STATE OF TEXAS ASSESSMENTS OF ACADEMIC READINESS (STAAR ®) English I and II EOC Writing Adapted from Victoria Young Director of Reading, Writing, and Social Studies Assessments Texas Education Agency

STAAR Test Design English I and II Reading and writing combined into one test with one score (no separate reading and writing scores) Tests administered in a single day—5-hour time limit Reading and writing contribute equally to total score 30% — reading multiple choice 20% — short answer questions 24% — writing multiple choice 26% — essay Multiple choice 54% of total test score Performance 46% of total test score

STAAR Writing Performance Spring 2013 Statewide Results Phase-in and Recommended Standards Grade/ Course Phase-in 1 (current) Phase-in 2 (probably 2014-15) Recommended (probably 2015-16) Grade 4 71% 51% 35% Grade 7 70% 50% 29% English I 48% 37% 30% English II 52% 38% If we keep doing what we have always done, we will be at 30%. We have to step it up at all grade levels! % meeting passing standard

2013 STAAR Expository Writing Grades 7 & 9 Statewide Distributions Summed Scores 1/1 = 2 10% 58% 1/2 = 3 13% 2/2 = 4 35% 2/3 = 5 21% 3/3 = 6 14% 3/4 = 7 5% 4/4 = 8 2% English I Expository Summed Scores 1/1 = 2 18% 72% 1/2 = 3 2/2 = 4 35% 2/3 = 5 14% 3/3 = 6 9% 13% 3/4 = 7 3% 4/4 = 8 1% Need to write more informa-tional text in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades!!

2013 STAAR Writing English I and II Statewide Distributions English I Expository Summed Scores English II Persuasive 1/1 = 2 18% 72% 4% 44% 1/2 = 3 6% 2/2 = 4 35% 34% 2/3 = 5 14% 23% 3/3 = 6 9% 13% 24% 32% 3/4 = 7 3% 4/4 = 8 1% 2% This indicates that two years of sustained instruction in informational writing pays off with higher scores!!

WRITING EOC Essays

What Drives Scoring: RESPONSIVENESS RESPONSIVENESS to both the purpose and the topic. Responsiveness is weakened when the student: pays too much attention to the “think” statement uses an inappropriate (= score 1) or marginally appropriate (= score 2) organizing structure includes ideas that are extraneous or only marginally related to the topic

What Drives Scoring: FOCUS FOCUS - Expository be focused on the central “charge” of the prompt (the “Write about”) have an explicit, specific thesis (controlling idea), the earlier in the paper, the better. FOCUS is weakened when the thesis is general or vague

What Drives Scoring: FOCUS FOCUS - Persuasive focused on the central “charge” of the prompt (the “Write about”) Have an explicit, specific position statement is critical, the earlier in the paper, the better Focus is weakened when position statement is general or vague (wishy-washy, no position) evolving ( writer switches or “writes into” position) show students examples of where the position or thesis changes and how it negatively affects the reasoning/ organizing structure

What Drives Scoring: PROGRESSION What isn’t required: a specific # of ideas or paragraphs What is required: moving logically from sentence to sentence so that the reader can easily follow the writer’s train of thought PROGRESSION is weakened when the writer moves randomly from sentence to sentence

What Drives Scoring: CONNECTIONS What isn’t required: a specific # of ideas What is required: connecting ideas with meaningful transitions so that the reader can easily follow the student’s train of thought CONNECTIONS are weakened when the writer does not use transitions relies on perfunctory transitions (e.g., The first thing that happened, The next thing that happened; First, Second, Third; My first reason, My final reason)

What Drives Scoring: CONNECTIONS-Transitions Meaningful transitions and when to use them Contrast words: Nonetheless, On the other hand, Alternatively, Conclusion words: Given that this is true, Therefore, In light of the evidence, As is clear from…

What Drives Scoring: CONNECTIONS -Transitions Meaningful transitions and when to use them Introduce Examples: Consider the case of.. As _____ suggests Similarity words: Similarly, Additionally, Moreover, Likewise, Just as …

What Drives Scoring: CONNECTIONS -Transitions Meaningful transitions and when to use them Contrasting Alternatives: To be sure. . ., but… Undoubtedly… , nevertheless… Granted. . . ,yet. . . Paragraph hook: A sentence that connects two paragraphs by including ideas from both

What Drives Scoring: PROGRESSION/CONNECTIONS The biggest problem: Clusters of ideas linked to the prompt, but not connected to each other (important in all cases, but especially if ideas are different “grain sizes”) This is a roadblock to substance/depth/ thoughtfulness because the student does not “build” from one idea to the next. Remember: Unconnected ideas = superficial development Superficial development = a score of 2

What Drives Scoring: DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENT Given the space constraints of 26 lines, what makes the most sense: Narrow and deep development fewer ideas with more depth better than more ideas with less depth Building meaning from one idea to the next each idea enriched/enhanced by what came before it

What Drives Scoring: DEVELOPMENT What causes the worst development problems: Formulaic approaches 5-paragraph essays almost always result in a lack of thoughtfulness, individuality, depth Overly erudite ideas too complicated, abstract, philosophical for a student’s writing skills Remember The best development is real, based on a student’s own experiences and thinking about the world.

The Space Issue Primary causes of space problems (not enough) Introductions that: repeat the prompt incorporate an unnecessary framing device include preview statements (average 5−9 lines) Conclusions that simply repeat introduction

The Space Issue Primary causes of space problems (not enough) Weak organization: repetition meandering randomness Use of “filler” description, details, examples, reasons) that doesn’t contribute to the quality of the development Remember Using space effectively requires both planning and revision!

Using Space Ineffectively An English II 23-line Persuasive 2 I’ve lived in little ol’ _____, Texas my whole life. It’s one of the smallest towns around here. And I love it. First, there’s the train tracks, then there’s the old general store, across from the post office. Near that is a odd shaped builing that was supposed to be a car museum, but never really made it. Down the road is the dump, where I rescued my cat a few years ago. The best part of living in a small town is my school. It’s small, maybe 200 people. So you know everyones name. And down the road from the school is Pete’s. It’s amazing. It is a gas station and they have personal pan pizza. Living in a small town gives me a sense of comuity, Standing and cheering at a football game. That’s where it’s at. It’s amazing to know that small towns still exist at this day in age. Filler details

Making Space Work A 19-line Persuasive 4 I’ve had the benefit of experiencing both a large city and a small town. If given a choice between the two, hands down I’d choose the city any day. Big cities provide invaluable opportunities that small towns can’t match to any degree. In cities there is always something to do. When boredom attacks, a person is never very far from some sort of park/movie theatre/diner/something to waste time. The mass of things around you in a city is great. You can always rely on a city to give you what you want. In a small town you can barely rely on a grocery store to supply decent out-of-season fruit.

Making Space Work An English II 19-line Persuasive 4 The people are the seller, though. In a city you meet more people in a lifetime than you could ever count. Each one different, too. Mean, nice, old, young, interesting, dull − they each teach you a little something about the world and they each teach you a little more about yourself. I didn’t know how much I valued books until a man on a bus challenged their worth. That interaction taught me about a new side of life. Small towns have this supposed “charm,” but I think cities have a charm − a better charm − all of their own. They’re a place to enjoy yourself and bask in the glory of life and all it entails.