4Cs Rubrics Booklet

Acknowledgements

PROCESS

The rubrics were drafted collaboratively with the working group from June 2011 through May 2013.
Meetings were held online and at the first and second annual membership meetings in 2011 and 2012.
Collaborative editing was supported through Google Docs and the EdLeader21 community website.

PROJECT LEADERSHIP & WRITING SPECIAL THANKS

Valerie Greenhill The following organizations and individuals provided critical
EdLeader21 feedback during the writing process:

Sara Hallermann Project Zero
EdLeader21 Harvard Graduate School of Education
Team led by Veronica Boix-Mansilla
Jack Dale
Superintendent Roland Case
Fairfax County Public Schools Critical Thinking Consortium

Richard Moniuszko Garfield Gini-Newman
Assistant Superintendent Critical Thinking Consortium
Fairfax County Public Schools
Russell Quaglia
Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations

Matt Bundick
Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations

Margaret Reed-Millar
Council of Chief State School Officers

Richard Gerver
Educational Consultant

4Cs Rubrics: Acknowledgements & Sources ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved.

EDLEADER21 WORKING GROUP

Representatives from the following districts, schools & organizations reviewed and
shaped the 4Cs rubrics throughout the drafting process:

Academy 21 (HI) Herricks Public Schools (NY) Ponca City Schools (OK)
Roanoke County Public Schools (VA)
Albemarle County Public Schools (VA) Hewlett-Woodmere School District (NY) San Francisco Day School (CA)
San Jose Unified School District (CA)
Amphi School District (AZ) Howard Suamico School District (WI) St. George’s Independent School (TN)
The Bronxville School (NY)
Arcadia Unified School District (CA) Lexington County School District 1 (SC) Curtis School (CA)
Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VA)
Ballston Spa Central School District (NY) Littleton Public Schools (CO) Walnut Valley Unified School District (CA)
Washoe County School District (NV)
Beaufort Public Schools (SC) Los Angeles Unified School District (CA) Waters Foundation (PA)
Watertown Public Schools (MA)
Bend-La Pine School District (OR) Lucia Mar Unified School District (CA)

Birmingham Public Schools (MI) Madison Public Schools (CT)

Castaic Union School District (CA) Mesa Public Schools (AZ)

ConnectEd California (CA) MSD of Decatur Township (IN)

Douglas County School District (CO) Napa Valley Unified School District (CA)

East Syracuse-Minoa Central School Dist. (NY) Natick Public Schools (MA)

Envision Schools (CA) New Tech Network (CA)

Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) Newton Public Schools (CT)

Fayette County Board of Education (GA) North Salem Central School District (NY)

Fayette County Public Schools (KY) North Shore School District (NY)

Francis Howell School District (MO) Pike County Schools (GA)

Henrico County School District (VA) Piner-Olivet Unified School District (CA)

4Cs Rubrics: Acknowledgements & Sources ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved.

Sources

A wide range of source material was used in the creation of the 4Cs rubrics. The resources listed below
are ones that most directly influenced the rubrics.

Buck Institute for Education. (2011). Collaboration Rubric. Retrieved from www.bie.org/tools/freebies/cat/rubrics.
Buck Institute for Education. (2011). High School Presentation Rubric. Retrieved from www.bie.org/tools/freebies/cat/rubrics.
Buffalo State University. (n.d.). The International Center for Studies in Creativity website. Retrieved from http://creativity.buffalostate.
edu/
Case, R. and Daniels, L. (n.d). Critical Challenges across the Curriculum. Available from https://tc2.ca/en/creative-collaborative-critical-
thinking/resources/critical-challenges-across-the-curriculum/primary/
Catalina Foothills School District. (2011). Rubrics for 21st century skills. Retrieved from http://www.cfsd16.org/index.php/academics/
resources-for-deep-learning
Elder, L. with Paul, R. (2010). Critical thinking development: A stage theory. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.com.
Facione, P. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction,“The Delphi
Report”. Millbrae, CA: California Academic Press.
International Society for Technology in Education. (2011). NETS for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-
standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Marzano, R. J. (2000). Transforming classroom grading. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Marzano, R. J. and Heflebower, T. (2012). Teaching and assessing 21st century skills. Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State
Standards. Washington, DC: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers.
New Technology High School. (2012). Peer collaboration and teamwork rubric. Napa, CA: New Technology High School & New
Technology Foundation.

4Cs Rubrics: Acknowledgements & Sources ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved.

New Technology High School. (2002). Critical thinking evaluation rubric. Napa, CA: New Technology High School & New Technology
Foundation.
New Technology High School. (2007). Written communication. Napa, CA: New Technology High School & New Technology Foundation.
North Salem Central School District. (2011). Rubric for creative, divergent and critical convergent thinking. North Salem, NY: North Salem
Central School District.
North Salem Central School District. (2009). Common rubric for cooperative group work. North Salem, NY: North Salem High School
Hidden Intelligence Club.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). P21 framework definitions. Washington, DC. Retrieved from www.p21.org.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2011). 21st century skills map: World languages. Washington, DC: Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Retrieved from http://www.actfl.org/files/21stCenturySkillsMap/p21_worldlanguagesmap.pdf.
School of the Future High School. (2011). High school DYO analytic writing rubric. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/stw-
assessment-resources-downloads.
Texas A&M University. (2009). Communication rubric. Retrieved from http://sllo.tamu.edu/rubrics.
Treffinger, D.J., et al. (2002). Assessing creativity: A guide for educators. Storrs, CT: The National Research Center on Gifted and Talented.
Upper Arlington City Schools. (2011). Upper Arlington 21st century skills rubrics: Complex thinking. Retrieved from http://www.
uaschools.org/page.cfm?p=680.
Utah State Office of Education. (2005). Writing Scoring Rubric. Retrieved from http://www.schools.utah.gov/assessment/SAGE/ELA.aspx.
Woodstock Union High School. (2010). School-Wide Rubrics: Effective Communicator/Producer Rubric. Retrieved from http://www.
wuhsms.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=92&Itemid=223.

4Cs Rubrics: Acknowledgements & Sources ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved.

4Cs RUBRICS:
Suggestions for Use

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |1

contents Introduction ............................................................................................... 3

What is the Purpose of the Rubrics? .............................................4

How Should I Start Using the Rubrics? ........................................5
Assessing Student Work.......................................................................................5
Student Self-Assessment.....................................................................................5
Enhancing Professional Capacity.....................................................................6
Designing Curricula................................................................................................6
Communicating with Stakeholders .................................................................6
Supporting Teacher Performance Evaluation .............................................7
Documenting Exemplars......................................................................................7

What’s the Relationship Between the Rubrics?......................8

What’s the Relationship between the Rubrics
and the Academic Disciplines? .......................................................9

What’s the Relationship with the Common Core? ...............10

Acknowledgements ............................................................................. 11
Project Leadership & Writing...........................................................................11
Special Thanks ......................................................................................................11
EdLeader21 Working Group............................................................................ 12

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |2

Introduction Not surprisingly, the creation of 4Cs rubrics has been a high priority for 21st century
school and district leaders. After almost two years of thoughtful collaboration, these
Assessing the 4Cs – critical rubrics are now available in final form to not only EdLeader21 members, but to
thinking, communication, nonmember schools and districts as well.
collaboration and creativity –
is imperative for any credible THE 4Cs RUBRICS
21st century teaching and
learning initiative. The 4Cs rubrics have been designed to support a mix of district-wide uses, including
but not limited to capacity building, instructional planning, student assessment and
teacher evaluation.

