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Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board [email protected]

Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board [email protected]

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Page 1: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Assessing and Improving Writing

Sue Taylor-FoleySouth Shore Regional School Board

[email protected]

Page 2: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

• Rubrics

• Using Rubrics in Assessment

• Grading

Page 3: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

To improve students must have the opportunity to:

• Understand the outcome/target

• Know what good work looks like

• Compare their work to a standard

• Know how to work to close gaps

• Have conversations about their work

• Watch themselves grow

Page 4: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Why use rubrics?• Gives us opportunity to know and understand

the targets• Let’s us reflect on our work • Helps us to self assess • Helps us to know how to improve our work• Avoids comments that derail the writer- instead

helps to provide a direction for the writer• As teachers it gives us a clear defined marking

strategy • Focuses on the outcomes we are assessing

from our teaching• Let’s us assist our students in closing the gaps

Page 5: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Effective Assessment EvidenceComes from More than One

Source

Observations

Conversations/Conferences Products

Page 6: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

To assess teachers may use-

Portfolios, Anecdotal Records, Teacher made tests, Checklists, Outcomes tracking, Analysis of written work, Running records, Miscue analysis, Conferences, Demonstrations, Journals, Presentations, Rubrics, Observation, debates, models, dramatizations, Stages of reading development, Stages of writing development, Benchmark materials, Self-assessments, Surveys, Questionnaires, Video/audio tapes, Projects etc.

Page 7: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

“There are three general sources of assessment evidence gathered in classrooms: observations of learning, products students create, and conversations- discussing learning with students. When evidence is collected from three different sources over time, trends and patterns become apparent. Collecting information this way is one way the reliability and validity of our classroom assessment is increased. This process is called triangulation.”

Anne Davies, Making Classroom Assessment Work, page 35.

Page 8: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Examining Rubrics using a meta approach

• Content• Clarity• Practicality• Technical Quality/Fairness

-Source- Judy ArterAssessment Training Institute

Page 9: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Not all rubrics are created equally.

Page 10: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Task

• Everyone in the group will read page 1• Assign sections (content, clarity,

practicality, or technical quality/fairness)• Share your insights on the section read with

your group (content will begin discussion)• With your group or on your own evaluate

the rubrics- use the Master Score sheet to complete your scoring

• Have one person record your results on the room chart

Page 11: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Addressing the Issuesof the Rubric ‘7’

1. Counting inappropriately

2. Important details left out

3. Irrelevant details left in

4. Rubric misaligned with outcome

5. Inappropriate student developed rubrics

6. Skimpy scoring guide

7. Wrong type of rubric

Page 12: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

“Students who not only can assess their work but who can also use

that assessment to revise and edit have gained personal control of their own writing process. The student assesses to revise; the teacher, to evaluate. And in so

doing they become partners in the process of learning about writing.”

V. Spandel, Creating Writers, page 162

Page 13: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

STUDENT INVOLVEMENT

Anything that helps students:

* Understand learning targets

* Engage in self-assessment

* Watch themselves grow

* Talk about their growth

* Plan next steps

Page 14: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Using Rubrics

Page 15: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Student Task - Writing is a complex

thinking process which involves more than the correct use of conventions

- Writing is a purposeful activity

- We write for an audience

- Students knew the outcomes that were being addressed

- Students knew they were to write a persuasive letter using supporting evidence from their prior learnings in class

- They were given reasons to write and knew who their audience would be

- Students generally had one class period to complete the assigned task

Page 16: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

1. Read the three student responses.2. Order them from what you feel is the least

strong piece to the strongest piece.3. Discuss this briefly at your table and then

choose as a table one piece of student writing that you will use to examine more closely with a rubric.

4. Each individual will apply the green rubric to this piece of student work.

5. Discuss your positions on the Levels you chose and adjust your thoughts if you wish to based on the discussions you have in your group.

6. Complete in your handout your ideas on Using Rubrics and what you got out of the professional discussion with your peers.

