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CHAPTER 2

Using Assessments

During writing instruction, some teachers use assessments only as evaluation tools to quantify students’ current status relative to mastery of specific writing skills. While this is certainly a legitimate use of assessments, their primary purpose should be to provide students with feedback they can use to improve. When teachers use assessments to their full capacity, students understand how their test scores and grades relate to their status on specific progressions of knowledge and skill they are expected to master.

There are two elements within this category.

• Element 4: Using informal assessments of the whole class

• Element 5: Using formal assessments of individual students

Element 4: Using Informal Assessments of the Whole Class

Rather than formal assessments of individual students—the emphasis of element 5—the focus here is on informally assessing the whole class. This provides the teacher with a barometer of how students are progressing with specific skills along a continuum of growth to inform their instructional moves. Figure 2.1 presents the self-rating scale for this element so teachers can gauge their professional performance.

Figure 2.1: Self-rating scale for element 4—Using informal assessments of the whole class.

Within this element, we show how teachers can directly apply the following specific strategies to the writing classroom.

• Voting techniques

• Response boards

As mentioned earlier, refer to figure A.1 in the appendix (page 156) for a complete listing of all strategies related to each of the forty-three elements.

Voting Techniques

Teachers can pose questions with multiple-choice responses, and students reply by using clickers or displaying fingers. Prompts are based on items in a proficiency scale, such as this one for example A in the list that follows: “Describe what types of details can act as evidence in a text” (Generating Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning 5 ELA, GCER2, 2.0; Simms, 2016).

There are innumerable options for using voting to informally check for understanding of skills related to writing. For example, teachers consider depth of knowledge (DOK) when crafting prompts to require a range of thinking. Examples A through C focus on recall whereas D and E exemplify more rigor.

• Example A: Which of the following is NOT a type of evidence?

1. Quotes

2. Facts

3. Examples

4. Reason

• Example B: Which is NOT a reason to start a new paragraph?

1. Change the time or place.

2. Introduce a new idea or topic.

3. Insert evidence.

4. Change dialogue between speakers.

• Example C: A dependent clause construction includes …

1. Subordinating conjunction + subject + verb

2. Coordinating conjunction + subject

3. Preposition + subject

4. Subject + verb + adverb

• Example D: Which sentence from Natalie Babbitt’s (1975) Tuck Everlasting is a simile?

1. “Disconnected thoughts presented themselves one by one” (p. 32).

2. “The first week of August was reasserting itself after a good night’s sleep” (p. 86).

3. “I got a feeling [our secret] is going to come apart like wet bread” (p. 59).

4. “The parlor came next, where the furniture, loose and sloping with age, was set about helter-skelter” (p. 51).

• Example E: What can you infer about the boy from this passage? The filthy, unkempt ten-year-old boy ravenously devoured the meal with such eagerness that he attacked each morsel swiftly and clumsily. When finished, his plate looked as clean as if it had just been lifted from the dishwasher.

1. He loves food so much that he eats quickly.

2. His home life is questionable since he is dirty and seems like he’s starving.

3. He ignores his appearance and has bad table manners.

4. He might have been in an eating contest.

Voting techniques can also overlap with other elements. For example, asking students to vote using their fingers aligns with the hand-signal strategy (element 24, chapter 7, page 120). If teachers pose a series of questions that they phrase like examples A and B, the activity would be more akin to an academic game (see element 30, chapter 7, page 130), and we would classify it under the strategy “Which one doesn’t belong?”

Response Boards

In this strategy, teachers can quickly ascertain students’ degree of understanding or how they’re applying a skill by posing a question or prompt that elicits a brief student response. For example, in an opinion paper, teachers can ask K–2 students, “What is your favorite farm animal in this book?” For upper elementary, “Write one reason for your opinion. Or, list one fact you will use in your paper.” For older students, “Write a thesis statement for your argumentation essay that includes a subordinate clause to set up the claim.”

Once teachers present the question or prompt, they allow sufficient time for each student or pair to write an answer on an erasable mini-whiteboard or chalkboard, type on an electronic device, or input their response on an app (such as www.padlet.com). When typing their responses, teachers tell students to add their names in parentheses so they can determine the originator of each contribution. As students write responses or enter them on a device, the teacher gathers input and clarifies as needed. As is true for all strategies, a targeted line item or items on a proficiency scale drive the focus.

Teachers can ask rudimentary questions, such as “What is the first step of the writing process?” “Where and when will your story take place?” or “What source will you first use to research your topic?” Here are other suggestions from the countless options that can support writing instruction.

• “Write a compound sentence that relates to the text we are reading.”

• “Write a dependent clause. Circle the subordinating conjunction, and underline the verb.”

• “Read the sentence on the board from our text and notice the pattern. Then write a sentence using this pattern.” (For example, teachers can share a sentence that reflects parallel construction or one that includes dialogue or a speaker tag positioned in the middle of a sentence.)

