Reliable data to inform instruction across classrooms requires that teachers hold a common understanding of the rubric and how to apply it to student writing. It's vital that teacher teams review the prompt and rubric prior to assigning the Writing Benchmark.
For manually graded Benchmarks, calibration ensures teachers apply the rubric consistently. For Grading Assistant–supported Benchmarks, the AI grader handles most of the calibration, but teachers should still review the rubric to understand and confidently approve AI-generated scores and comments.
To determine how much support to provide teams, consider these questions prior to the grade norming meeting:
- Are teachers familiar with the rubric criteria?
- Does the rubric align with a state or national rubric?
- Do teachers have access to norming documents or guidance aligned with the standardized rubric?
- Have teachers participated in grade norming recommended by a state or national organization?
- Are teachers familiar with the language used on Benchmark?
If the team is using a rubric that does not have guiding documents, consider using this grade norming protocol.
Grade Norming Protocol Agenda
- Set aside at least one hour for the teacher team to meet.
- Prior to the meeting, ask each teacher to bring copies of 3 anonymous student samples for each team member to read and score. These samples should represent a proficient, basic, and below-basic paper.
- Review the rubric as a group.
- Review examples of one of the levels (proficient, basic, and below basic)
- Discuss the score rationale for the score.
- Develop an example or anchor set for the score.
- Repeat the process for each level!
Questions to consider while facilitating the meeting:
- What are the defining differences between proficient, basic, and below-basic samples?
- Which parts of the rubric feel harder or easier to grade against?
- How do the teachers reconcile differing scores?
💡 Grade norming can be a yearly process or one in which teachers engage for each assignment.
Additional Resources
- Admin Guide to Writing Benchmarks
- Learn about NoRedInk Premium Reports
- Looking to take the conversation further? Check out our NoRedInk Observation and PLC Resources!