Assessing Writing Skills(1)

8/11/2019 Assessing Writing Skills(1)

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What Do I Look For in Writing?

Assessing __ Expresses judgments of quality using appropriate criteria. __ Produces written reflections about own writing. __ Assesses both process and product of own writing. __ Understands own writing process. __ Accurately assesses own writing and the writing of others. __ Understands own strengths and weaknesses. __ Sets goals for improvement __ Achieves most learning goals. __ Asks for specific help and uses it. __ Sees self as a writer. __ Understands how to improve or seeks to find out.

__ Finds writing enjoyable and valuable. __ Focuses on growth and improvement over time rather than on thesuccess or failure of a single piece.


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Are grades a form

of assessment?


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Are grades a form of assessment?

Most people think of assessment as a synonym for testing.To test children is to assess them.

And whats more, its the only way to assess them becauseonly precise numbers can precisely assess learning. Or so itgoes.

But true assessment has little to do with gathering statistical

information about student learning and everything to do withhow we use that information.

Assessment is the gathering of information forthe purpose of guiding instruction.

If the information we gather doesnt directly inform our

teaching, then its not true assessment. The truth is that the vast majority of data generated by testing

individual students is never used to determine the specificinstruction those students should receive.


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Whats a Good Assessment?

A good assessment:

Uses specific and appropriate language to describe thedata gathered and the patterns that are observed.

Uses direct references to actual student work and

behavior. Is based on authentic data gathered in an authentic

manner from within an authentic context.

Before you do any assessing, ask yourself this question:"How do I plan to use the information I am

gathering to guide my instruction?"


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Responding to a written work

Responding to written work.doc
http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Responding%20to%20written%20work.dochttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Responding%20to%20written%20work.doc


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Why should we include writing activities in alanguage course?

Choose the three most important reasons.

a) Writing reinforces the grammatical structures.b) Writing helps our students to learn vocabulary.c) Writing can also play a role in many of the activities in which

the goal is oral production, reading comprehension, etc.d) Writing exercises consolidate language already presented and

practiced orally.

e) Students have to develop the skills of communicating in writing.f) Students need writing for study purposes (to record and review

vocabulary words and structures that the teacher writes on theblackboard).


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Therefore.

These are thereasons for theassessment ofwriting


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Assessing written work

As important as planning activities tohelp students develop their writing skillsis assessing their written work.

It is invaluable to both students, whocan learn from their errors, andteachers, who can check the students'

progress and identify specific problems.


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Assessing written work

Fairly controlled writing tasks (such as gap-filling, reordering, open dialogues, etc.) caneasily be corrected orally in class

Students can correct each other's work in

pairs and then the whole class goes through

the answers together. This type of correctionnot only reduces the teacher's workload, but

it also involves students in the revision andediting of their own pieces of writing so thatthey can learn from their errors.


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Sample writing

Means of transports nowadays is very importan

because very people have to to go to work outside

of your town and if all people caught them car

they couldnt drive because would have very car.

However have public transport too. Then the

traffic is less althougt have problems yet.

The public transport is a from studied for this

problems of traffic that are one more important

actually.


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Some helpful suggestions:

1. Mark positivelyteachers corrections should haveencouraging effects on students so rather thandeducting points for each mistake, respondpositively to strengths and reward what they havegot right.

Tricia Hedge states:

Ideally when marking any piece of work, ticks in the

margin and commendations should provide acounterbalance to correction of errors in thescript. (1988: 10)


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Suggestions

2. Design a specific and reliable correction system.Thus we need to decide:* What aspects of writing will be taken into

account (content, organization, grammar,vocabulary, spelling, etc.)

* What type of descriptors will be used (numbers,letters, words such as excellent, good, fair,etc.)

* What criteria will be established to understandwhat each descriptor represents. These criteriacould be arranged in holistic scales (generaldescriptions of writing ability) or analytic scales,which separate the aspects of writing intodifferent units.


