Developing and Using Rubrics in Occupational Therapy

Rubrics, the topic of the first Collaboration and Connections column, are an authentic assessment method used by teachers to measure student performance on classroom tasks. As an occupational therapy intervention strategy, rubrics are easy to integrate within the classroom environment. Occupational therapists can use rubrics to support classroom performance, define performance expectations, and measure progress on goals. Rubrics can also be a self-evaluation tool for students. Rubric development involves collaborating with the teacher and student to: define the purpose of the rubric, analyze current performance, identify performance components, select a measurement scale, and define performance criteria.