Ontario rubric

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The Ontario rubric is a rubric system used to mark students in the Ontario province's school system.

The Ontario rubric is typically a chart with five columns. The first defines the category that is being evaluated, and the other four show levels 1 through 4. Level 1 is 50%-60%, Level 2 is 60%-70%, Level 3 is 70%-80%, and Level 4 is 80%-100%. Some teachers represent a perfect mark by suffixing a plus sign to the 4 ("Level 4+"). The Ontario rubric system is used more or less throughout high schools and elementary schools in Ontario.

The rows are typically broken into four strands:

  • Knowledge/Understanding
  • Thinking/Inquiry
  • Application
  • Communication

They can also be organized into sections for projects like this:

  • Appearance/ Neatness
  • Organization
  • Information and Understanding
  • General Appeal

Rubrics are usually only used if the school uses these four strands for marking, as they can otherwise cause unnecessary confusion. Rubrics provide a good breakdown of these four strands, but the strands are not weighted evenly. While a student may have received a low mark in only one of the rows, this can lead to a dramatic decrease in their overall grade if that strand is weighted heavier than the others. Similarly, if one receives a low mark in a strand that is not weighed heavily, it can have little effect on their mark. Rubrics are also often used for relatively hard-to-mark items such as CASI tests, and oral presentations.