APUSH AP U.S. History 5 Point Grading Rubrics for the DBQ and the LEQ Updated

These reflect the 2023 Rubrics!

These rubrics are designed to help students gradually attain mastery of the skills required by the APUSH exam while offering partial credit as they work towards that Mastery. Each of the skills required on the essays is divided into a 5 point scale. I really like this method for several reasons:

✏️ Although the actual exam provides an all or nothing score, most of my students enter the class with very little knowledge about writing for these specific skills. I like to offer students some level of credit, while also making them realize where there are currently at in terms of their knowledge. As they attain mastery, I gradually change out the scaffold to an all or nothing score.

✏️ After filling out this rubric, I don’t need to write much additional feedback. Students can see why they earned the score that they did, and they can also see what they need to do to earn more credit. This makes grading much faster for me.

✏️ For a 5 on the rubric, I set the bar slightly higher than the actual exam. This way, if a student makes a mistake or two, they still have an opportunity to earn the point. You could certainly edit the rubrics based on the needs of your classroom.

I use these rubrics as part of a Standards Based Grading classroom. This is not required, and you could adjust the points value for your classroom. (These rubrics are also included in my Standards Based Grading bundle).

Included in this resource:

• Word version of LEQ, DBQ, and SAQ rubrics (editable)
• Google Docs version of LEQ, DBQ, and SAQ rubrics (editable)
• PDF version of LEQ, DBQ, and SAQ rubrics (not editable)
• Explanation of rubric use

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