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CURRICULUM CORNER Winter Writing Assessment |
Trina Hall, Curriculum Director
March, 2005
Our winter writing assessment was another success this year with students in grades 1 through 9 writing to a prompt and receiving teacher feedback on their strengths as a writer. At the elementary level our teachers came together on January 31st (a non-school day for students) and spent the day scoring their students’ writing assessments and planning for next steps for teaching. This was a great day of teacher collaboration focused on student learning! The results of the district writing assessment, which are based on six traits of good writing, are shared with students. Students use the results in order set writing goals and teachers use the results to plan instruction.
Other assessments will be taking place as we enter into spring. Those that are state required include:
· the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) which is given to all 3rd and 6th graders sometime between March 7th and 25th,
· the Washington Assessment of Student Learning for Reading, Writing, and Mathematics (WASL) which is administered to students in grades 4, 7, and 10 between April 18 – May 6, and
the Washington Assessment of Student Learning for Science (WASL-Science) which is administered to students in grades 5, 8, and 10, also between April 18 - May 6.
Next year the state will expand the testing requirements to include WASL tests in grades 3 through 8, plus 10th in order to be in compliance with federal testing regulations. This will mean that students in grades 3, 5, 6, and 8 all take part in a reading and mathematics WASL assessments, grades 4, 7, and 10 continue with the reading, writing, and mathematics WASL assessments, and grades 5, 8, and 10 continue with the Science-WASL. There will be a great deal of formal assessment taking place each spring. Looking at the positive we see the opportunity to further align our teaching and learning with the state learning targets (Essential Academic Learning Requirements or EALRs) and help students meet the standards necessary, as the 10th grade WASL becomes a graduation requirement beginning with the Class of 2008.
For more information on the state assessment system visit the OSPI website at www.k12.wa.us or The Partnership for Learning website at www.partnership4learning.org.
