CAA Options: WritingCollection of Evidence

WERA Assessment Conference

Steve Pearse, Ed.D.

COE Writing Consultant

Winter 2006-2007

Writing COE Work Samples 2

What is Writing?• Writing is the learned process of shaping experiences

into text, allowing the writer to discover, develop, clarify, and communicate thoughts and feelings.

• Writing requires students to express their knowledge with purpose and coherence.

• To become effective writers, all students must understand the role and interaction of topic, audience, purpose and form.

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What constitutes the Collection of Evidence for Writing?– The Writing Collection must include at least:

• one expository on-demand essay (or letter)• one persuasive on-demand essay (or letter)• two expository non-timed essays (or letters)• two persuasive non-timed essays (or letters)

– Of the 6-8 writing samples, 3—including both on-demand samples—may not include adult assistance beyond setting the prompt and the parameters for an effective paper.

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Writing Collection Guidelines, continued…• The entire collection must be comparable in rigor in skill

and content to the 10th grade Writing WASL.

• The collection must include 6-8 samples that, taken together, demonstrate proficiency in idea development, organization, style, and the use of conventions.

• All samples must include evidence of the student’s use of the writing process by submitting process documents OR by providing explanations of process.

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Writing COE connections to the WASL…

• The 10th grade Writing section of the WASL features two “prompts,” one eliciting an expository response (to explain), and one eliciting a persuasive response.

• Each writing prompt clearly states a designated topic, audience, purpose (mode), and form.

• Each WASL Writing response is scored for Content, Organization & Style (COS) and for Conventions (CONV).

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Student-produced, connected-text expository or persuasive work samples may take the form of a:

• classroom assignment

• special extended or amended project

• joint assignment/project shared between two content-area classes

• response to a teacher- and/or student-selected task or prompt

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Expository Writing: To Explain

Key Qualities of Effective Expository Writing:

• narrowed topic, focus (idea)

• well-chosen details

• logical organizational pattern

• transitions to connect ideas

• topic commitment (Voice)

• introduction and conclusion

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Sample Student Work:Expository Task and Response[This essay appears exactly as it was written by the student.]

Prompt: Write a personal essay entitled “The Thing I Carry.” You must show the reader what you carry and why you carry it. Your only requirement is to use “SHOW” writing and to be as honest as possible (without having to reveal anything that might make you uncomfortable). Write about the “stuff” you lug around with you in your life!

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The Thing I Carry

Some people carry guilt. Some people carry envy. Some people carry sorrow and pain and sickness and hatred. I carry a secret. I carry a secret that no one should have to bear. Most people would tell you about the loving, meaningful relationships that they share with their fathers. I listen to the stories of deep conversation and heartfelt, tender moments with no picture in my mind of what that would be like. My father terrified me as a child. He never hit me. He never so much as raised a hand to me, but yet, I did everything in my power to avoid him. Nothing ever pleases my father. I doubt anything ever will…

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The Thing I Carry, continued

…I remember that day quite clearly. I remember the smooth, cool touch of the kitchen counter under my shaking fingers in the dimly lit dining room at my step dad’s house. I remember the darkness outside the window as the night devoured the day-blue sky. I remember the grief-tinged voice of my mother saying, “He’s been doing marijuana ever since you were born.” My heart collapsed. While I never dreamed that my dad and I could ever repair our broken relationship, I still felt blackness in the part of me that still loved him. The part of me that felt betrayed, abandoned, ripped open and left bleeding. I lost all respect for him…

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The Thing I Carry, continued

…I won’t pretend that things are magically better. I’ve run away twice from his house when it was apparent that drugs and alcohol were going to turn our father into something we didn’t want to see. But I have tried to make a difference. I look him in the eye when he talks to me. I answer when he asks me a question. When he says, “I love you,” I say, “I love you too Dad.” This secret I will carry with me for as long as my life allows it. But I also carry new hope and a new peace that not all is lost. And someday, maybe, I will carry the love and acceptance for my father that I know he carries for me.

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Persuasive Writing:• topic or issue clearly stated• a clear, consistent position• more than one supporting argument• detailed supporting evidence• anticipating & refuting opposing arguments• a clear, logical organizational strategy• transitions to connect position, arguments, and evidence• persuasive language & techniques• conclusion with a call for action

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Sample Student Work:Persuasive Task and Response[This essay is taken from the OSPI web site and appears on the Social Studies page under Classroom Based Assessment. This writing sample was written by a Washington State high school student and appears exactly as it was written.]

