Minnesota Adult Education Fall Regionals 2014 GED WRITING INSTITUTE: CREATING A PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT & FEEDBACK 2014 MN GED ADVISORY TEAM

 Examine scoring rubrics for 2014 GED ® writing components  Explore strategies/promising practices for assessing & providing feedback for student writing  Create a plan applicable to your context for effective, sustainable writing assessment & feedback SESSION OBJECTIVES

Using your current method, assess writing sample 1 HOW DO YOU ASSESS WRITING NOW? What is your current system? 1. What do you assess? 2. How often do you assess? 3. How long does it take?

RLA Social Studies Science HOW WILL MY STUDENTS BE ASSESSED ON THE 2014 GED ® ?

When your students write, they will...  determine which position presented in the passage(s) is better supported by evidence from the passage(s)  explain why the position they chose is the better- supported one 5 WHAT IS THE EXPECTATION FOR AN EFFECTIVE CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE?

When your students write, they will...  defend their assertions with multiple pieces of evidence from the passage(s)  put their main points in logical order and tie their details to their main points  organize their response carefully and consider their audience, message, and purpose 6

When your students write, they will...  use transitional words and phrases to connect sentences, paragraphs, and ideas  choose words carefully to express their ideas clearly  vary sentence structure and length to enhance the flow and clarity of their response  reread and revise their response to correct any errors in grammar, usage, capitalization, or punctuation 7 WHAT IS THE EXPECTATION FOR AN EFFECTIVE CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE?

Scores Prompt s Texts HOW DOES THE GED ® READY WRITING ASSESSMENT WORK?

GED.COM My Scores

GED.COM My Written Answers

GEDTESTINGSERVICES.COM Educators  For the Educators  Teaching and Scoring Tools  REASONGING THROUGH LANGUAGE ARTS  GED Ready™ Extended Response, Short Answer Prompts, and Source Texts  SOCIAL STUDIES  GED Ready™ Extended Response, Short Answer Prompts, and Source Texts

GEDTESTINGSERVICES.COM

GED Simplified LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME RUBRICS

 3 traits divided into domains & sub-skills  For RLA, each trait receives 0, 1, or 2  For Social Studies, trait 1 receives 0, 1, or 2; traits 2 & 3 receive 0 or 1  To use the GED rubric:  Score each sub-skill according to description  Average sub-skill scores for trait score GED RUBRICS

 Not an exact match  useful as a bridge between ELL or 2002 GED writing levels  Useful for quick & frequent assessment  Not a set rubric  adjust it to address specific skills explicitly taught  6 skill areas – 1 point per area (6 points total) SIMPLIFIED RUBRIC

Using the simplified rubric, assess writing sample 2 ASSESS WITH A RUBRIC How does a rubric change it? 1.What does assessing with a rubric change things? 2.How does it affect frequency & time? 3.How could it fit with your instruction?

Effective Feedback WHAT ABOUT FEEDBACK?

1.What kind of feedback is most useful? 2.How much feedback is most useful? 3.How do you communicate the feedback to students? STUDENT FEEDBACK

 Frequent – the more frequent the feedback, the faster the improvement  Explicit – provide feedback of skills being explicitly taught  Cyclical – the opportunity to revise or rewrite a response based on feedback increases improvement EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK

 Focus on the skill being taught  Assess the skill being taught  Provide support/guidance for improvement in the skill  Remember the “sandwich” improvement/needs improvement/strength  Provide opportunities for revision PROMISING PRACTICES FOR FEEDBACK

 Model writing & assessment  Create & assess writing as a class  Assess student work as a class  Peer/Self assess student work CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES Tip: Limit what you assess at one time ex. assess 1 skill (or 1 trait) from the GED rubric

 Individual conferences  Feedback worksheet  Journals with comments  Self/Peer Review/Assessment COMMUNICATE FEEDBACK

Using the simplified rubric, assess writing sample 3 PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO YOUR STUDENTS Does your feedback change? 1.How would this feedback structure effect your students revisions? 2.How does it affect frequency & time? 3.How could it fit with your instruction?

 At your table, discuss what strategies would work with your context  To assess skill mastery level  To inform your instruction  To communicate feedback to students  Choose 1 strategy you can take back to your classroom next week ASSESSMENT & FEEDBACK ACTION PLAN

Thank you for your participation!  Lindsey Cermak  Donna Escobedo  Heather Indelicato  John Trerotola Q & A