Page 17: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Grading

Page 18: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

How confident are you that the grades you give are:

• Consistent

• Reliable

• Accurate

• Meaningful

• Relate specifically to the outcomes taught

• Promote and support learning

Page 19: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

The primary purpose of classroom assessment is to inform teaching and improve

learning.

McTighe, J., and Ferrara, S., “Performance-Based Assessment in the Classroom”’ ASCD

Page 20: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

What do ‘grades’ mean?

• Write a couple of clear descriptors for a grade at the top of your grading scale.

• Do not use numbers or letter grades in your descriptions.

Page 21: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Provincial standardized report grade 1-8 scale

• A - The student consistently demonstrates achievement of the expected learning outcomes addressed during the current reporting period. The student's work may exceed program expectations.

• B- The student demonstrates achievement of most of the expected learning outcomes addressed during the current reporting period. The student's work meets program expectations.

• C- The student demonstrates achievement of some of the expected learning outcomes addressed during the current reporting period. The student's work approaches program expectations.

• D- The student rarely demonstrates achievement of some of the expected learning outcomes addressed during the current reporting period. The student's work does not meet program expectations.

Page 22: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

What do your Grades represent?

• We often combine various factors in our grades this obscures what we should be reporting on in achievement.

• “No studies support the use of low grades or marks as punishments.” Guskey and Bailey, Developing

Grading and Reporting Systems for Students Learning, 2001, page 34

Page 23: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

• “…grades often reflect a combination of achievement, progress, and other factors.

…this tendency to collapse several independent elements into a single grade may blur their meaning.”

Bailey, J and McTighe, J., “Reporting Achievement at the Secondary School Level: What and How?”, in T.R. Gutskey (Ed.) Communicating Student Learning:ASCD Yearbook 1996, ASCD

Page 24: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

“Students should be assessed or checked on everything (or almost everything) they do

BUT

Everything that is assessed and/or checked does not need a score

AND

Every score should not be included in the grade.”

Ken O’Connor, How to Grade for Learning

Page 25: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

• Research shows that feedback that EMPHASIZES LEARNING GOALS leads to greater learning gains than feedback that emphasizes self-esteem.

--Ames, 1992; Butler, 1998; Dweck, 1986

Page 26: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

“…final grades should (almost) never be determined by simply

averaging the grades from several grading periods (e.g., adding the grades from terms one through three and dividing by three).”

K. O’ConnorHow to Grade for Learning: Linking Grades

to Standards

Page 27: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

How do you grade for learning?

• Strategies and Solutions

Page 28: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

What is your performance standard?

• What is good enough?

• What demonstrates attainment of the outcome?

• How do you use this information in instruction?

• How do you use this information for grading?

Page 29: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Rubric Scores

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

#1 #3 #5

writingideas

• How can you create grades from these rubric scores?

Page 30: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Today’s lessons on Grading

• Lesson #1- remember the parachute story• Lesson #2- grades need to reflect

achievement• Lesson #3- clearly articulate how your

rubric will translate into grading based on a performance criteria- create a reasonable rule

• Lesson #4- aim for consistency• Lesson #5- communicate

Page 31: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Additional Reading

• Scoring Rubrics In The Classroom- Using Performance Criteria for Assessing and Improving Student Performance- J. Arter & J. McTighe

• Making Classroom Assessment Work- A. Davies• Classroom Instruction That Works- R. Marzano• How to Grade For Learning- K. O’Connor• Creating Writers Through 6-Trait Writing

Assessment and Instruction- V. Spandel• Write Traits Kits• English Language Arts Curriculum Guide

Page 32: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Web Resources

• Assessment Resources

• Literacy and Technology

• Assessment Training Institute

• Alberta Assessment Consortium

• Active Readers/Writers In Action

• Coming soon- Nova Scotia Writing Exemplars

Page 33: Assessing and Improving Writing Sue Taylor-Foley South Shore Regional School Board staylorf@ssrsb.ca

Ways to do look at these issues in your classroom, school and in your

Board.