Teaching & learning: from rubrics to comprehensive reports

Rubric-based assessments such as lab tests and group projects are usually evaluated manually using a printed rubric or one in a spreadsheet table. One of the problems with manual evaluation based on a hardcopy rubric is that an extra step has to be taken to scan the evaluation form for audit purposes that usually take place at least six months to five years after the semester ends. Besides the need to scan the hard copy of the evaluation form, calculations of the marks are also done manually and as such, are prone to errors. Transferring the marks to the system or the lecturer’s ongoing assessment marks records is prone to error in the recording process. On the other hand, while evaluations that are recorded directly in a Spreadsheet tables may reduce the calculation and typing errors in the transfer process, but they lack the report to be returned to the students unless a printed copy is used to rewrite the evaluation scores. In the end, we still need a copy of the evaluation report.