That's what I thought the day I started letting my freshmen & sophomores make the holistic rubric for their Web 2.0 tools presentation. The day before I introduced the basics of my standards-based scoring system, and I had them make the rubric by listing characteristics of my scoring levels 3, 4, and 5. A level 4 understanding would mean they met the requirements for the presentation (listed for them on a web page) and demonstrated mastery of the stated objectives; a level 3 means they have almost met the requirements and have almost mastered the learning objectives, and a 5 means they went above and beyond the requirements, and have demonstrated advanced level understanding of the objectives.
This being the first time they had ever done anything like this, they were struggling in their teams to specifically define each level. Their first attempts in all of my classes went something like this:
3 = Didn't meet all the requirements. More effort needed.
4 = You met all the requirements. Good job.
5 = Went above the requirements. Did a great job.
Needless to say, we had to have class discussions about why those criteria aren't actually useful in helping someone see exactly what they need to do in order to get a 4 or a 5 (which is what they all need to get in order for them not to have to redo it for reassessment). We also talked about how comments such as "good job" don't really help students see what they did well or what they still need to improve upon. So, they went back to the drawing board and, with some guiding questions from me about focusing on what's really important (the learning), together we came up with this rubric for my Physical Science class and this rubric for my Biology classes.
Are they perfect? Absolutely not. I left some criteria in there that I knew wasn't good enough, because when they score each other and themselves with it, hopefully they will see what's wrong with some of the characteristics they listed. Then we are going to talk about how the rubric could have been improved. After that, we will discuss how we are going to use what we have learned about developing rubrics to make rubrics for the rest of the year.
As other adults in the building heard about what I'm doing, their comments all revolved around these questions: Wouldn't it just be easier just to make the rubric myself, review it with my students, and have them reference it while making their presentations? Why am I "wasting" class time having students develop a rubric when I could be moving on to my Biology & Physical Science content?
Because, to put it frankly, students need to be involved in their own education. They need to be responsible for their own education, because they are going to be the ones to have to use that education once they graduate. And a small part of that responsibility is determining the criteria on which they will be assessed. During the course of the year, I plan on giving them additional responsibilities, such as giving themselves scores, planning out units after being given general guidelines, and putting together portfolios on their own, making their own choices as to what evidence best shows their mastery of the learning objectives.
It would definitely be easier for me just to make the rubric myself, as I have done for 14 years. However, in those 14 years, I don't think 99% of my students ever looked at the rubric after we went over it. They would do the project or assignment, they would all be of poor quality, I would get mad, my students would be frustrated....and then I would do the same thing with the next project, repeat ad naseum. I finally realized that they weren't using it because they had no say in it in the first place--they had no ownership in it. It had come from me, not from them.
I am "wasting time" doing this because it's time for students to learn (and, at 9th grade, this is a lesson coming a little too late) that the teacher's role is to guide them along and to their learning, not to do the learning for them. They need to learn that the teacher is not the sole judge and jury of their learning--they need to develop the metacognitive skills to evaluate and assess their own learning. In the case of my students, they desperately need to learn that they cannot be passive participants in their own education and expect to learn anything of real value at all.
I am also "wasting time" on this because I believe my role is to teach students, not content. And teaching students how to take control over their own education (i.e., teaching them how to think and how to learn) takes time. Valuable, well-spent time.
Students need to learn that the only person that has power over their own learning is them, not us. We teachers can influence it, guide it, tear it down, or build it up....but it is not ours. Learning belongs to students. As teachers, we need to find powerful ways of giving students power over their own learning.