SD WriteToLearn Assessment Pilot TIE Conference April 20, 2010

Agenda Background Information Background Information WriteToLearn Overview WriteToLearn Overview Program Demonstration Program Demonstration SD Writing Assessment Pilot SD Writing Assessment Pilot School Year School Year Off-Grade Licenses Off-Grade Licenses Q&A Q&A

Background Information State law requires all students in grades 5, 7, & 10 to participate in a statewide writing assessment State law requires all students in grades 5, 7, & 10 to participate in a statewide writing assessment SD DOE heard concerns over the Dakota Writing Assessment from educators SD DOE heard concerns over the Dakota Writing Assessment from educators –summative assessment did not meet the needs of teachers in measuring the writing process  Timed test  Feedback not immediate  No practice opportunity  Little flexibility in prompt selection Dakota Writing Assessment suspended Dakota Writing Assessment suspended

Background Information Online formative writing assessment pilot Online formative writing assessment pilot –Spring 2010  80 school districts  700 Teachers  15,500 students –Grades 5, 7, & 10  70,500 Submissions Schools not participating in the pilot exempt from the Dakota Writing Assessment in spring 2010 only Schools not participating in the pilot exempt from the Dakota Writing Assessment in spring 2010 only WriteToLearn WriteToLearn –Student literacy program provided by Pearson

What is WriteToLearn? What is WriteToLearn TM ?

What’s in WriteToLearn TM ? At-a-glance reporting Immediate, automated feedback Online writing assessment with instruction (1) (2) (3)

What’s in WriteToLearn? What’s in WriteToLearn TM ? An online writing assessment tool with built-in instruction   Scores essays on 6 traits of writing   Builds reading comprehension through summarization   Includes essay prompts and reading passages across the curriculum   Available for grades 4-12

What’s in WriteToLearn? What’s in WriteToLearn TM ? 2. Immediate, automated feedback and suggestions for improvement  Easy student interface for self-paced classroom work  Reliable scoring –Using KAT (Knowledge Analysis Technologies) scoring engine  Research based scoring that understands the meaning of text

What’s in WriteToLearn? What’s in WriteToLearn TM ? 3.At-a-glance reporting  Visually appealing  Allows teacher to monitor progress at the student and classroom level  Allows teachers to target students who need further instruction or to challenge those advancing students

Who uses WriteToLearn TM ?

Who uses WriteToLearn? Who uses WriteToLearn TM ? Over 350 Schools… Over 5000 Classrooms… …adds up to nearly half a million tests!

Why Use WriteToLearn? Why Use WriteToLearn TM ?

Why use WriteToLearn? Why use WriteToLearn TM ? WriteToLearn is a Formative Assessment tool with built-in instruction WriteToLearn is a Formative Assessment tool with built-in instruction –Allows for a better measure of student progress –Provides immediate feedback to students –Allows for feedback to help shape instruction

Why use WriteToLearn? Why use WriteToLearn TM ? WriteToLearn helps: WriteToLearn helps: –Focus teacher time on curriculum, not testing –Support overall student literacy –Become better writers

Why use WriteToLearn? Why use WriteToLearn TM ? WriteToLearn also provides: WriteToLearn also provides:  Opportunity for students to improve on their writing skills during classroom instruction  Immediate, easy-to-understand feedback for both the teacher and the student  Online suggestions on how to improve writing and reading comprehension  Essay writing and summary writing activities across the curriculum  Self paced advancement

WriteToLearn Demonstration Site WriteToLearn TM Demonstration Site

How do I use WriteToLearn How do I use WriteToLearn TM ? Let’s begin by looking at the student interface…

SD DOE Writing Assessment Pilot

Writing Assessment Pilot Goals Meet state law Meet state law Improve student writing with the support of formative assessment Improve student writing with the support of formative assessment Gather information to shape next year’s statewide writing assessment Gather information to shape next year’s statewide writing assessment

