Improving Student Writing Skills - cse crafts

Improving Student Writing Skills
Example:
We graded Marisa’s assignment on only five of the seven
traits of good writing. She got 19/25, so:
Overall Score = 50 (Sum of points earned/sum of points
possible) + 45
Overall Score = 50 (19/25) + 45 = 83
So Marisa got a B. Without using the equation adjustment,
she would have gotten 19/25 = 0.76, or a C—not
fair considering that she got mostly 4/5 scores on each
trait assessed.
Problem: “Trait assessment just takes too
long!”
It’s true that trait-based assessment will likely be cumbersome
at first, but once you are able to call to mind
the specifics of each trait without referencing the rubric,
your speed will increase dramatically. Also, keep in
mind the following when looking to increase your perpaper
time:
• Although you will be assigning a score, the actual
number is far less important than finding the
trait(s) on which each student needs work. Again,
focus on assessing, rather than grading—if five of
Thomas’ traits show a significantly higher level of
mastery than do the other two, there is no reason
to agonize over whether these two lagging traits
should be scored a 1 or a 2. You have found the
areas in which he needs to work; target them with
differentiated lessons.
• There is no need to assess every trait on every
assignment. If you teach a lesson about prewriting
and ask students to complete an assignment based
on the lesson, you may score each paper simply
for organization. If you reinforce a grammar
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