Assessing Student Writing

“There are so many ways to assess writing; I don’t know which to use”, “Don’t I have to grade every paper the students write?”  These are just some of the daunting questions that educators might find themselves wondering on a daily/ weekly basis. I know for myself, I continue to question whether or not each piece of writing a student does should be graded and used in a portfolio to be sent off to every grade the student enters. At what point do students have the opportunity to just write for themselves, and not be worried about who will see the piece, or how they will be graded on their thoughts. Writing, for the most part, should be a personal experience that can transcend the author into a creative mindset. In my opinion, journal writing and personal narrative pieces should only be graded if the writer gives permission to the teacher. Otherwise, these pieces should be viewed from a stand point that invokes creativity and originality. These pieces should be assessed based on whether or not the writer followed the guidelines for what to write, and if they met the objectives. No letter grade or rubric should be attached with red pen markings that indicate misspelled words or poor grammar. On the other hand, educational pieces such as reports, informative writing, responses to literature, summaries, and persuasive essays should all be assessed using the basic fundamentals of Standard English. Did the student spell everything correctly? Were proper mechanics and grammar used? Did the student carry out all of the indicated objectives? This is the time to fully grade a student's writing piece-- when it matters to the audience who is reading it.

Thompkins (2012) book addresses the concern about assessment in writing. Thompkins states that "assessment provides information about what writers know and what they can do" (p. 84). There are five purposes for assessing writing: 1. to document students' growth as writers 2. to inform students and parents about writing achievement 3. guided writing instruction 4. substantiating that students meet grade-level goals 5. evaluating the effectiveness of the instructional program. This is vital information for educators to understand, because when they find themselves questioning "why am I grading this piece?" these five factors should come to mind immediately.

There are three ways to successfully assess a student's writing abilities. Thompkins (2012) shares that "first, teachers informally monitor students' writing progress by regularly observing them as they write, and by conferencing with them about their writing" (p.84). In this "informal monitoring" stage, you might find teachers carefully observing as they walk around during writing workshop, conferencing with students, reviewing writing samples, keeping records (such as anecdotal notes), and developing checklists for students' use.

Second, "teachers use a combination of process and product measures, including checklists, rubrics, and portfolios, to assess students' compositions" (p.84). Under the process assessment (designed to probe how students write the decisions they make as writers, and the strategies they use, rather than the quality of the finished work), teachers use checklists, conferences, and student self assessment to manage their writing. Under product assessment (focuses on quality of students' compositions, and its often equated with assigning a grade), educators you holistic scoring, primary trait scoring, rubrics, and portfolios.  

Third, "teachers administer district and state- mandated writing assessments where students respond to writing prompts under test conditions" (p. 84). Excellent writing instruction is the best way to prepare for large- scale writing tests (Thompkins, 2012).

Rubrics and portfolios have been a huge part of my life as a student engulfed in the world of writing. Growing up, these two assessment tools were always what I looked to when I needed some form of clarity on  the objectives. What I always liked about rubrics were that they were very cut and dry-- and you always knew what was expected of you before you even started the assignment. Teachers would hand out the rubric with the writing prompt, and from there, you could understand what each component would be graded on; there were no surprises. From an educator stand point, a rubric is great because you can tailor them to whatever the assignment is. They can be modified and changed to fit exactly what you want to assess. 
Portfolios are an essential part of the education system because they can show the growth and full range of a student by showcasing a lot of finished work. Portfolios are actually evidence based, and show the process and the product of students' work. I know in my own schooling, I had to create portfolios that went with me all throughout elementary and high school; and in college, I created one that showed my growth in undergraduate studies. I believe portfolios to be extremely beneficial.