The role of structured rubrics in enhancing holistic assessment implementation in Sabah primary school

Abstract

Assessment practices in primary school social sciences education present unique challenges due to the multifaceted nature of the competencies involved. While holistic assessment has been promoted as a way of reflecting the interrelated aspects of student learning, its application is usually undermined by inconsistent scoring, lack of diagnostic feedback, and subjectivity of the evaluators. Structured rubrics are one of the tools that have been highly suggested to mitigate these constraints. The purpose of the scoping review is to map and synthesize the literature available on the role of structured rubrics in improving holistic assessment in primary school. The review is conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines (Tricco et al., 2018) and is a systematic study of peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2025, based on the Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC databases, guided by the framework by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), as refined by Levac et al Results show that structured rubrics enhance assessment transparency, inter-rater reliability, help students to regulate themselves and develop metacognition, and provide more focused instructional feedback. The review cites constructive alignment (Biggs, 1996) and formative assessment theory (Black and Wiliam, 1998) as the major theoretical frameworks which support effective rubric-based assessment. The recent meta-analysis (Panadero et al., 2023) supports the presence of a moderate positive impact of rubrics on academic performance. Nevertheless, there are still issues regarding teacher evaluation literacy, time, contextual flexibility and accessibility of the rubric language to young learners. This scoping review contributes to the field by providing a comprehensive synthesis of research evidence and offering practical recommendations for educators, curriculum developers, and policymakers seeking to strengthen holistic assessment in primary education.