IN EACH SECTION OF THIS GUIDE, YOU WILL SEE THE
FOLLOWING SPECIAL FEATURES:

• BIG IDEA – Rule of thumb regarding the topic. big idea

• TIP - Advice from experienced 4Cs Rule of thumb regarding
rubric users. the topic

• USE THIS - Reminder that a resource can be
found in the Additional Resources Document

TIP USE THIS

Advice from experienced Reminder that a resource can
4Cs rubric users. be found in the Additional
Resources Document

Please note that the “Additional Resources Document” is also available. In it you will
find in-depth examples from EdLeader21 member schools and districts, along with
detailed guidance for using the rubrics in academic disciplines.

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |3

What is the Purpose of the Rubrics?

EdLeader21 member schools The EdLeader21 4Cs rubrics support educators in integrating and assessing the 4Cs
and districts have been clear throughout their systems of teaching and learning. This master set of 4Cs rubrics
in their request for 4Cs rubrics covers grades 3-4, 7-8 and 11-12 in each of the 4Cs: critical thinking, communication,
that can serve a wide variety collaboration and creativity.
of uses. Therefore these rubrics
have been designed as general THESE GENERAL PURPOSE RUBRICS ARE DESIGNED TO:
purpose resources. They are
imagined primarily as tools that • Define the performance areas associated with each of the 4Cs.
support formative purposes; • Define important dispositions and habits of mind associated with each of the 4Cs.
they are not intended to generate • Support balanced, formative assessment of the 4Cs in various aspects of teaching
psychometrically valid, high
stakes assessment data. and learning (including but not limited to student work).
• Illustrate a continuum of performance, including exemplary performance,

in each category.
• Provide a common vocabulary for stakeholders regarding the 4Cs.
• Be adapted for use in different grade levels and core academic subject areas.
• Help teachers assess performance on complex tasks that enable students to

demonstrate mastery of targeted 4Cs.
• Be used by educators, specialists, curriculum designers, assessment designers

and/or students.

“CONTENT AGNOSTIC”

It is important to note that the rubrics are “content agnostic” - - by design, they
have not been aligned with any core academic subject areas. Users of the rubrics
are encouraged to adapt them for such use. The rubrics are also available in Word
format, for EdLeader21 members only. If easy customization is important to your
district or independent school, we recommend becoming an EdLeader21 member
to receive customizable rubrics as a complimentary benefit of membership. For
membership information and rates, please visit www.edleader21.com or call 520-
623-2466.

COLLABORATIVE EFFORT

The rubrics have been developed by EdLeader21 staff with collaborative guidance
and revisions from over 70 EdLeader21 member schools and districts nationwide.
Many subject matter experts in the field also provided helpful commentary and
revisions (see the end of this document for acknowledgments).

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |4

How Should I Start Using the Rubrics?

For the rubrics to be a helpful resource in your school or district, it is important to determine exactly
what role they should play in the teaching and learning system. Below are some common uses within
EdLeader21 for your consideration.

ASSESSING The most common use of the rubrics is to support educators in big idea
STUDENT WORK evaluating student work. By assessing the quality of products
and performances using the rubrics, you can determine Establish a clear, high
whether students have met your instructional goals in terms value use for the rubrics
of the 4Cs.

It is important to tailor the rubric for the student performance
being assessed. In practice, then, this will mean that not every “C” and not every performance area
in the rubrics will be necessary in every case.

TIP USE THIS

Don’t expect to use every “C” and every Contextualizing 21st Century Skills Rubrics
performance area for every piece of for Use in Specific Domains the Additional
student work. Adapt the language in the Resources Document provides two
rubrics based on the subject area and the examples of contextualized rubrics.
type of product assessed.

STUDENT SELF- These rubrics can be used to provide students with an opportunity to self-assess the quality of their
ASSESSMENT work or how they displayed the dispositions captured in the rubrics. The rubrics can be used to
construct student-friendly “I can” statements that can serve as powerful tools for students to monitor
and self- assess their own progress toward established learning targets.

TIP USE THIS

Guide students to browse through their See the Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD #102
unit journal or portfolio of work to look example of student “I Can” statements in
for evidence that they met the rubric the Additional Resources Document.
criteria. Instruct students to record notes
on Post-it notes in places in which they
find evidence.

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |5

ENHANCING The rubrics can be used to guide the design of professional development outcomes. If students are
PROFESSIONAL to be evaluated on their acquisition of the 4Cs, educators will need support as they integrate 4Cs into
CAPACITY instruction and assessment.

TIP USE THIS

Identify a single rubric and use it to The Southwest Allen County Schools
design a specific, measurable, attainable, promising practice in the Additional
realistic, and time-bound professional Resources Document describes how PD
development goal related to using the 4Cs was structured to support teachers in
in practice. teaching and assessing the 4Cs.

DESIGNING The rubrics can be used to support effective 4Cs integration into units, lessons and assessments.
CURRICULA

TIP USE THIS

Adopt a common curriculum Unit Sketch, a summary of the Operation
design model that provides a frame Kidfit unit in the Additional Resources
for infusing the 4Cs into units. Document, illustrates how rubric content
Understanding by Design, Project can be used to create a plan to teach and
Based Learning and International assess the 4Cs in a unit.
Baccalaureate (IB) are examples of
curriculum design models that utilize a
backwards design approach into which
the 4Cs can be infused.

C O M M U N I C ATI N G The rubrics can be used to communicate TIP
WITH with stakeholders about 21st century student
S TA K E H O L D E R S outcomes. Adapt the rubrics to help explain Create a messaging plan to introduce
what the 4Cs really “look like” for: the rubrics to stakeholder groups and
communicate plans for assessing the 4Cs.
• Students

• Teachers

• Instructional Leaders

• Parents

• The Business Community

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |6

SUPPORTING The rubrics can support authentic performance-based teacher evaluation processes. Their
TEACHER precision in defining student outcomes that matter can help district leaders design teacher
PERFORMANCE evaluation systems that educators actually find meaningful and that support continuous
E VA LU AT I O N improvement in instructional practices

TIP USE THIS

Incorporate the 4Cs as key instructional See the promising practices from Douglas
practice standards for every educator. County School District (CO) and Ballston
Spa Central School District (NY) in the
Additional Resources Document.

DOCUMENTING The rubrics can be used to document, organize and share resources related to teaching and
EXEMPLARS assessing the 4Cs:
• Exemplary 4Cs student work
• 4Cs units, lesson plans
• Teaching resources related to specific competencies (graphic organizers, protocols, etc…)
• Sample sources of evidence related to specific competencies

TIP

Build a library of exemplars (we suggest starting with exemplary student work) related to
teaching and assessing the 4Cs. Organize the exemplars by rubric category, using folders
or tags. Use the title of the rubric row as a folder label or tag.

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |7

What’s the Relationship Between the Rubrics?