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Example of holistic scale forwriting ability.doc
http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Example%20of%20holistic%20scale%20for%20writing%20abiliy.dochttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Example%20of%20holistic%20scale%20for%20writing%20abiliy.dochttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Example%20of%20holistic%20scale%20for%20writing%20abiliy.dochttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Example%20of%20holistic%20scale%20for%20writing%20abiliy.doc


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Example of analytic scale for writing

ability.doc
http://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Example%20of%20analytic%20scale%20for%20writing%20ability.dochttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Example%20of%20analytic%20scale%20for%20writing%20ability.dochttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Example%20of%20analytic%20scale%20for%20writing%20ability.dochttp://localhost/var/www/apps/conversion/tmp/scratch_9/Example%20of%20analytic%20scale%20for%20writing%20ability.doc


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Further reading

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Suggestions

2. Mark selectively-When we find a lot of mistakes in a composition,it is a good idea - specially when we carry outinformal assessment - to focus our attention on

some particular aspects, such as basicgrammatical mistakes or organization, and ignorethe rest, otherwise students will see their pagepainted in red and feel discouraged. We can

leave the other mistakes for another time.


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3.Use a clear correction code.

-In order to give feedback to students, teachers could create asystem of abbreviations which they write in the margins of thecomposition to indicate the type of error detected, so that students cantry to identify and correct themthemselves later on in class. Some correction symbols could be thefollowing:

Sp = spelling mistake T = wrong tense Wo = word order Pr = prepositions L = linking V = vocabulary (inappropriate language)

P = punctuation O = a word missing ? = unclear meaning Pa = paragraphs


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Self-assessment possibilities

We all know that it is not easy to assess and correct one'sown written work, however we should encourage ourstudents to get involvedin the revision, editing, and correction of their own pieces ofwriting.

Thus, marking compositions becomes the students'responsibility as well and a good way of improving theirwriting skills.

When we think of self-assessment we are basically thinkingof how we can help students become aware of the way they

are learning, their problems and needs. Therefore, aquestionnaire which makes them consider their writingprocess is a good tool in the hands of the teacher.


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Self-evaluation with a checklist

Part of the writing process is checking overwhat has been written to makeimprovements. In formal writing, such as thewriting of assignments (more for academicstudy), the checking can be helped if there is

a checklist to consider;- Is your main argument clearly stated?- Is it presented very early in the writing?- Are the supports for this argument clearly

signalled?- etc


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Feedback

Feedback, like assessment, compares standardsand expectations with actual studentperformance to evaluate the quality of work.However, the purpose of feedback differs from thatof assessment in that the purpose of feedback isto highlight those areas of performance whichsatisfied standards and expectations, ratherthan to grade the performance. It is importantthat teachers clarify standards andexpectationsbefore students engage in the lesson.By doing so, students will learn how to assess their

own performance in the future. The feedback processprovides an opportunity for teachers and students toengage in meaningful dialogue about whatdifferentiates successful performance fromunsuccessful as they together review expectationsand standards (Fink, 2003)


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FEEDBACK ON ASSESSMENT What is the purpose of effective feedback on student

assessments?

Every assessment include some form of timely feedback to assistfurther learning. Effective feedback can be a powerful influence onstudent learning, by:

reviewing and informing about progress enhancing student performance encouraging intellectual engagement building confidence promoting self-reflection, self-awareness and self-management offuture improvements.

explaining and clarifying performance standards identifying strengths and weaknesses correcting mistakes and omissions;


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What is effective feedback?

Effective feedback is:

Provided as quickly as possible;

A deliberate teaching tool, which notes the quality ofthe performance and how it can be improved;

Individualised and focused on the studentsperformance not on her or him as a person;

An integral (vital) aspect of each course;

Able to clarify the criteria against which the students

performance is being judged and the standards fordifferent levels of performance;


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Effective feedback

Qualitative commentary - a mark or a grade by itselfis inadequate feedback, even with gradedescriptors;

Strategic - not too little, not too much- shapingstudent development, step-by-step over time.

Students can be challenged without beingoverwhelmed.

A place to refer to skills, e.g., graduate, professionalor academic skills;

A place to refer to disciplinary content and any

ntellectual debates with which students may need toengage; and

An opportunity to point beyond particularassessment tasks to assist performance of latertasks.


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How to enhance student learning withfeedback?

Provide feedback on examinations to improveperformance in the next exam. You can post ageneral report to all students on the course website,which includes the distribution of marks andsufficient information for students to understand

where they did well and where they did poorly.

Individual feedback on assignments may besupplemented by a general report that includes thedistribution of marks, model answers, features of

excellent performance, common mistakes orinadequacies, issues needing attention, andsuggestions for action to address these issues in laterassessments.


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Documents

Assessing Writing Skills(1)