PROMPT: Citizens in a democracy have the right and responsibility to make informed decisions. You will make an informed decision on a public issue after researching and discussing different perspectives on this issue.

DIRECTIONS TO STUDENTS: In a persuasive paper or presentation, you will…

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Constitutional Issues: Civics

More likely than not you have heard of California’s three-strike law. Though more than half the states have developed some form of the three-strikes method, California’s law is particularly strict in that although the first two strikes must qualify as serious felonies, the crime that triggers the 25 years to life sentencing can be any felony, even a non-violent one…Are punishments bearing a realistic relationship to the seriousness of the actual crime? As a result, are offenses being judged too harsh or severe?…

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Constitutional Issues: Civics, continued

…Talk to some people and they may argue that this is the toughest criminal law of the land and violates our rights as American citizens. Others firmly support it and claim that this system is establishing justice reasonably and fairly and has been nothing but effective and beneficial to our country. Simply put, the answers will vary depending on whom you ask. The three-strike law of California is justified because it stops career criminals, recognizes the severity of a nonviolent offense, and reduces crime.

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Constitutional Issues: Civics, continued

…With all the commotion and controversy regarding what qualifies as a third strike, nonviolent felonies have a tendency to be pushed aside. “I’m not a killer. I’m not a rapist. I should be doing three years for a petty theft…because I didn’t kill anybody. I didn’t hurt anybody,” says Leandro Andrade, a 44 year-old man who was given two life-sentences for stealing nine children’s video tapes from K-MART…It is certainly true courts should take into consideration the severity of the crime, but they should not bas it simply on whether it was violent or nonviolent. Ask any victim who has had their home or shop broken into and ransacked—they feel violated and disrespected, regardless of whether or not a weapon was used.

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Constitutional Issues: Civics, continued

…Criminal acts throughout the United States have been escalating with the hassles, stress, and hectic nature of our daily demanding lives… With California’s three-strike law, we can virtually eliminate repeat criminal offenders and, as proven in recent studies, drastically reduce crime and violence. Those who feel that their privacy or safety has been violated will finally be taken seriously. The law is clear and straightforward: commit three felonies and spend 25 years to life in prison. That should be enough motivation for people to change their destructive lifestyles. To me, the only thing more alarming than a 25-year old serving a life sentence under the three-strike law is to know that there are people out there who actually feel sorry for him.

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What is NOT a work sample for the Writing COE?

• Group project writing assignments

• An independent piece of work that the teacher has never seen before

• Narratives, poetry, scripts

• Writing samples with non-connected text (e.g., résumés, directions or recipes, bulleted brochures)

• Writing samples with displayed grades or teacher comments that provide specific direction aimed at text improvement

• Scoring guides/rubrics from district or classroom assessments

• Final drafts written in pencil

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Essential characteristics… Writing work samples must:

• be limited to demonstrations of expository or persuasive prose

• include a copy of the writing task or prompt• include evidence of the student’s use of the writing

process• indicate whether the student-writer has received

adult assistance, as per Writing COE guidelines • be completed under a teacher’s supervision

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What are additional important components of Writing work samples?

• They should demonstrate integrity. The teacher selects prompts or helps students develop tasks that pose significant questions or address authentic topics, or raise important issues.

• They should be free of bias, providing parameters that allow all students to demonstrate their actual writing skills.

• They should be valid, aligned to the expository or persuasive writing Checklists and Essential Learnings.

• They should be reliable. If a student were to complete a writing work sample more than once, he or she should be able to demonstrate the same type and quality of performance each time.

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How do I adjust my classroom assignments to meet the COE Writing guidelines?

• Create work samples using the COE Writing template. The template will guide you in selecting or devising appropriate writing prompts or tasks.

• Modify and clarify existing classroom assignments in the language of writing prompts or tasks, the expectations and parameters for student work, and the Writing Guidelines and expository or persuasive text Checklists.

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Writing Collection of Evidence Template

Mode/Purpose: Form:

Adult Assistance: Yes No

On-demand? Extended Time?

Student Explanation? Writing Process documents?

Prompt or Classroom Assignment (Task): [topic, audience, purpose + form]

Task Parameters (directions):

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What are the steps for building an effective Writing work sample?

