Abstract

Whilst there is agreement to the pedagogic benefits of utilising rubrics from a teaching perspective, less attention has been given to students approaches to and use of rubrics and how rubrics are perceived by the users (Andrade and Du 2005). The aim of the study was to identify whether a group of FHEQ Level 5 Sport students find a marking rubric helpful in providing feed-forward on a draft version of a lab report. A paper-based questionnaire was administered on completion of the assessment to 58 Sport students who sat the Level 5 module to identify their perceptions of the marking rubric. The majority of students reported agreement that the rubric was beneficial in completing the lab report, with median scores for all 11 questions between 4 and 5 (slightly agree or agree). Student perceptions of the marking rubric were generally positive in clearly defining the criteria needed to succeed and increasing the understanding of what was required in the assessment. The role of the rubric in the feed-forward process was also beneficial as it enabled the students to understand what they were doing well on and what was needed to be worked on. Additionally, improvements in attainment and achievement levels were observed within the cohort. Overall, marking rubrics are an important tool in improving academic performance and should be considered when implementing a laboratory based practical assessment and report.