Scoring Open-Ended Questions Manually using Rubric System

Open-ended questions are questions that allow someone to give a free-form answer to an essay-type question. Closed-ended questions can be answered with “Yes” or “No,” or they have a limited set of possible answers (such as A, B, C, D, or multiple answer choices).

An open-ended question is designed to encourage a full, meaningful answer using the subject's own knowledge to the question. It is the opposite of a closed-ended question, which encourages a short or single-word answer. Open-ended questions also tend to be more objective and less leading than closed-ended questions.

The rubric-based scoring outlined here is specific to "adaptive scoring" and is not relevant when using the "standard" or "partial-credit" scoring systems in the BrainCert assessment platform.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Essay question types are not graded automatically. The final test score will be adjusted after the instructor finishes grading essay questions manually.

To grade an essay question-type test, go to the test report. Use the 'Grade' option to review questions and score open-ended questions.

Step 3:

Easily locate questions marked 'Not graded'. Assign points to the question and record the score. The potential points mirror the weightage determined during question creation. In this scenario, the points span from 0 to 5, with 5 being the maximum score an open-ended question can receive. A score of '0' indicates that no points have been given.

Open-Ended Question Scoring Rubric Criteria

To ensure clarity and consistency in scoring open-ended questions, refer to the detailed assessment criteria provided below. The criteria are ranked on a scale from "Excellent" to "Unacceptable", and they delineate the expected quality of response for each level. Dive into the specifics of each rating:

• Excellent (Point 5): A thorough understanding of the task, reflects a strong understanding of the relevant knowledge and skills, completes all requirements, and provides an insightful explanation or opinion of the text, or extends aspects of the text.
• Very Good (Point 4): Clearly demonstrates an understanding of the task, completes all requirements, and provides an insightful explanation or opinion of the text, or extends aspects of the text.
• Good (Point 3): Demonstrates an understanding of the task, completes all requirements, and provides some explanation or opinion using situations or ideas from the text as support.
• Fair (Point 2): May address all of the requirements, but demonstrates only a partial understanding of the task and uses text incorrectly or with limited success resulting in an inconsistent or flawed explanation.
• Poor (Point 1): Demonstrates minimal understanding of the task, does not complete all requirements, and provides only a vague reference to, or no use of, the text.
• Unacceptable (Point 0): Is completely irrelevant or off-topic.

Question Feedback

​In summary, effectively scoring open-ended questions requires a thorough understanding of the question type and a structured approach to evaluation. By utilizing BrainCert's user-friendly grading system and adhering to the provided assessment criteria, educators can ensure that students' responses are evaluated fairly and consistently. Always remember to provide constructive feedback to aid in your student's learning journey. We trust that this guide makes the scoring process more straightforward by using a rubric-based grading system.