# data[].attributes.body
In the end, quality assessment is quality communication. It demands that we find different ways to collect information—through everyday observations, assessment of on- demand and long-term writing tasks, and in-depth analysis of some writing samples. It also means offering students multiple ways of demonstrating proficiency—through traditional writing, portfolios, and multi-media genres. And finally, it means finding varied ways to share information—not only through scores or grades, but through comments as well. By combining scores and comments and supplementing both with actual samples of student performance, we ensure that we create a rich, vibrant, representative picture of what students can do.

# data[].attributes.headline
Translating Analytical Scores into Grades

# data[].attributes.subject
Translating Analytical Scores into Grades

# data[].attributes.body
1.Base any grade on a body of work—not just one sample.
2. Do not grade individual pieces of writing at all.
3. Don’t assess everything.
4. For any given assignment, score those traits that are most relevant.
5. Give students the option to revise further after a score is assigned.
6. Calculate grades based on an average.

# data[].attributes.body
It’s no secret: teachers hold the trump card. Grades can be used to manipulate students, to motivate them, and to control them.
We don’t want to use grades to control students. We want to use grades to communicate—and their only intrinsic value lies in their capacity to do that. Many people would argue that we are already communicating with students through analytical scores and comments, and that grades add little of value.

# data[].attributes.body
Achievement
If we grade on achievement, we tell students, in effect, that those who attain a higher level of writing proficiency will receive higher grades. To many people, this seems a fair approach to grading, and I agree. After all, demand for high-level achievement is a real- ity of life, both in and out of the classroom.

Effort
Teachers define “effort” very differently—and this creates inconsistencies. Further, the notion of grading on effort implies that the performance itself is unsuccessful. That’s not necessarily true at all. Haven’t we all known people whose specialty was making the next to impossible look easy? When it’s working, effort is invisible. And when it isn’t, it undermines performance—big time.

Attitude
Keeping at it when you don’t feel like it is my definition of good attitude. Another teacher-assessor will look for classroom participation, voluminous writing, or willingness to embrace technology. The point is, we can’t really define good attitude—any more than we can recognize effort. Better to reward both with appreciative comments and not figure either into our grades.

Growth Over Time
In other words, can the writer review and assess his or her own work—and recognize specific indicators of growth? Please note that growth is easy to assess when students keep portfolios, and far more difficult if they do not.

# data[].attributes.body
Ask students what grades mean, and you’re likely to get some startling answers. Many will tell you that A’s are mostly for parents (or for precollege records)—and sometimes translate into money, the right to drive the car, or other tangible rewards.
Do you think C means average and F means failure? Think again. Many students will tell you that the worst grade to receive is a C because while an F means that you didn’t try or didn’t care (this can even be a badge of honor), a C indicates that you did your best but still failed—and that’s depressing.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Place minimal value on things learned and care only about the grade earned.
2. Become dependent on the reward, allowing themselves to be controlled by the threat of the grade.
3. Become unwilling to take any risk, however promising, that might jeopardize their grade point average (GPA).
The book suggests that comments are more meaningful and more motivational than grades and are far more likely to inspire excellent performance.
Grades are a choice, not a necessity. Nevertheless, they may be a reality for you, like it or not. If you’re like many educators, you would prefer a different method of documenting student performance (portfolios, narrative records)—but may feel you have no choice.

# data[].attributes.headline
10 Steps in Making Classroom Writing Assessment All It Can Be. 

# data[].attributes.subject
10 Steps in Making Classroom Writing Assessment All It Can Be. 

# data[].attributes.body
Step 1: Define our personal vision of success.
Step 2: Let the writing tell its own story.
Step 3: Think process—not just product.
Step 4: Assess some pieces deeply, to see what students can do.
Step 5: Provide both formative and summative assessment.
Step 6: Assess what matters—not what’s obvious.
Step 7: Teach students to evaluate their own work.
Step 8: Make personal comments a major part of any feedback.
Step 9: Be flexible about genre and format.
Step 10: Encourage students to develop “habits of mind” essential for success.

# data[].attributes.headline
Making Classroom Writing Assessment All It Can Be.

# data[].attributes.subject
Making Classroom Writing Assessment All It Can Be.

# data[].attributes.body
In the more intimate, more personal writing environment we create for our students and ourselves, we have greater control over assessment procedures than in most large- scale venues.

# data[].attributes.headline
12 Steps in Making Large-Scale Writing Assessment All It Can Be.

# data[].attributes.subject
12 Steps in Making Large-Scale Writing Assessment All It Can Be.

# data[].attributes.body
Step 1: Have a clear purpose.
Step 2: Design an assessment to match our vision of success.
Step 3: Match the assessment approach to the task.
Step 4: Design rubrics or writing guides with care.
Step 5: Be thoughtful about prompts.
Step 6: Abolish forever the dreaded “off topic” label.
Step 7: Become truly skilled assessors.
Step 8: Teach on-demand writing as a genre unto itself.
Step 9: Minimize bias.
Step 10: Consider multiple samples.
Step 11: Ensure that assessments are reliable and valid.
Step 12: Make writing a priority.

