Assessment Criteria Grid

Margaret Price and Chris Rust created a very useful criteria grid for assessment. I selected some examples that are relevant to urban and regional planning field.

I think the original grid by Price and Rust is also useful for checking the quality of research paper.

	CRITERION	A	B+	B	C	REFER/FAIL
	Presentation & style
	Communication and presentation (appropriate to discipline)	Can engage effectively in debate in a professional manner and produce detailed and coherent project reports	Can communicate effectively in a format appropriate to the discipline and report practical procedures in a clear and concise manner with all relevant information in a variety of formats	Can communicate effectively in a format appropriate to the discipline and report procedures in a clear and concise manner with all relevant information	Some communication is effective and in a format appropriate to the discipline.  Can report practical procedures in a structured way	Communication is unstructured and unfocused and/or in a format inappropriate to the discipline
	Presentation (oral)	Imaginative presentation of material resulting in clarity of message and information	Well structured and signposted presentation.  Audible and pace appropriate to audience.  Visual aids used to support the presentation	Clearly structured and addressed to audience.  Pace and audibility satisfactory.  Visual aids used	Shows some attempt to structure material for presentation, pace and audibility are satisfactory most of the time	Material is difficult to understand due to poor structure and/or pace and audibility
	Conforming to instructions/clarity of objectives.
	Attention to purpose	Has addressed the purpose of the assignment comprehensively and imaginatively	Has addressed the purpose of the assignment coherently and with some attempt to demonstrate imagination	Has addressed the main purpose of the assignment	Some of the work is focused on the aims and themes of the assignment	Fails to address the task set
	Referencing	Referencing is consistently accurate	Referencing is mainly accurate		Some attempt at referencing	Referencing is absent/ unsystematic
	Clarity of objectives and focus of work	Has defined objectives in detail and addressed them comprehensively and imaginatively.	Has defined objectives and addressed them through the work	Has outlined objectives and addressed them at the end of the work	Has provided generalised objectives and focused the work on the topic area	NO INFO PROVIDED
	Content and knowledge
	Use of literature/ evidence of reading	Has developed and justified using own ideas based on a wide range of sources which have been thoroughly analysed, applied and discussed	Able to critically appraise the literature and theory gained from  variety of sources, developing own ideas in the process	Clear evidence and application of readings relevant to the subject; uses indicative texts identified	Literature is presented uncritically, in a purely descriptive way and indicates limitations of understanding	Either no evidence of literature being consulted or irrelevant to the assignment set
	Context in which subject is used	Takes account of complex context and selects appropriate technique	Takes some account of context and selects some appropriate techniques	Recognises defined context and uses standard techniques for that context	Context acknowledged but not really taken into account	Context not recognised as relevant
	Thinking/ analysis/conclusions
	Conclusions	Analytical and clear conclusions well grounded in theory and literature showing development of new concepts	Good development shown in summary of arguments based in theory/ literature	Evidence of findings and conclusions grounded in theory/literature	Limited evidence of findings and conclusions supported by theory/literature	Unsubstantiated/invalid conclusions based on anecdote and generalisation only, or no conclusions at all
	Analysis	Can analyse new and/or abstract data and situations without guidance using a wide range of techniques appropriate to the topic	Can analyse a range of information with minimum guidance, can apply major theories and compare alternative methods/techniques for obtaining data	Can analyse with guidance using given classification / principles	Can analyse a limited range of information with guidance using classification / principles	Fails to analyse information
	Critical reasoning	Consistently demonstrates application of critical analysis well integrated in the text	Clear application of theory through critical analysis/critical thought of the topic area	Demonstrates application of theory through critical analysis of the topic area	Some evidence of critical thought/critical analysis and rationale for work	Lacks critical thought /analysis / reference to theory
	Flexibility	Independently takes and understands multiple perspectives and through these can develop/adjust personal point of view	Recognises multiple perspectives which may affect personal view point	Can recognise alternative perspectives	Limited ability to see alternative perspectives	Fails to recognise alternative perspectives
	Practical/Interpersonal/Interpersonal Skills
	Performance Skills	Can perform complex skills consistently with confidence.  Able to choose an appropriate response from a repertoire of actions, and can evaluate own and others’ performance.	When given a complex task can choose and perform an appropriate set of actions to complete it adequately.  Can evaluate own performance.	Able to perform basic skills with awareness of the necessary techniques and their potential uses and hazards.  Needs external evaluation.	Able to perform basic skills with guidance on the necessary technique.  Needs external evaluation.	Fails to perform even basic skills.
	Data/information gathering/processing	Selects and processes data with confidence and imagination.	Selects appropriate data and processes using relevant tools.	Makes a selection from data and applies processing tools.	Collects some information and makes some use of processing tools.	Random information gathering.  Inappropriate use of processing tools.
	Self-criticism (include. reflection on practice)	Is confident in application of own criteria of judgement and in challenge of received opinion in action and can reflect on action.	Is able to evaluate own strengths and weaknesses; can challenge received opinion and begins to develop own criteria and judgement.	Is largely dependent on criteria set by others but begins to recognise own strengths and weaknesses.	Dependent on criteria set by others. Begins to recognise own strengths and weakness.	Fails to meaningfully undertake the process of self criticism.
	Self Presentation	Adopts a style of self presentation and selects from a range appropriate interpersonal skills consistent with the individual’s aims and the needs of the situation.	Can be flexible in the style of presentation adopted and interpersonal skills used.	Can adopt both a formal and informal style, and uses basic interpersonal skills appropriately.	Can adopt both a formal and informal style, and uses basic interpersonal skills but not always matching the needs of the situation.	No obvious sense of self and/ or interpersonal skills and/or skills used inappropriately.
	Communication and Presentation (appropriate to discipline)	Can engage effectively in debate in a professional manner and produce detailed and coherent project reports.	Can communicate effectively a format appropriate to the discipline and report practical procedures in a clear and concise manner with all relevant information in a variety of formats.	Can communicate effectively in a format appropriate to the discipline and report practical procedures in a clear and concise manner with all relevant information.	Some communication is effective and in a format appropriate to the discipline.  can report practical procedures in a structured way.	Communication is unstructured and unfocussed and/or in a format inappropriate to the discipline.
	Rationale	Uses all available data to evaluate the options.  Clear criteria are applied to demonstrate reasons for final decision/choice/outcome.	Uses data to evaluate options and selections of final outcome clearly follows from evaluation.	Uses data to evaluate some options and selection of final outcome is linked to the evaluation	Presents benefits and disadvantages of some potential outcomes but without providing clarity on reason for final outcome/choice.	Little explanation of how the final outcome/choice was made OR no indication of final outcome/choice.