Enrichment · Wellbeing

Grade the decision,
not yourself.

A good decision and a good outcome are not the same thing. This rubric scores how you decided: did you stop to think, look at more than one option, think about other people, check it was safe, match your values, get input and could you explain it. After a few decisions, the side panel shows which step you skip most.

Score a decisionWhat you get

Decisions

The worked example is made up: a weekend job, a ride home from a party and an elective to drop. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · WellbeingFree

What you finish with
A record per decision: the options with likely results, seven criteria scored 1 to 4, what you chose and why, how it turned out and what you would change. Totals the score out of 28 with a level; averages each criterion across your decisions and names the weakest; flags a low safety score, one option, a low score on effects on others and an outcome that went badly.
Who it is for
Middle school and high school students; teachers and parents using it to talk through a decision after the fact.
Format
Browser rubric with a saved record per decision. Prints one scored decision, all of them in a table or a blank rubric; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Wellbeing space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Write the decision and the options you had.
  2. Score each criterion honestly.
  3. Write what you chose and why.
  4. Come back to mark how it turned out.
  5. After three or four, look at the weakest criterion.

Score a decision

Responsible decisions

The seven criteria, and what a 4 looks likeCriterionA 4Stopped to thinkPaused before saying yes or noMore than one optionAt least two real choices, plus “wait”Effects on othersNamed who else it lands onSafety and rulesChecked it is safe, allowed and legalMy valuesFits what I care about, not the momentInput from someone I trustAsked first, when there was timeCan explain itCould say why to a parent or friendThe seven criteria, and what a 4 looks likeStopped to thinkA 4: Paused before saying yes or noMore than one optionA 4: At least two real choices, plus “wait”Effects on othersA 4: Named who else it lands onSafety and rulesA 4: Checked it is safe, allowed and legalMy valuesA 4: Fits what I care about, not the momentInput from someone I trustA 4: Asked first, when there was timeCan explain itA 4: Could say why to a parent or friend
Scores add to 28: 25 and up is strong, 20 to 24 solid, 14 to 19 developing and below 14 beginning. The levels describe one decision, not you.

Where the criteria come from

CASEL, the group behind the most widely used framework for social and emotional learning, describes responsible decision-making as making caring, constructive choices about behavior and social interactions: considering safety, ethics, the effects on yourself and others and evaluating the results. The seven criteria put that into steps you can score.

If you are in an unsafe situation now

Leave if you can, and call a parent or another trusted adult; most would much rather get the call. In an emergency, call 911.

Sources

  1. CASEL. The CASEL 5: responsible decision-making. casel.org.
  2. Fischhoff, B. (2008). Assessing adolescent decision-making competence. Developmental Review, 28(1), 12 to 28.
  3. Steinberg, L. (2008). A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Review, 28(1), 78 to 106.
  4. Mann, L., Harmoni, R., and Power, C. (1989). Adolescent decision-making: the development of competence. Journal of Adolescence, 12(3), 265 to 278.

The worked example is made up. Scores are your own judgment, not a test. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.