Writing Assessment Pilot Timeline EventDate Pilot Schools Selected & Notified Mid-January 2010 Informational Meeting for Pilot Schools (online) January 28 & 29, 2010 WriteToLearn Account Administrator Training (online) February 10 & 11, 2010 WriteToLearn Teacher Trainings (Face-to-Face) February 16, 17, & 19, 2010 WriteToLearn District-Level Teacher Trainings Late February/Early March 2010 Testing Window Opens March 1, 2010 Testing Window Closes April 2, 2010 Participant Feedback Collected April/May 2010 WriteToLearn Licenses Expire June 30, 2010

How will SD utilize WriteToLearn? How will SD utilize WriteToLearn TM ? –Pilot program began Spring 2010  Testing dates March 1 st – April 2 nd, 2010  Students were required to submit a minimum of one essay, but not limited –SD DOE monitored how many students participated during the testing window

What counted for participation? Students writing essays in response to the prompt that was assigned by the teacher. Students writing essays in response to the prompt that was assigned by the teacher.

How did SD utilize WriteToLearn? How did SD utilize WriteToLearn TM ? Teachers who used the program for state assessment purposes were DOE trained and certified Teachers who used the program for state assessment purposes were DOE trained and certified Teacher selected grade-appropriate prompts for their students Teacher selected grade-appropriate prompts for their students –Teachers could have established sub-classroom environments –Students could have responded to different prompts Students were not limited by a set number of revisions or scoring targets Students were not limited by a set number of revisions or scoring targets –Individual student scores were not collected –School scores were not compared Students were not limited by time restraints Students were not limited by time restraints Teachers could assign summary activities Teachers could assign summary activities –did not count toward SD DOE compliance

SD DOE Reporting Schools did not submit any additional reports Schools did not submit any additional reports –Students only needed to use the program State extracted data on the back end State extracted data on the back end

What have we heard?

Teacher Feedback “They were excited to edit!” “I even had reluctant writers enjoy the process!” Pros Pros –Immediate feedback –Easy to use –Increased student engagement –6 traits –Could individualize instruction Cons Cons –Scoring Engine –Formatting –Canned comments

Student Feedback “Can we write at home?” “You don’t get eraser shavings all over your hands.” Pros Pros –Increased amount of data about their own writing –Immediate feedback –Multiple tries –Used a computer –No judgment in scoring Cons Cons –Spell Check –Limited number of tries –Specificity of feedback –Prompts

Additional Feedback WriteToLearn is an instructional tool WriteToLearn is an instructional tool Students and teachers need time to practice using the program Students and teachers need time to practice using the program Flexibility Flexibility

Looking Forward… Tentative Plan Evaluation results of pilot process will help shape details for the school year Evaluation results of pilot process will help shape details for the school year All students in grades 5, 7, & 10 will participate All students in grades 5, 7, & 10 will participate 3 Testing Windows (Fall, Winter, Spring) 3 Testing Windows (Fall, Winter, Spring) Compliance will be through participation Compliance will be through participation  students will be required to respond to at least one essay prompt during each testing window  individual student scores will not be collected and school scores will not be compared Final details should be set before the end of school year Final details should be set before the end of school year

Off-grade Licenses School districts may purchase off-grade licenses at state rate School districts may purchase off-grade licenses at state rate School Year School Year –Full-year license (July 2010 – June 2011) –$10 per student Schools must order a minimum of 50 licenses for state rates to apply. Schools must order a minimum of 50 licenses for state rates to apply. Schools districts interested in purchasing off-grade licenses should contact Pearson directly, using the following contact information. Schools districts interested in purchasing off-grade licenses should contact Pearson directly, using the following contact information. –Scott Avila Pearson – Educational Assessment Bulverde Road San Antonio, Texas Phone: ext

Questions? Visit the DOE website essment/writetolearn.asp Visit the DOE website essment/writetolearn.asp essment/writetolearn.asp essment/writetolearn.asp  FAQ  Timeline  Technical Requirements For any additional questions, please contact Erin Larsen For any additional questions, please contact Erin Larsen  