• Select the writing mode—expository or persuasive— you want to assess;

• Make sure that the writing task or prompt specifies an appropriate topic, audience, purpose, and form;

• Decide if you want to create a new work sample or modify, clarify, augment, extend, or revisit an existing classroom assignment;

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What are the steps for building an effective Writing work sample (continued)

• Make sure that the Writing content and skills match grade level skills, knowledge, and complexity;

• Use the Writing Checklist language to word the task or prompt;

• Clearly state the criteria expected in the student response (task parameters);

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What are the steps for building a Writing work sample? (continued)

• Provide specific Guidelines- and Checklist-driven language (see Template) to frame tasks or prompts:

– Topic– Audience– Purpose – Form (essay or letter)

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What are the steps to building a Writing work sample? (continued)

Specify “must have” student directions to demonstrate effective writing skills…– Clearly state and elaborate on ideas;– Organize the writing, providing an appropriate

introduction, supporting paragraphs, and conclusion;– Use language appropriate for audience and purpose; – Incorporate a variety of sentence lengths and structures;– Establish and maintain a voice suitable for audience

and purpose;– Follow the rules of Standard English, the conventions

of writing.

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Two kinds of Writing work samples:“On-Demand”:• Students complete work completely on their own in a supervised

classroom setting

• Supervising teacher provides the prompt or task

• Student is to have no prior awareness of the prompt or task

• No adult assistance is permitted

• A single allotted time period (time for student revision included in this time); 90+ minutes recommended

• “On-Demand” responses serve as touchstones for the student’s additional Writing work samples

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Two kinds of Writing work samples:

“Extended Time”:

• Supervising teacher and/or student may provide the prompt or task

• Work is produced across an extended period of time (i.e., more than one sitting)

• No adult assistance is permitted on at least three of the 6-8 work samples, including both “On-demand” pieces

• When adult assistance is provided, it should be limited to general comments (e.g., “You need to check for spelling errors”)

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How are Writing work samples scored? Sufficiency: each work sample must meet the requirements of the Writing content guidelines:(See p. 17, CAA Options Collection of Evidence booklet.)

• 6-8 separate work samples, addressing expository and persuasive writing purposes (modes) as per guidelines

• A completed “Student Information Form” for the writing collection

• A completed “Work Sample Documentation Form” for the collection

• A completed “Work Sample Sign-off Form” for each sample of work

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How are Writing work samples scored? Proficiency: Taken as a whole, work samples are scored for proficiency (level of skill with respect to WASL expectations), with scores generated across writing expository and persuasive modes.

The Expository and Persuasive Writing Checklists(See p. 20, CAA Options Collection of Evidence booklet)specify assessed knowledge and skills.

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Where can I obtain Writing work samples?• Develop them for your specific classroom/content area;

• Work on a district or state committee to write work samples;

• Go to the CAA Options web page on the OSPI website (www.k12.us.wa) and download the writing template;

• Use the writing instructional modules as initial work samples that may need to be modified, clarified, augmented, extended or revisited in order to meet the requirements.

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Conclusions about Writing work samples

• Make tasks or prompts authentic, relevant, and accurate;• Address issues of integrity, bias and fairness, validity, and

reliability as you develop tasks and prompts;• Modify, clarify, augment, extend, and/or revisit classroom

assignments to create new tasks or prompts;• Ensure grade-level appropriateness (topic, audience, purpose);• Use the Writing Checklist language to frame tasks or prompts;• State specific criteria necessary for credit;• Address both required modes—expository and persuasive writing

—as described in the Content Guidelines.

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Contact Information for the Writing COEIf you have questions concerning the Writing COE, please contact the OSPI staff listed below. They are happy to offer assistance.

• Steve Pearse, Ed.D. COE Writing Consultant caaoptions@ospi.wednet.edu (360) 725-6037

• Sharon Schilperoort, Language Arts TOSAsschilperoort@ospi.wednet.edu (360) 725-4979

• Lesley Klenk, Ph.D. CAA Options Administratorlklenk@ospi.wednet.edu (360) 725-6330

• Amanda Mount, CAA Options Analystamount@ospi.wednet.edu (360) 725-6037

• Joe Willhoft, Ph.D. Assistant Superintendent for Assessment & Researchjwillhoft@ospi.wednet.com (360) 725-6336