Chapter 2: The Rubricization of Teacherhood and Studenthood: Intertextuality, Identity, and the Standardization of Self

It was one of those cramped conference rooms that had too many chairs and a table that looked like an over-sized surfboard. Two women dressed in neatly tailored suits busied themselves in one corner shuffling handouts and over-head transparencies into neat stacks. Nancy, who taught middle school English at the time, was a member of the district’s Language Arts Curriculum Committee. Teachers on the committee had been asked to bring a class set of student papers to the meeting.

It was 1992 and the teachers from the committee represented every building in the district. They were going to learn about rubrics. The two women in suits were consultants from the state department of education, and they promised a golden secret: authentic assessment. Assessment that would save teachers time, focus their instruction, clearly articulate student expectations, and muscle change-resistant wayward teachers toward a common curricular vision.