• “What specific pronouns could you use if you write a piece from third (or first) person point of view?”

• “Write a sentence using proper mechanics of dialogue with a middle (or beginning or end) speaker tag. Write something that a character in your story would say.”

• “Correctly format the book information that you see on the front board for a works cited document.”

• “After listening to the article (speech, essay, or other), write the author’s purpose.”

• “I will say a title of a book (article, chapter, poem title, and so forth). Write it using proper conventions.”

• “Write a personality trait for the protagonist (main character) in your story.”

• “Draw a plot diagram for the narrative you plan to write.”

• “Write a synonym for the word _______________.”

• “Draw a symbol or simple picture for the word _______________.”

• “What two things are being compared in the metaphor (or simile) I will read?”

• “Read the paragraph on the board. Which words show alliteration?”

• “Identify the rhyme scheme of the stanza you see on the front board.”

Teachers can also use more formal assessments of individual students, as we discuss in the following section.

Element 5: Using Formal Assessments of Individual Students

To individually show evidence that students can demonstrate their understanding of an item or a set of related items on a proficiency scale, the teacher issues formal assessments. Figure 2.2 presents the self-rating scale teachers can utilize for this element.

Figure 2.2: Self-rating scale for element 5—Using formal assessments of individual students.

To address this element, teachers might use the following strategies from the seven aligned to this element.

• Common assessments designed using proficiency scales

• Student demonstrations

• Student-generated assessments

Common Assessments Designed Using Proficiency Scales

Collaborative teams responsible for the same content at a particular grade level can devise common writing assessments around items on a proficiency scale, such as the following examples focused on generating text organization and structure at level 2.0.

• Grades 9–10: Write an introduction for a text that identifies the topic and thesis, previews the rest of the text, and summarizes the context for a reader. Assessment example: After reading Jane Austen’s (1996) Pride and Prejudice, write an introduction for an argumentation essay in which you engage the reader, provide context, and stake a claim through a thesis statement.

• Grade 5: Generate a thesis statement that explains the focus of a text. Assessment example: After reading Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (1975), write a thesis statement that provides your opinion to this guiding question—“Is Winnie right in deciding not to drink the water?”

• Grade 2: Draft a sentence that states a response’s main idea or opinion using wording from a question or prompt. Assessment example: After reading My Five Senses by Aliki (2015), write your opinion about the sense you think is most important.

See the section Student-Designed Tasks in element 12, chapter 5 (page 72) for more comprehensive examples and support.

Student Demonstrations

Students can prepare presentations that demonstrate to teachers their level of understanding, plus teach their classmates in the process. This learning experience serves as a formative assessment as teachers listen and observe students engaging in the preparation and presentations. For example, teachers can focus on students’ learning of skills associated with writing an opinion or argument. Secondary students can select a debatable topic (such as animal testing, the death penalty, or euthanasia) and then collect and review evidence from a site like ProCon.org or another reputable source. They present an example of key evidence along with accompanying commentary to show how it furthers their claim.

Elementary students read or listen to a picture book about a protagonist who asserts a position and goes about justifying it. They prepare a presentation to demonstrate to teachers how they can identify an opinion and support it. Here are some titles teachers can use for this purpose.

• Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett (1970)

• Earrings! by Judith Viorst (1990)

• I Wanna New Room by Karen Kaufman Orloff (2010)

• I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff (2004)

• I Want a Dog! by Helga Bansch (2009)

• A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black (2010)

• The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini (2003)

• Red Is Best by Kathy Stinson (1982)

Student-Generated Assessments

Teachers can invite students to propose ways to provide evidence of their understanding. The choices are endless. Students might suggest completing a graphic organizer that shows the causes and effects of a relationship among characters or write a paragraph that explains this association. They can write a self-reflection, draw and explain a diagram or model they create, or write and perform a monologue. In studying allusion in preparation for incorporating it into a written piece, students might annotate a text that includes allusion or discuss and record a conversation with a partner about the presence of this literary device. They can write about the degree to which they feel they are mastering a skill and explain what more they need to do to be fully proficient. Or, they can score their written work on a rubric and compare it to what the teacher has scored. By looking at the discrepancy, they can determine what support they need to improve their paper.

GUIDING QUESTIONS FOR CURRICULUM DESIGN

This overarching question can guide teachers when using assessments: How will I design and administer assessments that help students understand how their test scores and grades are related to their status on the progression of knowledge I expect them to master? Consider the following questions aligned to the elements in this chapter to guide your planning.

• Element 4: How will I informally assess the whole class?

• Element 5: How will I formally assess individual students?

Conclusion

Assessments are feedback tools for both students and teachers. Used well, they serve as instructional and evaluation mechanisms by offering students information about how to advance their understanding of content and providing teachers a vehicle for assisting students to do so. By informally assessing the whole class and formally assessing individual students in various ways, teachers can support students in this progression of knowledge. To master new content, teachers design and deliver direct instruction lessons as explained in the subsequent chapter.