Plenty of teachers run Speak in more than one course level. The book is the same, but the students in the honors section and the on-level section are often at different points in their writing. That raises the question of whether they should be graded the same way.

The answer is that the core skills should be the same, but the depth and independence you expect can differ. Both groups need a clear claim, evidence, and analysis. Honors students might be asked to do more with complexity and nuance.

Building two entirely separate rubrics is a lot of work and can cause confusion. A better approach is one shared framework with adjustments to the top performance level. That keeps your grading consistent while still stretching stronger writers.

Be transparent with students about the difference. If they compare rubrics, they should see a logical reason for it. Clarity keeps the conversation productive.

Keep the core criteria identical

Use the same rows for claim, evidence, analysis, organization, and conventions in both classes. That way you are measuring the same skills across sections. It also makes it easier to compare results and share materials.

• Use the same five rubric rows for both course levels
• Adjust the top-level descriptors to ask for more nuance in honors
• Expect honors students to address counterarguments or complexity
• Offer more scaffolds, like sentence frames, in on-level sections
• Use the same anchor papers as a starting point and add level-specific examples

What honors students might add

Honors expectations often include recognizing the complexity of a theme or considering multiple interpretations. A student might explain how the novel supports two competing readings of Melinda's silence. That kind of layered thinking can be written into the top level of the analysis row.

Independence is another marker. Honors students might choose their own evidence and structure without as much guidance. You can note this in the descriptor.

Supporting on-level writers

On-level students may need more explicit structure and examples. Provide outlines, paragraph frames, and model paragraphs. Your rubric can stay the same while the supports change.

Keep the bar meaningful. Students notice when expectations are set too low, and it does them no favors. Clear criteria with the right support helps them reach it.

Managing multiple versions

Keeping two versions of a rubric organized can be fiddly. Tools like GraideMind let you store rubric variations and apply the right one to each class. That way you are not manually swapping documents at the start of every grading session.

Review scores across both levels at the end of the unit. If one group clusters far from the other, ask whether the rubric or the instruction needs adjusting. Data helps you keep the expectations fair.