e-asTTle Writing

Fraser School30th April 2012

LI/SC

Know about the

components of the new e-

asTTle writing

Choose a prompt (task)

Have a go at using

a rubric

Learn About New e asTTle

The scope of NEW easTTle

• Years 1 to 10 (up to L6)suitable for students who can independently communicate at least one or two simple ideas in writing

• Valid and reliable• Compatible with the existing e-asTTle

technology

What does the tool assess?

A part of the whole• General writing competence

- skills not specific to particular learning areas—does not assess content knowledge- aspects of writing-to-communicate across the curriculum- skills core to writing in general

• Independent writing of continuous text across five communicative purposes and seven elements

- prompts specify a purpose but the rubric accommodates multiple purposes

- describe, explain, recount, narrate, persuade- writing scored element by element but appears as an overall score on the

measurement scale- ideas, structure and language, organisation, vocabulary, sentence structure,

punctuation, spelling (formerly known as curriculum functions/features/dimensions)

What does the tool assess?

A part of the whole

• Why only a part of the whole?- The e-asTTle model for assessment and reporting

involves standardised tasks that lead to reliable results that can be reported on measurement scales

- One assessment can’t assess everything - Not sufficient for making an OTJ (see 4.2 in manual)

The components of e-asTTle writing

• 20 prompts (formerly known as tasks)

• Marking rubric (includes structure and language notes)

• Annotated exemplars• Glossary and definitions• Scoring and reporting tools

Using an e-asTTle writing assessment

An e-asTTle writing assessment involves:• Selecting a prompt• Introducing the prompt to the students- 5 mins and

no written record of discussion. • Students writing to the prompt for up to 40 minutes• Scoring the responses against a rubric with the help

of annotated exemplars• Entering results into the online application and

generating reports.

Create a new “test”

Create a customised test

Choose a purpose

Select a prompt

A writing prompt

Choosing a prompt

• Teachers need to use professional judgement to ensure a prompt is appropriate.

For example, consider:- the level of abstraction- the complexity of the text structure- the context

Some prompts use slightly simplified language:- the three recounting prompts- three of the describing prompts

The marking rubric elements

Marking rubric: Ideas

Marking process• Markers need:

- student script- prompt- marking rubric (ideas, structure and language, organisation, vocabulary, sentence

structure, punctuation, and spelling)- structure and language notes- annotated exemplars- glossary and definitions

• A step by step approach:- read through whole script- work through rubric element by element- check writing against category descriptors and notes to identify best fit category (R1, R2 , R3

etc)- use exemplars to clarify and confirm decisions- moderate decisions- record each score on front page of student writing booklet

Characteristics of a fair marker

• During marking:- self disciplined—need to recognise the authority of the

rubric and put aside their knowledge of the student as a whole

- a team player—need to accumulate a shared understanding of the rubric

• After marking (planning next steps):- creative

Annotated exemplar

Characteristics of the annotated exemplars

• The 76 annotated exemplars:- developed from student responses to the 20 prompts- marked using the rubric- cover all prompts (each prompt has at least 3, covering a range of scores—low,

medium, and high)

• The student scripts exemplify: - typical, not ideal, writing- tricky features to score (e.g., possibly off-topic; multiple purposes)

• The annotations:- justify scores

• The generic exemplars:- from the same group of 76- used to check interpretation of individual categories

National reference information for e-asTTle writing

National reference information is available for:• Year level• Year level by gender• Year level by ethnicity• Year level by region• Year level by “English at home”• Year level by “schools like us”