The 4Cs—and these rubrics— Effective problem solving often requires teamwork and collaboration skills.
are highly interconnected. For Divergent and convergent thinking—hallmarks of creativity—are directly related to
example, effective collaboration one’s ability to think critically. Therefore, you will notice some natural overlap across
is contingent upon effective rubrics.
communication.
UNDERSTANDING THE big idea
CONNECTIONS BETWEEN

THE 4Cs The 4Cs overlap and are

In the real world, the 4Cs are used in an mutually supportive. They
integrated fashion. We are called to use a should be seen as a holistic
variety of competencies in any problem- set of competencies.

solving scenario. Therefore, educators

should help students understand

the connections between the 4Cs and how they are mutually supportive. At the

same time, keep in mind that not every “C” can or should be the focus of every

instructional moment.

HOLISTIC COMPETENCIES

Educators should be clear about which competency is the focus for student learning,
with an understanding for how the competencies support one another.

TIP

When selecting a 4Cs competency for the design of a unit, narrow
the focus and be clear about what you plan to assess. It can become
cumbersome for teachers to assess too many competencies. In one
unit, a teacher may elect to focus on a few aspects of Critical Thinking
and Collaboration, for example. Clearly communicate the 4Cs focus to
students at the launch of a unit and be prepared to discuss any areas of
rubric overlap.

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |8

What’s the Relationship between the Rubrics
and the Academic Disciplines?

The 4Cs should be We encourage the use of the rubrics in students’ academic big idea
taught within the classes through investigations anchored in content
context of academic standards. The rubrics (when adapted for their specific There is a natural fit between
content. Ideally, uses) are applicable across all subject areas, from physical the 4Cs and academic
students should education to physics. content.
understand how these
competencies are used ACADEMIC SUBJECTS
in the world beyond
the classroom by To address these competencies in academic subjects, think about where and how you can infuse the
people who work in 4Cs into the adopted unit design process. The targeted skills can be woven into all facets of the unit
the field of study. design process – unpacking what students should understand, know, and be able to do, determining
how they’ll show proficiency and how you will create a meaningful context for learning, and mapping
out the instruction.

TEACHING THE COMPETENCIES

The approach to teaching the competencies varies by subject area because the way in which the
competencies are used varies based on the field of study. Set students up to engage in a learning
process mirrored off of work that occurs in the real world. Scientists, Mathematicians, and Social
Scientists all collaborate, problem solve, and share their findings with their professional communities.
However, the way in which they approach investigations, the tools used for collaboration, and the
format for communicating their findings varies based on the profession. There are discipline-specific
expressions of the 4Cs that require a level of customization to the rubrics based on the subject area.

TIP USE THIS

When designing units, create authentic 4Cs in Academic Content Areas in the
assessment opportunities in which Additional Resources Document highlights
students can simultaneously demonstrate how the 4Cs are used by Scientists,
mastery of content and your targeted 4Cs. Mathematicians and Social Scientists.

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |9

What’s the Relationship with the Common Core?

Common Core State The standards call for students to not only master content big idea
Standards (CCSS) and basic skills, but to engage in analysis, research, and
focus on rigorous core inquiry and to build communication, critical thinking, Implementing CCSS with a 4Cs
academic content and problem-solving skills. There is a particularly strong focus allows you to capture
along with aspects synergy between Critical Thinking and Communication the strength of the Common
of the 4Cs such as and CCSS. Core, improve student
critical thinking, learning, and improve student
communication, and The Common Core standards are a highly effective outcomes for the 21st Century.
collaboration. platform on which to build and expand your 4Cs work.
However, it is important to consider the CCSS as the floor
and not the ceiling when it comes to student achievement.

AS YOU USE THE RUBRICS IN A COMMON CORE SETTING,
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. How are the 4Cs addressed in CCSS? (e.g., Critical Thinking, Communication)

2. What aspects of the 4Cs are not effectively articulated in CCSS? (e.g., Creativity, Collaboration)

3. How can the EdLeader21 rubrics be used to support teachers in clarifying and addressing
such gaps?

TIP USE THIS

EdLeader21 rubrics capture aspects of The Connection to the Common Core
21st century skills embedded in CCSS, Standards section at the top of the
add missing skills, and include critical communication rubrics illustrates
dispositions that are lacking in CCSS. Form alignment between the rubrics and the
a committee to engage in the process Common Core English Language Arts
of aligning the rubrics to CCSS. Note Speaking and Listening Standards.
alignment on the rubrics.

USE THIS

The following documents serve as helpful resources in aligning 21st Century Skills and
Common Core:

• Crosswalk Analysis of Deeper Learning Skills to Common Core State Standards
• Deeper Learning Skills to Common Core State Standards Crosswalk
• Measurement of 21st Century Skills within the Common Core State Standards

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 10

Acknowledgements

PROCESS

The rubrics were drafted collaboratively with the working group from June 2011 through May 2013.
Meetings were held online and at the first and second annual membership meetings in 2011 and 2012.
Collaborative editing was supported through Google Docs and the EdLeader21 community website.

PROJECT LEADERSHIP & SPECIAL THANKS
WRITING
The following organizations and individuals provided
Valerie Greenhill critical feedback during the writing process:
EdLeader21
Project Zero
Sara Hallermann Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdLeader21 Team led by Veronica Boix-Mansilla

Jack Dale Roland Case
Superintendent Critical Thinking Consortium
Fairfax County Public Schools
Garfield Gini-Newman
Richard Moniuszko Critical Thinking Consortium
Assistant Superintendent
Fairfax County Public Schools Russell Quaglia
Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations

Matt Bundick
Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations

Margaret Reed-Millar
Council of Chief State School Officers

Richard Gerver
Educational Consultant

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 11

EDLEADER21 WORKING GROUP

Representatives from the Academy 21 (HI) Mesa Public Schools (AZ)
following districts, schools
& organizations reviewed Albemarle County Public Schools (VA) MSD of Decatur Township (IN)
and shaped the 4Cs
rubrics throughout the Amphi School District (AZ) Napa Valley Unified School District (CA)
drafting process:
Arcadia Unified School District (CA) Natick Public Schools (MA)

Ballston Spa Central School District (NY) New Tech Network (CA)

Beaufort Public Schools (SC) Newton Public Schools (CT)

Bend-La Pine School District (OR) North Salem Central School District (NY)

Birmingham Public Schools (MI) North Shore School District (NY)

Castaic Union School District (CA) Pike County Schools (GA)

ConnectEd California (CA) Piner-Olivet Unified School District (CA)

Douglas County School District (CO) Ponca City Schools (OK)

East Syracuse-Minoa Central School District (NY) Roanoke County Public Schools (VA)

Envision Schools (CA) San Francisco Day School (CA)

Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) San Jose Unified School District (CA)

Fayette County Board of Education (GA) St. George’s Independent School (TN)

Fayette County Public Schools (KY) The Bronxville School (NY)

Francis Howell School District (MO) Curtis School (CA)

Henrico County School District (VA) Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VA)

Herricks Public Schools (NY) Walnut Valley Unified School District (CA)

Hewlett-Woodmere School District (NY) Washoe County School District (NV)

Howard Suamico School District (WI) Waters Foundation (PA)

Lexington County School District 1 (SC) Watertown Public Schools (MA)

Littleton Public Schools (CO)

Los Angeles Unified School District (CA)

Lucia Mar Unified School District (CA)

Madison Public Schools (CT)

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 12

Sources

A wide range of source material was used in the creation of the 4Cs rubrics.
The resources listed below are ones that most directly influenced the rubrics.

