Current Information on Writing Assessment in South Carolina Jenny Howard SCDE Office of Assessment jyhoward@ed.sc.gov 734-0121

English/language arts classroom Common Core State Standards should be the working document today in each and every English/language arts classroom

PASS Writing (Grades 3 - 8 ) March 18-19, 2014 March 18– Extended-Response Writing answer document contains 15 pt. writing rubric Time to Write directions Two lined pages for final draft **

Remind students to write the composition in the booklet . IMPORTANT!! Remind students to write the composition in the booklet .

Day 2 - March 19 Multiple-Choice items based on - editing passages and stand alones - reading comprehension is NOT assessed on the writing test 25 items total

Writing Blueprint The PASS writing tests measure the 2008 South Carolina Academic Standards for English Language Arts in writing for grades three through eight. Each grade level will have one extended-response item and 25 multiple-choice items which assess the writing domains of content and development, organization, voice, and conventions. The table indicates the range of points and items for the four domains. The extended-response item is scored using the 15 point rubric. The score will be weighted x 2. Domain ER (pts) MC (pts) Content / Development 1-4 5-8 Organization Voice 1-3 Conventions

Common Observations PASS and HSAP - “planted” figures of speech - over reliance (misuse) of thesaurus/dictionary - restating entire prompt v (addressing prompt) - organization issues - over emphasis on length - vague central idea - listing v elaboration

Areas of Concern Content/development – support for main idea (details) concluding the composition Organization – appropriate transitions (when and what) Voice – sentence formation (types) word choice(specificity)

Areas of Concern Conventions – punctuation and capitalization apostrophes - plural possessives personal pronoun - I Usage agreement – subject/verb and pronoun/antecedent

Content and Development (possible sample questions) Which sentence would make the best supporting detail? Which topic sentence would be best to begin the second paragraph? Which sentence shifts focus by adding an irrelevant detail?

Organization (possible sample questions) Which transitional word would best introduce sentence 24? What would be the best way to begin sentence 20? Which sentence interrupts the logical progression of ideas?

Voice (possible sample questions) What would be a more precise word to replace _______? Which revision of the sentence is the most vivid? What is the best way to combine sentences 7 and 8?

Conventions (possible sample questions) Which sentence uses capital letters correctly? Which sentence is punctuated correctly? What is the correct way to combine sentences 15 and 16? What correction should be made to sentence 21?

ATTENTION ! Perhaps because it is the most varied, the voice domain may require special focus.

Suggestion Do not assume that students understand what VOICE means in their writing. Be sure to explain by addressing all the language (of Voice) in the rubric, using modeling whenever possible. Carefully consider each bullet so that students will then have a comprehensive picture of the domain.

Suggestions for bullet # 1 Uses precise and/or vivid vocabulary – avoid using words that lack voice because they don’t “say” anything (poison words). nice great stuff a lot things good

Suggestion for bullet # 2 Phrasing is effective, not predictable or obvious ( “Planted” figures of speech are obvious and predictable.) Avoid repetitive phrasing – there is/are, so, you know, like, such as (not necessarily inadequate words or phrases, just overused in a single piece of writing)

Suggestion for bullet # 3 Varies sentence structure - Using a variety of sentences in their writing is difficult for most students, especially if they are not good readers. This is an area that would lend itself to reading model papers aloud so that students have the opportunity to HEAR rhythmic vs. monotonous patterns.

Suggestion for bullet # 3 (cont’d) Address Sentence Types Simple Compound Complex Compound-complex

Suggestion for bullet # 4 Shows strong awareness of audience and task (tone) - Be “selective” when using slang (depends on audience) -Do not “overuse” rhetorical questions Suggestion for bullet # 4

Other Suggestions for VOICE (handout) Use Mentor Texts Trust the Writing Process: Prewriting and Revision Use Letters (Audience) Use Illustration Teach Point of View and Perspective Focus on Small Parts

http://writingfix.com/6_Traits/Voice/JPeterman3.htm

What’s ahead? ?

English/language arts classroom Common Core State Standards should be the working document today in each and every English/language arts classroom

What we know today CCSS are our current state standards in ELA and math (adopted by SBE and approved by EOC in 2010). The state must assess those standards in 2014-15. Smarter Balanced was adopted by SBE (2012) as the state assessment for CCSS in 2014-15. South Carolina will participate in the Smarter Balanced field test in spring of 2014.

WIS- 6TH GRADE MATH: 3/18-4/5 WMS-7 & 8 ELA: 4/7-4/25 TO: District Superintendents FROM: Elizabeth Jones, Director Office of Assessment DATE: September 20, 2013 RE: Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium: Spring 2014 Field Test   The testing window for the spring 2014 field test for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is March 18–June 6, 2014. A representative sample of students from each state, including South Carolina, will be selected by Educational Testing Service (ETS) (for Smarter Balanced) to participate in the field test. ETS will provide the final list of selected schools directly to your District Test Coordinator (DTC). If a school is selected for the representative sample, all students in the selected grade will participate in the field test for one subject only, ELA or mathematics.    WIS- 6TH GRADE MATH: 3/18-4/5 WMS-7 & 8 ELA: 4/7-4/25 AHS-9TH AND 11TH ELA: 4/7-4/25

When all else fails… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM BE HAPPY!! 