Augmind StudioEvery report our coaches sign scores a recording on five dimensions — clarity, structure, confidence, content, and response to the prompt — from 1 to 5 each, equally weighted, and quotes the student’s own words as evidence for every score. The free speaking check uses the same rubric. This page is what the numbers mean, what the evidence lines look like, and what a 3 has to do to become a 4.
Why 1 to 5 and not out of 100
Each number is a description, not a count of points. A 3 in Clarity means the sentence under “3” below is true of the take; a 4 means the next sentence up is. That keeps two coaches within a band of each other on the same recording — and, more useful for a family, it means every score comes with the exact thing that would move it. The full band descriptors for all five levels are in the middle-school rubric pack and the high-school pack.
The five dimensions
The example lines below are illustrative — written to show the shape of a report, not taken from any student’s recording.
Clarity
A 5: Voice is easy to hear; words are clear; pacing is controlled; few distracting filler words.
A 3: Understandable overall, but volume, speed, pronunciation, or filler words sometimes interfere.
What the report says. Evidence: “so um, like, the thing about—” (0:12), “and then, um” (0:40). The fillers cluster at the transitions; the sentences between them are clear and easy to hear.
From a 3 to a 4: Replace the filler with a pause. One drill: say the transition word, stop for a full second, then continue. Three takes.
Structure
A 5: Clear beginning, middle, and ending; ideas flow logically; uses signposting or transitions.
A 3: Has a basic direction, but order may feel loose or incomplete.
What the report says. Evidence: “I’m good at chess because I practice… also my dad taught me… also I like it.” Three reasons in a row with no ending — the take stops rather than closes.
From a 3 to a 4: Add the last sentence first: decide how it ends before starting. “So that’s how I got good at chess: forty losses to my sister.”
Confidence
A 5: Strong posture, eye contact, projection, and controlled gestures; handles pauses calmly.
A 3: Some confidence, but visible nervous habits affect delivery.
What the report says. Evidence (audio only): volume drops on the last word of every sentence; steady recovery after the stumble at 0:31 (“wait — let me say that again”), which is the good sign here.
From a 3 to a 4: Finish the sentence as loud as it started. Record the same take standing up, with a listener across the room.
Content
A 5: Ideas are specific, relevant, and supported with examples, reasons, or stories.
A 3: Basic content is present, but support is limited or generic.
What the report says. Evidence: “I got really good at it” — the claim is there, the example isn’t. The moment that would carry it is one specific loss or one specific day.
From a 3 to a 4: One number, one name, or one day. “I lost to my sister forty times before I won once” does more than a minute of “I practiced a lot.”
Response to the prompt
A 5: Directly answers the prompt; adapts well in an impromptu setting; stays on topic and completes the task.
A 3: Responds to the prompt, but may be incomplete, indirect, or partially off-topic.
What the report says. Evidence: the prompt asked how you got good at it; the take describes what chess is. Relevant, well delivered, and a partial answer.
From a 3 to a 4: Say the prompt back in the first sentence. “The way I got good at chess was…” — then the take can’t drift.
What we deliberately don’t penalize
Accent. The instruction our coaches and our software work from is explicit: accent is not a problem by itself. Clarity only drops when a listener would genuinely have trouble understanding the speech. A child of immigrant parents who speaks clearly with an accent scores exactly like anyone else who speaks clearly.
Nerves, in the score. Nervous students score lower — that’s real, and the rubric doesn’t pretend otherwise. But the coach’s note says so, and the trend across a program is read with it in mind. The first recording anyone makes for a parent is a floor, not a level.
Body language we can’t see. When only audio exists — the free speaking check keeps sound only — Confidence is scored from the voice: steadiness, energy, pause control, recovery after stumbles. The report never claims to have seen posture or eye contact it couldn’t.
What to do with a report
Read the evidence lines with your child, not the numbers. A quoted “and then, um” at 0:40 is something a 12-year-old can hear in their own take and fix; a 3 is not. Then pick one next step — the report names one — and re-record the same material. Between sessions our students can do exactly that and get instant feedback that starts from the coach’s notes; at home, a phone timer and a second take do most of the same work. Our drill bank has one drill per dimension.
Questions parents ask
Is a 3 bad?
No. A 3 means the band description for 3 — understandable, has a direction, some support — which is where most students land the first time anyone records them. Scores also run lower when a child is nervous or recording for a parent, and the coach's note says so. What a 3 is good at is showing exactly what a 4 needs.
Why is the overall score a decimal?
It's the average of the five dimensions, equally weighted, so a report of 4, 3, 4, 3, 3 reads 3.4 out of 5. We show it because parents ask for one number — but the trend across a program matters more than any single overall, and the dimension scores matter more than the trend.
Do tournament judges use this rubric?
No. Judges write ballots against their league's criteria, and each event weights things differently: Original Oratory turns on content and structure, Declamation on delivery, Storytelling on narrative arc and presence, Impromptu on the response to the prompt. Our rubric is a coaching instrument that stays the same across events so a student's growth is comparable; our competition-prep coaches translate it into the event's ballot.
Who writes the report — the software or the coach?
Both, in order. The software transcribes the recording and drafts scores, comments, and the quoted evidence against this rubric. A coach reads the draft next to the recording, changes what they disagree with, adds their own note, and signs it. Nothing reaches a student or family before that signature. The free speaking check is the one exception: the draft appears on the spot, and the coach's note follows by email.
See your child scored on this rubric — free
Record one minute of your child speaking. The five-dimension report appears on the spot with their own words quoted as evidence, and a coach adds one note by email within a day. No account.