Writing Performance Assessment

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Writing Performance Assessment
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Writing

• Objectives
• Understand the ways in which the writing
  assessment differs from other assessments
• Conduct writing testing appropriately

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Writing
Definition

• The writing assessment is a performance
  assessment where students produce an essay over a
  2-3 day period. It is considered an authentic
  assessment in that students follow a writing
  process, including prewriting, drafting, editing
  and publishing, much as they would for a typical
  classroom assignment.

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Writing
Purpose

• The purpose of the writing assessment is to
  measure student proficiency on adopted state
  standards in the area of writing. Through
  analytic trait scoring, strengths and weaknesses
  may be identified to inform classroom
  instruction.
• Participation, not performance in the writing
  assessment is included in the Report Card
  ratings.

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Writing
Test Schedule

• Winter window (Jan. 12 Feb. 24) for grades 4,
  7, and high school
• Spring window (April 13 April 28) for high
  school only
• Online window for participating schools (Jan. 12
  March 17) for grade 7 and high school
• Online Spring window (March 28 April 28) for
  high school only

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Writing
Scoring

• High School Level
• Paper assessments will be scored same as last
  year
• High School paper and online assessments will be
  double scored

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Writing
Dos and Donts
Dos

• Testing Coordinators may test students in grade 9
  or 10 if individual students have produced work
  that shows they are capable of meeting the HS
  writing standard.
• High School students may test once during one of
  the two regular windows, regardless of grade.
• Students in Grade 11 (or their third year in high
  school) must test once during one of the two
  regular windows unless they met in a previous
  year.

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Writing
Dos and Donts (cont)
Dos (cont)

• Students in Grade 12 may test once and need to
  test during the winter window to receive results
  prior to graduation

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Writing
Dos and Donts (cont)
Donts

• Students who are not yet ready to successfully
  complete the high school writing assessment
  should not participate it is not intended as a
  practice opportunity in anticipation of the
  eleventh grade attempt.
• Do not provide resources unless they are
  explicitly described in the test administration
  manual.

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Writing
Promising Practices

• Local scoring of classroom assessments using the
  official scoring guide, to provide feedback in
  some or all of the writing traits to prepare
  students for the writing assessment.
• Districts require that students in grades other
  than 11th meet the standard on a work sample
  before taking the state writing assessment.
• Districts create a system where teachers trade
  papers for double scoring, thus ensuring
  reliability.

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Writing
In a Nutshell

• Writing is essentially the same as last year
  other than the shift of the accountability year
  from grade 10 to grade 11.
• We are continuing efforts to expand the OAKS
  online writing assessment to more middle and high
  schools.
• Return shipping of completed writing tests will
  be simplified due to a new vendor.

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Acorns for Storage
Writing

• How can districts use local work samples to
  ensure that the state writing assessment is used
  effectively?
• How can we use the state assessment to improve
  student writing?
• How can we better prepare students to complete
  their writing online in order to be successful in
  their testing and in their future writing
  experiences?

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