Buck Institute for Education. (2011). Collaboration Rubric. Retrieved from www.bie.org/tools/
freebies/cat/rubrics.

Buck Institute for Education. (2011). High School Presentation Rubric. Retrieved from www.bie.org/
tools/freebies/cat/rubrics.

Buffalo State University. (n.d.). The International Center for Studies in Creativity website. Retrieved
from http://creativity.buffalostate.edu/

Case, R. and Daniels, L. (n.d). Critical Challenges across the Curriculum. Available from https://tc2.
ca/en/creative-collaborative-critical-thinking/resources/critical-challenges-across-the-curriculum/
primary/

Catalina Foothills School District. (2011). Rubrics for 21st century skills. Retrieved from http://www.
cfsd16.org/index.php/academics/resources-for-deep-learning

Elder, L. with Paul, R. (2010). Critical thinking development: A stage theory. Retrieved from http://
www.criticalthinking.com.

Facione, P. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational
assessment and instruction,“The Delphi Report”. Millbrae, CA: California Academic Press.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2011). NETS for students. Retrieved from
http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Marzano, R. J. (2000). Transforming classroom grading. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development.

Marzano, R. J. and Heflebower, T. (2012). Teaching and assessing 21st century skills. Bloomington,
IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers.
(2010). Common Core State Standards. Washington, DC: National Governors Association Center for
Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers.

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 13

New Technology High School. (2012). Peer collaboration and teamwork rubric. Napa, CA: New
Technology High School & New Technology Foundation.

New Technology High School. (2002). Critical thinking evaluation rubric. Napa, CA: New Technology
High School & New Technology Foundation.

New Technology High School. (2007). Written communication. Napa, CA: New Technology High
School & New Technology Foundation.

North Salem Central School District. (2011). Rubric for creative, divergent and critical convergent
thinking. North Salem, NY: North Salem Central School District.

North Salem Central School District. (2009). Common rubric for cooperative group work. North
Salem, NY: North Salem High School Hidden Intelligence Club.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2009). P21 framework definitions. Washington, DC. Retrieved
from www.p21.org.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2011). 21st century skills map: World languages.
Washington, DC: Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved from http://www.actfl.org/
files/21stCenturySkillsMap/p21_worldlanguagesmap.pdf.

School of the Future High School. (2011). High school DYO analytic writing rubric. Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/stw-assessment-resources-downloads.

Texas A&M University. (2009). Communication rubric. Retrieved from http://sllo.tamu.edu/rubrics.

Treffinger, D.J., et al. (2002). Assessing creativity: A guide for educators. Storrs, CT: The National
Research Center on Gifted and Talented.

Upper Arlington City Schools. (2011). Upper Arlington 21st century skills rubrics: Complex thinking.
Retrieved from http://www.uaschools.org/page.cfm?p=680.

Utah State Office of Education. (2005). Writing Scoring Rubric. Retrieved from http://www.schools.
utah.gov/assessment/SAGE/ELA.aspx.

Woodstock Union High School. (2010). School-Wide Rubrics: Effective Communicator/
Producer Rubric. Retrieved from http://www.wuhsms.org/index.php?option=com_
content&view=category&layout=blog&id=92&Itemid=223.

4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use ©2014-2017 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 14

4Cs RUBRICS:
Additional Resources

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |1

contents Unit Sketch...................................................................................10
Teaching and Learning Process:..........................................11
Overview .........................................................................................3 CCSS Learning Targets...............................................................12

Contextualizing 21st Century Skills The 4Cs in Academic Content Areas..........................12
Rubrics for Use in Specific Domains............................3 Science..............................................................................................12
Critical Thinking: Crafting an Argument Critical Thinking (PEBC, 2006) ..................................................12
in Elementary Math .....................................................................3 Collaboration ..................................................................................13
Critical Thinking: Scientific Investigations Communication..............................................................................13
in High School Science................................................................4 Creativity and Innovation ..........................................................13
Social Science................................................................................13
EdLeader21 Promising Practices ...................................5 Critical Thinking (PEBC, 2006) ..................................................13
Southwest Allen County Schools ..........................................5 Collaboration ..................................................................................13
Infusion of 4Cs into Unit Plans...................................................5 Communication..............................................................................14
Infusion of 4Cs into Unit Plans...................................................5 Creativity and Innovation ..........................................................14
Key Strategies Incorporated to Cultivate 4Cs .......................5 Mathematics .................................................................................. 14
Critical Thinking and Creativity and Innovation.................6 Critical Thinking (PEBC, 2006) ..................................................14
Capacity Building ............................................................................6 Collaboration ..................................................................................14
Upper Arlington City Schools..................................................6 Communication..............................................................................14
Infusing 4Cs into Unit Design......................................................6 Creativity and Innovation ..........................................................14
Capacity Building ............................................................................7
Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 .....................................7 Sample Vertical Articulation of
Student Self -Assessment.............................................................7 21st Century Skills – Critical Thinking .....................15
Douglas County School District..............................................8
Educator Performance Evaluation ............................................8
Ballston Spa Central School District....................................9
Educator Performance Evaluation ............................................9

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |2

Overview

This “Additional Resources Document” is a companion to the “4Cs Rubrics: Suggestions for Use” document. Included here are more
detailed examples of how the 4Cs rubrics can be used to support 21st century education systems. This document will be updated
regularly to include more examples as they become available.

Contextualizing 21st Century Skills Rubrics
for Use in Specific Domains

This section provides two examples of contextualized rubric language for Critical Thinking: Crafting an Argument in Elementary Math
and Conducting Scientific Investigations in High School Science. In both examples, teachers identified areas of critical thinking on which
to focus, drew subject-specific language from their content standards that related to the targeted critical thinking skills, and refined the
rubric language to align with the design of the inquiry experience.

CRITICAL THINKING: CRAFTING AN ARGUMENT IN ELEMENTARY MATH

Inquiry Experience: Students are set up to discern and “prove” a pattern or structure embedded in a rich problem solving task related to
the communicative, associative, or distributive laws to develop mathematical argumentation as a habit of mind.

CRITICAL THINKING GENERAL RUBRIC LANGUAGE CONTEXTUALIZED LANGUAGE
CATEGORY (Knuth, 2009)
Reasoning Clearly describes inferences; finds meaning
Constructing Arguments that is not explicitly (clearly) stated by Clearly explains a mathematical claim.
sources; makes conclusions on the basis of (Describes what they are going to prove.)
Analyzing Arguments available information. Explains how they are going to show that the
claim will always work.
Gathers an adequate (acceptable) amount of
proof from sources to support opinion. Considers the audience when presenting the
mathematical claim. (Asks, “Who needs to be
convinced? What do they need to be convinced
of? How does my mathematical argument need
to be explained based on my audience?”)

Uses more than one representation (physical
objects, pictures, diagrams, or story contexts) to
clearly prove that the claim will always work.

Uses mathematical terms and correctly
specifies the units of measure.

