Entry 11: Assessing Writing

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In this session, we conversed about how we could assess writing. I was already knowledgeable about assessment tools from our previous classes at the beginning of my teacher training year, also since I have been teaching for several years over time, I became more familiar with assessing.

         Some of the assessment tools are rubrics, checklists, answer sheets, etc. However, to assess writing we encourage assessors to use rubrics.

 Rubrics are important tools because they help teachers answer the questions: ‘How good is the writing piece?” what qualities of a good writer did the person effectively use?” and “Effective language used” etc. The writer in this piece could have improved by more effectively incorporating various qualities of good writing, such as organization, development of ideas, sentence variety, word choice, voice, and conventions. While discussing rubrics, the textbook outlines descriptors for different performance levels in writing traits, yet it could have utilized more explicit and detailed criteria, as seen in Vicki Spandel's suggestions, to guide both students and teachers in understanding the expectations and assessing writing quality. These clear and detailed criteria help writers comprehend what's expected in each trait and enable teachers to better evaluate the student's work.

 

 Examples of rubrics:


Antigua 2023 assessment rubrics:




Assessors can also use journals to track students, writing. The types of journals are:

Diaries- where they write their personal journals. Things that they do not have to share.
Response Journal- where students react to any classroom activity, they can record their predictions, etc.
Double-entry journal- where they write predictions, draw diagrams, and make notes on the left. On the right write responses to things they have read. 
Learning Log- makes daily entries about what they learned, it does not require personal reactions. 

Another form of assessment is Portfolios. This is a collection of products and processes of reading and writing. Students work at various points, so you are able to assess their achievement, growth, effort, and interest over time. 


References

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=PJT1pjps&id=EDF748505946DA7B472B58196908F0AAE5AE38B6&thid=OIP.PJT1pjpstzu4R2mwD4uB4wHaJl&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fs3.studylib.net%2fstore%2fdata%2f025352239_1-96e59e8327b50853b8cd4acce04984ab-768x994.png&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR.3c94f5a63a6cb73bb84769b00f8b81e3%3frik%3dtjiu5arwCGkZWA%26pid%3dImgRaw%26r%3d0&exph=994&expw=768&q=rubrics+for+writing&simid=608020743833651746&FORM=IRPRST&ck=53FAC50C77D1DFDC798B0C0A2D33F314&selectedIndex=7&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0

Steps to Writing Well with Additional Readings ( PDFDrive ).pdf 

Antigua State College: Log in to the site. (n.d.). https://elearning.asc.edu.ag/moodle/course/view.php?id=2918


I have been teaching for 4 years in service . As a teacher, you learn that there is no specific age limit that someone stops learning. We learn something new everyday, as a student teacher I am here to share my knowledge obtained through this writing course. On this blog you will read about promoting writing in primary grade. Feel free to leave your comments.

Comments

  1. Christa19 November 2023 at 14:31

    Learning about the wealth of assessment strategies that can be applied to my students writing has added to my teaching toolbox greatly. I was stumped over the years and never thought through exactly what I wanted my students to accomplish or how to help them reach success. As teachers, we must be aware of what can be used to help our students grow as writers.

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