writing assessment
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Are you literate when it comes to writing? Take the quiz. How has technology changed how students write?TRANSCRIPT
Writing Assessment
A’Kena LongBenton, MA, PMCRLL 7100
10.10.11
“Today’s most pressing domestic challenge is that of improving public schools…one of the greatest potential
rewards lies in better writing—and improved thinking.”
—The Neglected “R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution (2003)
3 Questions1. In a standard five paragraph essay, how many main points must be supported? A. 5 B. 3 C. 1 D. All of the above E. None of the above
2. True or False Transitions should begin each body paragraph?
3. A transition is… A. Furthermore B. Similarly C. Consequently D. All of the above E. None of the above
MDE Mandate and National Commission on Writing Similarities
•How many of you have a professional teaching certificate?
•July 2009 MDE reading mandate for professional certificate—3 components
•Mandate needed, but MDE slow response time
•Reading deficiency is an old phenomenon.
Similarities cont.
•Neglected “R” article writing course proposal
•MEAP writing scores consistently among the lowest for decades
•MDE response time to this proposal?
My article, by A. Trupe, (1997), Academic literacy in a wired world: What should a literate student text look like?
• Traditional grading rubric
• Twist article—writing & technology
• Technological writing vs. English class
• English teachers to create multidimensional writers—interdisciplinary approach
Writing Across the Curriculum
MDE & Michigan Science Teacher Association example http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Science_WAC_2_3_264454_7.pdf
Writing to Learn --Critical thinking (higher order thinking) skills --Analysis --Application
Writing to Demonstrate Knowledge --Synthesize information --Explain concepts/ ideas --E.g., essays, letters, projects, reports, article reviews, research paper, etc.
RubricsStudents must understand what they
will be graded on before they can adequately perform.
It gives them a basis for writing successfully.
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ARCS Motivation Theory, Keller (1979)
Rubrics and modeling
Speech Example--Student videotaped speech--I model as well--Grade me using the rubric. They love it!
William Arthur Ward said, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
To this end, I am a superior teacher striving to be a great teacher.
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The Neglected “R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution article
“…leaving teaching of writing to inexperienced graduate students…”
Quite offended by generality
Graduate student, but not inexperienced with 17 years of teaching experience
Article Redemption
In-service workshops help teachers: --understand good writing--develop as writers themselves
I share my writings with my students.
Food for Thought: How many of us share our writings with our students?
How can we expect them to perform, if we only tell them and rarely show them?
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Complete writing rubric activity A Word of Caution Regarding Spell Check (Strickland & Strickland article)
Paragraph Evaluate it via rubric.
Summative assessment not formative
Too short for formative assessment alone; not enough data to drive instruction
Corrected Paragraph
I have a spell check, It came with my PC; It plainly marks four my revue Mistakes I cannot sea. I’ve run this paragraph threw it, I’m
sure your please too no. Its letter perfect in it’s weigh, My checker
tolled me sew.
Writing RubricCategory 25 pts 16.5 pts 8.25 ptsCapitalization Correct Minor Errors Major Errors Grammar Correct MinorMajor Punctuation Correct Minor
Major Spelling Correct MinorMajor
Rubric KeyCorrect: No errorsMinor Problems: 1-5 errorsMajor Problems: 6 or more errors
Total Points Earned __________ Final Grade __________
Assessment-Driven Improvements in Middle School Students’ Writing article
Three Types of Formative Assessment --Self—ungraded--Peer—ungraded --Teacher—ungraded
Anderson article—short list of goals; “zone of proximal development” (Vygotsky 1962)
Teacher—summative—graded
I grade in green—not psychologically damaging.
Green = growth
Goal = ever-evolving writers
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Assessment Goals
Assessment must be fair and authentic.Assessment drives instruction.
Students’ strengths/ weaknesses?Address their weaknesses?Reinforcing their strengths?
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Teacher Reflections Ask, “What’s working”/ “What’s not working?”
Student mastery?
Alternative teaching methods?
Adjust to them not them adjusting alwaysAnderson article—boxed paragraph example (visual learners)
Our vast teacher toolbox vs. their limited student toolbox
Consider the following picture scenario.
Tiger, a young boy, is talking to a friend about his dog, and he says, “I taught Stripe how to whistle.” His friend replies, “I don’t hear him whistling.” Tiger, with a disgusted look on his face, responds, “I said I taught him. I didn’t say he learned.”
•
If students are not learning from our teaching, then we are just talking.
Learning and teaching are uniquely tied together.
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Reliability Check & Grading Rubrics
Same essay, different colleagueSimilar grade = reliability has been achieved
Evaluation Testing Systems example Table leader—second read writing samples
If scores greatly differed, re-read the essay to ensure reliability
Validity Check
Are we assessing what we taught?
Food for Thought:Assessed students on untaught material?
As teachers, our assessments should not be “gotcha” moments to our students’ detriment, but tools to determine if our students learned what we taught.
See a simplistic example of validity below.
My Classroom Best Practices
Middle school students improved writing & mine
1998, my 8th grade English class & WSU freshman partnership
MEAP Writing scores surpassed the State’s average by 10%.
This 2003 article suggested a university-school partnerships.
Address students’ trends in writing
Common errors?My college English classes—initial 1-2 page essay
Note common errors, then address them as a class “Teaching to the individual” not “teaching to the middle” (Strickland & Strickland 2000 article)
Review as a class error-filled sentences from each student
Anonymous Goal = improve their own and peers’ writing
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Writing Process—POWERWriting process = POWER (pun intended)
Plan—list all possible ideas without judgment
Organize—group common ideas into an outline or cluster
Write—create draft
Evaluate—receive two critiques (peer & scholarly)
Revise—include critics’ suggestions for final copy
Each step builds from the previous step.
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Authentic Learning
Transfer knowledge e.g., transfer their classroom knowledge to a standardized test setting
Create acronymsIOPVWSC—Ideas, Organize, Paragraphs, Voice, Word Choice, Sentences, and Conventions. “I only play videogames while snacking chips.”
My Writing POWER example
“When children are required to learn to spell words correctly before they learn to compose, it stifles the writing process.”
(Strickland & Strickland 2000)