Provides clear feedback about the reasoning
used in peers’ arguments. (Did my classmate
offer a strong argument? Am I convinced? Why
or why not? What else would I need to know to
be convinced?)

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |3

CRITICAL THINKING: SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS IN HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE

*Contextualized language drawn from Envision Schools College Success Portfolio Performance Assessment and Stanford Center for
Assessment, Learning and Equity (SCALE): SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY.

CRITICAL THINKING GENERAL RUBRIC LANGUAGE CONTEXTUALIZED LANGUAGE (Envision
CATEGORY Schools and Stanford Center for Assessment.
Learning, and Equity, 2012)

Information and Discovery Identifies inquiry questions clearly and Formulates a specific and empirically testable
precisely; engages in an open-ended thinking scientific question.
Constructing Arguments process to develop an initial set of questions
Reasoning related to the problem, investigation, or Articulates a hypothesis about the investigated
Interpretation and Analysis challenge; refines the initial set of questions; question, with a basic and accurate description
identifies a key question or prioritized set of the variables. (“if.. then…”)
of questions on which to focus. Questions
provide a solid foundation for inquiry. Aligns experimental design with testable
question.
Provides a claim that clearly articulates an
opinion; clearly explains the reasoning for Gathers data from several repetitions of the
claims. experiment that are not consistent within a
reasonable range.
With independence, presents logical Uses spreadsheets, data tables, charts, or graphs
conclusions regarding how to solve the to accurately summarize and display data to
problem, meet the challenge, answer the examine relationships between variables.
question, etc…with few errors. Accurately analyzes data in using appropriate
and systematic methods to identify patterns.
Compares and classifies information Compares consistency of outcome with initial
accurately; almost always identifies hypothesis and identifies possible sources of
characteristics that create meaningful error.
comparisons. Explains the strengths OR weaknesses of
the inferences drawn from data using grade
Evaluates the accuracy and relevance of appropriate techniques.
information and the strengths of arguments Suggests relationships or interactions between
with no significant errors. variables worth further investigation.

Constructing Arguments Provides a claim that clearly articulates an Constructs a scientific argument, explaining how
opinion; clearly explains the reasoning for data and acceptable scientific theory support the
claims. Cites a sufficient quantity of relevant claim.
evidence to support most claims. Identifies a counterclaim (possible weaknesses
Presents a clear and sufficient treatment in scientific arguments or in one’s own argument)
of most available evidence relating to the using evidence.
argument; clearly and convincingly addresses
counter arguments.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |4

EdLeader21 Promising Practices

To ensure the 4Cs are systemically integrated throughout a school or district, many EdLeader21 districts are using the rubrics for
purposes beyond teacher-led student assessment. Some examples of these promising practices are included below. Some of the
promising practices demonstrate how backwards design approaches for curriculum design are fundamental to authentic student
assessment; other examples detail educator performance evaluation examples.

SOUTHWEST ALLEN COUNTY SCHOOLS

Southwest Allen County Schools is located in Northeast Indiana, near Ft. Wayne. While rolling out a 1:1 laptop initiative, the district
recently took strategic steps to more explicitly teach and assess 21st century skills. As a high-achieving district, SACS wanted to maintain
current success levels while cultivating 21st century skills and adopted Project Based Learning as a unit design model and instructional
methodology to carefully embed the 4Cs into curriculum and assessment.

Infusion of 4Cs into Unit Plans

As part of the PBL implementation planning process, a leadership team composed of teachers, school-level instructional leaders, and
central office staff developed the following vision statement for the PBL initiative:

“SACS is committed to ensuring that students are provided with authentic and rigorous learning experiences that include a strong
foundation of content knowledge and understanding, balanced with essential 21st century skills, thus creating globally competitive
learners.”

The team crafted the following goals for students related to the initiative:

t Students will take ownership and become engaged in PBL learning experiences.
t Students will create meaningful, innovative products which will regularly demonstrate the 4Cs.
t Students will exhibit deep understanding of specific content standards and apply their new knowledge in subsequent studies.
t Students will have the ability to adapt to changing technology and learning opportunities.
t Students will prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners.

Infusion of 4Cs into Unit Plans

During the PBL Implementation planning process, the team decided to formally adopt district-wide 4Cs rubrics for grade level spans.
SACS provided a series of 3-day PBL workshops for an initial cohort of 100 secondary teachers in which participants strengthened their
understanding of the 4Cs and designed inquiry-based units using a backwards design process that embeds content standards and
targeted 21st century skills and provides a framework for assessing the 4cs using the adopted rubrics.

Key Strategies Incorporated to Cultivate 4Cs

During the PBL workshop, participants learned:

Collaboration
t How to strategically form teams for sustained collaboration.
t How to teach teams how to use project management tools (contracts, work plans, goal sheets, etc.) effectively.
t How to scaffold the collaborative inquiry process.
t How to use a collaboration rubric to formatively and summatively assess collaboration skills.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |5

Communication

t How to guide teams to establish norms that align to the 21st century skill of communication.
t How to incorporate “think pair share”, a communication structure that builds communication skills.
t How to incorporate Socratic Seminars to build communication skills and critical thinking strategies (analysis of text, synthesis of

ideas, evaluation of concepts, and inferential reasoning).
t How to create healthy conditions in which students can successfully give and receive feedback; how to use peer critique protocols

like Gallery Walks and Critical Friends.
t How to prepare students to deliver effective oral presentations.
t How to formatively and summatively assess communication skills using a rubric.

Critical Thinking and Creativity and Innovation

Advanced workshops will continue to be offered to the PBL cohort to teach participants how to design units that explicitly teach and
assess Critical Thinking or Creativity and Innovation skills, dependent upon the targeted area of focus in the unit. Participants in these
sessions learn how to use tools to scaffold the critical thinking or creativity and innovation process, how to formatively assess each phase,
and how to use rubrics to summatively assess critical thinking or creative innovation captured in culminating products and performances.

Capacity Building

As part of the PBL Implementation planning process, the SACS team established a goal that staff will model and promote the 4Cs. To
achieve this goal, they adopted protocols to guide the cohort of teachers trained in PBL to engage in an inquiry process around their
practice of teaching and assessing 21st century skills with academic content. The inquiry process includes:

t Critical Friends, a peer critique protocol, to analyze project plans in relation to established design criteria, including plans to
explicitly teach and assess targeted 21st century skills.

t Looking at Student Work, a collaborative protocol designed to enable teachers to think critically about the level of success of
an instructional practice, determine next steps for the classroom, and refine learning targets and rubrics used to assess content
standards and 21st century skills.

t Post-project reflection, a protocol designed to enable teachers to reflect upon the success of the unit, including the degree to which
students demonstrated the targeted content areas and 21st century skills, and identify “need to knows” on which instructional
leaders can base plans for sustained support.

UPPER ARLINGTON CITY SCHOOLS

Upper Arlington City Schools (UACS) is located in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a northwest suburb of Columbus, Ohio. To prepare students
for life in a globalized 21st century, Upper Arlington City Schools adopted the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program in
2002 and is in the process of training teachers, coordinators, and administration in the IB Middle Years Program. UACS formed an
IB 21st Century Teacher Leader Professional Development team and a 21st Century Skills Advisory Committee to determine how to
systematically integrate 21st century skills into the IB program. The district launched a Twenty-first Century Learning Cohort (TCLC)
program for teachers and hired Integration Coaches for 21st Century Skills as program facilitators.