# data[].attributes.headline
Making Large-Scale Writing Assessment All It Can Be. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Making Large-Scale Writing Assessment All It Can Be. 

# data[].attributes.body
Large-scale writing assessment cannot replace instruction. But when it is carefully designed, it can reflect instruction—and right now, that isn’t happening. We should not, in the twenty-first century, be “teaching to the writing test” any longer. We know too much about teaching writing well. We must turn the current situation around, using what we know to create a vision of success, then designing an assessment that shapes itself to that vision. H

# data[].attributes.headline
Communicating with Parents or Other Caregivers. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Communicating with Parents or Other Caregivers. 

# data[].attributes.body
Perhaps the best way, if you have the luxury of a little time, is an after-school session in which you summarize the six traits and even have parents attempt to score a paper or two. You might also ask them to write a short paragraph and assess their own writing—not with numbers, but simply by identifying the traits they feel are strongest in their writing, and those they find challenging. Nothing brings the traits so vividly into focus as looking at your own work! Parents are good at this, enjoy it, and often remark that they have never before been asked to consider any aspect of their writing other than conventions.

# data[].attributes.headline
10 Things You Can Do to Make Sharing More Successful

# data[].attributes.subject
10 Things You Can Do to Make Sharing More Successful

# data[].attributes.body
1. Help students develop good listening skills.
2. Think about logistics.
3. Define roles clearly.
4. Model what not to do.
5. Write notes.
6. Encourage responders to “begin with I.”
7. Participate.
8. Don’t apologize—and don’t overreact.
9. Make it real—by sharing what you picture, how you feel.
10. Keep it snappy.

# data[].attributes.body
Your writers (probably) are not experts in structuring conferences, and so you are learning together, shaping the conference to suit yourselves. For example, you might frequently wish to hear the student’s writing in his or her own voice, and so ask stu- dents to read their work to you. Sometimes, though, you might want the student to hear how the piece sounds—and so you need to be the reader. There’s no need for a rule on this. Vary things to keep your conferences fluid and interesting.

# data[].attributes.headline
 A good conference...  puts the writer in control.

# data[].attributes.subject
 A good conference...  puts the writer in control.

# data[].attributes.body
We can’t usually anticipate what questions or difficulties will arise for our students as they go through their writing process. Therefore, we can’t plan conferences the way we plan lessons. Some teachers find this nerve-wracking, while others find it stimulating.
But learning to love surprise means allowing the conference to take a course we cannot predict—a course set by the writer’s needs. It also means getting comfortable with the notion that writers might ask us questions for which we have no immediate answers.

# data[].attributes.body
A good conference can be as short as two minutes—and usually does not run more than six or seven. Short conferences are a boon for the teacher with many students. But I also believe short is just better—in most cases. That’s because a short conference tends to focus on just one or two writer’s questions or trouble spots instead of three, four, or a dozen. We easily overwhelm writers, particularly beginners or struggling writers, by trying to do too much at one time. Indeed, we can turn the conference into something students will dread.

# data[].attributes.headline
A good conference...  begins with listening. 

# data[].attributes.subject
A good conference...  begins with listening. 

# data[].attributes.body
But the truth is, we have to train ourselves, most of us, to be good listeners. For one thing, listening well is an art. And for another, we haven’t had, for the most part, very good models ourselves. We need to listen actively, concentrating on how we feel or what we see in our minds as each writer shares his or her work, and then describing those feelings or images as clearly as we can. Writers need to know the impact of their writing on a reader, but they won’t know that if we spend our listening time thinking of the teaching points we are going to make. To gain students’ trust, we must show them that we are deeply interested in what they have to say. Our eyes, our facial expressions, our body language must all say, “You, the writer, are at the center of my universe at this moment.”

# data[].attributes.body
Think of a conference as a chat. Sometimes there’s an opportunity for “small” modeling or teaching—but that doesn’t have to be part of a conference.  we confer best when we take time to “talk writing” with our students. Successful conferences can look very different. The way you confer with writers reflects your own style of teaching, as well as your students’ needs. Maybe your style is casual and humorous. Maybe it’s more formal and businesslike. But despite differences in approach, there are certain characteristics common to most successful conference.

# data[].attributes.body
Are you adept at saying (or writing) what your writers need to hear? To some people it comes very easily, while others need to practice a bit to feel fluent as assessors and responders. It helps if you abandon formalities. Take off your teacher hat for a moment, and just think about what you want to say, writer to writer. Instead of making judg- ments, create descriptions.

# data[].attributes.body
The comments (on student writing) that appear throughout this book are intended to suggest some of the things you (or someone) might write on a student’s paper—things you want to tell the writer that are not found in a writing guide.
First, writing guides make what we believe public. There’s an honesty and openness about this that I like. They push us to commit, to share what we value with students and with everyone else.

# data[].attributes.headline
Encouraging Comments + Modeling = Path to Success

# data[].attributes.subject
Encouraging Comments + Modeling = Path to Success

# data[].attributes.body
Good feedback should be descriptive, positive, clear, and specific.  As a teacher you can begin by pointing out a strength the student did not even recognize in his or her own work, and then directing the student toward a next step to improve.
Modeling works like magic if we remember to “teach small,” focusing on just one thing at a time.