LEAP RUBRICS SUGGESTIONS FROM THE ASSESSMENT OFFICE, 2015 THE LEAP RUBRICS The LEAP Rubrics were developed to assist faculty and administrators in the assessment 16 learning outcomes. As published by the Association of American College and Universities (AAC&U) each rubric has a learning outcome (general topic) and a series of components (vertical subheadings). Evaluators read, watch, or listen the work of a student and, for each component, mark the level of achievement reached by the student. LEE COLLEGE Lee College was tasked with the introduction and assessment of the CORE Objectives by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). Preliminary implementation began in 2011 and assessment soon after. Components from most of the 16 learning outcomes that are part of the LEAP Rubrics were selected by the faculty to represent and assess the 6 CORE Objectives at Lee College (see next page). Each CORE Objective had a different number of components associated with it and all academic programs could choose a minimum of 3 components to assess their assigned CORE Objectives. Lee College selected a level of 2.0 as the goal for Cycles 1 and 2. The second cycle was completed in fall 2014. LEAP Rubric Civic Engagement Inquiry and Analysis Intercultural Knowledge and Competence Problem Solving Ethical Reasoning Integrative Learning Personal Responsibility Foundations and Skills for Lifelong Learning (15) Information Literacy Oral Communication Reading Written Communication Social Responsibility (24) Communication (21) Teamwork Teamwork (5) Creative Thinking Critical Thinking Critical Thinking (11) Empirical and Quantitative Quantitative Literacy (6) Global Learning (NOT USED) Lee College – CORE Objectives Rubrics BEFORE USING THE LEAP RUBRICS The rubrics should be modified, even translated, into the language of the program and courses in which they will be used. Before using the rubrics, faculty within a program should talk about what a specific learning outcome means in their field. As part of communication, disciplinary conventions will vary across programs. Similarly, the supporting material expected from students will be different depending on the course and program. It is recommended that faculty read their instructions for an assignment and perhaps old papers for that assignment, before deciding on which rubrics to use and which components of those rubrics to use. The institutional goal is 2.0. Higher levels in the rubric are reserved for junior and senior students at a four‐year college. Faculty may find one or two students in a course that turn in work that, for some components, deserves a score higher than 2. However, faculty should remember that assessment is not grading. An A does not equal a 4 in the rubric. Faculty are encouraged to expand the description under each level of the rubric to capture the examples of student work that will be considered a 2, a 1, and so forth. Faculty teaching various sections of the same course should organize or ask to have a norming session where faculty come to an agreement on how they will score activities. DO NOT 
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Do not force a rubric into an assignment that is not related to the learning outcome of the rubric Do not develop assignments that are only related to the rubric but not the course learning outcomes Remember that assessment is used to look at knowledge, skills, or attitudes that have already been taught or reinforced in the course. If the knowledge, skills, or attitudes assessed by the components of the rubric are not taught and reinforced in the class, do not assess them. For example, the first component of the Civic Engagement VALUE Rubric on the first page defines level 2 as “Has awareness that own attitudes and beliefs are different from those of other cultures and communities. Exhibits little curiosity about what can be learned from diversity of communities and cultures.” If students are not taught and/or reinforced on how to be aware of their attitudes and beliefs in the course (or in a preceding course within the program) then do not use this component for assessment. If curiosity is not taught or reinforced in the course (or a previous course within the program) then do not use this component for assessment. Faculty must decide which components are taught or reinforced in the course and if components should be modified before being used for assessment. 
Do not submit scores where grades have been transformed to rubric numbers Grades are global evaluations that do not allow faculty to understand what areas need additional work and do not allow administrators to realize where to allocate funding for new initiatives. A group of A students may all have severe deficiencies in disciplinary conventions that do not count heavily towards the grade and yet should be addressed. If faculty cannot use the rubrics responsibly for a semester, it is best they ask their chair for an exemption than confound the results. USING THE LEAP RUBRICS 1.
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Write the instructions for the assignment or activity based on the course material covered up to that point of the semester. Determine which rubrics you will need to use based on the content of the assignment or activity. a. CORE Objectives – If the assignment or activity will be used to assess the CORE Objectives, then specific rubrics have been selected for each program in the past. Faculty should contact their chair for that list and select 3 or more components from each rubric. b. Other use – If the assignment or activity will be used to assess a Program or Course, then the faculty decide which topics they are interested in assessing that semester and select the rubrics and components accordingly. A minimum of three components per rubric is recommended to gain a more rounded perspective of the students. Modify the components to represent the assignment or activity. Also, modify the values to include only the scores used within the class (e.g., 0‐2 for CORE Objectives). Publish your rubric where students can have access to it as they complete the activity. Use the rubric while evaluating the student’s work. a. Return the completed rubric to the students as feedback b. Use the results to determine which areas may require additional instruction time before the end of the semester or modification in future semesters c. If the assignment will be used for assessment of the CORE Objectives, send the scores divided by component for each student to the designated person. That is, if you used three components, you should send three separate scores for each student. Do not send averages.