Infusing 4Cs into Unit Design

To integrate 21st century skills into IB units of inquiry, the 21st Century Teacher Leader Professional Development team and the 21st
Century Skills Advisory Committee:

t Identified and defined core 21st Century Skills for all Upper Arlington students.
t Created 21st Century Skill Checklists to aid teachers in the development of unit plans.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |6

t Planned professional development.
t Infused 21st century skills into IB units, piloted 21st century skills rubrics, and reflected upon results.

Capacity Building

Upper Arlington’s Integration Coaches for 21st Century Skills facilitate the Twenty-first Century Learning Cohort (TCLC) program. TCLC is
a two-year commitment for participating teachers that addresses the question “What do teachers need to be effective in the twenty-first
century?” Participants commit to over sixty hours of professional development in the first year and showcase their work at a community
celebration in May. During this time, they learn to incorporate 21st century skills and technologies into instructional units. In the second
year of the program, teachers share the knowledge and skills gained in the cohort with colleagues in their respective school buildings.

APTAKISIC-TRIPP SCHOOL DISTRICT 102

Student Self -Assessment

In Aptakisic-Tripp School District 102 in Buffalo Grove, IL, the 4Cs are core components of the district’s expectations for student
outcomes. The 4Cs rubrics have been customized for student self-assessment. For each 4Cs rubric, a set of “I Can” statements have been
created based on the existing rubric indicators. Below is an example of the customized communication rubric:

Communication Rubric Performance Target Student Language
Performance Area

Engaging in Conversations Asks questions to check understanding about I can ask questions to help me understand the
and Discussions information shared during the discussion; topic better and share ideas about the topic.
makes comments that contribute to the
Using 21st Century discussion and connect to the comments of I can use different kinds of media to share
Communication Tools others. ideas.

Listening When appropriate, uses digital media and I can listen and give others my full attention as
environments to enhance oral and written they share ideas and information.
Communicating in Diverse communication, support individual learning,
Environments and contribute to the learning of others. I can communicate with people from cultures
or backgrounds who might not share my exact
Delivering Oral Uses strategies to listen effectively: Connects beliefs or understanding of the world.
Presentations the information shared by the speaker to
own background knowledge and experience; I can share information with audiences by
identifies the key points the speaker is trying speaking accurately about my topic, using
to convey; draws logical inferences that show supporting details, and answering questions
adequate understanding. that are asked of me.

Develops cultural understanding by
communicating with learners of other
cultures; understands that learners of other
cultures can have different perspectives.

When delivering oral presentations, uses
an appropriate amount of facts and details
to support the main ideas; speaks clearly
at an understandable pace; accurately and
confidently fields grade-level appropriate
questions to demonstrate conceptual
understanding and knowledge.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |7

DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Educator Performance Evaluation

In Douglas County School District, Castle Rock, CO, educators are expected to demonstrate mastery of the 4Cs along with students. As
part of the district’s system-wide transformation around world class outcomes, the 4Cs rubrics have served as key building blocks in the
new teacher performance system. The district’s CITE tool specifies the professional standards by which all educators will be evaluated
and the 4Cs have been integrated throughout these standards. Below is an excerpt from the CITE instrument.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |8

BALLSTON SPA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Educator Performance Evaluation

In Ballston Spa Central School District, in upstate New York, the rubrics are being used as a pilot component of a new teacher evaluation
system. The rubrics have been customized for teachers in the district’s Clean Technologies and Sustainable Industries Early College
High School. Eventually, the goal is to have this component apply to all high school teachers. The teacher evaluation rubrics are cross-
walked to the district’s student graduation competencies, which integrate the 4Cs. Below is an example of the Creativity rubric that has
been customized for the teacher evaluation pilot.

C R E ATI V IT Y

Performance Area N/A Exceeds Proficient Meets Novice

Idea Origination Explores and implements Explores a few avenues of Exploration in the methods Exploration in methods
multiple avenues of idea idea generation. Suggests used to generate ideas is used to generate ideas is
Idea Refinement generation. Creates possible solutions through limited in variety. Identifies limited in both variety and
meaningful solutions consideration of both the the nuances of the scope. The needs of those
Working with Others through consideration of challenge and the needs of challenge and the needs impacted by the challenge
– Communicate and both the challenge and the those impacted. of those impacted by that are not considered.
Advocate for Ideas needs of those impacted. challenge.

Responsive and Open to In response to self In response to self Demonstrates limited self Demonstrates no self
Feedback reflection, independently reflection, seeks assistance reflection, rather revises reflection. Does not revise
revises and refines ideas or in revising and refining and refines based primarily or refine.
Perseverance and solutions. ideas or solutions. on external feedback.
Adaptability
Demonstration a willingness Encourages idea generation Recognizes the ideas of Struggles to work
Pragmatic to promote the ideas from all members of a team. others. Works within collaboratively within
Implementation of others. Effectively Work within a team to a team to develop and a team to develop and
works within a team to develop and communicate communicate new ideas in communicate new ideas.
initiate the development new ideas in a clear, a respectful manner that
and communication of coherent, and respectful promotes an environment
new ideas in a clear, manner that promotes an of trust.
coherent, and professional environment of creativity
manner that promotes an and trust.
environment of creativity
and trust.

Consistently revises and Revises and refines ideas Revises and refines ideas Revisions and refinements
refines ideas of solutions in or solutions in response or solutions without a of ideas of solutions are
response to feedback from to feedback from peers, full understanding of the limited and/or do not
peers, stakeholders, and stakeholders, and varied feedback from peers, consider feedback from
varied perspectives. perspectives. stakeholders and varied peers, stakeholders, and
perspectives. varied perspectives.

Demonstrates a high degree Demonstrates adaptability Demonstrates adaptability Demonstrates an
of adaptability in response in response to obstacles. in response to obstacles. unwillingness to adapt in
to obstacles. Maintains Maintains a flexible and Accepts and seeks to response to obstacles. Does
a creative, flexible, and positive approach in facing manage adversity. not acknowledge or address
positive approach in facing adversity. adversity.
adversity.

Executes a tangible and Executes a pragmatic Extends the creative process Offers impragmatic
pragmatic innovation based innovation based on the to pragmatic proposal. solutions with no tangible
on the creative process. creative process product or proposal.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. |9

Unit Sketch

SIMULTANEOUS OUTCOMES: HEALTH AND THE HUMAN BODY, RESEARCH AND
INFORMATIONAL WRITING, AND CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

This sample unit provided by Expeditionary Learning Schools illustrates how a middle school team created a meaningful context in
which students could gain deep knowledge and understanding of Science standards, acquire Science process skills, and demonstrate
the competencies of Collaboration and Creativity and Innovation. In this kind of unit design, specific performance areas in the
Collaboration and Creativity rubrics could be used to create a custom rubric that helps teachers evaluate the student’s performance on
the content standards as well as the 4Cs.

Project Title: Operation Kidfit

Anchor Content: Science - Health and the human body (infectious diseases across history, anatomy, physiology and
health and nutrition)
Problem:
Innovation Challenge: 39% of children in Rochester and 32% of children in America are obese.

