois K-12 teachers to measure observable presentation skills. The rubrics take those skills and behaviors and place them in a matrix format for easy comparison.

Once familiar with the rubric, a teacher can watch for indicators of those behaviors and mark the corresponding rating (exceeds the standard, meets the standard, approaches the standard, or begins the standard). Training materials and videos are being developed to help teachers who are not familiar with the communication discipline but are expected to teach those skills.

Standards-based rubrics can also be used to grade students in class. Teachers can convert the rating scales into a numerical scale and assign points accordingly. One suggested method is to convert the scale into a 4-3-2-1 point scale. If the rubric has 25 criteria categories, there are 100 points possible. A student receiving 90 points (90%) could be assigned an "A" for the speech.

Here is a list of downloadable and printable rubrics and score sheets in PDF format (requires the free Acrobat reader). Click the logo to download the reader.

Rubrics

High School Advanced Persuasive Speech
High School Intermediate Speech
High School Beginning Speech

Junior High Advanced Speech
Junior High Intermediate Speech
Junior High Beginning Speech

Score Sheets

High School Advanced Persuasive Score Sheet

This project is funded by a Higher Education Cooperative Act (HECA)
grant from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.




			Rubrics & Score Sheets Most teachers have graded speeches and presentations by creating their own grade sheets that list important criteria with either open-ended responses or numerical scales that indicate their assessment of the student performance. Students and faculty alike have often argued the subjective nature of those forms since we often don't have agreement as to what earns a student a "ten" score versus some other rating. A presentation may earn an "A" from one teacher but receive a "C" from another even though they use the same rating form. Using these subjective rating forms has value in maintaining the individuality needed for special assignments and classroom circumstances. However, when it comes time to demonstrate student progress to administrators, colleges or businesses, it is helpful to have a consistent, standardized rating form that is universally accepted. The foundation for such a rating form comes from the development of academic performance standards. Communication teachers and professionals have worked extensively with the National Communication Association in developing K-12 Speaking, Listening and Media Literacy Standards. That document has been a model for many states developing their own standards. The SLAP rubrics have been designed with the NCA and state standards in mind. The rubrics were developed and tested by Illinois K-12 teachers to measure observable presentation skills. The rubrics take those skills and behaviors and place them in a matrix format for easy comparison. Once familiar with the rubric, a teacher can watch for indicators of those behaviors and mark the corresponding rating (exceeds the standard, meets the standard, approaches the standard, or begins the standard). Training materials and videos are being developed to help teachers who are not familiar with the communication discipline but are expected to teach those skills. Standards-based rubrics can also be used to grade students in class. Teachers can convert the rating scales into a numerical scale and assign points accordingly. One suggested method is to convert the scale into a 4-3-2-1 point scale. If the rubric has 25 criteria categories, there are 100 points possible. A student receiving 90 points (90%) could be assigned an "A" for the speech. Here is a list of downloadable and printable rubrics and score sheets in PDF format (requires the free Acrobat reader). Click the logo to download the reader. Rubrics High School Advanced Persuasive Speech High School Intermediate Speech High School Beginning Speech Junior High Advanced Speech Junior High Intermediate Speech Junior High Beginning Speech Score Sheets High School Advanced Persuasive Score Sheet Home \| News & Events \| Standards Teachers \| Lesson Plans \| Course & Unit Outlines \| Rubrics Students \| Speaking \| Listening \| Media Literacy copyright 2002 Speaking & Listening Assessment Project This project is funded by a Higher Education Cooperative Act (HECA) grant from the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Please e-mail questions or comments to: communication@ilstu.edu
	This page last updated: June 21, 2002

Rubrics & Score Sheets

Rubrics

Score Sheets