Website and Software Evaluation Rubric

Academic Software Evaluation Rubric
SOFTWARE FEATURES	1 POOR	2 BELOW AVERAGE	3 AVERAGE	4 ABOVE AVERAGE	5 EXCELLENT
TEXT	Text is excessively technical and/or difficult to follow.	Text is generally understandable but not very user-friendly.	Text is easy to follow and understand: includes all necessary components.	Clear text that is logical and easy to follow.	Very clear, easy-to-read, logical, and complete text.
SITE LICENSE	No Licensing available.	Site licenses are available but limited or expensive options.	Site licenses available at reasonable cost.	Special, low site licensing pricing for education.	Educators may use for free without a site license.
INSTALLATION	Installation too complex; poor installation instructions	Installation somewhat difficult; instruction minimal.	Installation process typical; fairly clear	Easy to install; clear and understandable instructions.	Self- installation; step-by-step instructions included.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT	No toll-free customer service number available.	No online support; phone support available for fee.	Online chat and phone support available for modest fee.	Online tech support available for modest fee, no charge for phone support.	Online chat and toll-free support available 24 hours/day.
GRADE LEVEL	Not suitable for intended grade level.	Some features unsuitable for intended grade level.	Majority of features suitable for intended grade level.	Most features appropriate and suitable for intended grade level.	All features appropriate and suitable for intended grade level.
STANDARDS	Does not address school target standards.	Few school standards addressed.	A majority of the school standards are addressed.	Most of the desired school standards are addressed.	All school standards are addressed.
ACTIVE LEARNING	Interaction is passive; no active learning encouraged.	Interaction mostly passive; a few active learning opportunities included.	Interaction offers average active learning opportunities; some activities too passive	Good active interaction provided through a majority of the software.	Students are actively engaged during all components of software.
SAVE FEATURES	Students cannot interrupt and save work.	Students’ work can be saved on an external drive but cannot be reused.	Students may save work to continue on it in the future.	Automatically saves the students’ work when the program is closed.	Both automatically and manually, students’ work can be saved and restarted at the same point.
HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY	Works on relatively few available computers; requires additional hardware.	Works on several machines; requires additional hardware.	Will work on most machines with minimal or no hardware upgrades or additions.	Works on most available machines without hardware upgrades or additions.	Works on all machines available without hardware upgrades or additions.
COST	High cost relative to features.	Somewhat expensive relative to features.	Average cost for features offered.	Reasonably priced with numerous features for the cost.	Special low pricing for educational users for abundant features.

Academic Website Evaluation Rubric
DIMENSIONS	1 POOR	2 BELOW AVERAGE	3 AVERAGE	4 ABOVE AVERAGE	5 EXCELLENT
GOAL	Goal of this web site unclear and confusing.	Conflicting themes make site’s goal uncertain.	Goal is clear but site contains some unrelated or distracting elements.	Clear purpose and goal; some elements seem unnecessary.	Goal and purpose of site with no distracting elements.
USER FRIENDLINESS	Unwelcoming to users.	Does not evoke a welcoming message	Welcomes visitors but does not appear friendly.	Welcoming and appears friendly	Exciting, welcoming and very user-friendly.
DESIGN	Poorly organized; contains obvious errors; loads slowly, difficult to read.	Organization somewhat confusing; some errors; loads slowly	Organization acceptable; no obvious errors; loads adequately; easy to read.	Good organization; no errors; loads quickly; easy to read.	Excellent organization; error free; loads quickly and clearly; all elements easy to read.
NAVIGATIBILITY	Difficult to find and follow site navigation links.	Navigation links visible but slightly confusing.	Navigation links clear and readily available..	Navigation links clear and logical; site map included.	Navigation logical and clear; site map and search engine available.
AUTHORITY	Unclear who the teacher is and what class the site relates to.	Teacher name and contact included, but insufficient class information.	Teacher name, contact information, and some class information included.	Teacher name, contact information, full class information included.	Teacher provides all necessary information to student, parent, and community visitors.
DATES	No dates evident.	Site contains some dates	Site contains both creation and update information but no dates related to class activities..	Site contains creation and update information and some dates relating to class activities.	Site contains dates for creation, updates, and all class activities.
CONTENT	Content limited and lacks relevance to students and parents.	Contents appears relevant, but quantity limited in student needs.	Content is adequate in relevance and quantity to meet student needs.	Content is relevant and quantity is sufficient for student needs.	Content is on target and provides excellent coverage to meet student needs.
LINKS	Few relevant working links.	Adequate number of links but many no longer functional.	Sufficient number of links, all functional.	A good variety of useful, active links.	Links offer connection to a wide variety of excellent sites.
DISABILITY ACCESS	No option available for disabled student.	Some pages on the site offer text-only.	Site offers text-only on all pages.	Site offers clear options for disabled.	Site includes options on all pages and links to disability support software.