Product Format: Collaborate to propose an engaging health exhibition for the Rochester Museum and Science Center
to show 8-14 year olds how choices affect their bodies.
4Cs Application in
Industry: An informational book containing recommendations that the museum will use to inform exhibit
design and fabrication

Science museums employ experienced museum professionals in all areas of exhibit development
and design. How do museum exhibit designers draw upon 21st skills in their work? Exhibit developers
and researchers engage in a collaborative process of creative innovation to design exhibits that draw
visitors in the target audience, deliver target educational content, and add fun and excitement to the
visitor experience.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 10

TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS

IDEA GENERATION

Learning Experiences: Researched childhood obesity to gain a deep understanding of the problem;
visited museum to investigate what makes an engaging, effective exhibit; identified the target audience,
generated the “big idea” and content areas for the exhibit and generated ideas about the exhibit.
Rubric Assessment: Problem definition statements, summary of the target audience, and list of ideas.

IDEA DESIGN AND REFINEMENT

Learning Experiences: Reviewed, categorized, and evaluated ideas in relation to the problem using peer
critique protocol; selected the best idea and provided a clear rationale for decision; reviewed feedback,
determined “next steps”, and made revisions to improve the quality of the idea.
Rubric Assessment: Evaluation of research notebooks (idea categorization and comments; notes about
idea selection and rationale, refinement of ideas based on feedback.)

CREATIVE PRODUCTION AND INNOVATION

Learning Experiences: Shaped ideas into an exhibit plan.
Rubric Assessment: Evaluation of final products.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 11

CCSS LEARNING TARGETS

Reading Informational Texts

t RI.6.7 I can use a variety of media to develop and deepen my understanding of a topic or idea.

Writing

t W.6.2 I can write informative/explanatory texts that convey ideas and concepts using relevant information that is carefully selected
and organized.

t W.6.4 I can produce clear and coherent writing that is appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
t W.6.5 With support from peers and adults, I can use a writing process to produce clear and coherent writing.
t W.6.9 I can use evidence from a variety of grade appropriate texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Speaking and Listening

t SL.6.2 I can interpret information presented in different media and formats. I can explain how new information connects to a topic,
text, or issue I am studying.

Language

t L.6.1 I can use correct grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
t L.6.2 I can use correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling to send a clear message to my reader.
t L.6.3 I can use a variety of sentence structures to make my writing and speaking more interesting. I can maintain consistency in
style and tone when writing and speaking.
t L.6.6 I can accurately use 6th grade academic vocabulary to express my ideas. I can use resources to build my vocabulary.

The 4Cs in Academic Content Areas

In a 21st century school or district, the 4Cs are fully integrated into academic content areas. It is important to carry out this integration in
contextually-appropriate ways, however. Critical thinking in mathematics has a different context when compared to critical thinking in
science, and these can lead to important differences in how the 4Cs rubrics are used.
This section provides food for thought about how the 4Cs can be articulated in the contexts of Science, Mathematics and Social Studies.

SCIENCE

21st Century Skills play a strong role in the lives of scientists as they collaborate, problem solve, and share their findings with the greater
scientific community.

Critical Thinking (PEBC, 2006)

t Scientists build their background knowledge and understanding by reading the publications of other scientists, attending scientific
meetings, and participating in peer reviews of their work.

t Scientists focus each investigation by posing specific, testable questions and designing experiments that can give definitive answers.
t Scientists form hypotheses and draw inferences based on their background knowledge and inferences.
t When designing investigations, scientists determine the sequence of steps to take in the process.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 12

t Scientists analyze and interpret data using tables, charts, graphs, and diagrams.
t Scientists draw inferences to explain their observations.
t Scientists often pose new questions or modify their hypothesis after gathering new data.
t Scientists reflect on the validity of their hypotheses in light of new data and assess the possibility of errors in their experiments.
t Scientists repeat their investigations to ensure that their results are replicable.
t Scientists draw conclusions from their data by synthesizing what they learned with what they already knew before an investigation.

Collaboration

t As the nature of the questions that researchers ask becomes more complex, Scientists bring their unique expertise to find the
answers.

t Collaborating scientists define goals, expectations and outcomes and determine who will take charge of the collaboration.

Communication

t Scientists share their thinking and justify their answers orally and in writing.
t Scientists record their findings.
t Scientists carefully communicate findings to make an impact with their research.

Creativity and Innovation

t Scientists harness the forces of creativity and innovation to yield breakthroughs that will improve the lives of people.

SOCIAL SCIENCE

The various disciplines of Social Science use a range of approaches to study society, including surveys, questionnaires, interviews and
statistics. 21st Century Skills play a strong role in the lives of Social Scientists as they engage in collaborative research, analysis, and
inquiry to find answers to complex problems, discover hidden relationships, and communicate findings.

Critical Thinking (PEBC, 2006)

t Social Scientists ask questions and launch investigations.
t Social Scientists use a variety of sources to validate information and to check for accuracy.
t Social Scientists use research to infer why and how historical choices were made, the implications of those choices, and how those

choices impact us today.
t Social Scientists use primary source documents and artifacts to infer themes and patterns.
t Social Scientists ask critical questions of text: Is there a bias? Whose voice is left out? From whose point of view is this being told?
t Social Scientists recognize misinformation and reconcile conflicting points of view.
t Social Scientists create valid and reliable claims.

Collaboration

t Social Scientists come together, bringing their unique expertise to find the answers.
t Collaborating Social Scientists define goals, expectations and outcomes and determine who will take charge of the collaboration.

Communication

t Social Scientists record their findings.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 13

t Social Scientists explain their thinking and justify their answers orally and in writing.
t Social Scientists carefully communicate findings to make an impact with their research.

Creativity and Innovation

t Social Scientists harness the forces of creativity and innovation to yield breakthroughs that will improve the lives of people.

M AT H E M ATI C S

Mathematicians explore and investigate an often uncertain world and attempt to explain what they see. Sometimes a single explanation
works; more often, patterns, and relationships emerge that lead to several different conclusions. Logic helps mathematicians justify
their methods and determine the validity of their solutions as they try to make sense of the unknown.

Critical Thinking (PEBC, 2006)

t Mathematicians ask questions.
t Mathematicians decide what information is relevant and irrelevant to a problem.
t Mathematicians work through cycles of data-gathering, visualization, abstraction, conjecturing, and proof.
t Mathematicians use patterns and relationships to generalize and infer what comes next in the problem-solving process.
t Mathematicians analyze evidence and look for counter examples to claims.
t Mathematicians prove their claims.
t Mathematicians are metacognitive as they continually ask themselves, “Does this make sense?” and “Is my answer reasonable?”

Collaboration

t Mathematicians share and build on each other’s questions, conjectures, and theorems.

Communication

t Mathematicians explain their thinking and justify their answers orally and in writing.
t Mathematicians visually represent their thinking through drawings, pictures, graphs, models, and charts.
t Mathematicians use accurate math vocabulary and show their work in clear concise forms so others can follow their thinking without

asking questions.

