Understanding Rubric Grading for Financial Markets Assignments
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- The financial markets course
- Assessment details of financial markets.
- Rubric grading evolution
- Conclusion
Rubric is an assessment tool used to communicate quality and performance standards. Most learning institutions use this grading method when awarding students marks on tasks related to financial securities. Therefore, students need to understand how rubric grading works. The use of rubrics grading system has been used in many disciplines for evaluating finance assignments, courses, programs and faculty. It can be used as a map for students to understand knowledge targets and can turn out to be good finance assignment help.When used as a grading tool, rubrics have three main features;
- Evaluation criteria – This feature has the factors considered important when evaluating work. For example, you can check the introduction, body and conclusion when evaluating a task.
- Quality definitions of the criteria – The quality definitions cover the specific content requested per the instructions. It provides more information on the evaluation criteria.
- The scoring scale – This feature covers the values associated with the two features above. It provides ways of allocating points to the features.
The financial markets course
The financial markets course is offered as a unit in most MBA programs. The objectives of the financial markets course include;
- Calculating the Time Value of Money and how it applies in security valuation
- Explaining the relationship between Rates of Return and how it applies in making choices of securities and decision making
- Defining the value of financial security
- Features and characteristics of common stock
- Calculating the value of a bond and what causes it to change based on interest rates and time
- Explaining how options, futures and swaps work as financial risk assessment tools
- Explaining the functions of different financial markets
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Assessment details of financial markets.
The main task in this course needs students to research publicly held companies. Students are required to choose at least one company and do an annual report of the company. They are expected to write about how the company uses financial securities. In the instructions, students are expected to;
- Discuss the company’s pending bonds using its annual report
- Discuss the historical prices of the company’s stocks and why they could be undervalued or overvalued.
- Identify options, futures and swaps that the company has utilized to reduce risk.
Rubric grading evolution
In an effort to align the learning outcomes with student work, rubric grading has evolved. In the grading rubric 1 provided below, we saw that 70% of the points were awarded to the content, 15% to the paper organization and 15% to the mechanics of the paper.
| Rubric Grading 1 |
| 1. Content section 70% Here, the paper requirements are discussed. This includes an introduction to financial markets and securities. Discussion on stocks, bonds and derivatives. Any other information you may have been asked to provide regarding the company you selected. |
| 2. Paper Organization 15% Different learning institutions ask for different formats. Most of them go with size 12, double spaced, Page numbers, paper length and conclusion. If a student is expected to deliver the solutions in APA format or any other format and do a different format that will affect the score. |
| 3. Mechanics of the paper 15% Grammar, paragraphing, sentence structure, referencing, and any other mechanics required by your evaluators will also carry some marks. |
The second Grading Rubric is more expanded and covers the content criteria or objective. If a student is asked to provide specific information about a paper and then analyze the paper, these will be treated as two sections. An example is provided below.
| Rubric Grading 2 |
| 1. Organization of the paper 15% In this section, the evaluators will check whether the paper is double spaces, font 12, whether page numbers are on the top right, whether each page has approximately 27 lines, the introduction, length of paper and conclusion. |
| 2. Content 40% Here, evaluators check whether the paper requirements have been presented. This includes the introduction to financial markets/securities, company introduction, and discussion of at least two (bonds, derivatives, stocks). |
| 3. Content analysis 30% Analysis of the provided content, the company and at least two of the stocks, derivatives and bonds, and any other information related to the company that may have been asked or is necessary. In the analysis section, one is expected to compare and discuss the valuation of the securities and the current trends in the current market. |
| 4. Mechanics of the paper 15% In this section, the emphasis is always on the paragraphing, sentence structure, grammar, styles, reference formats and conventions. |
The most important improvement level of the rubric grading came after the development of Grading Rubric 3, which was more details in the criteria of grading. It came with four performance criteria definitions and four level indicators in each criteria being evaluated. An example of grading rubric 3 is explained below.
| Rubric Grading 3 | ||||
| Evaluation Method | Performance Indicators | |||
| Paper organization– double spaced, around 27 lines on each page, introduction, overview, size 12, page numbers on the top right, length of paper and conclusion. | Unacceptable 0 points if the student does not meet all the requirements. The instruction and conclusion are not organized. | Below expectations 2 points if the student meets several requirements and the introduction and conclusion are somehow organized. | Meets Expectations 4 points if the student meets most of the requirements. The introduction and conclusion is explained and clear. | Exceptional 5 points if the student meets all the requirements. The introduction and conclusion are well written and according to the instructions. |
| Content– Here, the paper requirements are discussed. This includes the introduction to financial markets/securities, introduction to the company, discussion of stocks, bonds and derivatives. | 0 points if the student does not meet any criteria. | 5 points if the student meets a few requirements | 10 points if the student meets most of the requirements | 15 points if the student meets all the requirements |
| Content analysis– Analysis of at least two (bonds, stocks, derivatives), comparison and discussion of the value of the market and any other information about the company that may be needed. | 0 Points if the student does not show any understanding and does not apply the subject matter as required | 4 points if the student shows some level of understanding, analysis and applies the subject of the matter as required. | 7 points if the student understands almost all the requirements in this section | 10 points if the student demonstrates a total understanding of all the requirements in this section. |
| Mechanics of the paper– grammar, sentence structure, paragraphing, styles and formats | 0 Points if the student does not meet the requirements. | 2 points if the student meets a few of the requirements. | 4 points if the student meets most of the requirements but not all. | 5 points if the student meets all the requirements. |
Conclusion
Rubric grading is important to students preparing for assignments on financial markets. One can use three types of rubric grading formats to evaluate tasks. Rubric grading 3 is the best of the three presented above. It breaks down how the marks should be awarded and what to consider when awarding them. Future research into this grading system should consider the consistency in scoring. However, the current version does enough to prepare students for their tasks.