Extended Written Response Assessment By: Doug, Amanda, Kristen, Anders, and Lynn

Extended Written Assessment “Discuss Spain” “Analyze King Lear” “Explain the cause of the Civil War” Requirements Written answer, several sentences, and respond to a question or task

When to Use Type of learning needs to be assessed Knowledge and Reasoning are ideal Works well with assessing pieces of knowledge that interrelate Ex: In social studies, you may want to explain the differences between two different countries Assessing reasoning Ex: in math, we might ask students to either explain how they arrived at an answer or show their work

Other Conditions May not work well for primary students, English language learners, and students with special needs Need to be proficient in writing English Time consuming to score Requires consistency in scoring Good assessment in “for” learning situations Learning is still under way

Developing Extended Written Response Plan the assessment Develop the assessment Critique the assessment Administer the assessment Revise the assessment

Step 1: Plan the Assessment Why Assess? To meet specific user information needs First decide – Assessment for or of learning For Learning: Planning information for teacher, student, or others Of Learning: Report card grade What do we assess? Outline the content to be mastered Including relationships among elements that we can expect students to know and understand List of content knowledge, understanding, and reasoning

Step 1 Continued How do we assess? How Important? Extended written response exercises and scoring devices How Important? Relative importance of learning targets

Step 2: Develop the Assessment Easier and quicker to develop for a class, but does not require less Questions must be posed specifically and clearly Does not always have to be related to master of content Can provide them with a passage, chart, or map and have them write on that material Demonstrates their understanding of the relationship between the question and the material

Step 2 Continued Good written response exercise does 3 things Sets up a clear and specific context Specifies the kind of reasoning to be brought to bear Points the way to an appropriate response without giving away the answer

Step 2 Continued Extended responses can be evaluated on 3 different qualities Accurate knowledge and understanding (focused on content) Sound reasoning (focused on content) Effective written communication (response=product itself) Must be clear to your students on how you are evaluating Rubrics and pre-determined point systems are useful

Step 3: Critique the Assessment Outline a high quality response yourself to check the quality of your exercise Sources of bias can arise Ex: if students are not quite where they should be as a writer

Step 3 Continued Rubric for Generalization Strong: true with proof of evidence and is applied logically to a wide range of instances Almost There: true with proof of evidence, but application does not have enough evidence to support the wide range of instances Beginning: true with proof of evidence, there is no work attempted beyond that evidence or statement is not true for the evidence given

Step 3 Continued Questions to Assist in Constructing Effective and High-Quality Exercises Quality of Exercises Is extended written response the best assessment method for this topic? Do exercises call for brief, focused response? Is the target knowledge clear? Are the directions clear enough in order for every student to know what to do? Is there anything in the question that may put any students at a disadvantage regardless of their knowledge or reasoning level? Are there enough exercises to allow an accurate estimate of students learning?

Step 3 Continued Questions to Assist in Constructing Effective and High-Quality Exercises Quality of Scoring Guide(s) Would experts agree with the definition of quality response? Do the criteria match the exercise? Is there a generic rubric that captures the real meaning of high quality thinking? Scoring Considerations Is there enough time to read and evaluate each response? Will the number of students affect the quality in which the responses are assessed?

Step 4 and 5: Administering and Revising the Assessment Analyze the EWRA for quality You will see flaws in your assessment clearly if there are any If your instruction has fallen short on any standards, you will be able to fix this with both your current students and for future instruction Remember to help the students answer the three questions that you’ll hear more about later Analyze: Make sure everyone understands the guidelines individually