Collection of Criteria
These criteria can be used to assess student products. Experts, teachers, peers, or the student might use them.
- Authenticity: involves accurate information, and/or real materials or equipment. Projects result in a product similar to that of a professional in that field of study.
- Complexity: richness of content; content focuses on relationships and connections among ideas/people/events rather than isolated facts
- Contribution: let peers evaluate the nature and/or extent of a group-member’s work in a group activity
- Creativity (4 different dimensions)
- Elaboration: number and/or richness of details
- Flexibility: new or alternative ways of thinking about a topic; different perspective on a topic
- Fluency: quantity of responses
- Originality/creativity/imagination: uniqueness of an idea
- Curiosity: depth and/or breadth of wondering apparent in ideas
- Depth: extent to which content reaches beneath simple, surface knowledge; content of ideas is abstract (vs. Concrete) knowledge
- Difficulty: let the student self-evaluate the extent of the challenge they experienced
- Efficiency: extent of effort involved in achieving the learning outcome (process and product)
- Effort: let the student self-evaluate how hard s/he worked
- Feelings/affective impact: extent to which an idea/product makes you feel a particular way (joy, sorrow, humor, etc.)
- Incongruity: involves or includes striking inconsistencies (for example: unbreakable glass)
- Interest inspired by product: this is “in the eye of the beholder” so this criteria is not for self-evaluation; it’s to be used for teacher, peer or expert evaluation.
- Power/importance/effectiveness: extent to which idea/product achieves its purpose (to convince, to create an atmosphere, etc.)
- Risk-taking: extent of courage involved in making a guess, pursuing an idea, justifying or defending an idea/position and/or being criticized.
- Sophistication: features evidence of expertise, depth and authenticity beyond age-level expectations.
- Style: work has a distinctive flair characteristic of this student’s work.
- Surprisingness: has unexpected or unpredictable features
- Uncertainty: a sense of anticipation or suspense
- Utility: Usefulness