9.1. Observation sheets, checklists and rating scales Rubrics are scoring guides that are used in assessing learners’ performance on a range of criteria. Scoring rubrics are sometimes also called as ‘instruction sheets’ or ‘criteria sheets’ or ‘scoring guidelines’. Rubrics can be designed for one specific language use task or for a wide range of tasks. They can be specific or more general depending on the purpose of assessment, the age of the learners and the context of assessment. More general rubrics and rubrics that are generalizable are more practical for teachers, since they save a lot of time and energy for the teacher or assessor who prepares them. There are different kinds of rubrics and rating scales used with young language learners. Scoring rubrics for young learners generally take the form of observation checklists, task-based criteria sheets and holistic and analytic rating scales (Shin – Crandall 2014; McKay 2006). Observation checklists are usually designed by teachers for their own observation to check and document whether their students are achieving the objectives they have set for the course or for a unit or for a period of time. An observation checklist consists of several points of observable behaviour. It must include the learner’s name, the date and topic of observation. Observation checklists can be designed for very concrete tasks or in a much more general way.
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