PASS/FAIL Rubric for the Spanish Masters Exam

Approved by the Spanish Section February 7, 2007

A PASSING response on a question from the Spanish Masters Exam does all of the following:

addresses all aspects of the task

demonstrates knowledge of the subject matter

reflects accurate understanding of concepts and terminology

develops arguments and/or presents information in a coherent and well focused manner

includes insightful analysis

integrates appropriate evidence

appropriately cites sources of information where required

features clear, accurate sentence structure and word choice

avoids persistent grammatical or orthographical errors

follows formatting and organization of the Modern Language Association (norm for all written work in Spanish graduate classes)

A FAILING response does some or all of the following:

neglects or fails to answer major aspects of the task

demonstrates weak knowledge of the subject matter relevant to the task

frequently misuses concepts and terminology

shows incoherent, fragmented development of arguments and/or organization and presentation

confuses historical and literary periods and their characteristics

includes little analysis; relies mainly on summary (or plot summaries)

often fails to integrate appropriate evidence, including examples and previous assertions and the development of arguments

neglects to cite sources where required

features pervasive problems in sentence structure, word choice, orthography

ignores basic Modern Language Associate formatting and organization

The "80%" rule of the Evaluation of the Spanish Masters Exam

To receive a PASS on the Spanish Masters Exam, the student must receive a passing grade on 80% of the exam?s questions, either the first time the exam is taken or by the end of any retakes.

How it works - The "80%" rule works as follows: There are 10 questions on the Spanish Masters Exam: 7 in literature and 3 in linguistics. To receive a PASS on the exam, a student may fail ONE literature question and ONE linguistics question (=80%); OR, the student may fail TWO literature questions (= 80%). Please note: a student may not fail more than ONE linguistics question.

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