RubricsA rubric is a technique for recording student performance in an assessment where various standards are assessed and where the quality of individual performance is vital. A rubric is designed as a guide that helps the evaluator make uniform and consistent judgments about the excellence of student performance. Rubrics can be holistic or analytical in nature. An educator using rubrics uses a rating criterion that involves elements considered during the scoring process such as the superiority of the argument and the amount of research done. The rubrics also contain descriptive terms regarding the level of each criterion tested such as distinction, credit, or passing. Rubrics are useful for grading a student's work because the student's work is evaluated against a preset standard and outlines the criteria for meeting the established standard. They also offer an objective way to record grades without requiring the student's personal details. Using rubrics in language arts assessment is important because they provide feedback to students about the quality of their performance and how best to make improvements. A disadvantage of rubrics is that they do not take into account the student's environment. Some students work hard to grasp concepts, but are hindered by factors such as family issues and/or personal learning challenges. Rubrics can also be too analytical to use when evaluating creative projects and may not cover all the intangible factors in an art evaluation. Checklists Assessments using checklists are appropriate when the educator is examining the presence of particular elements in student performance. The assessor uses a formulated checklist to mark each item as addressed by the student. The evaluation criteria up to the middle of the document. It can be used to inform students about the requirements of an assessment and how well they meet the established criteria. The main advantage of this tool is its ability to effectively match a score to a chosen criterion. However, rating scales do not provide information to students about how they can improve performance. Conclusion Assessment is an important part of education as it allows teachers, parents and students to measure performance and devise means of improvement. These assessment tools are among many that should be used in a complementary manner to cover each other's weaknesses. Works cited Tompkins, G. E. (2009). Language arts: Models of practice (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.Campbell-Rush, P. (2008). Teachable moments: Connecting assessment and teaching in dialogue around writing. Language Arts, 86(5), 352-361.