Response to: THE RIGHT TO BE ASSESSED WELL

Yes, I agree with Spandel about her concerns with a writing test; however, having a test as a requirement for graduation in Minnesota did have several positives.  I think it was the first time in my teaching career that professional development (when districts could offer it ) focused on ways to improve the teaching of writing.  In my district we worked together to create rubrics for various writing assignments, as well as shared ideas/strategies for instructing.  We investigated writing from our classes and determined characteristics of strong to weak writing.  One activity that we used for such a task was RAG (read around groups).  In case you aren’t familiar with this activity, here is a quick overview:

1.    Code papers.

2.     Group participants and distribute collection of papers.

3.     Each participant receives one paper and reads for one minute (not necessary to complete

reading the entire paper, but long enough to get a strong feel for the paper).

4.     At signal, pass paper clockwise to next reader; repeat reading.

5.     End of reading, group determines which paper is “best.” (two minutes)

6.     Repeat with each group until all have read all papers.

Groups share which papers were identified as “best.” Why?  Discuss implications. This procedure can be used for a variety of purposes from determining scoring criteria to implications for future instruction.  I also used it in my writing classes to involve students in evaluating/focusing on different features of writing.

Looking back through my files when I was the Minnesota Writing Project Director, I discovered a letter written to the Commissioner of Education about the elimination of our state writing assessment.  I cited benefits that have occurred because of the state writing assessment: 

·     increased awareness of the importance of writing

·     more attention paid to the teaching of writing

·     better articulation of writing criteria

·     focus on staff development

·     more breadth of writing introduced and covered

·     improved writing program evaluation by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of writing instruction

and my hope that the department would

·     encourage districts to institute or maintain in-house writing assessment

o   offer strong staff development opportunities

o   provide opportunities to examine student work, to focus instruction, and to identify students who need more individual support

·     identify resources/agencies that can provide quality staff development 

o   to design and deliver writing instruction

o   to design writing assessments and conduct scoring

·     provide opportunities for districts to share ideas

Finally, I would recommend taking a look at the Position Statement on Assessing Writing (https://ncte.org/statement/teaching-writing/)published by NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English).  It begins with “(a)ssessment of writing involves complex, informed, human judgment” and includes several factors that teachers need to understand.