Creativity and Innovation

t Mathematicians harness the forces of creativity and innovation to yield breakthroughs that will improve the lives of people.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 14

Sample Vertical Articulation of 21st Century Skills
— Critical Thinking

This sample vertical articulation of critical thinking is based on the critical thinking rubrics and offered as a planning guide. District and
school leaders may wish to adapt this kind of documentation to help plan a systemic approach to the 4Cs.

INFORMATION AND DISCOVERY

Anchor Skill: Identifies and defines the problem or challenge, creates questions, and collects information.

Grade Span Grade Span-Specific Proficiency

Grade 3-4 Clearly explains the problem, investigation, or challenge in his/her own words; creates an
Grade 7-8 acceptable number of questions; and questions are usually clear.

Grade 11-12 Clearly defines the problem, investigation, or challenge; continuously seeks clarity and
understanding.

Creates additional questions related to the problem, investigation, or challenge. Effectively refines
and improves questions and identifies a key question or set of questions to investigate.

Conducts efficient research and gathers relevant information from multiple sources; effectively
assesses the credibility and accuracy of each source.

Clearly defines the problem, investigation, or challenge; continuously seeks clarity and
understanding.

Identifies inquiry questions clearly and precisely; engages in an open-ended thinking process to
develop an initial set of questions related to the problem, investigation, or challenge; refines the
initial set of questions; and identifies a key question or prioritized set of questions on which to
focus. Questions provide a solid foundation for inquiry.

Selects information that is sufficient in terms of its quantity, diversity, and relevance to inquiry
questions.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 15

INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS

Anchor Skill: Assesses and analyzes relevant information.

Grade Span Grade Span-Specific Proficiency

Grade 3-4 Clearly and accurately describes points of view from a variety of sources.
Grade 7-8
Integrates information from multiple sources on the inquiry topic to build background knowledge,
Grade 11-12 with independence.

Accurately determines sources’ points of view and analyzes how the sources address conflicting
viewpoints.

Clearly explains the difference between his/her point of view and that of sources.

Is laying the foundation to thoroughly and accurately assess and describe arguments and claims
provided by sources. Assesses whether the reasoning is sound, if the evidence is helpful to the
argument, and if a sufficient amount of evidence is provided.

Consistently recognizes when irrelevant (i.e., unrelated; unimportant) evidence is introduced.

Compares and classifies information accurately; almost always identifies characteristics that create
meaningful comparisons.

Evaluates the accuracy and relevance of information and the strengths of arguments, with no
significant errors.

REASONING

Anchor Skill: Reasons effectively.

Grade Span Grade Span-Specific Proficiency

Grade 3-4 Clearly describes inferences, finds meaning that is not explicitly (clearly) stated by sources, and
makes conclusions on the basis of available information.

Grade 7-8 Clearly explains and justifies assumptions (what student believes, but has not proven) about the
problem, investigation, or challenge.

Consistently makes clear inferences from the inquiry experience.

Grade 11-12 Offers generalizations that relate in a significant way to the problem, investigation, or challenge.

Presents logical conclusions regarding how to solve the problem, meet the challenge, answer the
question, etc., that illustrate substantial understanding.

Provides explanations that are generally clear, citing sufficient evidence for conclusions drawn.

Demonstrates ethical reasoning and judgment by clearly sharing perspectives on why the
proposed course of action is morally the best decision.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 16

PROBLEM SOLVING/SOLUTION FINDING

Anchor Skill: Solves authentic problems.

Grade Span Grade Span-Specific Proficiency

Grade 3-4 Explains ideas about how to best solve the problem, meet the challenge, or answer the inquiry
Grade 7-8 question. Clearly describes why their ideas make sense.

Grade 11-12 Uses systems thinking in problem solving. Describes the function of the whole system, names all of
the parts, describes the function of each part, and predicts what would happen if a part is missing.

Clearly explains ideas about how to best solve the problem, meet the challenge, or answer the
inquiry question; clearly describes why their ideas make sense.

Uses systems thinking in problem solving. Describes the function of the whole system, describes
the subsystems, and describes how a change in the subsystems influences the entire system.

Tests ideas. With little assistance, assesses and clearly describes the outcome and decides if a new
solution is necessary.

Accurately and clearly analyzes and describes how parts of a whole interact with each other to
produce overall outcomes in complex systems, and how systems effectively interact with each
other.

Identifies a sufficient number of plausible solutions to the problem, answers to the question, or
approaches to meet the challenge.

Analyzes, with precision and accuracy, the relative effectiveness of proposed solutions or
approaches. Uses relevant criteria to eliminate ineffective solutions or approaches and select
those that are plausible.

CONSTRUCTING ARGUMENTS

Anchor Skill: Makes accurate judgments and decisions.

Grade Span Grade Span-Specific Proficiency

Grade 3-4 Gathers an adequate, acceptable amount of proof from sources to support opinion.
Grade 7-8
Clearly states opinion about inquiry question.

With little assistance, gathers proof (evidence) from sources to support opinion; uses accurate,
correct, credible, and trustworthy sources to support opinion.

Clearly compares and contrasts personal opinion from differing opinions.

With minimal support, clearly organizes reasons and evidence and recognizes opposing claims.

4Cs Rubrics: Additional Resources ©2014 EdLeader21. All rights reserved. | 17

Grade 11-12 Provides a claim that clearly articulates an opinion; clearly explains the reasoning for claims. Cites
a sufficient quantity of relevant evidence to support most claims.

Presents a clear and sufficient treatment of most available evidence relating to the argument;
clearly and convincingly addresses counter arguments.

SELF -REGULATION AND REFLECTION

Anchor Skill: Reflects critically on learning experiences, processes, and solutions.

Grade Span Grade Span-Specific Proficiency

Grade 3-4 Clearly explains the critical thinking skills he/she used in the unit, in his/her own words.
Grade 7-8
Often assesses one’s own critical thinking dispositions with accuracy. (Does the student always try
Grade 11-12 hard to understand? Allow enough time and effort for thinking? Reflect on the amount of support
that he/she needs during the critical thinking process?)

Clearly explains the critical thinking skills assessed in the unit in his/her own words.

Monitors his/her thought process and articulates or describes strengths and weaknesses in
thinking during parts of the inquiry experience. Describes how assumptions impacted the ability to
think critically in the investigation.

Describes how inferences were helpful in the investigation.

Describes how his/her points of view compare and contrast with other points of view explored
during the inquiry experience.

Shows awareness of how the ability to recognize and analyze points of view impacted the critical
thinking process.

Often assesses one’s own critical thinking dispositions with accuracy. (Does the student
continuously seek clarity and understanding? Use accuracy and detail? Dedicate enough time and
effort to thinking? Reflect on the amount of support needed during the critical thinking process?)

Frequently identifies and corrects errors in the process.

Often analyzes and questions one’s own thinking, reasoning, and critical thinking dispositions with
accuracy. (Does the student openly explore alternative points of view? Show open-mindedness
and flexibility? Continuously seek clarity and understanding? Use precision and thoroughness?
Dedicate enough time and effort to thinking? Assess whether the quality of his/her thinking is
improving over time? Reflect about the amount of support that he/she needs during the critical
thinking process?)

Often identifies factors that affect one’s objectivity or rationality.

Rarely makes significant errors in reviewing one’s own performance.

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