Recently in our mid-level ELA course we have transitioned from reading instruction to writing instruction. There are many aspects of writing instruction that we have discussed such as preparing your classroom for effective writing instruction, different types of writing with different purposes and different audiences, pre, during, and post writing activities, and assessment of writing. There are many various facets of writing an ELA teacher needs to take into consideration and it can seem ovewhelming for the most expereinced educator.
The aspect of writing instruction that is the scariest for me as a future educator is the assessment of student writing. Based on my limited knowledge and experience in this area, I find it very subjective and based upon the teacher's personal preferences. No matter how detailed the rubric, it seems impossible to be completely objective when assessing student writing. The Spandell article provides some helpful advice for how to remain as objective as possible while assessing student writing. The author suggests considering the positive negative trend, trait error, appearance, length, personal preferences, preconceptions, skimming, self-scoring, and vulgar language while assessing student writing. These considerations are described in more detail in the article found at https://moodle.csbsju.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=97371. Even though these tips are useful, I still find myself skeptical about the process of assessment.
Questions that still remain in my mind involve how an educator decides what to focus on when assessing student writing. How does an educator create an effective rubric and decide what is most important to assess on a particular piece of writing. Many debates arise among those who feel that grammar and the technicalities of writing should be focused on and those who feel the content is more important. I believe both philosophies have their appropriate time and place based on the objectives that one hopes to achieve at the end. I think this is perhaps the most important lesson that I have realized thus far concerning writing assessment: assessment needs to be directly related to the objectives that have been set forth. This not only applies to writing assessment, but to all assessments in all academic disciplines as well.
My concerns have been relieved somewhat, but I still think that assessing student writing is a significant part of ELA instruction that cannot be taken lightly. Especially at the middle school age, students egos and self-esteems are so fragile and vulnerable. A teacher's opinion and comments concerning a students' writing can profoundly impact their entire lives, whether negatively or positively. I recently read Kao Kalia Yang's book, The Latehomecomer, and in it, she tells the struggle of her and her family to find their home, to find their identity. Yang does not find her home, does not find herself, until a high school English teacher gives her praise for her Romeo and Juliet essay. It was not until this moment that Yang saw herself as a writer. It is important for educators to find the balance between being too nice and only providing positive feedback and being too harsh and finding every single error in student writing and making them aware of it. It is important for educators to remain honest and constructive. I believe this balance requires experience and practice and I am sure I will continue to learn and grow in this regard throughout my career.
Please share any additional insight you may have concerning this topic. I would love to hear other, different perspectives on this issue. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I look forward to reading yours!
Courtney B.
I like your detailed thoughts! I agree that it's a tricky decision when pondering writing assessment...but I think that there is no "standard" form of assessment. It all depends on the type of writing the students do. Students should have different experiences with writing such as writing in a journal, writing a short story that isn't revised, and writing a story that IS revised again and again. The teacher can also take the "middle ground" between correcting every little mistake and not correcting at all. If the focus is on plot or character development, the assessment should focus on that and not every little grammar mistake. That's just my opinion! :)
ReplyDeleteCourtney, I understand your concerns so well. I hope that our discussions around assessment practices gave you some additional ideas as well. In the end, evaluation is subjective, but as we strive to become better at it, we figure out how to negotiate that tricky balancing act between coaching improvement and judging performances. My favorite analogy right now to describe this tension comes from American Idol, you have to be both Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. Without both confidence building and honest direct feedback, students will not improve.
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