Journals Rubric

Grading Journals

Your journal is a place in which you reflect upon your learning, work out ideas, take notes that will be used later in long term assignments, and give your teacher a chance to check in with your thinking. It is also a place for you to practice without strict oversight. It is not formal writing. The only focus is on the ideas and the content. Write freely without concern that you will be judged on any of the other formal writing traits. The most important thing your journal must show to receive a top score is an honest effort to do what you are asked. Your grade will be based upon a determination of which of the following descriptions best matches that effort.

Top Scores (advanced) - The top scoring students will do the following:

• Submit all assignments.
• Submit assignments nearly completely on time.
• Respond to the assignments appropriately and completely.
• Demonstrate that they have thought deeply about topics when they have been asked to reflect.

Middle Scores (proficient) - Acceptable scores for students go to those who do the following:

• Submit nearly all assignments, with only a few minor ones missing.
• Respond on time for the most part, although some may be late.
• Respond appropriately to the assignments, although some may be slightly off topic or appear hurried or incomplete.
• Demonstrate less depth of thought than the top scorers.

Low scorers (unsatisfactory) - Students score poorly when they:

• Have many missing assignments.
• Are consistently late.
• Give responses that are off topic or lead the reader to suspect that they did not understand the topic. They are incomplete.
• Demonstrate little true thought on reflection assignments, as if the writer were simply trying to write words to meet an assigned task. They seem hurried and incomplete.